Pasha Tours
Jan 2nd, 2005, 05:46 PM
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Pasha Tours
Has anyone traveled with Pasha Tours? We are contemplating a tour with them late March. They seem like a good company,but we would appreciate any information from anyone who has traveled with them. The tour we are considering is The Super Value Western Turkey for 17 days.
Jan 2nd, 2005, 08:50 PM
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My close friends took the tour with them last August and liked it a lot - they took - Turkish Delight Tour.
According to them - the group was small and guides are knowledgable. Absolutly everything was included (tours, food, etc). If you have any specific questions, I can ask them.
Here is the website in English
http://www.pashatours.com
According to them - the group was small and guides are knowledgable. Absolutly everything was included (tours, food, etc). If you have any specific questions, I can ask them.
Here is the website in English
http://www.pashatours.com
Mar 21st, 2005, 01:29 PM
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I've used Pasha three times. Twice the tours have been seriously underbooked (thanks to unpleasantness in Iraq and 9-11), but they've gone anyway, only with a smaller vehicle. A pasha tour will go if only one person books. The value is unmatched. I have nothing but praise for their operation. Yes, you are inflicted with "shopping opportunities" but thats no great hardship. The guides are great, the buses new and superbly maintained by the drivers, and the country unmatched.
Jun 13th, 2005, 07:27 AM
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My free-wheeling parents would disapprove but I fear I am lazy and am now mainly a tour person. Real travelling requires too much effort. Actually I am becoming addicted to river cruises, but that option wasn't open in Turkey. Pasha is truly a great way to travel in that country.
Jun 23rd, 2005, 06:25 AM
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I just took a Pasha tour this month. The company seems to be focusing on the European market more than the American one. We were very fortunate to have a small group (less than 10 throughout most of the tour). The other Pasha tours that traveled during the same time were in the big buses, while we were in a minibus, which was comfortable.
I agree with zap210 that the drivers are excellent and the buses are well-maintained. However, most of the hotels, while generally clean, were not what I would consider 3 or 4* hotels (as they were advertised). For example, one hotel ran out of water during our one-night stay. Another hotel had dripping faucets which couldn't be fixed. Nevertheless, on our particular tour, all of our meals were included (no drinks, though - you must pay for drinks, including bottled water).
Our tour guide started off well, but became moody during the trip. We took the Turkish Delight trip, which involved a great deal of cross-country driving. Be prepared - it really is exhausting even though you're not the driver. Our guide stopped explaining things to us during these lengthy drives and we ended up resorting to our guidebooks instead.
In addition, there was much confusion with our itinerary. For example, we arrived a few days before the tour began. According to the Pasha itinerary, we were supposed to stay in one hotel for the first few nights, then move to another hotel for the start of the tour. However, as we were checking out of the first hotel, the front desk clerk asked if we were dissatisfied with the hotel. When we said no, he explained that Pasha had extended our stay by two more nights. Although we were happy not to move, Pasha should have directly notified us of the change. In addition, the itinerary stated that we were supposed to meet our group on the first night at the hotel restaurant. When we got up to the restaurant, we were surprised that we didn't see anyone from our group - no tour guide, no other tour participants. The maitre'd suggested that we check with reception for information. The reception desk, in turn, told us that our tour guide would show up the following morning to pick us up. The confusion was somewhat disconcerting.
As zap210 states, you get several of these "bonus" shopping opportunities.
I will say that I met the most wonderful people during my Pasha tour.
I agree with zap210 that the drivers are excellent and the buses are well-maintained. However, most of the hotels, while generally clean, were not what I would consider 3 or 4* hotels (as they were advertised). For example, one hotel ran out of water during our one-night stay. Another hotel had dripping faucets which couldn't be fixed. Nevertheless, on our particular tour, all of our meals were included (no drinks, though - you must pay for drinks, including bottled water).
Our tour guide started off well, but became moody during the trip. We took the Turkish Delight trip, which involved a great deal of cross-country driving. Be prepared - it really is exhausting even though you're not the driver. Our guide stopped explaining things to us during these lengthy drives and we ended up resorting to our guidebooks instead.
In addition, there was much confusion with our itinerary. For example, we arrived a few days before the tour began. According to the Pasha itinerary, we were supposed to stay in one hotel for the first few nights, then move to another hotel for the start of the tour. However, as we were checking out of the first hotel, the front desk clerk asked if we were dissatisfied with the hotel. When we said no, he explained that Pasha had extended our stay by two more nights. Although we were happy not to move, Pasha should have directly notified us of the change. In addition, the itinerary stated that we were supposed to meet our group on the first night at the hotel restaurant. When we got up to the restaurant, we were surprised that we didn't see anyone from our group - no tour guide, no other tour participants. The maitre'd suggested that we check with reception for information. The reception desk, in turn, told us that our tour guide would show up the following morning to pick us up. The confusion was somewhat disconcerting.
As zap210 states, you get several of these "bonus" shopping opportunities.
I will say that I met the most wonderful people during my Pasha tour.
Jul 13th, 2005, 11:50 AM
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Dear Respondents,
Thank you so much for the info on Pasha Tours...however, I'm very confused, as the tour description sheet from Pacha tours (based on Wilshire Blvd in CA here in the US) uses a different spelling! Any help will be very much appreciated.
Valiant
May 23rd, 2008, 03:31 AM
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Yes I did the 17 day tour you are talking about. What is the Pasha Tours web site now? I have a like a foot high stack of photos. It is a slow 17-day tour via bus, all expenses paid tour of western Turkey. Bring plenty of spending money. You even visit peoples houses, take a boat ride, and have ample opportunity to enjoy various hotels and shops...
Jun 23rd, 2008, 02:02 PM
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Hi
I havn't heard of Pasha but here are a few more operators with good feedback:
Intrepid Travel at www.intrepidtravel.com offers alternative, independent style small group tours at good prices.
Fez Travel at www.feztravel.com has a wide variety of tours.
Isram at www.isram.com is a well known operator offering classical itineraries in Turkey.
Here is a a nice blog of a trip to Turkey, perhaps you can get some tips and ideas form it:
www.travelswithbillandnancy.com/turkey-2.htm
For a new agey tour run by academics take a look at Mythic Travel at:
www.mythic-travel.com/tours/magiccarpet.htm
Hope this helps
I havn't heard of Pasha but here are a few more operators with good feedback:
Intrepid Travel at www.intrepidtravel.com offers alternative, independent style small group tours at good prices.
Fez Travel at www.feztravel.com has a wide variety of tours.
Isram at www.isram.com is a well known operator offering classical itineraries in Turkey.
Here is a a nice blog of a trip to Turkey, perhaps you can get some tips and ideas form it:
www.travelswithbillandnancy.com/turkey-2.htm
For a new agey tour run by academics take a look at Mythic Travel at:
www.mythic-travel.com/tours/magiccarpet.htm
Hope this helps
Jun 24th, 2008, 06:53 AM
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As the post is old but would add few commenst:
Pasha is a reputable and well known tour operator. As they run many tours sometimes one or two tours may not be as succesful as others as one poster mentioned some dislikes and one should see this as; "you can not satisfy everybody at all times" as this is a group tour and everyones expectations may be different. I would suggest this poster to send feed back to the company if havent do so before.
Most important point here is; do they meet all the aspects they offer as sites & meals are concerned ? Are you happy overall with the value you pay for the services provided?
With regular group tours personalized services are difficult to cater but a standard of service should be always there.
Please bare in mind what you pay is what you get. To be able to run the services with affordable rates many tour companies need to use conventional hotels and even within them they need to choose best rate suitable for their operations, naturally.
If one can efford and will not come to Turkey within next couple of years again, ofcourse than you can always have a private itinerary with private vehicle and guides, eat at more upsacle restaurants and stay at better hotels. In such tours you can decide and point out if shopping should be included or not.
I know personally some guides Pasa (Pasha) uses and they are good & knowledable guides. Bare in mind serving 17 - 20 days to the same audience and travel long hours is not easy. I do not say thats normal but a bit of tolerance is helpful....Time of the year, number of persons in the tour and different itienararies may effect the experiences of different travellers as well.
Thats why most private tours changes guides in different areas especially if using domestic flights between places.
Just wanted to explain another point of view.
Happy travelling and greetings from Sunny Cappadocia
Murat
Pasha is a reputable and well known tour operator. As they run many tours sometimes one or two tours may not be as succesful as others as one poster mentioned some dislikes and one should see this as; "you can not satisfy everybody at all times" as this is a group tour and everyones expectations may be different. I would suggest this poster to send feed back to the company if havent do so before.
Most important point here is; do they meet all the aspects they offer as sites & meals are concerned ? Are you happy overall with the value you pay for the services provided?
With regular group tours personalized services are difficult to cater but a standard of service should be always there.
Please bare in mind what you pay is what you get. To be able to run the services with affordable rates many tour companies need to use conventional hotels and even within them they need to choose best rate suitable for their operations, naturally.
If one can efford and will not come to Turkey within next couple of years again, ofcourse than you can always have a private itinerary with private vehicle and guides, eat at more upsacle restaurants and stay at better hotels. In such tours you can decide and point out if shopping should be included or not.
I know personally some guides Pasa (Pasha) uses and they are good & knowledable guides. Bare in mind serving 17 - 20 days to the same audience and travel long hours is not easy. I do not say thats normal but a bit of tolerance is helpful....Time of the year, number of persons in the tour and different itienararies may effect the experiences of different travellers as well.
Thats why most private tours changes guides in different areas especially if using domestic flights between places.
Just wanted to explain another point of view.
Happy travelling and greetings from Sunny Cappadocia
Murat
Jun 24th, 2008, 07:45 AM
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The tour company is Pacha (with a C, not an S). The web site is pachatours.com.
I did the Western Turkey tour last year and was quite impressed with our guide. Listening to him was like taking a college course in history, politics, religion, and art of Turkey. We did a lot of traveling but it didn't feel like there was too much bus time.
We were a small group - only 19. Pacha runs their tours regardless of the numbers so you know the tour will not be canceled.
They have many tours of different lenths and destinations within Turkey. You can mix and match the tours or start one two-week tour, jump off to do another tour (i.e., Gulet cruise) and then catch the second half of your original tour. They make things very easy.
And the price is reasonable and all inclusive. There were a few optional tours like the baloon ride, folk night and the whirling dervishes.
Our hotels were very nice and the food in Turkey was delicious, especially the vegetables and yogurt. I no longer enjoy eating vegetables at home because I don't know how to prepare them as the Turks do.
I did the Western Turkey tour last year and was quite impressed with our guide. Listening to him was like taking a college course in history, politics, religion, and art of Turkey. We did a lot of traveling but it didn't feel like there was too much bus time.
We were a small group - only 19. Pacha runs their tours regardless of the numbers so you know the tour will not be canceled.
They have many tours of different lenths and destinations within Turkey. You can mix and match the tours or start one two-week tour, jump off to do another tour (i.e., Gulet cruise) and then catch the second half of your original tour. They make things very easy.
And the price is reasonable and all inclusive. There were a few optional tours like the baloon ride, folk night and the whirling dervishes.
Our hotels were very nice and the food in Turkey was delicious, especially the vegetables and yogurt. I no longer enjoy eating vegetables at home because I don't know how to prepare them as the Turks do.
