CAPIST — Stone and Strait

CAPIST — Stone and Strait. Most trips that promise Cappadocia and Istanbul spend a day and a half driving between them. This one does not. You fly straight into Cappadocia — no connection to sit out in Istanbul first — and after three days among the rock churches you take a seventy-minute flight to the city that was the capital of three empires. The time that other programmes spend on the road, this one spends standing still: a full day in the Ihlara valley, a full day in the old city, and evenings that are actually free.

Seven days, in order

Day 1 — Arrival in Cappadocia

Met at Kayseri (ASR) or Nevşehir (NAV) and driven to your cave hotel in Ortahisar or Ürgüp. You land in Cappadocia directly — there is no connection to wait out in Istanbul. The afternoon is yours; Ürgüp's old market is a few minutes on foot. Dinner at the hotel.

Day 2 — Göreme, Uçhisar, Avanos

Göreme Open Air Museum first, early, before the coaches — rock-cut chapels with their frescoes still on the walls, and the Dark Church, which kept its colour because almost no light ever reached it. Then the fairy chimneys of Paşabağ and the rock-cut hollows of Zelve, and Avanos on the Kızılırmak, where the red clay is still thrown on kick wheels. Uçhisar Castle in the late afternoon, for the view over the whole valley system. Those who want the balloon take off before dawn; it is booked separately and the weather decides.

Day 3 — Underground, and the valley floor

An underground city — Derinkuyu or Kaymaklı, whichever is quieter that morning — eight levels of it, ventilation shafts, stables, a church, and millstone doors that could only be rolled shut from the inside. Afterwards the Ihlara Valley, walked along the stream between its walls, with lunch at Belisırma where the tables stand in the water, and Selime Monastery at the valley's end. Pigeon Valley on the way back.

Day 4 — Cappadocia to Istanbul

An early morning flight from Kayseri to Istanbul, around ninety minutes, with the vehicle waiting at the other end. The afternoon is kept light: İstiklal Caddesi on foot, then the walk down from Galata to Karaköy — all slope and nineteenth-century doorways — ending at the water.

Day 5 — The old city

The upper gallery of Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome and its obelisks. The Basilica Cistern before lunch — the forest of columns Justinian sank under the city to hold its water. Topkapı Palace and the Harem through the afternoon. Free time in the Grand Bazaar.

Day 6 — Palace, strait and tower

Dolmabahçe Palace in the morning, where the Ottoman court moved when it gave up the old palace for European rooms and a crystal staircase. Then onto the water for the Bosphorus, as far up as Rumeli Hisarı — the fortress Mehmed II built in four months to close the strait. Back down for the Spice Bazaar and Eminönü, and Galata Tower before the light goes. Farewell dinner, and the evening free in Karaköy.

Day 7 — Departure

Check out, free time according to your flight, and a transfer to Istanbul Airport.

The day-by-day programme is indicative. Site opening days, weather, traffic and local conditions can move the order of visits. Nothing listed is dropped — it is the sequence that moves.

Nothing is paid at a gate

Every entrance named in the programme is paid before you arrive, and so is the flight between Cappadocia and Istanbul. You will not be asked for money at any gate on this trip, and you will not be asked to buy a domestic flight on top of the price.

Included

• Six nights' accommodation — three in a cave hotel in Cappadocia, three in Istanbul
• Breakfast every morning; two lunches and two dinners, as marked on the day
• Domestic flight Kayseri – Istanbul, with baggage allowance
• Private vehicle with driver throughout, including both airport transfers
• Licensed English-speaking guide for the full seven days
• All entrance fees to the museums, palaces and sites in the programme — including the Dark Church at Göreme, which is ticketed separately from the museum
• Bosphorus cruise on day six — weather permitting; if the sailing is cancelled the fare is refunded in full
• All road tolls, parking and vehicle costs
• TÜRSAB compulsory travel insurance, and all local taxes

Not included

• International flights to and from Türkiye — we can quote these separately
• Visa or e-Visa fees, where these apply
• Meals not listed on the day concerned, and drinks with meals
• Single room supplement — from $150, depending on the departure
• Personal spending, laundry, telephone
• Tips for the driver and guide
• Anything shown as optional

Optional

• Hot-air balloon over the Cappadocia valleys before dawn — booked locally, subject to the weather and to cancellation by the civil aviation authority. Payment is taken only once a flight is confirmed, and a cancelled flight is refunded in full.
• Turkish bath
• Additional nights at either end

Group size. The price is built on a minimum of four travellers and the group never exceeds twelve.

Full programme, the nine 2027 departures and the itinerary PDF →