Turkey Trekking and Hiking Trips

There was more hiking involved than advertised: I avoided the activities officially labeled as hikes, which stiill left traipsing over often hard-to-access ancient sites. I'm really glad I saw them, but maybe include a heads-up for people with balance or mobility issues, urge proper footwear and walking sticks. In particular, make it very clear that walking down Pamukkale (an absolute must!) is best done in diving socks and with bacpack for shoes. I signed up late and the trip notes I got made no mention of it, though other people said they were told of it. In fact, the notes I received were clearly for a winter trip. All that suggests to me a degree of sloppiness at your main office. I suggest going to Ephesus first thing in the morning to beat the cruiseship crowds. Drop the picnic at Kayaköy: who wants to picnic an hour after breakfast amidst ruins of ethnic cleansing.? If feasible, include more Ottoman sights.

We were well accommodated and informed about the many sites we viewed by ou r leader Kemal who also found additional options for food and cultural experience that added immensely. Recommendations on food and drink also appreciated. Traveled with friend as couple and found our rooms to suit our needs well. Pickup and dropoff to Antalya airport went well. I will look for other Explore trips as our group had recommended some.

Our tour leader, Kemal was exceptional and a credit to Explore. He was well versed on the subject matter and treated us well. We all appreciated having him as our tour guide and leader.

i would ensure that the leader was more aware of sights to see - the caves are a waste, the train musuem too, the greek village up the mountain dull! Given that cruise ships arrival you muist leave early to get in by 8am! Find other ruins to see as thats what the trip is based around! more time at best sights...less time on resting and coffee stops! overall out of 12 days, excluding the rest day, about one and a half days are wasted. Its a good tour but could be even better!

Overall a great trip!

Tim the tour leader was excellent and really knowledgeable. His enthusiasm and level of engagement made the trip as fantastic as it was. The only downside for the trip was the multiple issues with the Milashan Hotel in Milas but the tour leader did a fantastic job of getting this resolved to the best of their abilities.