Turkey
 

Hi All

We are a group of 4 aged in our early sixties and are looking at doing some sort of group tour to Turkey next year. I am wondering what are the main places we should ensure the tour goes to and if there is a better time of year to visit.
We have travelled independently trough Europe before but think a group tour may be the way to go for Turkey. Any advise is most welcome.... One thing in particular is how to see Fethiye...I have noticed some tours are land based there and some have gulet cruises???

Thank you for any suggestions.

I can't help with your question about tours, but wanted to assure you that Turkey is very easy to visit on one's own -- no need for a tour unless that's your preference.

A good guidebook -- perhaps the Moon Guide or Rough Guide -- should help you decide what places to visit ... which, of course, depend on your interests. Guidebooks will also cover what times of year are best to visit.

My trip report is old, but might give you some ideas:
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...turkey-938594/

I am not an expert on Turkey but thoroughly enjoyed our trip there. We visited Istanbul, Cappadocia, Ephesus and Pamukkale and had a terrific time. Our trip was quite some time ago and I don't remember exactly when we traveled but it was too early in the year to do a gulet cruise (too cold.)

We arranged our independent trip with the help of a travel agency and were very pleased with the service we received. I did save the name of the agency and it looks like they are still in business: https://cappadociatours.com/about-us. For some reason, they seem to go by Euphrates tours and Cappadocia tours.

Thank you so much...will definitely read trip report and follow up website.

I don't remember if I did a trip report or not as our vacation was during a busy time. However, I'm sure you can find lots of information about "Fodorite" visits to Turkey on this forum.

My trip report from our first Turkey trip is also about as old as Kja's. But also agree that it wasn't any harder (for the most part) than other European trips, and I suspect the infrastructure will make it even easier now.

Turkey Trip Report

Since there are four of you, why not consider hiring a driver to take you to the destinations that interest you; you can find some guides on site at the archeological sites such as Efes.

I did this on my most recent visit to Turkey, with two friends. Three of us hired a driver recommended by a frequent poster here who lives in Istanbul; his handle is OtherChelebi.

After time in Istanbul we headed south along the Aegean coast. We had an absolute blast. Highlights were Assos, Sirince and Foca. (If you go to Efes, I recommend staying in Sirince, rather than Izmir)

This is probably not where you want to head on your first trip to Turkey but do explore the idea of having a driver. it might cost quite a bit less in total than if four people each paid for space on a tour and you can go at your own pace, stop where you want for meals or photos or breaks, choose your own hotels, etc etc.

We used an English-language guidebook covering home stays, pensions, and small hotels and found some real gems that were inexpensive: THE BEST SMALL HOTELS IN TURKEY.