Great Italy & Greece & Balkan Tour - Departing from Istanbul
Big Italy & Greece & Balkans Tour by Bus
Sofia – Belgrade – Ljubljana – Verona – Milan – Venice – Florence – Pisa - Siena – Rome – Pompeii – Igoumenitsa – Thessaloniki
7 Nights – 9 Days
Day 1 Istanbul
On the first day of our tour, departure at 22:00 from Kadıköy Marriage Office, at 22:30 from in front of Mecidiyeköy Oto Ekspertiz, and at 23:00 from in front of İncirli Ömür Plaza, then arrival at Kapıkule via Edirne.
Day 2 Sofia - Belgrade
After customs and passport procedures, entry into Bulgaria. Then arrival in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Following arrival, a panoramic city tour of Sofia will be organized. On our tour, St. Nedelya Church, Rotonda Church, Russian Church, Hagia Sofia Church, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, the Prime Ministry, Parliament, Sofia University, and Banya Bashi Mosque are among the places to be seen. After our Sofia tour, departure towards Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. Upon arrival, transfer to our hotel. Overnight at our hotel.
Day 3 Belgrade - Venice
After breakfast, check out of the rooms and depart for Venice. Guests who wish may visit Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia and winner of the 2016 European Green Capital award, which will be arranged as an extra by your guide along our route (Extra 45 € ). On our panoramic city tour, the Ljubljana River, Parliament building, Ljubljana University, Old Square, Dragon Statue, Dragon Bridge, Tivoli Park, St. Nicholas Cathedral, and Preseren Square are included. Departing the city, arrival in Venice and transfer to our hotel. Overnight at our hotel.
Day 4 Venice - Milan - Verona
After breakfast, free time. We are organizing a full-day Extra Milan & Verona tour (95 €), which will be arranged as an extra by your guide, for guests who wish to join. First, we arrive in Verona, where Italy’s marble is found and where the world’s most famous love story, Romeo and Juliet’s house, is also located. We will have the opportunity to see the old city, the Historic Arena where concerts are still held today, the Senator’s Palace, and Brave-Dante and Erbe Squares. Leaving Verona, we head to the city center of Milan, the city of industry and fashion. On our Milan city tour, we walk along the city’s elegant streets and arrive at the famous Duomo Square. In the square, we see the Duomo Cathedral, one of Italy’s most important and architecturally magnificent works. We complete our time in Milan by shopping at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele arcade and the famous Buenos Aires Boulevard. Departure to Venice and arrival. Accommodation at our hotel.
Day 5 Venice – Florence
After breakfast, departure to the Venice city center. Upon our arrival in Venice, we head on foot toward St. Mark’s Square to get to know Venice. If our guests approve, we arrive at the historic St. Mark’s Square with private vaporetto boats (15 EUR). The square, St. Mark’s Cathedral, Doge’s Palace, the Grand Canal, and Rialto Bridge are among the places to be seen accompanied by our guide. Guests who wish may join the extra Gondola tour (45 EUR) organized by your guide. By taking part in the canal tour by gondola, we get the chance to explore the romantic and historic canals in more detail from the water. After our Venice visit, we depart for Florence. Guests who wish may join the Pisa tour. (55 EUR) The Leaning Tower, which the Etruscans left in our minds, along with Campo dei Miracoli (Duomo Square) and the cylindrical Baptistery are among the places we will see in Pisa. Transfer to our hotel. Overnight at our hotel.
Day 6 Florence – Rome
After breakfast and check-out of the rooms, upon arrival in the city, we carry out the Florence city tour. On this tour, the Arno River, Ponte Vecchio Bridge, Uffizi Art Gallery, Baptistery of San Giovanni Battista, Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral, and Signoria Palace are among the places to be seen panoramically. After the tour, free time in the city center allows our guests to spend time getting to know the city more closely and shopping. After our tour, we depart for Rome. Guests who wish may join the extra Siena tour, an important historical city of the Tuscany region. While walking through the historic medieval streets left from the Etruscans, we will take a journey from the present to the past. We will see Siena Square and examples of Gothic Roman architecture (65 EUR). Transfer to our hotel, room distribution, and overnight at our hotel.
Day 7 Rome
After breakfast, we carry out the Rome City Introductory Tour. Among the places to be seen are Vatican, accepted as the center of Christianity, St. Peter’s Cathedral, and Venice Square, designed by the famous architect Bernini. Afterwards, there are the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Trajan’s Forum, Circo Massimo racetrack, Venice Square where Mussolini addressed the public, Vittoriano Victory Monument, Fountain of Love {Fontana di Trevi}, and the Spanish Steps {Piazza di Spagna}. Free time in the city. Overnight at your hotel. After resting for a while, with guests who wish, we carry out the extra Rome Under the Lights (By Night) Evening Tour (Extra 45 EUR) organized by your guide. On our tour, we will have the opportunity to capture Rome under the lights from Lovers’ Hill, the highest hill in Rome, and then Navona Square, the Pantheon, Colosseum, Via Del Corso, and Piazza Del Popolo are the places we will see under the evening lights. Overnight at our hotel.
Day 8 Rome – Brindisi (Bari)
After breakfast, departure to Bari or Brindisi, the port city of Italy. We will have the opportunity to visit the Ancient City of Pompeii at a discounted price (Extra 80 EUR) along our route, arranged by your guide. On this tour, in Pompeii, one of the few ancient cities built on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius and preserved in a way that best reflects its ancient state to this day, shops turned into ruins due to the volcanic eruption, houses where villagers lived, the amphitheater, and the city square will be seen. After the tour, departure to the port, completion of customs procedures, transfer to the seats reserved for our group, and departure at 23:30. Our night will be spent on the ferry journey.
Day 9 Igoumenitsa – Thessaloniki – Istanbul
In the morning, after our arrival at Igoumenitsa Port, we head to Thessaloniki. Then Thessaloniki City Tour. During our city tour, the promenade, White Tower, Rotating Tower, Fair Square, Ottoman and Byzantine monuments, Hagia Dimitrios Cathedral, the largest cathedral in Greece, and the Statue of Alexander the Great are among the places to be seen. At the very end of our tour, we visit the house of Atatürk, the Great Leader. After a short rest break, we take a walk along the promenade, famous for its cafés, in Thessaloniki, and taste Greece’s famous coffee, frappe, in the cafés. Free time after the city tour. Meeting at the time specified by our guide and arrival at Ipsala via İskeçe, Gümülcine, and Dedeağaç. After customs procedures, we arrive in Istanbul via Tekirdağ. Our tour ends. We hope to see you in another tour organization. (Depending on customs crossings, the estimated arrival time is around 02:30 the next day.)
What's Included
✅ Transportation service by bus between Istanbul – Sofia – Belgrade – Venice – Florence – Rome – Bari – Igoumenitsa – Thessaloniki
✅ City tours to be conducted in Rome – Florence - Venice – Thessaloniki – Belgrade - Sofia
✅ 1 Night Bed and Breakfast accommodation in a 3* or 4* hotel in Belgrade
✅ 2 Nights Bed and Breakfast accommodation in a 3* or 4* hotel in Venice (surroundings)
✅ 1 Night Bed and Breakfast accommodation in a 3* or 4* hotel in Florence (surroundings)
✅ 2 Nights Bed and Breakfast accommodation in a 3* or 4* hotel in Rome
✅ Ferry journey between Bari (Brindisi) - Igoumenitsa
✅ Professional Turkish-speaking guidance services
✅ Limited water service on board the vehicle
✅ All highway checkpoint and parking fees
✅ Customs duties
Not Included
❌ Visa fee and service charge (Multiple-entry Schengen Visa)
❌ Exit tax
❌ Travel health insurance
❌ Extra tours
❌ City accommodation taxes, Italy headset service, Venice entrance fee (50 EUR per person, paid to the guide during the tour)
❌ Museum, archaeological site, etc. entrance fees
❌ Lunch and dinner
❌ Extra tours organized by the guide
❌ All personal expenses
❌ Optional driver tips
INFORMATION
For shopping and spending in all countries included in the program during the tour, it is sufficient to have Euros with us. In regions where the local currency is used, the guide will assist with currency exchange.
During the tour, comfortable walking shoes or sneakers should be preferred. It is advisable to bring a cardigan, etc. for the evening.
On our tours, a daily rotation (seat change) is applied in seat planning, and fixed seats or front-seat guarantees are not given. Seat changes are organized by the vehicle guide.
When entering Turkey from abroad, there is a requirement of at least 3 days of accommodation in order to bring goods (alcohol, cigarettes, etc.).
When entering Turkey from abroad, the free shop shopping limit is: Cigarettes: 3 cartons, Alcoholic Beverages: 1 liter of alcoholic beverage (alcoholic beverages containing more than 22% alcohol, excluding wine and champagne), Alcoholic Beverages: 2 liters of alcoholic beverage (alcoholic beverages containing less than 22% alcohol, including wine and champagne), Perfume: 600 ml, Makeup or Skin Care Products: 5 items, Chocolate and Confectionery: 2 kg, Coffee: 1 kg, Tea: 1 kg
In the tour program, guides may make changes to the flow of the program depending on weather and road conditions, provided that they show every place specified in the program.
Our tour program is organized with a minimum participation requirement of 25 people. If sufficient participation is not achieved for the trip, the final cancellation notification date is 20 days before the tour departure. The cancelled tour due to insufficient participation will be announced by Lidya Tour.
In cases where only category information is provided in the tour program without specifying a name and/or where there are options for the same destination, the hotel(s) will be announced 2 days before the departure of the tour.
During periods such as fairs, congresses, concerts, events, sports tournaments, etc., hotels may be used at distances greater than the specified km’s. In such a case, information will be provided 15 days before the departure date of the tour
Triple rooms are provided subject to hotel availability, and in such rooms the bed allocated to the 3rd person is smaller than standard beds. Triple rooms consist of 1 large bed + 1 extra bed. Since extra beds are composed of foldable beds and coach beds, tour participants are deemed to have declared that they accept the possible congestion in the rooms and the bed type in 3rd person and/or child reservations. Child discounts are valid only for one child staying with 2 adults - in the applicable age group.
Breakfasts included in the services of the tour program and taken at the hotel are served in accordance with the breakfast culture of the country visited, and generally with a limited menu called continental breakfast consisting of butter, jam, bread, tea or coffee, and may be served in a separate hall allocated to the group for groups.
Panoramic city tours included in the tour package are tours organized for the general introduction of cities, lasting at most 2-3 hours, conducted panoramically from inside the vehicle with guide narration, excluding museum and archaeological site entrances. Panoramic tours, including the other tours stated in the program, are not the responsibility of Lidya Tour if they cannot be carried out on the day and time of the tour due to weather conditions, or if they cannot take place because local authorities do not allow visits or entry, or due to closed roads because of any event. Some tours may, where possible, be conducted by public transport or on foot at points where roads are closed or vehicle entry is not permitted.
During travel, waiting times at customs gates crossed by road may exceed standards, and Lidya Tour cannot be held responsible for any negative situations arising from these waiting times.
Extra tours are organized with a minimum participation requirement of 20 people. If the required number is not reached, the excursions cannot be carried out, or the prices, content, and vehicles to be used for extra excursions may vary according to the number of participants. In addition, the days and times of the tours may be changed by the guide depending on the opening/closing status of museums and archaeological sites in the places to be visited and weather conditions.
Participation in extra tours is optional and not mandatory. Passengers who do not wish to participate in extra tours organized during the tour are deemed to have accepted waiting at a suitable rest facility along the way. These passengers are dropped off at a roadside rest facility before the extra tour starts and are picked up from the point where they were left after the tour is completed.
For people participating in tours by plane, the required check-in and boarding procedures are personal procedures and must be completed by the guest before the flight at the relevant airline counters at the airports or online on the airlines’ websites.
Lidya Tour is not responsible for the failure of persons who are not present at the specified airport at the announced times for participation in the tour, who do not complete their check-in and boarding procedures on time, or who complete their check-in and boarding procedures on time but do not board the plane. The new round-trip plane tickets required for those who miss the plane in order to join the tour, and all expenses arising from their transfers in the region to be visited, are their responsibility.
There may be a risk of delay in scheduled and special flights, or the times may change before the current trip and flight. Lidya Tour is obliged to notify these changes as soon as possible. The passenger has purchased the trip accepting the risk of schedule changes. Children aged 0-2 do not pay airport tax and airport service fee.
The types of vehicles used in our tours are classified as follows according to the number of people. The vehicle types below are assigned according to the number of people in each of our tours.
Buses: (Used for 25 - 46 people) *Mercedes Travego/Tourismo *NEOPLAN Cityliner/Tourliner -*Temsa Safir/Maraton *Man Fortuna
Midibuses: (Used for 17 - 24 people) *Isuzu Turkuaz , *Otokar Mega
Minibuses: (Used for up to 16 people) *Vw Volt , *Mercedes Sprinter
All guests are deemed to have sold the tour by accepting the above-mentioned items.
- Book Now & Pay Later. · Make your reservation now, pay anytime before the tour starts.