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“Eastern Turkey & the Doğu Express: A soul-stirring adventure from mystical mountains to ancient cultures.”
This fascinating mini-trip will take you to the beautiful winter landscapes of Eastern Turkey, combined with the highlights of the area’s history, the simple rural and hard city life of the east and the most fascinating section of Turkey’s longest and most popular train journey – the Doğu Express – through unforgettable winter wonderland and, as cherry on the cake, a day in the city of Erzurum, which is seen as one large open-air museum.
Van (1) – Iğdır (1) – Kars (2) – Doğu Express (Pullman seats) – Erzurum (1)
Departure date:
February 06, 2026
Group size:
Min 10 – Max 16
PRICE:
649 euro pp in double room:
Single supplement: 145 euro
Booking fee per person: 15 €
Down payment: 200 euro p.p. + booking fee
Final payment before January 15. 2026: 449 euro (+single supplement)
Antalya Airport Meeting Point at the counter: Flight Sun Express Antalya Van
Your English speaking guide and the luxury mini or midibus will be waiting for you on arrival.
You will first enjoy the extensive and well-known Van breakfast (extra) in a restaurant directly on Lake Van.
After breakfast we drive to Gevaş for a wonderful boat trip of about half an hour on the large Van Lake to the island of Akdamar.
Akdamar or Ahtamar is the second largest island in Lake Van. The island has an area of 0.7 km² and is located about 3 kilometers from the southern coastline.
The island was once a residence of Armenian kings and an important spiritual center of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
The church building was built under King Gagik Artzruni between 915 and 921, who chose Aghdamar Island as one of his residences. The only building that dates from that period is the cathedral. Later, until 1915, the cathedral was part of a monastic complex, the remains of which can still be seen south of the church.
Between 1116 and 1895, the island was the seat of the Armenian Catholicos of Aghdamar. The last Catholicos of Aghdamar died in 1895.
After the island of Akdamar you will visit the magisterial Van fortress or Tuşpa fortress, the oldest part of which dates from the 9th century BC. stems.
Van used to be part of the kingdom of Urartu or the kingdom of Ararat. The capital was Tuspa (Tushpa), the old ruins of Tushpa with the Van castle can be visited. The specialty of the Urarteans was goldsmiths, their forging of gold, silver and bronze was exported.
Van Kalesi, the castle of Van is an Urartese citadel (fortification). The rock is almost two kilometers long and one hundred meters high. There are foundations of an Urartese temple, tombs of Urartese kings and the remains of an Ottoman castle.
Also visit the interesting archaeological museum of Van with the largest collection of Urartian artworks in the world.
Overnight stay in Van
After enjoying breakfast at the hotel, you will leave Van and the first visit will be to the cat villa for the Van cats. The University of Van conducts research and has a breeding program to keep the cat breed pure and to check the health and character of the cats. These often have 2 different colored eyes and love to swim. Then on to the (semi) frozen waterfall Muradiye. In winter an icicle castle where you can take beautiful pictures.
We follow the Armenian border with views over the biblical Ararat mountain – the highest mountain in Turkey – and visit the stately Kurdish Ishak Paşa palace. Ishak Pasha Palace on the Silk Road near the Iranian border, is located on a high and expansive platform of strategic importance on an area of 7600 square meters. It is not in the Ottoman tradition at all, but rather is a mixture of Anatolian, Iranian and Northern Mesopotamian architectural tradition.
Overnight in Iğdır.
After you have left the hotel, the first visit will be the fascinating salt caves of Tuzluca. A beauty of a cave where special light effects are sparkling on the salt crystals and is a health center for asthma patients. Then further to one of the highlights of this tour. Visit to the Armenian ruined capital city of Ani, the city of 1001 churches located on the Armenian border and listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Here we’ll have an extensive walk along cathedrals, churches, a mosque and the citywalls. In the afternoon we’ll leave to Çıldır Lake. The photogenic Çıldır Lake with opportunities to take a short horse-drawn sleigh ride across the frozen lake, see fishermen catching fish from beneath the ice surface, dancing on the ice and free time to capture unforgettable pictures on and around the lake.
Overnight stay in Kars
After breakfast at the hotel you will visit the Caucasian War Museum. A war against the Russians where tens of thousands of soldiers died, not from fighting, but from the extreme cold. The soldiers were not dressed for these extreme temperatures and were equipped with summer uniforms. Then on to Sarıkamış ski resort with a visit to the hero monument, an outside view of Tsarin Katharina’s hunting lodge, the ski resort (if you want, you can ski or snowboarding) and the Sarıkamış spruce forest. Then on to Kars for a city tour with views over the castle of Kars, the Church of the 12 Apostles now the contemporary Fethiye mosque, the stone bridge and panoramas of the Russian stone houses such as the town hall, the health care directorate, the tax office and the house by the poet Namık Kemal.
Overnight in Kars.
Optional: traditional evening with traditional food, folklore dance.
After early breakfast, transfer to the train station for the unforgettable train journey with the panoramic doğu express to Erzurum. Your tour guide will take you to the reserved pullman seat. You do a 5-hour journey through an unforgettable winter landscape and is the most beautiful part of the Doğu Express journey. You will be amazed by the variety of landscapes.
After lunch you will take an unforgettable city walk through the historic part of Erzurum. This will lead you to the old quarter with historic houses, the Çifte minareli medresse, the Ulu mosque, the Yakutiye medresse, the castle of Erzurum and the 3 kumbets.
Overnight stay in Erzurum
After breakfast freetime until departure to the airport
Transfer to Erzurum airport for the afternoon flight from Erzurum to Antalya.
“ETD-TRAVEL” wishes you a safe journey back and we like to welcome you again on one of our exclusive journeys.
Thank you ETD TRAVEL. It has been a fabulous trip. Yusuf has been fantastic, knowledgeable and always helpful and Nejat is an excellent driver
Thank you Yusuf and Nejat for the wonderful, new and exciting impressions that I was able to gain through your work together.
I will remember this trip for a long time.
Best wishes for you two. Marie
Thank you, Harold for organizing such a wonderful trip for us. Yusuf and Nejat once again showed us around wonderfully Places. Jusuf knows his way around very well and I’m already looking forward to my next trip in May, Everything was wonderful and very interesting.
Karin 🙏
What a wonderful place!!!
It was marvellous and amazing. We were a small and nice group.
Well wow and did you know that parts of Turkey can be flipping cold?
I yet again thoroughly enjoyed this trip organised by ETD (I’m a fan now). We flew from Antalya to Van where on arrival we enjoyed a Van breakfast next to the lake followed by a trip on the lake to Akdamar island and the Cathedral there and our first encounter with walking on the snow. Fortunately I like a challenge and had come prepared with suitable clothing.
As we journeyed the weather became colder! We journeyed on through snow and snow clad mountains every day, even seeing Mount Ararat. We visited: Iğdır, Kars, and Erzurum. Travelling to the latter on the Doğu Express Train (very modern and comfortable). As we left Erzurum the temperature was minus 23 degrees. The roads were well negotiated by our young driver Ahmet who negotiated the roads extremely well.
There was a great deal of walking that I mastered (if you know me and my health issues with my wondrous SLE. I was surprised at time that I managed it) with a little help and laughter from the rest of the group but chiefly with our English speaking guide Hüseyin whose knowledge of Turkish history and his English and sense of humour (especially when I was locked in two different Turkish toilets on two days!) are second to none.
Highlights for me, aside from Akdamar when the skies were a clear blue, were: the salt caves of Tuzluca, where special light effects highlight the salt crystals, the Armenian ruined capital city of Ani, the city of 1001 churches located on the Armenian border and listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List that was snow covered and with the stillness of a Scottish moor. I also found the Kars Military History Museum of the Caucasus Front fascinating (note I am a pacifist), it is dedicated to one specific war when 90.000 soldiers were needlessly killed in a futile war. Particularly poignant is the ‘Martyrs Row’. Original cloth summer shoes that the soldiers were wearing in the snow and freezing temperatures displayed with a series of mirrors. A true museum on the futility of war. (More info here http://turkeyswar.com/campaigns/caucasus/).
All of that aside the scenery is breathtaking on the Doğu Express Train you will see miles and miles of snow capped mountains and passengers disembarking in a snow drift (not in Erzurum where we left the train).
Included in the price were all hotels and breakfast (aside from the Van breakfast on the first day), all trips (not museums, those are either payable of using the Turkish Museum card) and return flights. I and others flew back from Erzurum to Dalaman via Istanbul, the rest of the group to Antalya via Istanbul.