Turkey, Egypt & Greece Tour

On day two, start your day with a visit to the famous Hagia Sophia basilica, followed by a tour of the Sultan Ahmet Mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque. Explore the ancient Hippodrome and the Grand Bazaar before enjoying lunch. After lunch, visit Topkapi Palace, the center of the Ottoman Empire. Return to the hotel for overnight in Istanbul.

Start the day with a visit to the Dolmabahce Palace, followed by a trip over the Intercontinental Bosphorus Bridge to Camlica Hill. Afterward, tour the Golden Horn and see the 21km long City Walls of Istanbul. Enjoy the beautiful view from the cable car as you climb the hill to the café named after the famous French writer Pierre Loti. Then, take a cruise along the Bosphorus and enjoy lunch on the boat. Return to the hotel for overnight in Istanbul.

After breakfast, transfer to Istanbul Airport for the early morning flight to Kayseri. Upon arrival, transfer to Cappadocia and start your day with a gentle hike through orchards and unusual volcanic rock formations. Visit the old Christian Village of Cavusin, followed by a lunch break and an excursion to Pigeon Valley. Continue to the Goreme Open-Air Museum and Uchisar for a panoramic view of the landscape. Overnight in Cappadocia.

On Day 5, you can take an optional Hot Air Balloon Tour for a unique view of Cappadocia. After the tour, return to the hotel for breakfast. Then, proceed to Rose Valley to see the first inhabited rock-cut houses, and visit the Church of St. John the Baptist for a panoramic view of the village. After lunch, visit Kaymakli Underground City, the widest underground city in Cappadocia, and Ortahisar with its Castle of Ortahisar. Overnight stay in Göreme.

After breakfast, transfer to Kayseri Airport for a flight to Izmir. Visit the Ancient City of Ephesus, one of the best-preserved Greco-Roman cities in the world. Located in modern-day Turkey, it was an important center of trade and culture in the ancient world, with a history dating back to the 10th century BC. We will visit the Ephesus Open Air Museum, the House of the Virgin Mary, and the remains of the Artemis Temple. Then, transfer to Kuşadası to check in at the hotel for a free evening of leisure. Overnight stay in Kusadasi.

Hotel check-out and transfer to Izmir Airport for departure flight to Cairo via Istanbul. Upon arrival, transfer to the hotel and an overnight stay in Cairo.

We start the day in Cairo, one of the most thriving modern societies and most historical, with a tour to the Egyptian Museum located in Tahrir Square. This museum contains many important pieces of ancient Egyptian history and houses the world's largest collection of Pharaonic antiquities, and many treasures of King Tutankhamen. We stop for lunch before continuing onto the Citadel of Saladin, a medieval Islamic fortification on Mokattam hill near the center of Cairo. Lastly, we stop by the Khan El Khalili Bazaar to visit its numerous shops, restaurants, coffeehouses, and vendors. Finally, we are transferred back to the hotel and overnight stay in Cairo.

On this day we take a scenic drive to the ancient city of Memphis located 20 kilometers/12 miles south of Cairo, on the west bank of the Nile River. Memphis was the capital of Ancient Egypt for over 8 consecutive dynasties during the Old Kingdom. Here we visit Saqqara, a vast ancient burial ground featuring numerous pyramids, including the world-famous Step Pyramid. We stop for lunch and continue on to see the Sphinx of Giza, the largest monolith statue in the world, and the Great Pyramid, the oldest of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. We end the day with a drive back to Cairo and overnight stay.

After hotel check-out and transfer to the airport, we take a 1.2-hour flight to Aswan, located in the south and one of Egypt's hottest and driest inhabited cities. Upon arrival, we are transferred to a luxury cruise ship to begin the journey on the Nile. An optional tour to the Abu Simbel temples is also available. Overnight stay in Aswan.

Today we cruise along the Nile River from Aswan to the town of Kom Ombo, famous for the Temple of Kom Ombo. Next, we sail to Edfu city to visit the Temple of Horus, one of the most completely preserved temples in Egypt. Our last stop of the day is Luxor city for an overnight stay.

The day begins with a tour of the West Bank, including the Valley of the Kings, where tombs were constructed for Pharaohs and powerful nobles over nearly 500 years. We also visit the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir el Bahari. After lunch, we cross the Nile to visit the Karnak Temple, the largest ancient religious site in the world, and continue to the Luxor Temple. We end the day with a transfer back to our cruise ship for dinner and overnight stay in Luxor.

After an early breakfast and disembarkation from the cruise ship, we are transferred to Luxor International Airport for a flight to Athens via Cairo. Upon arrival in Athens, we are met by our local guide and transferred to our hotel. Overnight stay in Athens.

Today we embark on a guided city tour of Athens, starting with the famous Acropolis, including the Parthenon. We continue to the Temple of Olympian Zeus and the Ancient Agora. After lunch, we visit the Panathenaic Stadium, site of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, and the National Archaeological Museum. Overnight stay in Athens.

Enjoy a journey northwest to Delphi, considered the center of the earth and the universe in the classical Greek world. Visit the archaeological site and the Temple of Apollo. In the afternoon, depart through Central Greece via Lamia and Trikala, crossing the Thessalian plain to Kalambaka, a small town at the foot of the Meteora rock formations. Overnight in Kalambaka.

Travel to the nearby UNESCO-listed Meteora for a tour of the cliff-top monasteries, visiting two impressive Byzantine monasteries built on top of rock towers. Return to Athens, passing the heroic monument of Leonidas, king of Sparta, in Thermopylae. Overnight in Athens.

On this half-day tour, drive along the coastal cliffs and beaches to Cape Sounion to see the remains of the Temple of Poseidon, perched high on the sea cliffs and dating back to 444 BC. Overnight in Athens.

After hotel check-out, there is a transfer available to Athens airport for the departure flight.