3-Day Cappadocia and Ephesus Tour from Istanbul with Flights

We booked for 3 days with 2 nights package with air Baloon with insider travel . The highlight of the tour is the tour guide Ali . He went beyond the duty of care to provide all the historical , geological and due diligance in providing accurate information to all the members in the tour. The experience was awesome all together . The plan was spot on. Lunch was awesome and level of care provided was spectacular. The tour guide paid special attention to all the members with young babies or with elderly. He would help the parents with young babies.

We had a great time on this three day side trip. The sites and guides were fantastic. The hotel in Cappadocia was beautiful and unique. The balloon trip was worth the extra money. The tour in Ephesus had just the right mix of religious and historical sites. The ruins at Ephesus were just mind blowing. I highly recommend this trip. HOWEVER, every transfer had an issue. 1) our original pick up time at the hotel was 5:15 am and we were told we had to be on the European side. When we reconfirmed, we were told it was changed to 4 am since the airport was on the other (Asian) side. And the driver arrived over half an hour late. 2) When we got to Kayseri, there was no one to pick us up. We called the tour provider but they weren't open and their "urgent" number didn't work (not their fault, I didn't know how to dial with Turkish phone extensions). We had to wait for the office to open and then they finally sent a car. Over an hour wait outside in the freezing cold (you can't go back in the airport after you leave the baggage area). 3) The tour ended at 5 pm in Cappadocia on Day 2 but our shuttle was scheduled for 7:30pm. We had to just wait in the smoky office for the two hours since it was not close to anything else to see or do. 4) When arriving at Izmir (for the Ephesus portion), Guess What??? No one was there to pick us up. Since it was a little after midnight, the tour office was closed but I was able to get a hold of someone at the "urgent" number and after 4 calls, someone came to get us and take us to the hotel. And just to make things interesting, the tour office has misspelled my husband's name so we had to get all three tickets reissued en route. Even with all of that, it was a great trip. They start tours every day so the group had some who were on day one mixed in with some on day 2. We had a lot of fun and met some great people. The tour guide in Ephesus (Erman) was one of the most knowledgeable I have ever encountered outside of a museum. The food was all good (except the late night "sandwich" at the hotel in Izmir. While most of the meals were included, drinks, even a bottle of water or soft drink, was often extra. Take some liras. :-) There were side trips to a rug factory, a pottery maker and a jewelry factory. They were very educational. They do try to sell you their wares but there is no pressure and the vendors are really hospitable.

This was my favorite tour I have ever done with VIATOR! I can not express how truly amazing this was and our guides were the absolute best! We even celebrated my Birthday at a restaurant in Cappadocia which was a complete surprise! This tour is a MUST!!!!!!! If you do not reserve this you are missing out on one of the most beautiful places in the world!