Most Inspirational Moment
Sitting in a mosque in Istanbul when it was nearly empty. The call to prayer was soothing and reassuring.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Ilhan
Reviews
Your Words – We tell it like it is! Holiday Reviews by previous Exodus travellers
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Reviews
Highlights of Turkey
I got back from this trip 5 days ago. Everything was great! I don’t know where to start with my rave reviews. Our group leader was Ilham and he was amazing! His English was great and he helped us with translation at the restaurants and vendors. I loved stopping to eat at very local and family places. One place for Turkish pizzas had the whole family pitching in and we were outside near the brick oven with chickens and ducks running past us! I really appreciated that our money went to LOCAL and FAMILY run businesses! Ilham would download the tickets to the sites on his phone in advance, he made our entry so quick. He was always one step ahead of the game! Logistics were flawless, because he knew when to get to the various sites to avoid the crowds as much as possible. I enjoyed the modest hotels, once again family run and usually very convenient to the town center. This trip fulfilled all my expectations and then some! Ed
ATH Highlights of Turkey
Outstanding Tour — visiting important military, historical, cultural, and religious sites. Wonderful group of travelers who watched out for each other, were on time, courteous and kind.
Most Inspirational Moment
Swimming in the Mediterranean Sea
Thoughts on Group Leader
Ilhan was a great group leader. Smart, engaging and patient, he kept us safe, on time, and informed.
Advice for Potential Travellers
This trip is classified as "easy" but you'll definitely get your 10K daily steps in and many of those will be up and down stairs. Perfect for the traveler interested in Greco/Roman/Ottoman architecture, artifacts, history and ruins.
Highlights ofTurkeu
Good driver. Excellent guide. Hotels well chosen. Itinerary great. Initial Airport pickup bit chaotic.
Most Inspirational Moment
The archeological sites.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Excellent
Advice for Potential Travellers
Go
Turkey Trip
Great sites, lovely fellow travellers…guides great fun and helpful throughout…fascinating country with big old cities and lovely coastline and mountains. Will return one day.
Most Inspirational Moment
Istanbul and Ephesus and Kus
Thoughts on Group Leader
Great...Good sense of humour and knowledgeable
Advice for Potential Travellers
Go!
Packed trip in a fascinating country
This is a whistle stop tour of lots of the major sites in Turkey. Starting in Istanbul, going over to Gallipoli, then down the west coast to Troy and Ephesus, going over to Pammukale, then down to the turquoise coast and Kas before going to Antalya, inland to Cappadocia and then finally back to Istanbul. It covers a lot of distance and is pretty full on, but the sights make it all worthwhile. If you like archaeology and history in general then this is great trip. But the optional boat trip on the coast and the balloon ride in Cappadocia are also moments of pure relaxation. In hindsight, I think the trip might be better as a 3 week trip with some more down time. It was pretty rushed sightseeing in Istanbul at the end, though another option is just to add more days on at the end.
Most Inspirational Moment
For the main programme, I loved the visit to Ephesus as it gave me so many good memories of visiting as a child with my parents. But for pure enjoyment, the optional boat trip on the turquoise coast and the hot air balloon ride in Cappadocia were truly awe inspiring.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Ebru was a wealth of information with detailed knowledge on every sight including stories to bring the places alive. There was maybe too much for us to take in, and a shorter brief with more free time to explore may have been a better approach, especially in the hot sun. She took us to some interesting restaurants and was well organised with the group tipping kitty, which took away some of the stress from the holiday.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Take some good books and music for the long drives. You also need to stay for extra nights in Istanbul if you want to see everything.
Highlights of Turkey tour
I have recently gotten back from a 15 day tour of Turkey. It was an amazing trip but was busy to include everything on the itinerary. I’m glad it included as much as it did which is why I booked with exodus but it would have been good for the trip to be longer so that could see what was on the itinerary in more of a leisurely pace and other attractions Turkey has to offer.
Most Inspirational Moment
The whole trip was great but the highlights for me were seeing Ephesus, visiting Pamukkale and swimming in Cleopatras pool, the hot air balloon ride over the fairy chimneys in Cappadocia and seeing the whirling dervishes.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Our tour leader Ahmet was brilliant. He was very knowledgeable about all the areas we visited and so passionate when explaining everything to us. He was able to answer all the questions anyone in the group had and engaged well with everyone. The trip ran very smoothly thanks his expertise.
Advice for Potential Travellers
This trip is perfect for anyone who wants to cram as much of the main tourist sites Turkey has to offer in one trip. Some days can be quite long and there is a lot of walking around the historical sites with a lot of uneven paths so ensure you take good walking shoes with you.
Full on
This trip is pretty full on, with long days on the road and often crowded visitor sites. (Ephesus and cruise ships = M1 only a holiday weekend) If the options are taken there is very little down time. Leisurely/moderate does not really describe it. Hotels used range from excellent to a compromise too far. On many occasions we arrived at the destination too late in the day to get local bearings, but in most cases it was worth it given what had been seen along the routes. Food was acceptable at all times although some breakfasts left something to be desired, such as drinkable coffee. Most hotels had water and kettles in the rooms, but water enroute did not follow the normal Exodus expectations. Turkey has an inflation problem, many of the costs noted in the trip notes were somewhat out of date, it also has a penchant fore closing roads at short notice forcing route changes. Overall this trip gives a very good overview of what Turkey has to offer away from the ‘sun and sand/all inclusive’ packages, be aware that there is very limited time in Istanbul. It is worth planning a few extra days.
Most Inspirational Moment
Walking on the pottery sherds that litter many of the sites and realizing how old they are likely to be.
Thoughts on Group Leader
The group leader was excellent at explaining the history and giving extra information, however, some explanations could have been shorter to maintain interest. He was enthusiastic to show his country and helpful at including extra activities and visits.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Be prepared for long days. Be prepared to go with the flow. Pack light, the internal flight has a baggage limit of 15kg. Avoid rooms ending in '16' if you use the Anzac Hotel (they are on the fire escape)
Cradle of civilisation
An extensive tour, taking in the most historic ancient and modern cities in Turkey. Countless UNESCO world heritage sites, wonderful cuisine, friendly people, fabulous weather, and every day was a school day. Educational and entertaining, I’d recommend this tour to any traveler.
Most Inspirational Moment
There were so many, Ephesus and the library of Celcus, Gallipoli, Aspendos, ballooning over Cappadocia and the magnificence of the Hagia Sofia.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Tolga was a great leader and tour guide. His knowledge and passion for Turkey was infectious, we wanted to know more. Every days drive would begin with our Turkish words of the day. Every site was spoken about with confidence and even on down time, he’d recommend things to do or places to dine. He felt like one of the group, rather than the person in charge. A gentleman.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Go with no preconceived notions, and be surprised and educated every day.
An Excellent Introduction to Turkey
Turkey is a beautiful country with so many different regions all with their own unique culture and landscapes. This trip is an excellent way to get a taste of each region while visiting all of the highlights you picture when you think of Turkey (and some you’ve probably never heard of!). We absolutely loved every minute and learned so much more than we ever have on any other trip.
Most Inspirational Moment
The hot air balloon flight over Cappadocia - it was a very early morning for us, but it was so worth the wake-up call. The number of balloons up in the air at the same time all floating silently through the sunrise was incredible. I'm a bit afraid of heights but still opted to do the excursion and I'm so glad I did!
Thoughts on Group Leader
Alp is a walking encyclopedia when it comes to Turkey's history. The amount of knowledge he has on every site we visited was truly impressive and he is clearly very passionate about his country. He also cares deeply about the people on his tours and anytime someone expressed a particular interest in a destination, he made sure they had as much time as possible to explore and enjoy.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Each region we visited has its own local delicacies that you can't find everywhere - ask around and be sure to try as many as you can. Also, be sure to pack comfortable shoes for walking. Although there aren't massive amounts of walks, some of the sites have lots of stairs and uneven ground you definitely want to be prepared for.
An excellent holiday and guide
An excellent holiday exploring a country with a great depth of historical and cultural sites. The day visiting the 1915 Gallipoli battlefields was fascinating and our day there was the only one where we did not visit an UNESCO World Heritage site.
Most Inspirational Moment
Ephesus and the library of Celsus (third biggest after Alexandria {Egypt} and Pergamum) and its massive theatre, familiar to Saint Paul, who lived in Ephesus for a time. It was the largest theatre in the ancient world. After seeing the old harbour (now four miles from the sea; the silting up process explaining why Ephesus was abandoned in the sixth century), we had lunch of pancakes made fresh in a wood burning oven. Watching the three ladies making them was also fascinating.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Our guide Tolga was great, knowledgeable and amusing, a strong character and one with the confidence to read poetry that has moved him, written by the Sufi mystic, Mevlana, by his mausoleum and home of his Dervishes. We could not have been in better hands.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Because of the distances travelled in a very large country, take two novels too read in transit.