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15 Days & 14 Nights
Specific Tour
Unlimited
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TURKEY-GREECE TWO-WEEK ITINERARY
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Please read below some practical and useful information for better planning, less trouble and more enjoyment of your trip:
• Take a copy of your passport page(s) with your picture and ID details and keep it separately from your passport.
• Make two copies of your Turkish visa printout. Keep one within your passport, the other copy separately in your wallet.
• If you have a Greek (Schengen) visa, take also a copy of your passport’s page with this visa.
• Take a copy of your travel insurance policy with you.
• Bring at least one pullover for chilly weather.
• Do not forget at least one pair of comfortable walking shoes.
• A baseball hat and sunglasses should be included in your travel bag.
• You may want to make a checklist for all the documentation and stuff you want to take with you in order to make sure you haven’t forgotten anything.
• Throughout the trip, keep your passport, money and valuables in a safe pocket or in a small belly bag. Turkey and Greece are relatively safe places on a world scale, however, never leave anything to chance.
• Visa and Mastercard are accepted widely in Turkey and Greece. But bring some cash as pocket money for emergencies and for shopping in cash.
• You can exchange Canadian dollars at the Istanbul Ataturk Airport easily. USD and Euro are also widely accepted. Banks branches and exchange buffets are available in many locations in Turkey and Greece.
• The currency in Turkey is Turkish Lira. The exchange rate against Canadian dollar is roughly 1.95. (One Canadian dollar is nearly 2 Turkish liras).
• The currency in Greece is Euro. One Euro is about 1.50 Canadian Dollars.
• The electricity plugs in Turkey and Greece are different and the voltage is 220 Volts. If your device is adaptable to both 110 and 220 Volts, all you need is a plug adapter. This shouldn’t be a problem for your cell phones, tablets and laptops. (See the picture below)
• Most hotels in Turkey and Greece provide Wi Fi for free. In some cases, you have to be in common areas of the hotel in order to get internet access.
• Depending on your needs, you may buy a voice and/or data package. Otherwise you may incur salty roaming charges. Talk to your phone and internet service provider.
• Bring swimsuits to use in Greek islands or in some hotel pools. We expect quite a nice weather throughout or trip, but we cannot guarantee hot, swim-in the sea-weather. However, it is still good to be prepared.
• Check your camera, to make sure to have a backup battery and sufficient size of memory cards for hundreds of pictures and videos you may take.
Meeting at the Toronto Pearson Airport Terminal-1 near the Turkish Airlines counter at 7 p.m. Your tour leader will distribute your air tickets and brief you about the itinerary.
Turkish Airlines (Boeing 777) Flight No: TK 018 departs at 22.35 from Toronto (Pearson; (YYZ)) for a direct flight to Istanbul (Ataturk IST)) and arrives in Istanbul at 3.25 p.m. next day, April 22nd. Flight time: 9 hours and 50 minutes.
Standard economy class service on board Turkish Airlines.
Arrival at the Istanbul Ataturk Airport at around 3.25 p.m. Everybody who needed a Turkish visa must have obtained his or her visa online in advance. So we will NOT spend any time for visas at the airport. Our local guide with private coach bus will be waiting for us. Following the entry and customs clearance our private coach bus will take us for the panoramic city tour and then we will check in at our hotel at a central location at the European side and close to the city centre. We will have dinner at the hotel or at a restaurant in walking distance to the hotel.
Accommodations: Overnight stay in Istanbul (1).
Meals: Dinner
Full day tour of the old city named Byzantium in the 7th Century BC. This ancient city was renamed Constantinople in 326 AD by Constantine the Great, when he moved the capital of the Roman Empire to what is now Istanbul. The city received its current name from Mehmet II (named Mehmet the Conqueror afterwards) in 1453 and is the only city in the world that spans over two continents. We will also visit several of Turkey's most famous museums and mosques, such as Topkapi Palace which was first built by Mehmet the Conqueror in 1453 and the home of the Sultans until the 19 century. St. Sophia was built by Emperor Justinian of the Roman Empire and it was completed in 537 AD and ruled as the greatest Christian Church in the world for more than thousand years. The Blue Mosque was commissioned by Sultan Ahmet in 1603 and was constructed with the intention of rivaling St. Sophia. At the end of the day we will have free time for shopping in world’s largest market area: the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market. In the evening we will have a boat tour with dinner to enjoy the beauties of the Bosporus strait that links two continents, Europe and Asia. Along the shores of Istanbul, you will contemplate the view of old mansions (Yalis), imperial palaces, former fishing villages and bridges connecting east and west.
Accommodations: Overnight stay in Istanbul (2).
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
After an early breakfast we depart by bus to Ankara (the capital city). We will arrive in Ankara around noon time. In the capital we will visit the Mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey. This beautiful landmark perched atop a hill with a panoramic view of the city. In the late afternoon we will depart from Ankara and arrive in Urgup, heart of the Cappadocia Region by coach bus.
Accommodations: Overnight stay in Urgup, Cappadocia (1).
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
After breakfast, we will enjoy the unique landscapes of the wind and rain eroded volcanic formations carved directly into stone. Cappadocia's amazing subterranean cities include ancient underground churches hand-hewn from solid rock by Christians. While in Cappadocia we will enjoy an excellent lecture and a demonstration on Turkish carpets and kilims. We will visit handicraft shops as well as enjoy a folk and belly-dancing performance while we wine and dine in an underground cabaret.
For an optional air balloon ride early in the morning, please talk to your tour director in advance and possibly prior to the departure date.
Accommodations: Overnight stay in Urgup, Cappadocia (2).
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
After an early breakfast we will depart for Pamukkale. Along the way we will stop briefly in Konya and visit the Whirling Dervish Museum of Mevlana, a very holy place for Turkish Muslims. Where you can see the exhibits of dervish costumes, instruments, illuminated manuscripts and various ethnological artifacts of Mevlevi Sufi Order. We will arrive in Pamukkale in the late afternoon. We will check into our hotel, which has a hot mineral pool for your enjoyment. We will visit the snow-like travertine of calcium at Pamukkale, a region with strikingly beautiful mineral springs clinging to the hillsides that will amaze you. Hierapolis is the ancient name for the Greco-Roman city above the travertine.
Accommodations: Overnight stay in Pamukkale (1).
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.
On our way from Pamukkale to Kusadasi, we will visit Ephesus and its colossal Greco-Roman Theater. This theater is still used for performances. Our next destination is the Ephesus Archeological Museum and the house where St. Mary lived her final days.
On our way to the hotel, we will pick up three people from the Izmir (ADB) Airport.
Accommodations: Overnight stay in Kusadasi (1).
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.
After the breakfast, we will have some relaxation and free time for shopping, swimming and sunbathing. In the late afternoon we will depart to Marmaris. Following a 2.5 hour drive, we will arrive in Marmaris, a famous resort town at the southwest tip of Turkey where Aegean Sea and Mediterranean merge. We will check in at our hotel and have dinner.
Accommodations: Overnight stay in Marmaris (1)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.
Today is time to move to another country!
Following the breakfast at 7.30 a.m. we will depart to the Seaport of Marmaris. Our ferry leaves at 9.15 a.m. and after about one-hour ride will take us to the Island of Rhodes, Greece after a two-hour cruise. WELCOME TO GREECE. Upon arrival you can enjoy some leisure time or take an optional tour of the beautiful island of Rhodes with its rich and varied history. On a hill above the charming town of Lindos rises an ancient Acropolis dedicated to the goddess Athena. Below lies the bay of St. Paul, where the apostle landed during his voyages. The crusader Knights of St. John left the medieval city of Rhodes behind when they were defeated by Ottoman Sultan in the 16th century. The fortified old city was rebuild with EU funds. Rhodes is the largest of the Dodecanese area islands and the historical capital of the island group with a population of around 115,000 and an area of 1,400 square kilometers.
Accommodations: Overnight stay in Rhodes (1).
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.
After breakfast, we will check out and have free time until lunch. At 2.30 p.m. we will be transferred to the port and take the ferry to Santorini departing at 4 p.m. After about five-hour cruise, we will arrive arguably in the most famous Greek island. Dinner will be served on board the ship. Upon arrival around 9 p.m., we will check in at our hotel. Then you can enjoy some free time at the evening of this vibrant island.
Accommodations: Overnight stay in Santorini (1).
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.
The Volkanic Santorini is arguably the most breathtaking of all the Greek Islands. The town of Fira, with its white-washed houses, narrow streets, open-air cafes and glittering boutiques cling to steep cliffs, is accessible only by cable-car or mule. To the south is Akrotiri where recent Minoan excavations support the theories that Santorini might be the fabled lost continent of Atlantis.
You can either join our optional tour or enjoy your day at your own pace.
Accommodations: Overnight stay in Santorini (2).
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.
The day is yours. Just relax and enjoy your day. You can swim, take a stroll and discover the secrets of the island as you wish.
Accommodations: Overnight stay in Santorini (3).
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.
After breakfast, and some free time for shopping and strolling, we will be transferred to our ferry to Piraeus at 3.30 p.m. After nearly five-hour cruise, we will arrive at the port city of Piraeus and our private coach will take us to our hotel in Athens. You can enjoy some leisure time at the evening.
Accommodations: Overnight stay in Athens (1).
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.
Optional tour of Athens, capital of Greece, the cradle of democracy, and birthplace of Western Civilization. Athens is a vibrant city where old and new co-exist. The majestic Parthenon rises above the city, its ancient glory still visible in the time-worn stone, and the National Archaeological Museum holds countless treasures from Athens' Golden Age. Constitution Square (Syntagma), the House of Parliament, the Memorial to the Unknown Soldier and the National Library are the main highlights of our ride. Driving down Herod Atticus Street we'll see Evzones and the Presidential Palace, then the Panathinaikos Stadium where the first Olympic Games were held, the Temple of Olympian Zeus and Hadrian's Arch. We will then visit the Acropolis, its museum and masterpieces of the golden age of Athens. After the tour you will be transferred to your hotel In Athens.
If you do not join the optional tour, you can talk to your guide and get his/her recommendations.
In the evening, we will have dinner in Plaka, the vibrant entertainment district in the heart of Athens.
Accommodations: Overnight stay in Athens (2).
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
After breakfast at around 7.30 a.m., we will be transferred to Athens Eleftherios Venizelos Airport (ATH) for our flight to Toronto. Air Transat flight departs at 11.20 a.m. from Athens at 11.20 a.m. and arrives in Toronto at 3.05 p.m. Flight time: 10 hours and 45 minutes.
Welcome Home.
Meals: Breakfast at the hotel and standard service on board Air Transat.
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