Premium
Explorer
Premium Turkey & the Caucasus
30 days • 4.8
5
Excellent
4 reviews
30 days
Start
Istanbul, Turkey
Finish
Yerevan, Armenia
Trip Code
ERPCC
Min Age
15
Trip Size
1 - 12
Physical Rating
Meals
29 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 8 dinners
Transport
Private vehicle, Boat, Plane
Accommodation
Comfortable hotel (22 nights), Feature Stay (6 nights)
From £8,012(30 days)
Trip Informations
Why you’ll love this trip
Get to the heart of Turkey and the Caucasus with experienced local leaders through the ancient streets of Ephesus, the secrets of Troy, Baku’s diverse architecture and Tbilisi’s winding narrow streets.
Enjoy Feature Stays in Cappadocia, with elegantly decorated rooms carved from stone, and at a historic hotel that was home to the aristocratic Orbeliani family.
Uncover the real Turkey during Exclusive Experiences, including a cooking class with a chef, a visit to an empowering carpet weaving cooperative, a cruise around the southern coast and a traditional dinner at a local’s home in Cappadocia
Visit the Tserovani Refugee Settlement in Georgia during an Exclusive Experience. You will visit a jewellery-making workshop aimed at providing employment to displaced women.
Marvel at ancient wonders and otherworldly sights, from the Cotton Castle of Pamukkale and rockscapes of Cappadocia to the open-air archaeological museum of Qobustan and the cave town of Vardzia in Georgia.
Is this trip right for you?
There are some long drives on this trip which are necessary to fit in the incredible places these countries have to offer. These journeys are by private vehicle and although they may be a little tiring, they're a great chance to sit back and enjoy the passing scenery and chat to your fellow travellers.
Some activities in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia, are weather and road condition dependent. For example, the trip to the high Caucasus around Kazbegi. Your leader will keep you up to date on any necessary itinerary changes due to local conditions.
Itinerary
Inclusions
Meals
29 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 8 dinners
Transport
Private vehicle, Boat, Plane
Accommodation
Comfortable hotel (22 nights), Feature Stay (6 nights)
Included activities
Istanbul - City Tour
Istanbul - Blue Mosque Visit
Istanbul - Welcome Dinner
Complimentary Arrival Transfer
Gallipoli - Anzac Cove, Lone Pine and Chunuk Bair
Troy - Archaeological site visit
Selcuk - Leader-led orientation walk
Ephesus - Archaeological site visit
Sirince - Village visit and fruit wine tasting
Selcuk - Cooking class
Pamukkale - Hierapolis and Travertines National Park
Kas - Leader-led orientation walk
Kas - Sailing trip with seafood lunch
Antalya - Leader-led orientation walk
Antalya - Phaselis Ancient City
Antalya - Antalya Museum
Konya - Mevlana Museum
Cappadocia - Leader-led orientation walk
Cappadocia - Sunset drinks
Cappadocia - Valley walk
Cappadocia - Goreme Open Air Museum
Cappadocia - Carpet weaving co-op
Cappadocia - Pottery demonstration
Cappadocia - Ozkonak Underground City
Cappadocia - Kizilcukur Valley
Cappadocia - Home-cooked dinner
Baku - Welcome Dinner at Local Restaurant
Baku - Palace of the Shirvanshahs
Baku - Walking Tour with Local Guide
Qobustan - Petroglyphs
Qobustan - Half Day Trip
Qobustan National Park Visit
Sheki - Khan's Palace
Sheki - Stained Glass Workshop Visit
Shamakhi - Yeddi Gumbaz Mausoleum & Juma Mosque
Kakheti - Georgian Polyphonic Singing
Kakheti - Dinner and Wine Tasting with a Local Family
Telavi - Market Tour with Tastings
Telavi – Batonis Castle
Pankisi Valley - Cultural Tour and Lunch
Tbilisi - Market Visit
Tbilisi - Narikala Fortress & Cable Car
Tserovani - Ikorta (The Tuuur Foundation partner) enamel jewellery workshop visit
Mtskheta - Jvari Monastery & Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
Meskheti - Khertvisi Fortress
Vardzia - Cave Town Visit
Gori - Stalin Museum
Ananuri – Castle and Churches Visit
Stepantsminda - Gergeti Trinity Church
Haghpat - Haghpat Monastery
Geghard - Geghard Monastery
Lake Sevan - Sevanavank Monastery
Garni - Temple Visit & Duduk Performance
Yerevan - City Tour with Local Guide
Yerevan - Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex
Optional activities
Istanbul - Topkapi Palace Combined Ticket (Topkapi Palace + Hagia Irene + Harem) - TRY2000
Istanbul - Hagia Sophia - EUR25
Selcuk - Ephesus Archaeological Museum - EUR10
Ephesus - Terrace Houses entry - EUR15
Goreme - Whirling dervish performance - EUR30
Cappadocia - Hot Air Balloon Regular Flight - EUR200
Cappadocia - Hot Air Balloon Deluxe Flight - EUR230
Baku - National Museum of History of Azerbaijan - AZN10
Baku - National Carpet Museum - AZN10
Baku - The Heydar Aliyev Centre - AZN15
Tbilisi - The National Gallery - GEL25
Tbilisi - Open Air Museum of Ethnography - GEL20
Tbilisi - Thermal Bath House Visit - from - GEL70
Tbilisi – Old Town Walking Tour with Local Guide - Free
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Important notes
1. A complimentary airport arrival transfer is included; valid if you are arriving on Day 1 or if you have booked pre-tour accommodation through us. You must provide your flight details to your booking agent at least 14 days prior to travel.
2. A single supplement is available if you’d prefer not to share a room on this trip. The single supplement applies to all nights of your trip and is subject to availability. There are a limited number of single supplements available per trip departure. Please speak to your booking agent for further information. 
3. Due to current border crossing restrictions for different Caucasus nationalities, your Trip Leader may be from nearby Ukraine or Russia. Your leader will have in-depth knowledge and extensive travel experience throughout the Caucasus. Local guides from Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia are represented throughout the itinerary to ensure you receive a diverse and uniquely local range of perspectives.
4. Upon arrival in Baku, please meet your driver in the Arrivals Hall. If you are delayed beyond one hour after your scheduled arrival time or can't locate the driver, please call our local office representative in Baku at +994 552 974 020
5. This trip is a combination of two trips. Please review the Itinerary for details of when your fellow travellers and leader will change.
6. The following departures will stay in Vanadzor instead of Dzoraget on day 27. The hotel will be the Forest1961 Boutique Hotel. 15th June 2025, 6th July 2025, 3rd August 2025, 17th August 2025, 24th August 2025, 14 September 2025.
Reviews (4)
5 stars
3
4 stars
1
Rosemary
May 12, 2024
The Premiun Turkey and the Caucasus was a great adventure learning about this part of the world. We had the opportunity on the tour to meet local people, experience wonderful sites and sample so many various local foods.
Michael
May 12, 2024
Our expectations for our Premium Turkey and the Caucasus Intrepid Tour were exceeded in the main because of our 2 excellent Tour Leaders, local guides and drivers and the memorable local experiences provided in all 4 countries. Our knowledge of these 4 countries has been significantly enhanced. We also appreciated travelling in small groups, in our case 11 and 9, which melded well and contributed to the fun we had as well. We have no hesitation recommending this trip to anyone who might be considering booking.
Paul
Jun 17, 2023
The Caucasus tour takes you to three striking cities, deserts, fertile river valleys, mosques, and Monasteries situated on lakes and snow covered mountains. But it also offers an intense history lesson of this turbulent region and an insight into geopolitics at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. It is a must do destination.
Ann
Jul 04, 2022
This was a very interesting and enjoyable trip, made more so by our tour guide Nilufer Celeb who did an outstanding job on the Turkey portion of the trip. I would have enjoyed more time exploring Armenia (we only had 2.5 days) and a little less in Georgia which was wonderful but 4 days would have been enough. Azerbaijan was beautiful and I'm sure there are more amazing places to visit there. Overall it was a great trip: I learned a lot and saw some wonderful historic places, beautiful scenery; loved the Caucasus landscapes of forested mountains, river valleys and gorges and of course the Turkish coastline. We were greeted everywhere by hospitable people and our tour mates were fun to travel with.
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