Turkey Tours in May 2025

What people love about Turkey Tours in May

• PatricTraveled in August

  5

  Alkan was a great tour guide. We got on really well and the way he treats everyone shows he cares about each individual. The tour itself is very enjoyable. You spend a long time traveling in the bus but that's only due to the long distances you have to cover. Because of this some sites felt slightly rushed but nothing that I felt I must see but didn't. The hotels range in quality which works out well because the lower grade ones are in places where it's not that important. I hope future tours always go to the same hotel in Cappadocia (Sobek Stone House). It's hands down the best hotel in the city. I got lucky and had a view overlooking the pool. That meant in the morning when the balloons are taking off, I only had to open my window. But you'll have incredible views of them anywhere in the hotel and you can always go on the roof to watch them. I wasn't fond of the breakfasts but that didn't matter much since we made frequent stops. Overall, it was exactly what I expected out of this tour and I am glad I went.

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  Turkey in Depth
• RubyTraveled in March

  4

  This will be a pretty comprehensive review. Context: I’m a 24 year old solo female traveler from the US that has never done a tour before. I have been to many countries, but always as a backpacker. Consider this while reading my opinion. Guides: Some guides are really excellent. It’s like with everything, hit or miss. Because this is a small group tour, I was with a different group and guide for every location I visited. Due to the pandemic and it being low season, sometimes I was by myself and sometimes I was with 2-4 other people. I would say half of the guides were excellent - giving me great advice, being flexible, and were clearly happy to be working. Other guides were on their phones, clearly not engaged, and even skipped or rushed through part of the itinerary. Food: All the meals you have on your tour days will be mediocre or worse. The tour guides always take you to these horrible, buffet style halls that only serve tourist buses. I know there are reasons for this, but why can’t they pick a more local restaurant in each one? Luckily, I don’t prioritize food too much and I was happy with the food when I went on my own to find local restaurants. The hotel breakfasts are nearly always really good and enough to get you going! Hotel breakfast is one of the perks. Itinerary: Coming to Turkey for the first time, there are the typical sites and famous historical places that you almost HAVE to see, so the itinerary is good and to be expected to hit the major points. I was quite happy with the amount of time allocated in each place. The only thing I did not like - and everyone on the tour will agree - is that each tour day includes a visit to a local shop. It is interesting to see the craft, but it’s really awkward because you’re expected to buy something. I would have been happy visiting 1-2 of these, but I ended up repeating experiences and going to 2 ceramic shops and 2 rug shops. Unnecessary. Tour agency: The absolute best part of this tour was working with Kerem. He is fantastic. He was so communicative always, no matter when I texted him or what I needed. He was available to make changes and to answer questions. He is really wonderful. Overall: I really enjoyed this tour, but it all depends on your attitude. I’m a happy person and I’m low maintenance, so I chose to have a good time and I did. But I would have preferred a more authentic experience. I know that is hard to find, but that would set a tour agency apart. If a tour company could actually offer a homestay, or local restaurants, or staying in a village and not in the major huge city - that would completely change the experience and they would receive SO MUCH business. My major recommendation: This is a fantastic agency, but take control of your experience! I added 2 days to this tour to visit places I wanted to see. I added activities like scuba diving and even picked a different hotel at one point. I didn’t take full advantage of this at the time, but you can totally make suggestions and ask for changes. Kerem makes it easy and is so willing to work with you to make your trip a great experience. **travel, whether backpacking or in a tour will ALWAYS come with inconveniences, delays, unexpected annoyances, but this is part of what it is to travel. They cannot be blamed on the agency or the guide. Thank you for making my first experience of Turkey a fun one!

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  Highlights of Turkey - 12 Days
• Traveled in June

  5

  Fez Travel gave us a wonderful,  professional, and well-organized tour of Turkey.  We took the Flying Carpet tour, and in 17 days we never wearied or had cause for any discomfort.  We started out with 4 people in our tour, then 2 went on different tours so for about 10 days it was a private tour.  Goksu was our guide, a consummate professional while always kind and extraordinarily helpful to all the small and great needs that arise when you are undertaking such a major journey.  Goksu was also highly knowledgeable about every aspect of Turkey and answered all of our questions, from the most serious to the most trivial, in a thoughtful and relevant manner.  (We are academics and historians and we found his mastery of his subject matter impressive.). As a seasoned guide he was able to take us to interesting lunch venues that were more authentic and out of the beaten path. On the whole, Goksu went out of his way to make sure we were getting more or less everything we asked for or needed.  It was also very well-managed pre-tour, with Canan in the office willingly connecting us many times by zoom and email to help us feel we would be safe traveling during the [hopefully] winding down phases of COVID in Turkey.    (Which indeed we were -- all our worries were groundless and on the whole Turkey was a lot more  uniformly COVID-prevention-conscious than U.S.) In terms of the content of the tour it was a mix of key archaeological, historical and cultural sites and towns, a few cities including Istanbul, Antalya,  etc. (see tour itinerary),  resort experiences, and wonderful beach, swim, and boating experiences  on the Aegean and Mediterranean coastlines.  The optional boat tour in Fehtiye is not to be missed for the views and swims off the boat.  Cappadoccia was of course uniquely interesting. The Flying Carpet tour involved extensive driving,  over 3000 km from Istanbul along the Aegean coast to Ankara.  It gives you a very good idea of the landscape of the western half of Turkey, and if you like views of mountains and coastal drives it's informative and fantastically rewarding.  Yilmaz the driver did a great job transporting us in a 14-seater van through the entire journey in an always friendly, and consistent and safe way.  The pace of the tour was just right for us,  with sufficient time for meals, breaks and free time so that it felt like a vacation despite being on the road and changing hotels so often.  The accommodations were good to very good, with the hotel in Bodrum , Kusadesi, and Pamakkule with fabulous pools. We came during a season  and circumstance when there were a lot fewer tourists , so everything, including swimming, was delightful. Finally, we came to Turkey not really knowing what to expect .  We found local people very welcoming and friendly, and the country's deep and varied history, culture, and geography mesmerizing., and the people we met really easy to get along with.  We've traveled quite a bit worldwide but this trip stood out.  Turkey is a secular Muslim country but as a foreigner  there was zero accommodation to be made to adapt.  It was also possible to eat quite well as a vegetarian,  and more than a few restaurant meals were outstanding, especially if you can peel away from touristic joints.  Recommend getting advice about where to eat from your local hotel or guide.  We did not like either of the 2 restaurants we chose for ourselves (both in touristic areas) -- not the food nor the vibes.  Turkey also produces good wine! In short, this was a great deal for a fabulous tour.  (We'd rescheduled from the year before because of COVID and Fez Travel kept the same prices even though most of it was just the two of us.). We will definitely turn to Fez Travel if we decide to do another tour of Turkey which we very well might after this experience.

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  Flying Carpet Tour