Turkey Group Tours

Nabil was the perfect explore leader. Nothing was too much trouble and on the one rainy morning he rearranged the day and we had a perfect time on our boat trip and swimming in 2 beautiful bays. The Staff in the accommodation were truly wonderful and made us feel very welcome. I had the perfect break away from a hectic work life.

Another great trip w explore. Tour leader, Oz, was exceptionally helpful to several of us w unusual requests. Turkey has tons of stuff to see, and this tour catches most of the highlights. As usual, the group had interesting people. Considering staying a couple of days after to see more of Istanbul.

Good value tour, itinerary packs in almost everything you'd want to do into the trip. Oz the tour guide was excellent. Only criticisms is there is a lot of time on the bus (hard to avoid) and there is a mix of hotel quality (all adequate but only some very nice).

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.

First tour with Explore - experience exceeded my expectations! Minor negative (also shared by others in the group) was the ‘shared’ accommodation in Gey Village. Ok if I was in my 30’s but I’m in late 60’s. Worth investigating alternative accommodation options even if some additional busing might be required. Otherwise everything (guide, group, food, accommodation, transportation, and hikes/views) great! Won’t be my last tour with Explore!

This was a wonderful series of moderate to longish walks along the Lycian Way. Our tour leader Nabil was brilliant, always cheerful and engaging and a continual source of local knowledge. Not only does one spectacular view after another open up but there was also a wealth of flora even in November - the cyclamens and crocus were especially lovely. There are also fabulous archaeological sites along the way, with plenty of time allowed to explore. The going is stony, and steep at times - up and down. As a person with heart issues I was concerned that I'd hold the party up, but this didn't seem to be an issue. In fact the pace set suited me perfectly. The accommodation is fairly mixed with one night in very basic village rooms. I enjoyed this as it meant a walk out of the village the following day with the best hiking of the holiday, though I know others found the rooms a touch the wrong side of basic, especially as it involved sharing. Most of the walks featured a minibus journey at one or both ends. Evening meals were usually pretty good too with lunch boxes provided most days. Our group of ten or so was a delight, mostly people travelling on their own which made for lively conversation. Money-wise, this is a good value trip, although Turkey itself is certainly no longer the cheap destination it once was.