Istanbul Tours in September 2026

Pretty strenuous schedule for older folks. Excellent choices of stops and topics of interest. Nice accommodations, comfortable coach, good driver and excellent tour director. Side excursions were interesting. Overall a fun and educating experience.

This was a great trip, with a good mix of historical sights, boat trips/swimming opportunities, visit to the Gallipoli war graves, and finishing with a couple of nights in the bustling city of Istanbul. All entrance fees (apart from a few optional extras) were included in the trip cost so there were no hidden costs. Our guide was excellent and gave us lots of info each day and was always willing to answer questions. His restaurant suggestions were also really good.

Nice trip but found all the time was spent on the bus or visiting ruins…No time to explore towns or villages…I love ruins but in the end did not want to see another one… About explore….this was my first time travelling with them, was quoted a price for an extra night in the start hotel and was given a price twice I payed directly with hotel, same with transfers, was quoted £130 for a one way airport hotel, that could be booked for £35 on booking.com…Just wondering now if the tour was overpriced….

'Turkey in Depth' was exactly as billed - a fast-paced tour that takes in many of the must-see sights in western Turkey. It is full on, with early starts and long road journeys, but absolutely worth it. The success of the tour was down to our tour leader, Zafer, who looked after us at every stage, was mindful of the health issues some of us had and did his best to accommodate the different interests and dietary preferences within the group. We tested his patience at times, but he has a good sense of humour and ensured everyone had a thoroughly enjoyable time. His English is reasonably fluent, albeit accented, and he took care to repeat important information about the arrangements for the tour. When we were on the road, it would have been helpful (and safer) if there had been a microphone on the minibus to avoid Zafer having to get out of his seat as the vehicle was moving to talk to the group. As an archaeologist, with a PhD on Greek and Roman sarcophagi, Zafer is very knowledgeable about all aspects of Turkey's past and was an excellent guide to the many historical sites we visited. He gave us the historical and cultural background of each place and pointed out fascinating details relating to the architecture and artefacts, which added immensely to our understanding and appreciation of the things we saw. Our driver, Sami, was doing the tour for the first time, but coped really well with the long hours he spent behind the wheel. He has little English, but was always helpful and cheerful. He is a good driver and we felt completely safe in his hands. All the hotels we stayed in were of an acceptable standard - some had bigger rooms or better showers than others, some had some minor deficiencies, but nothing serious. We particularly liked the Kekova Hotel in Kas, which is a simple, homely hotel in a good location. One of the attractions of Turkey is its food and we had an opportunity to sample everything from street food to more up-market cuisine. In some locations, particularly in Anatolia, there were limited options for non-meat eaters, but there was plenty of fish available on the coast. The most memorable dinner we had was in Avanos, near Goreme, where we had testi kebabs - meat (trout in my case) cooked in sealed clay pots, served flaming at the table. Occasionally, the eateries were less than satisfactory - in Karahayit, near Pamukkale, for example, and on the road between Goreme from Ankara - but these were the exceptions. It is impossible to pick out a single highlight of the tour, there were so many - ranging from the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations in Ankara to our balloon flight over the astonishing landscape of Cappadocia, from the terraced houses of Ephesus to the turtles and rock tombs on the Dalyan River, and from the ruins of Aphrodisias and Troy to the travertine slopes of Pamukkale. If you want to see as much as possible of Turkey in two weeks, we can strongly recommend 'Turkey in Depth'.

This was a great itinerary led by an excellent tour guide. I feel like I learned a lot about Turkey, its history, and is people. I really appreciated meeting with some of those people.

Fantastic holiday, saw so many interesting and varied sites. As per trip notes, it’s certainly full on with a lot of driving so don’t underestimate that - up to 7 hours on some days, with stops along the way- ten of us in a large, comfortable coach so plenty of room to spread out. Hotels were a mixed bag but ok - I had to change rooms in two of them for various reasons. Stone House in Capadoccia was the best. Guide- Mehmet- was excellent- learned a huge amount about the sites and Turkey from him. Funny, very helpful. Trip notes need updating- I really wanted to go to Xantos on the free day but it’s a long way- very expensive by taxi. Mehmet suggested Patala which I can recommend. He also made an unscheduled stop for us at Xantos the following day, as it was on the way. Food very good- I’m a vegetarian but Mehmet made sure there were always options for us. Great trip- highly recommend it!