Europe Cultural, religious and historic sites Trips

We covered a lot of ground in the two weeks but the itineray was well planned and had a couple of leisurely days built into it. Our trip to Mustafa Ataturks mausoleum in Ankara was interupted by a visit by the British PM so we were unable to visit it. Despite our party of 10 being scattered to the 4 corners of the site by the security staff, Oz our guide and Atila our driver managed to get us all together again and back on track. Lots of highlights on this trip - watching 165 balloons taking off in the early morning in Cappadochia to the amazing ruins of the ancient cities of Pamukkale, Hieropolis, Aphrodisias and Ephesus. A poignant visit to Gallipoli was made on the last day on the way back to Istanbul. Their may be some who are apprehensive about the long days in the coach but the scenery is amazing and the quality of the Turkish roads puts ours in the UK to shame -I can't recall a pothole until we came back into Istanbul!! We had a smallish group of 10 who were all experienced travellers and were good company throughout the tour. What makes a good tour a memborable tour is of course the guide and driver. Atila our driver kept us on schedule with his expert driving skills and knowledge of the short cuts to get in and out of the cities. That, with a sense of when a comfort break was needed was all appreciated. Oz, our guide, will already be known to many Explore customers but just to reiterate what many have already said - Oz has an amzing knowledge and passion for the history and geography of his country and puts it across in an easily understood manner. Oz kept us on track whilst allowing us extra time when needed for some photo opportunities. His recommendations for lunch/evening meal stops was always spot on. All in all a great trip that had a bit of everything in it.

There are many, but the one that stands out to me was the last evening we had dinner with Max and our whole group. It was such a pleasant group of people, and everyone was so kind.

First of all, I want to say that Luca our pretour guide was fantastic. He was very informative and helped us settle in to a brand new experience comfortably.. Highly recommend the pretour with Luca, it set the whole trip up in a positive direction. Savio our tour guide was very informative and fun to tour the countryside with. He was very helpful in whatever was needed. Milo the bus driver was outstanding. He made our trip very memorable with his special stops for great picture taking.. He kept the bus in immaculate condition. His driving skills were outstanding.. The pretour was very memorable because it was the first impression of Italy. The gondola ride was very romantic. My most favorite part was taking a private tour of the Colosseum. It should really be part of the big tour. I feel the time in Lake Como should be longer, it is such a beautiful setting. Overall just thoroughly enjoyed the whole trip and how organized collette Tours are wilh all the details. Would totally recommend collette Tours.

the reflections of Italy tour was a memorable experience as six of our family members got to go, including all my adult children Our tour manager, Max was superb He was funny , knowledgeable, and went above and beyond to make sure we had a memorable experience. I would highly recommend him and if we go back on another Italy tour, I would want him to be our tour manager. Our bus driver and our bus accommodations were above expectiions Assisi,Cortona Florence, and stopping at the winery in the old Castle and making pasta and having lunch were tour highlights of our trip

Our tour was AMAZING. We had a great group and tour guide. Everyone was always on time, no mishaps. My favorite part was going to Capri on my birthday and getting to do The Blue Grotto. It was an unbelievable experience. We had to wait no time to be taken in on the boat. It was a dream to see the beauty in person!

Italy was fantastic and Flavio Nicoletti made it even more fun and entertaining, as well as educational. Thank you, to our travel advisor, Brenda Ajay, Collette Tours, and Flavio our very funny and educational tour guide!!!