Istanbul Tours in April 2027

We really liked the historic sites we visited in Turkey. It brought back all the biblical history of Paul’s preaching to the Ephesians. Ephesus and Troy were the highlight of our trip.

The whole trip exceeded my expectations, it was absolutely wonderful. Oz, our tour leader, was amazing in every way, very informative, in a way which was easily understandable, very kind always with a smile and sometimes even a song! Nothing was ever too much trouble for him, he was always available when needed, I thought he was an absolute superstar.!!! Many thanks 😊

Osman was an amazing guide. Extremely knowledgeable and very approachable. We really enjoyed his company and his leadership. He was great at helping me deal with food intolerances. An interesting and varied itinerary.

It was very full but flowed nicely so as not to make it overwhelming. Our guide was great! He was very knowledgeable and filled the rides on the coach with history lessons that made everything come alive.

Very good and satisfactory trip. I wish some care is taken of vegetarian diet people. Generally everywhere we went, just few options were available for us. It would be better if care is given to food options for vegetarians diet too.

A great trip. A lot of ground covered. Tour notes had explained clearly that early starts were common and how much travel time was involved. Our modern, generously sized, coach and regular stops made it very comfortable. Our guide, Alcan Sisli, and driver, Attila, were of the high quality I expect from Explore! trips. Alcan was passionate about his country and extremely knowledgeable about all our points of interest. He took great care to include everyones wishes and needs when making plans and quickly knew us as individuals. He was unfailingly cheerful and looked after us all very competently, even when we perhaps did our own thing! We all got our turn to sit near the front of the coach to ask all those odd questions you might hesitate to ask in the whole group, though as usual the group, 12 in all, was such an interesting mix of backgrounds and personalities that it very soon felt as if we were just one big family. I miss them all now I'm home again! The accommodation was an eclectic mix of small city rooms to surprisingly luxurious bigger ones. All clean and with amazing buffet breakfasts. Food was varied - if sometimes a little solidly based on traditional Turkish meals. Fabulous fresh fish. Interesting 'greasy spoon' cafes with amazing dishes and the chance to try great local specialities. The attractions were as described - but even more spectacular in reality. The Mosques, Cotton Castle terraces, Rock formations and cave dwellings, Greco Romano remains etc were all fantastic and the final visit to Gallipoli was powerfully atmospheric. Our only disappointment was the unusually cold and wet weather during our particular trip dates but it didn't dampen our spirits and the only thing we couldn't do was the optional balloon flight. Another year perhaps. Now just got to sort out the 100s of photos and eat the Turkish Delight.