Explore the city of Bari, famous around the world to preserve the relics of St. Nicholas of Myra, venerated as a saint by the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.
Discover its history and heritage in this 3-hour shore excursion.
St. Nicholas he became famous even outside the Christian world because his figure has given rise to the myth of Santa Claus (or Klaus), symbol of the Coca Cola Company.
Discover the Basilica of St. Nicholas, built in the twelfth century to preserve the relics of St. Nicholas of Myra, is considered one of the most beautiful examples of Romanesque architecture.
The walk will continue to the Cathedral of St. Sabino of the eleventh century until the Norman-Swabian Castle Fortress built in the twelfth century by Roger the Norman, and after the destruction by William I of Sicily, was rebuilt by Frederick II Hohenstaufen.
The tour will end with the visit of Mercantile square and the Column of Justice
Free time to buy typical local products
Our guide takes you from your hotel/seaport to visit most visited places of istanbul. To go to visiting points we use public transport/taxi or walking.
We start our tour by Hippodrome , which at one time was the center of Byzantine social and recreational life. A few parts of this spectacular site remain, including the Obelisk of Thutmose III and Serpent Column.
Near the Hippodrome is the Blue Mosque, also known as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. Its exceptional architectural design features 1 main dome, 8 secondary domes, 6 minarets, and a vast number of blue tiles – hence the name.
And from here we go the Topkapi Palace, which dates back to 1459. It served as the primary residence of the Ottoman sultans for nearly 4 centuries. In 1924, the palace was officially declared a museum.
And you will take a break and enjoy a lunch of delicious Turkish dishes
Afternoon we continu on our tour with Hagia Sophia, which served both Christianity and Islam at different times in history. When it was first built in 537, it was an Eastern Orthodox church.
In 1453, coverted to an imperial mosque. Approximately 5 centuries later, Hagia Sophia was converted into a museum.
We finalize our tour with Grand Bazaar, one of the oldest and largest covered markets in the world, comprising 61 covered streets and more than 3,000 shops offering almost anything you might need. The bazaar is a part of the walled city and was built during the years 1455-1461.
At the end of the tour we drop you back to your hotel/seaport.
We had our wonderful tour guide Miguel pick us (5 friends and myself) up at our AirBnB with no problem. There was a small mix up with the pick up time but the tour company was very quick to respond to me the night before (pretty late at night) with the correct times.
The trip is LONG tiring and TOTALLY WORTH IT! Granada and La Alhambra are the finest examples of Moorish art work anywhere in Spain!
We stopped at a lovely road side restaurant for a quick breakfast complete with cute, friendly cats to pet! Then we drove through the countryside and saw a million olive trees. Miguel answered all of our questions and was very informative along the way.
Once we arrived in Granada we got a private tour of the city and hiked up to the best view points to see La Alhambra. Afterwards we stopped in a local favorite place for traditional tapas. Miguel ordered for us so we could enjoy the finest food! It was a treat and delicious!
We were then dropped off at La Alhambra for our skip the line guided tour. So breathtaking and wonderful . words cannot describe the experience.
Miguel met us afterwards to drive us back to Seville we slept most of the way.
I recommend this company completely for a great trip and a great experience!
Dolmabahçe Palace, recent residence for Ottoman Sultans built by two Ottoman architects Karabet and Nikogos Balyan on a 110.000 m² area and served as the main administrative center
of the Ottoman Empire. Famous with great collection of European antiquity, furniture and
4.5 tons chandelier, the palace has 285 rooms and 46 halls.
Bosphorus Bridge, unique chance to step from one continent (Europe) to another (Asia) in 2 minutes.
Çamlıca Hill, famous for its widest bird’s eye panoramic view of İstanbul from Marmara Sea to the Black Sea, gives a chance to see the Bosphorus and Golden Horn from one of the best point of the highest and most appealing places of the city.
Day 1:
Early morning pick up from city center hotels and transfer to airport in Istanbul for flight to Cappadocia. Meeting at Kayseri or Nevsehir Airport and transfer to Cappadocia to meet with the group and guide.
Departure and walk through the “Fairy Chimneys” in Devrent Valley, Paşabağ (Monks’) Valley, practice pottery production with the ancient technique in Avanos. Visit to Göreme, the "open-air museum“ holding the earliest churches and chapels carved in fairy chimneys presenting finest examples of frescoes. Uçhisar Castle, the highest point in the region.
Lunch will be during the tour.
Dinner and overnight at a 4* hotel in Cappadocia
Day 2
Departure after breakfast for panoramic view of the Hospital Monastery. Walk into the “wonderland” at Kızılçukur (Red Valley) and the village of Çavuşin with rock-cut dwellings. Underground City of Kaymaklı, rock-cut city beneath the earth up to 8-9 levels where early Christians used to hide from Roman and Byzantine persecution. Explore the rock formations in Çatalkaya. A fantastic overview of the fairy chimneys from Esentepe. Pigeon Valley, greatest collection of pigeon nests in the world
Evening transfer to Kayseri or Nevsehir Airport for flight back to Istanbul. Arrive to Istanbul Airport and transfer to hotels
This was a fun trip, but it was very fast-paced. It gave a great overview of all that the UK and Ireland have to offer, but there wasn’t enough time to see very much of it in depth. It’s perfect for helping you pick out the places you want to see again in more detail. It involves a fair amount of riding around on the coach, but the route is consistently planned with carefully spaced “comfort” breaks. Some of the stops in small towns were given too much time, when there wasn’t much to do or see, and some of the stops could have been longer, when there was a lot to see or do. Our Tour Director was excellent, and so was our driver. Most of the hotels were very nice, with a few that were just OK. The included group dinners weren’t very exciting, but they were reasonable and tasty.
City sightseeing
Tour Type
Group Tour
Accommodation
Hotel
Age Range
5-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
London, Lake District, Liverpool
London, Lake District, Liverpool, Dublin, Belfast, County Donegal, Galway, Killarney, Waterford, Plymouth, York, Edinburgh, Scottish Highlands, Isle Of Skye, Glasgow
Writing reviews is just not for me, but I'm glad to be writing my first review about this amazing experience. It was such a pleasant, fun, and thrilling tour. My husband and I have a lot of appreciation for historical architecture and our guide Eugene did a fantastic job with showing us some of thee best spots to take in the beauty of Rome. He was very informative and has a great amount of interesting knowledge about the history. Very friendly and professional and overall a delightful tour guide. I was skeptical about riding a Segway, but it was actually an enjoyable way to get around for siteseeing. Eugene was patient and helped alot with being able to maneuver around the city safely.
The crew and tour leader were fantastic. There were many stops along the way for swimming. The history learned and walking through the many historic towns was illuminating.
The lower cabin is very very spacious and quiet.
