Enjoy the magnificent views in a private sleeping car…

-Departure by plane - return by train-

Our Kars tour adventures begin with the Touristic Doğu Express, accompanied by wonderful views and the comfort of a sleeping car. We combine the newly launched Touristic Doğu Express journey, which offers a comfortable journey and the opportunity to visit many different points on the road, with the fairytale places to visit in Kars. In this adventure decorated with snowy landscapes, a holiday that you will never forget throughout your life and that you will talk about fondly in friendly conversations awaits you…

TOUR PROGRAM

DAY 1: MARMARİS-İZMİR TRANSFER, İZMİR-KARS FLIGHT, SARIKAMIŞ- MARTYRS MONUMENT-SKI CENTER- HOTEL

We meet with our valued guests at Eşref Girginç Park at 04:00 on Monday, February 24th and set off to catch the 09:55 SunExpress XQ9114 İzmir-Kars flight. After our approximately two and a half hour journey, we reach Kars Airport. After landing in Kars, we start our trips with our vehicle waiting for us. First, we set off towards Sarıkamış. First, we visit the Sarıkamış Martyrs Memorial and experience emotional moments here. After listening to the story of the Sarıkamış Operation, one of the most sorrowful stories in Kars' deep-rooted history, and visiting the monument, we arrive at Sarıkamış city center. We see the Sarıkamış Catherine Hunting Lodge, a mansion built in the Baltic architectural style by the Russian Tsar Nicholas II at the end of the 19th century, made of solid wood and without using a single nail, and still preserving this feature. (Closed to visitors, we can see it from the outside) After this visit, we turn our route to Sarıkamış Ski Resort, where we will be enchanted by the magic of white. Here, we give you free time to do the activities you want, accompanied by the wonderful views of the magnificent pine forests surrounding the track. After the pleasant moments we will spend at the ski resort, we end our visits today and go to our hotel. Dinner and accommodation will be at our Kars hotel. (KARS ACCOMMODATION) ATAPARK BOUTIQUE HOTEL

NOTE: Weather conditions etc. In cases where the visit cannot be realized due to reasons such as not being able to leave, the day can be changed or a different program can be applied at the initiative of our guide. In such cases, our company cannot be held responsible for the failure of the visit.

DAY 2: ANI RUINS - FAIRY TALE ÇILDIR LAKE - LAKE TOUR WITH HORSE-DRIVED SLEIGHBORS - KARS NIGHT (LOVERS' QUOTE) HOTEL

After breakfast at our hotel, we start our day of fairy-tale visits. First, we get on our bus and set off to visit the Ani Ruins. Ani Ruins is a settlement that is even larger than the Ancient City of Ephesus in terms of the area it covers, has hosted different civilizations for about 7 centuries, has had periods when the population reached 100 thousand people, and rivaled even trade cities such as Constantinople and Baghdad in its brightest period. Although it has Armenian heritage, it is a cultural treasure that has also hosted Muslim and Pagan cultures. The places we will see here are, in order, the Gagik Church, the Church of the Apostles, the Great Cathedral, the Tigran Honents (Illustrated) Church, the Seljuk Palace and church, baths and the Ebu-i Menucehr Mosque, the first mosque built by the Turks in Anatolia. Afterwards, we will set off towards the fairy-tale lake of the region, LAKE ÇILDIR, at an altitude of 1959 meters. In this extraordinary geography, where you will feel like you are in a documentary, it is even possible to fish by breaking the ice like the Eskimos do. In Lake Çıldır, which freezes to a thickness of approximately 80 centimeters and turns into a hypnotic white desert, we can either watch the beauty of the frozen lake or take a HORSE-DRIVED SLEIGE LAKE TOUR (optional extra tour) on the lake. At lunch, we will witness the deliciousness of LAKE ÇILDIR CARP at one of the famous restaurants by the lake. At the end of our fairytale ÇILDIR LAKE tour, we return to our hotel. In the evening of this beautiful day, our guests who wish can join the 'Kars Night' program with dinner, which includes a minstrel fight and local games, which our guide will organize as an extra. Afterwards, we will rest at our Kars hotel. (KARS ACCOMMODATION) ATAPARK BOUTIQUE HOTEL

NOTE: The Kars Night program depends on the availability of restaurants and the number of participants. It is organized by our guide during the tour and the day may change.

DAY 3: KARS CITY TOUR - FREE TIME - TRAIN JOURNEY PREPARATIONS - TOURISTIC EASTERN EXPRESS TRAIN JOURNEY

After breakfast, we complete our hotel check-out procedures and leave. Kars Castle, Twelve Apostles Church, Alexander Nevski Church (Fethiye Mosque) will be our first stops within the scope of Kars city tour. After seeing the streets of Kars planned during the Russian occupation period and the Baltic architecture-adorned Provincial Mansion and Treasury Building built during the same period, we give you free time for lunch in the city center. Then we visit the Kars Archeology and Ethnography Museum. Then, after visiting the Caucasus Front War History Museum, we give you free time in Kars City Center during the time period determined by our guide. During this free time, we can shop at places where you can find Kars' famous kashar and other local products, and we can also make purchases that will make our sleeper train journey more enjoyable. After the free time, we meet at the time and place that our guide will inform us in advance, and excitedly board the Touristic Eastern Express train that will depart at 21:05, and begin our fairytale journey. (ACCOMMODATION TOURISTIC EASTERN EXPRESS)

DAY 4: TOURISTIC EASTERN EXPRESS TRAVEL-DIVRİĞİ-BOSTANKAYA-ANKARA

This day continues with the pleasure of the train journey and magnificent views. One of the most important innovations of the Touristic Eastern Express is that it offers long breaks on different routes along the way. The stations we will stop at on the Kars-Ankara route will be the İliç district of Erzincan, famous for its Dark Canyon, Divriği of Sivas, famous for its historical mansions, and Sivas-Bostankaya. We will have an average of 3 hours of free time to tour the region at each of these stations. During this 3-hour free time, you can join the extra tours organized by us, or you can make your own program and explore the regions. (ACCOMMODATION TOURISTIC EASTERN EXPRESS)

İLÇ-DARK CANYON TOUR: We get on our vehicle waiting for us at the Train Station and head to the 12 km long Dark Canyon, the 2nd largest canyon in the world. Depending on the weather conditions, we explore this fascinating natural beauty by boat tour or walking on the Stone Road. After completing our tour with magnificent photos, we go to Kemaliye City Center and return to our train after the free time we will give here. (Extra Tour)

DIVRİĞİ TOUR: We get on our vehicle waiting for us at the Train Station and first visit the famous historical mansions of Divriği. Then, we visit the Ulu Mosque, one of the valuable historical structures of the region, with the narration of the guide, and then we go to the bazaar. In the free time we will give on Huma Hatun Street, you can taste the local dishes or do some shopping. After completing our time here, we get on our train to continue our journey. (Extra Tour)

BOSTANKAYA-SIVAS: After getting off at the train station close to the center of Sivas, you can experience the famous flavors of Sivas in the center with the guidance of our guide in the 3-hour free time. Our guests who wish can visit the Çifte Minareli Madrasah, Buruciye Madrasah, Şifaiye Madrasah and Kale Mosque, which will be done on foot, accompanied by our guide. After completing our visits and making use of our free time, we return to our train to continue our journey. Overnight on the train.

**Additional tours require sufficient participation. Fees and details about these tours will be shared with you by our guide during the trip.

DAY 5: ARRIVAL IN ANKARA - RETURN JOURNEY TO MARMARIS

Our fairytale train journey ends in Ankara in the morning. We leave our train with beautiful memories and get on our vehicle waiting for us and set off on our return journey to Marmaris. After the breaks for food and needs on the way, we reach Marmaris in the evening. We say goodbye to you at the points we meet in Marmaris, hoping to see you in other adventures.

REGARDING EXTRA TOURS: There is a condition for sufficient participation in order for extra tours to take place. The fees and details regarding these tours will be shared with you by our guide during the trip.

GENERAL CONDITIONS / INFORMATION

** Since the touristic Eastern Express and Kars tours are limited to the train capacity, they are carried out with a maximum of 20 people and no child price is applied.

** The seating arrangement in the tour vehicle is determined by seat numbers, the seat number is automatically assigned after the first payment. If you have any concerns about seat numbers, please contact us. (Seat numbers will also be valid for the Ankara-Marmaris return trip)

**In case of single person participation, since the train compartments are for 2 people, there must be another guest participating in the same tour as a single person. Therefore, in single person participation or 3 person participation reservations, the reservation of a single person is not considered final until the matching is made. During the matching process, the two parties talk to each other and agree before the trip. Our company does not assume any responsibility if there is no other single person request for the date requested to register.

**Our guests participating in the tour with single person pricing can participate in SEPARATE rooms at the hotel and in the SAME compartment on the train. Since the compartments on the train are for 2 people, our guests who decide to participate as a single person or 3 people accept from the outset to share the same wagon on the train with another guest.

**In our plane tours that include airport and hotel transfers, seat numbers do not apply to transfer vehicles. There is no seating arrangement during transfers, our guests can sit wherever they want. There will be no seating arrangement for the Marmaris-Izmir Airport transfer.

**Our guide has the right to make changes to the program and routes, provided that all visits are made, considering the conditions that may affect the course of the trip, such as weather and road conditions.

**In the event that physical conditions make it impossible for a visit to take place (road, weather, natural disaster, etc.), our agency cannot be held responsible for the failure to take place of this visit.

**Koral Turizm cannot be held responsible for changes to flight times that will be made by the airline company later. Our guides reserve the right to make changes to the tour program due to such changes.

**Our company cannot be held responsible for any extra costs that may occur due to changes in flight times.

**The prices given are early booking period prices valid until September 10, 2024. By making a pre-booking with a deposit payment of 9750.00 TL, you will have finalized your flight and train ticket reservations.

**In case of single person participation, since the train compartments are for 2 people, there must be another guest participating in the same tour. Therefore, in single person participation or 3 person participation reservations, the reservation of a single person is not considered finalized until matching is made. During the matching process, the two parties talk to each other and reach an agreement before the trip. Our company does not accept any responsibility if there is no other single person request for the date you want to register.

Days : 5 | Nights : 4