Turkey's Highlights - Pamukkale, Ephesus, Cappadocia Trip & Balloon Ride Option

So, first off, let me say that one of our days was spent entirely on moving from Cappadocia to Kusadasi. So, keep in mind that it is actually 4 days, not 5. Cappadocia is also a little boring and we had way too many car rides dropping off people we weren't with. However, for the price, I'd say it's pretty good. You can definitely do better if you get a private tour (not very pricey if contacting turkish travel agency directly), but for something available from Viator, it's not bad.

Not going to bore you with the details, just the highlights:

Cappadocia - a lot of landscapes and 4-hour per day tours or so. You will be dragged to many local stores, don't buy anything, it's horribly overpriced. Get the hot air balloon flight, it's the best. Underground city is also worth a visit, if you get the choice of underground city, ask for the biggest.

Kusadasi - no tours happen here, but you will be in a hotel in the city. It's a resort city and it's absolutely charming. Plenty of good food and good drink. There's a number of relaxed shisha bars nearby. I am huge fan of the Leila cafe a couple blocks away for shisha and sunset views. And across, there is a shopping mall, check out the brand Avva for men there, absolutely the best.

Ephesus - Wow! Just wow. If you're a history buff, especially. Blows Rome out of the water. Not even going to say more, just the best day.

Pamukkale - Wow! Again, it's an amazing site. Our tour guide was kind enough to arrange an optional parachute ride, which flies right over the ruins and the flats. The best part of the trip for me.

Tour guides change between destinations, but if you meet a Kusadasi native named Mehmet, please treat him well. He's the best!

We had a blast on this 5 day tour and found the extra day in Cappadocia worth paying for. Three days out of 5 had early pick up times (Day 1 airport transfer 4:20, Day 3 airport transfer 03:00, Day 4 Hot Air Balloon, 04:20). Hassan was our tour guide for the first two days in Pamukkale and Ephesus and was very hands on, walking with us throughout the tour whilst giving us interesting information on the sites we passed through. Usman took us around for the last two days and he gave us plenty of free time to explore the sites in Cappadocia by ourselves.

There were 6 of us in the tour group and 4 stayed in Ilayda Avantgarde whilst we stayed in Hotel Derici in Kusadasi. Our Hotel (Derici) was super old and definitely not the same value as Ilayda Avantgarde which was right next door. The sound proofing was also extremely poor and we couldn't sleep on the 2nd night until 12am as there was a live outdoor concert right outside the hotel (wakeup call set at 2:30am for airport transfer). Also, both hotels do not provide duvets and only a small blanket (towel like material) was provided on the bed. We found a wool blanket in the cupboard but it looked like it hadn't been laundered so we left it.

Lunches at the restaurants were average, and always remember to check the prices of the drinks before ordering as the price list isn't always readily available at the table. Remember to ask the tour guides where the free toilets are as some of the historical sites will charge 2-3TL for entry per person.

We were 3 generations with the youngest an 11 year old male. We all loved the experience. The sights we were taken to were the best in each area. The guides were top notch. We loved the fact that our guide in Cappadocia had actually grown up in a cave house and the experiences he was able to add. All connections to guides were and transportation were on time and easy to connect with.

Thanks to Freesia Tours for an exceptional window into the history and sites of Turkey. Mehmet and Hassan became part of the family and learning about how Turkey came to be was a fabulous world schooling opportunity for our boys. Mehmet was an encyclopedia of knowledge. Paragliding over the Terraces in Pamukkale and exploring the underground cities in Cappadocia were 2 of our favourite highlights.

This tour was very well organized and we loved every part of it! Everything was seamless - transfers were on time, hotels chosen by the agency were great and the guides gave us very good tours that helped us understand better the culture around and sights we were visiting.

I would recommend this tour and agency to anyone in need of a "fast" all-around Turkey by air trip that doesn't feel too stressy. One of the best things of this tour is that you sleep 2 nights in each hotel so it does not feel rushed or like you need to move on with your luggage every day.

Can't comment on the balloon flight as unfortunately the days we were in Cappadoccia there were strong winds and so balloon excursions were not allowed to depart. But at least you get 2 opportunities as you stay in the same hotel for 2 nights :) However, we were refunded the proportional part very fast.

Special thanks to Mehmet (the guide in Ephesus that gave us the best tour we could ask for. So detailed and interesting!), to Ali (the manager of The Capadoccia Hotel where we had the best & comfortable nights and ate the best breakfast ever) and to the TravelExperts team who made sure to keep everything comfortable for us even when the airplane companies changed our flights unexpectedly.

Highly recommend, we loved Turkey!

This trip was very special. Many attention to details by the local agent @turkeyexoeriences (freesia). From the start the pick up is in a nice, clean car and always attentive driver. Our guide @mehmetgorkbora was extremely knowledgeable, well-mannered and very friendly. He is a joy to be around. The hotel in Cappadocia was very beautiful with friendly staff and gorgeous grounds. The balloon ride was an amazing experience. Ephesus and it’s neighboring towns we’re just as beautiful! We were very impressed with the quality Of restaurants and hotels (except the one in Kusadasi), it’s a little old and needs a makeover, but it was ok. I don’t believe we would have seen all the sites in this detailed way If not die our guide, Mehmet. Thank you all for your professionalism and dedication, it shows!

We're very happy we took this tour. The service, hotels and staff were great. Everything was very well organized and punctual. Especially the guide in Cappadocia, Samet, who spoke English very well and I loved his stories. We highly recommend this tour.

Lovely trip. Everything was coordinated very well - took away all the stress of trying to decide where to go and how to get there. All the tour guides and drivers were kind and knowledgeable. Great communication about when pickup would be each day. Nice to stay 2 nights in each place instead of changing hotels every day.

Highly recommend the tour, the quality of the service is excellent, very reliable and fast comunication with lot of detailed information. Every problem we faced due to strong lockdown during our trip such flight cancelation, hotel accomodation was solved in 5 min so we felt very safe and protected . Furthermore we were upgraded for dinner and we are very thankfull as the restaurants were closed outside. The guides are very profesional and provided lot of interesting informations. Also the drivers were very profesional and sharp . We will definitelly continiue to book with Viator and their Turkish partner agency and recommend it to all our friends . Thank you for all

Things to be done better:

Day 3 was a wasted day for us - we left at 0345 only to arrive in Cappadocia at midday with nothing else on our itinerary. Could have had another nice morning at our great hotel with a delightful breakfast, but instead felt rushed to leave and wasted a whole day of touring.

However, our hosts/guides Rose and Mert made this tour sensational (see below)!

Ephesus:

Our private tour was nothing short of amazing. It happened to only be the two of us and our tour guide Rose (Gül) for the two days.

On the first day, we were brought to Pamukkale, where Rose intricately described the history of the natural phenomenon while also showing us the best picture spots. We were also given plenty of time to explore on our own.

The local lunch spot she brought us to gave us a great taste of culture, and delicious traditional dessert. The hotel we stayed at was AMAZING. Great breakfasts with lovely staff, plus good facilities. Our room was huge and super comfortable.

On the second day, Epheus was sensational. Being a lover of ancient history, Roses knowledge on ancient history was impecable and was able to answer all our curious questions. Ephesus was Rose's favourite place in Turkey and her passion and love for her culture really showed in the tour

We also got to experience the craft of pottery from a true master (one of few in the world) and witness an astounding display of art work. They even let us get our hands dirty in clay, with his guidance ofcourse.

The leather factory was good; fashion is not my area, but if you are into high end clothing you'd be in love.

Just not my thing.

House of virgin mary was special, being catholics this was a very spirtual and surreal experience for us.

The lunch on this day was a buffet - the food was pretty average compared to the day before.

Overall wonderful and our tour guide Rose deserves all the praise in the world

Capaddocia:

10/10

It was great to have a tour by not only a local but someone obsessed and passionate about his own culture and history.

We got to see so many amazing places including

Balloon rides: once in a lifetime experience of viewing cappadocia and all its beauty from the sky.

Lovevalley: Now this wasnt part of the tour, but we wanted to go watch the sunrise with the baloons, Mert the tour guide went the extra mile to take us at 5am! I also got engaged here which was unforgetable and he helped us get amazing memories by capturing the whole thing! We were very grateful.

Under ground cities: If you ask me, the ancient people of this civilisation were more talented then people of today. This was unforgettable and so cool to see how they managed to build this liveable underground city! They thought of everything: water, heating, air circulation and even animals for an alarm system!

Illara valley: Beautiful hike next to a stream, extremely peaceful and serene. The rest point provided great traditional pancakes and resting by the river which waa great to rest our feet. St George's church was unique amongst the others in the valley, with the old artwork still preserved

Jewellery store: I personally love jewellery and it was great to see and learn about the natural stone of zultanite.

Imagination valley: a beautiful view where your imagination goes wild, sort of like watching the clouds but they are rocks.

Open air museum: This was very special to us being of the catholic faith, we got to see some amazing ancient churches out in the caves and see where the ancient christians had to hide.

Uchisar castle: a beautiful view with a taste of pistachio coffee, and also enjoyed a jam session with Mert who showed off his talented guitar skills while we sang along.

Food:

Both lunches were amazing with traditional flavours and cooking, was great to be served what the locals eat and all their great flavours.

Overall: Cappadocia from every angle is beautiful, so many different layers to its unique landscape, this was a view that I had never seen before or even imagined

Tour guide: Mert was sensational, he took his time to explain all the history, he answered all our questions, went the extra mile and made it such an enjoyable trip for us both. Speaks English very well, along with knowing Russian and hopefully Spanish by the end of this year

The driver was very nice and kept us safe, never felt like we were in danger. Super professional and looks like a football player - lets see if you can guess which one :p

Overall: Love love love, could not recomend this highly enough, BOOK THIS TOUR and these tour guides!