Highlights of Turkey

The itinerary was excellent - for me! But it should be clearer that it involves a lot of walking. Infirm travellers were disadvantaged (which also slowed us some). Our tour director was very knowledgeable and was able to make the sites we visited come alive for us.

This tour covered most of the main attractions In Turkey not only attractions but very detailed Information about historical knowledge by () The excellent tour Manager 👍

Great tour to see the main highlights of Turkey. Guide Orhan was fantastic, extremely knowledgeable and provided a wonderful experience.

What a wonderful and informative trip. I learnt so much. We had an excellent tour director and super co-travellers. Great hotels.

Very good itinerary but too rushed

Overall, a good vacation, both our Tour Director and coach driver were excellent. Hotels were all good 3 of 4-star embellishments. Itenarary was good although misleading for some visits, Izmir for example which we actually did not see as we arrived in the evening at hotel, with dinner at hotel and departure early next morning which was very disappointing as everyone wanted to see Izmir. Other shortcomings were buffet dinner at the hotel for 80% of the nights on the road, again you do not experience localities this way. Finaly the included transfer to airport for departure flight is not something you should count on, if your flight is at 1PM or earlier the tour operator is only giving you an option to depart for airport at 4.30 (you have to get up at 3.30AM), meaning you are going to spend a lot of time at airport waiting.

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 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.

I rate this itinerary good simply because there is not enough time to experience the local areas of stay. This trip truly was about the highlights of Turkey with no room to take a breather. With the exception of Kapadokya, all stays are one night after long days. Lots of time spent on the coach traveling to the next destination. Most coach trips are at least 4 hours (with breaks in between). However, the sights are beautiful enough to not feel the long rides. Most meals were enjoyable, but some were just average. Dining at Exedra in Kapadokya was disappointing, with minimal breakfast and a poorly presented dinner. In contrast, the Whirling Dervishes dinner and farewell dinner were spectacular. It would be great if this itinerary allowed for more night stays to experience local areas and restaurants. Hotel rooms were often too warm, some needed upgrades, and while some had ironing boards, none had irons.

A little too much in one day since there was eight hours of travel during the day there was no free time. We made it to the hotels late afternoon evening and never enjoyed the cities that we slept in. It would have been more enjoyable if we stayed at hotels that were in the center of town and we made it to the hotel around 3 o’clock and at least toured the city on foot and shopped a little in the cities that we were staying. By the time we got to the hotel, it was dinner time then bedtime and next morning early we left. We wanted more spa time and relaxation at the hotels we stayed in so that we could get ready and save energy for the next day. However, I must admit it was very well organized. Real spent a lot of money on their clients for the Tours for the tour guide for the accommodation of the buses. The hotels were excellent except for Kapadokya hotel, which was very inconvenient for seniors. They should make sure that when there is a hotel like that with caves and stairs to put the seniors on ground level where they can reach the cafeterias and the office easily, and put the young people at the farthest rooms instead of the elderly at the farthest rooms.

The itinerary was excellent however it was a little tiring, because after eight hours of being on the road by the time we got to our next hotel it was almost 5 the earliest. At that time we had no time to spend with the hotel accommodations, the massages or the therapy pools Because it was almost dinner time and we were very tired, especially the first day when we went to the two mosques and top Kapi palace , and then to the music place, and then the bus for a tour was a lot of walking in the sun. That was a very crowded day. The first day, I know you’re trying to accommodate the tourists by showing them a lot of things, but remember that the age group is almost always more seniors than young people so maybe you should organize the tours according to the ages that sign up

Lots of moving but it was the “Highlights of Turkey”

Fantastic trip. Be prepared to be busy moving from place to place and seeing lots but totally worth it. I have raved about this trip since returning home. Our Tour Guide was just amazing, he was so knowledgeable about everything Turkey (and more). He was very personable and by far the best guide I've ever had on a tour. Well done, Travalgar!

An excellent insight into Turkey with an excellent guide Barcin with his knowledge and humour we throughly enjoyed it. This tour covered so many interesting places that I didn’t know existed. It’s an amazing country. With mainly one night stays and very long days it was tiring so 2 night stays would be much better and also having central hotels would be much better but then that makes it a longer tour.

yes fantastic tour 🙌

The itinerary was fast paced but covered all of the most important sites and the tour director was extremely knowledgeable and enlightening of Turkish history.

The sites were fantastic visually and interesting. The pace for me was perfect. The inclusions were great and tour director was extremely knowledgeable and pleasant. A great time

It was good and we enjoyed having as a tour guide. He was nice & knowledgeable.

Amazing Experienced. Tour is well organized.

This tour was amazing! I would love to do it again! 🥰

We loved out trip, the tour guide was amazing, and knowledgeable and adept at managing the group.

It was fabulous! All the sites we visited were amazing. All the included meals and the hotels were top notch! Our tour director was a walking encyclopedia. So knowledgeable! I would recommend this trip to anyone inquiring about this trip!

This itinerary was extremely convenient and care free for everyone on tour. On most vacations, the most stress inducing aspect is usually finding quality hotels to book and looking for places to eat. With Trafalgar, on most days, breakfast lunch and dinner was included, hotel rooms were already booked, travel between locations was already arranged, there was no hassle whatsoever on part of the people on vacation, apart from being on time to get on the bus in the morning. It was the definition of stress free.

Well rounded, every thing covered and the guide was very helpful in every way All the sites were interesting

Day 1 : Too many things in 1 day. Yes, I understand that all the attractions are in the same place. But Aya Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi palace, Classical Music and a lunch in half day, made us very tired. That too many were not out of jetlag. And the coup de grace was the Bosphorus tour straight from the music place in the afternoon? Very bad planning. It would have been very nice, if we go back to the hotel from the music concert, take some rest and do the Bosphorus cruise in the evening along with a nice dinner. It was an extremely squeezing day 1. Day 2 : This is about ANZAC. I am not an Aussie or a NZer. Yes, I definitely feel bad about the loss in a war. But going to one monument to another to another to another, I completely couldn't relate. I did have a conversation with other non Aus/NZers and they too felt bored and couldn't relate. I would suggest, you do a data analysis on how many Aus/NZ attend every tour. If the % is 50% or more, please have ANZAC in the itinerary. In our bus, there were 4 out of a total of 36. You can even have separate 'ANZAC specials' running on special ANZAC occasions, but don't have it year round. And did we see anything else on Day 2. No. So a kind of tiredness and boredom creeps in the first 2 days itself, which is not good. Hope you get my point. I really don't know what the solution is. Maybe there is something more interesting in Bursa. I have no idea. Would leave it to the itinerary planners. Day 3 : TROY : I don't know whether it is just me. Nothing great in Troy ruins. So I am tired. I am bored at the start of the tour itself. Hope you understand. Lot of GREAT things are at the end of the tour, like Cappadocia. It is like the first 2 hours of a James Bond movie having nothing, and the final 30 minutes is squeezed with all great chase and fight scenes. This is an extremely important point you need to understand. Even the whirling dervishes is not in Konya and pushed to Cappadocia. My suggestion is, after Day 1 in Istanbul, reverse the whole itinerary. Let us fly to Cappadocia. Do and see all GREAT things. If in the first few days everybody is happy, we won't complain (like I do now) for the final days in Izmir, ANZAC etc etc. I LOVED the Connect with Locals in the Demircidere Village. Awesome job by Trafalgar. Kudos to Trafalgar for the Turkish Classical Music on Day 1. Double thumbs up. Rest of the days were great. No complaints. Istanbul is such a beautiful, mesmerising city. This itinerary is squeezing the traveler, not bringing out the beauty of the city. So here is how I would have planned the itinerary. Day 1 and Day 2 in Istanbul. in addition to the existing places, add Cistern Basilica, a walk in Istiklal Cadesi, dinner cruise in Bophorus etc etc. Wow, first 2 days itself Trafalgar has a winner. Then Day 3 we fly to Cappadocia. Same existing itinerary. People are dumbfounded by the locations and the cave hotel stay. The dinner in a 200 year old restaurant etc etc, Day 3 and Day 4 are even better than Day 1 and Day 2. So the first 4 days travelers are EXTREMELY happy. That's it. That's what you want. Then Konya, Pamukkkale, Ephisus and we fly from Izmir to Istanbul, skipping Troy and anzac. Maybe add 1 day in either Antalya or Kusadesi, if you want to have more days in the tour. I leave it to the itinerary planners. But fly from Izmir to IST. This is my feedback. Hope you got some inputs for your future planning. Thanks.

The itinerary was an excellent trip visiting many of the historic sites in Turkey. Our tour director was so knowledgeable and shared the history of each area in interesting ways. I learned so much about this crossroads of Asia and Europe. We were able to dine in a small village sharing a traditional meal prepared by the women of this village in their homes. The personal experiences were special. All the people we met were so welcoming. Our tour director and driver made sure everyone was comfortable l. The tour was well paced. We had time to explore each site. The hotels and meals were good. We enjoyed the others on the tour and everyone was on time. All in all, this tour was one of the best Trafalgar tour due for the big part by our excellent tour director .

Definitely

Great guide

It was a wonderful trip and itinerary. Loved all the sights and it was amazing that our tour director was also our local guide. He was particularly knowledgeable of all the local attractions and the history of Turkey. Also it was very very hot and he tried his best to sequence the trip in such a way that we avoid the sun as much as possible. Overall a great trip!

The tour guide was excellent but the hotels Exedra and Kolossae in Turkey were horrible. Bad bed linens that were scratchy and uncomfortable. Many stairs and steep walkways to common eating areas. As many of us are retired and travel often these are not what we enjoy!

well balanced

Every day was a surprising adventure with something amazing to visit and explore. The 9 days were well paced. Most days there was time to explore on your own, eat or purchase something. There were more inclusions than I expected and skip the line entrances.

Just book it. Amazing guides, fascinating country. You won’t be disappointed.

We thoroughly enjoyed our Highlights of Turkey review

The one thing you ‘need’ not ‘want’ is a great guide. That’s exactly what Trafalgar delivered. Top stars for a wonderful trip. Thank you!

We had an amazing experience. From Istanbul to Cappadocia, each day's itinerary took us to new and interesting places. We've loved visiting Istanbul and seeing all the important sites. We had a great time at Gallipoli, learning about the battle and better understanding its importance to the Turkish and Australian people. We loved our visits to Ephesus and Hierapolis and getting to walk around ancient Roman ruins. We finished our trip in Cappadocia - what a fascinating and beautiful place. We had an excellent tour guide and made friends with so many of the others on our trip so that by the last day, we were sad to say "goodbye."