Iconic Islands: Mykonos and Santorini

Traveler Reviews

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  Michael

  September 8th, 2022
  You get what you pay for in the sense it that this isn't an ultra luxury tour. No one is holding your hand but be...
  You get what you pay for in the sense it that this isn't an ultra luxury tour. No one is holding your hand but be respectful of the tour guides and transfers time and be on time. Understand that the tour operation is trying to give you a good time so they will do their best to help you. Know that tourradar is the middle man for the main tour operator and the tour guides are not part of the main tour operator. Changing anything on the tour can happen to up to a month and a half before the tour. The tickets and stuff get booked a few weeks before the tour after that nothing can really be changed. Always asked for a detailed itinerary and make sure that all everyone that is traveling is sent the same information. And that the tour operator is very clear on what time people fly in and out for the tour. This tour is pretty fast pace so there's a ton of checking the schedule constantly to be at places. Still this tour has lots of ambiguity and the tour guides are pretty easy going with the schedule you can request to go other places if you want. However, I was surprised how smoothly it went for so many places and ways of traveling. There were some slight hick ups mainly on miss communication, but nothing major. Overall my party enjoyed the trip. It's a great way to experience different ways to travel Turkey and get a taste of turkey while hitting some of the major sights. Be mindful of going in august its hot and lots of the tour is outside or with shade. September is recommended even by locals. Do the hot air balloons in Cappadocia, if it's extra. Ask if you can change the schedule to go to the underground cities in Cappadocia. Swirling darvishes in konya only dance Thursdays to Saturday. You can do paragliding and swim in cleopatrias pool in Pumakalie, but that is extra. Be ready to go to lots of weaving/tile/pottery exhibitions/shops. Luckily the guides are nice enough to understand you most likely wont buy anything and there's no pressure at the same time you can request to go somewhere, but it's better to have an idea of something else you want to see. Makes to much easier for the guide. Don't forget to tip all porters and tour guides if if they do a great job. So bring small American bills for the porters and like 20 usd or so a person for the guides if a small group. Also note that while some meals are provided any extr drinks you will need to pay for. 10% Tips for food if you have to go out to eat is standard. If your vegetarian let the tour operator know so they can tell the guides to make that adjustment. Most places serve meat. However lots of the tours meals you'll be brought to typical tour buffet places. Bule mosque is under construction (2022) and now hagi Sophia is now a mosque and the sides and upper floors no longer can be accessed. In istanbual we were booked the yagitalip hotel. 30 min walk to the old istanbual. I prefer closer to the water like the Armada when I go. If I were to do this trip over again I would ask for a list of the hotels and request ones closer to the sites. So on down time I can walk to the sites. Last thing for women. Make sure you have a head scarf and I'd recommend low profile socks for the mosques. Bring something called the wiz or something like that, to enable you to pee like a male. Flush toilets are around but be prepared for pit toilets more often than not. The train will not have flush toilets... For all, use common sense and be respectful as you are guest in someone elses country. Turkey is not a 3rd world country, but they do things a certain way and probably have history longer than your country. So be mindful of your comments and actions. The tour operator and the guides are doing what they can to give you a good experience. Have I been on better tours, certainly, but I've paid an armor a leg or it was a tour by people I know locally. Still a great tour and worth going on.Show more
  Traveled in September 2022
  

  Reply from: Eskapas

  Hi Michael, Thank you very very much for your detailed review. Best regards, Aysegul

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