Has anyone taken this tour? I am booked for March 19 and would love any input! Thanks!

Okay, since no one replied, I will post since I just returned from Turkey. I hope this will help anyone who is thinking of this trip. First, I have to say I LOVED Turkey. What a beautiful and fascinating country. Our guide was good, but a bit too long winded for my taste. But it was no problem, we just walked on our own when we'd heard enough. The hotels were fine overall. The one in Istanbul was very small, but it was located in walking distance to all major sites. The hotel in Canakkale was nice, but not really near anything but a small beach. The rest of the hotels except the one in Avanos/Cappodocia area were well located. The optional excursions were all good except the Istanbul night with dinner. It was kinda cheesy and touristy to me. Our guide also arranged a Whirling Dervishes show for us for $25. There were 3 other "excursions" not mentioned that cost a total of $21 US dollars. Aphrodisias, Pergamum and Mevlana Monastery in Konya. They were all worth it. Anyone who has questions on this trip can PM me!

Hi there,

I would love to know more about your experience on the Turkey tour. My friend and I were considering going this year but were intimidated by the recent travel advisories as Turkey borders Iraq.

Were there a lot of people on your tour? 2 tours in July have been cancelled, so I'm guessing it's not very popular right now.

Any additional info will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Sorry for the late reply. I haven't checked this board in awhile. After the recent bombing in Kusadasi, you may not want to travel to Turkey, but I am not one to be put off by violence, because it is EVERYWHERE! My tour was LARGE and I heard from people that the prior trips had been cancelled, so I assume they combined tours. We had 46 people on a 48 seat bus. This only caused problems because some people felt entitled to their own seat. Our bus driver ended up writing down seat numbers and making us rotate daily. That was annoying, but I got over it. As far as the Iraqi border, that is much further East than this tour travels, so that shouldn't be a major concern. I found the people very nice and especially nice when they heard I was American. They have had few American tourists since 9/11. Consider going.. ..it is a beautiful place. I loved it.