Ancient History Tours in Turkey: The 15 Worth Booking

1.Ancient Perge, Aspendos Theater & City of Side Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 1,237 reviews · 9 hours · from $41Our pick

Explore Perge, Aspendos Theater, and Side from Antalya with lunch, hotel pickup, expert guides, and excellent value at $41.

“Very good trip and great guide, but extremely impressed by the company and customer service. I was given an updated wrong time the day before, so we missed the bus, and they got us a taxi and reimbursed the money on the same day on the trip. Extremely professional and great customer service would highly recommend”

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2.Ancient Perge, Aspendos Amphitheater and City of Side Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 644 reviews · 10 hours (approx.) · from $42Top rated

Review of Antalya’s Perge, Aspendos, Side, and Apollo Temple tour, with practical advice on sights, value, timing, transport, and comfort.

“The lectures by our guide who shared his vast knowledge with us. He very passionate regarding the history that many of us have not heard before.”

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3.Day Tour of Ancient Roman Sites

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 278 reviews · 9 hours · from $89

Explore Perge, Aspendos, Side, and Manavgat Waterfall from Antalya on a 9-hour guided tour with lunch, transport, and entry fees.

“Fatima the lady driver and Kerem our guide were both very competent, friendly and informative. would highly recommend for a great experience”

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4.From Izmir: Guided Tour of the Ancient City of Ephesus

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 205 reviews · 9 hours · from $117

Review of the 9-hour Ephesus tour from Izmir, covering transport, ruins, lunch, optional sites, guides, costs, and practical booking advice.

“Our tour of Ephesus with Erman was absolutely fantastic! From start to finish, everything was well-organized and exceeded our expectations. The van was super comfortable, and the pick-up was right on time. The drive to Ephesus was smooth, allowing us to relax and enjoy the scenic views. Erman is an incredibly knowledgeable and passionate guide. His deep understanding of history brought the ancient city to life, making every stop along the way engaging and informative. While the tour was conducted in English, Erman mentioned that he is willing to offer tours in other languages in the future if needed, which is a great option for visitors from different backgrounds. Another…”

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5.Fire of Anatolia Dance Show at Ancient Aspendos Theater

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 198 reviews · 3 - 8 hours · from $64

Review of Fire of Anatolia at Ancient Aspendos Theater, with show details, transport advice, seating tips, price value, and booking guidance.

“Prompt communication, easy booking. theater/ruins were beatiful and show was fantasticprom”

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6.Hiking in Termessos Ancient City

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 152 reviews · 4 hours · from $62

Review of Antalya’s Termessos hike: a small-group mountain tour with ruins, sweeping views, expert guide Onder, and practical tips.

“The tour was beautiful and the theatre in particular was unbelievably scenic. Our guide Onder was excellent. He was really knowledgeable on the ancient city itself as well as rich Turkish history. Onder is incredibly friendly and went above and beyond for us, giving us great advice on our stay in Antalya and beyond. This was certainly a major highlight in our entire Turkish holiday. Thank you Onder.”

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7.City of Side: Eagle Canyon and Selge Ancient City Day Trip

★★★★★★★★★★4.1 · 124 reviews · 8 hours · from $45

Review of the $45 Side day trip to Selge and Eagle Canyon, with Roman ruins, river lunch, mountain views, practical tips, and honest drawbacks.

“I wouldn’t recommend this trip. We were picked up and at the first stop we were placed at a table and told to wait. We kept asking what we were waiting for and how long and they just kept saying 5-10 min. It ended up being an hour which was obviously intended since we were apparently waiting for a group to finish their rafting activity. No one told us and it wasn’t mentioned anywhere. The car ride up the mountain has insanely loud music which was fun on the way there , on the way home I wouldn’t have minded if it wasn’t there anymore. The guide tried to shout…”

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8.City of Side: Green Canyon, Waterfall, Ancient City Mix Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 109 reviews · 7 - 8 hours · from $32

Review of Side’s Green Canyon tour, with Green Lake boating, Oymapinar Dam, Lyrbe Agora, lunch, swimming, and optional waterfall stops.

“Excellent trip. Loved boat ride and plenty of stops. Guide was very good and attentive but unfortunately did not speak good English but did try to .are up for it by giving us transcrip commentary on his phone.”

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9.Antalya Eagle Canyon Tour With Rafting OR Selge Ancient City

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 79 reviews · 8 to 10 hours (approx.) · from $35

Review of Antalya’s Eagle Canyon tour with rafting or Selge, including transport, lunch, costs, timing, and practical booking advice.

“Low rating reasons: 1. The tour does not take you to Eagle canyon, the pictures used about Eagle canyon are false. The tour only includes rafting. Disappointing. 2. The tour started at 8:20 for me, however we did not reach the rafting destination until 12:45 pm. 4 hrs just in bus which was very small and cramped up seats not suitable for someone who is 6ft in height. On top of that the bus window glasses are dark red making it claustrophobic with bare minimum view of the outside. 3. Poor route mapping: the bus spent 4 hrs for a route that can be covered in 1hr 30 mins just…”

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10.Alanya: Ancient Ruins & Hidden Coves of Gazipaşa w/ Cave

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 63 reviews · 9 hours · from $53

Explore Syedra and Aytap, swim at Delik Deniz, visit a cave, and enjoy lunch on a full-day history and coast tour from Alanya.

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11.Exploring Ancient Wonders and Natural Beauty in Turkey

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 62 reviews · 8 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $100

Review of the Alanya tour to Side, Aspendos, and Kurşunlu Waterfall, with lunch, hotel pickup, costs, timing, and practical booking advice.

“Essential parts of the tour were excellent (Side, Aspendos, Waterfall). Personal tour with very good guide and excellent driver. Turkish Delight factory was good but we didn't need the jewellery showroom. Longish drive from Alanya though.”

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12.Full-Day Tour of Ancient Ruins in Ephesus from Izmir

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 43 reviews · 8 hours · from $155

Explore Ephesus, the Temple of Artemis, and Mary’s House from Izmir with lunch, transport, guide, and small-group convenience.

“With a significant other we made this booking and it proved to be very impressive. Ismail was absolutely fantastic and I will be happy to personally say thank you (missed the chanced to give it an unsolicited tip). Well, Izmir, perhaps not again but will recommend this to any friend.”

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13.Roman Ancient Sites & Manavgat Waterfall Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 38 reviews · 9 hours · from $77

Review of Antalya’s Perge, Aspendos, Side, and waterfall tour, with practical advice on sights, lunch, entrance fees, guides, and value.

“Everything was perfect about the tour and the guide. He knew a lot about the locations we visited and was very kind with the group. I would gladly book again with him in the future.”

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14.Full-Day Tour of Kursunlu Waterfalls, Aspendos, and Ancient Ruins of Side From Alanya

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 37 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $66

Review of Alanya’s full-day tour to Aspendos, Kursunlu Waterfalls, and Side, with lunch, hotel pickup, costs, timing, and practical advice.

“The reason I have given this tour 3 stars is mainly due to the magnificence of Aspendos. I was disappointed when we got on the coach to be informed we were not going to Kursunlu but to Mangavet falls as these are not really water falls with any height and more a river side coffee stop.. I believe that as we travelled later in the season the tour company mixed and matched different tours sold at different hotels. As we had purchased this tour online we were clear on what schedule we had been promised. That aside our tour guide was knowledgeable and the tour was fine. I would however…”

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15.Ephesus Ancient City Highlight Tour For Cruisers

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 35 reviews · 4 - 4.5 hours · from $22Best value

Review of the $22 Ephesus cruise-port tour, including Ephesus, Virgin Mary’s House, Artemis Temple, guides, costs, and practical tips.

“Great tour to Efeses and Maria’s house. Great detailed explanation from our knowledgeable guide Kaya. Would strongly recommend it !”

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