Arrive at Istanbul airport, meet our driver at the exit gate who is holding a board that your name is written. Transfer you to your hotel in the old district. Overnight in Istanbul.
Your guide will meet you and a short walk takes you to the Blue Mosque which was completed in 1616. Our next stop will be the Topkapi Palace, more than just a palace, it is an assemblage of museums containing collections amassed by the Sultans for almost five centuries. Next we walk through the old cobbled streets down Spice Market. We end the tour with a visit to the greatest Bazaar of them all, the Grand Bazaar, one of the most extraordinary shopping experiences in the world. Overnight in Istanbul.
Posted By : 1nnocentsabroad
We contracted with Pupa Tourism and Travel for a privately guided tour of 7 days and all went smoothly and seamlessly. We were picked up from the Istanbul International Airport on time and were greeted by a driver who took us to our hotel in the Sultanahmet District of Istanbul. Our guide the next day was Edip Ozcan Arslan who had extensive knowledge of the history of the sights we visited. He also worked with us to arrange two meetings with our foreign exchange sister from 1972 and whom we had not seen in many years.
Our tour included a 1-1/2 hour cruise on a private yacht on the Bosporus. They were ready for us and were friendly and welcoming. The boat itself was very clean and comfortable and we were provided with a delicious plate of different fruits and Turkish coffee. Totally excellent!
After Istanbul, we travelled to Cappadocia. Our guide helped us navigate through the Turkish Airline process. Our tour in Cappadocia was very special and included the World Heritage sights we planned to see. Pupa then arranged for our flight to Ephesus where again all went smoothly and efficiently. We were picked up by the driver who transported us to our hotel via a quick stop at a local mall that we requested. Our guide the next day at Ephesus ruins provided us with thorough information about the history of this area.
All lunch stops were arranged by Pupa and were delightful places with good Turkish food. Pupa was flexible and efficient and provided the direction we needed to make our trip enjoyable. The experience with all drivers and private vans was perfect. We felt safe the entire way. Our last driver made it a point to ask if we needed a toilet stop and helped us with luggage, etc. He helped us obtain our boarding pass at the ferry in Marmaris and made sure we were in the right line to board the ferry to Rhodes.
In summary, you can have complete confidence in Pupa Tourism and Travel agency.
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Posted On : 2024-05-23 19:06:47 
Posted By : M7458MQkevins
My wife and I traveled to Turkey December 27-January 10, visiting Istanbul, Cappadocia, and Ephesus. After doing our own research and booking our accommodations and flights to/from Istanbul, we engaged Pupa Travel to coordinate the daily itineraries for our visit--and we are so glad that we did! (Background: I discovered the Pupa website through a Google search and first contacted them only two weeks before our departure date.) Our primary agent, Mustafa, who also served as our private guide during our time in Cappadocia, was incredibly responsive, knowledgeable, and easy to work with. We were still adjusting our plans a few days before departure (and working with an 8-hour time difference between us) but he never became flustered or impatient and calmly attended to all the details. This included: internal flights from Istanbul to Kayseri and from Kayseri to Izmir, transfers from all airports to our hotels and vice versa, private tour guides and transportation in Istanbul (2 days), Cappadocia (3 days), and Izmir (1 day), rental car for two days including delivery and pickup from our hotels, admission to most venues/sites with some optional activities that we could choose a la carte (hot air balloon ride, Dervish prayer ceremony, traditional Turkish evening). He helped us think through the details of our trip, even the parts his company wasn't directly responsible for. Our private tour guides were all extremely knowledgeable, personable, and professional. Mustafa was in communication with us throughout our visit, even on our "off" days when we had no planned activities. He was encouraging of our renting a car and exploring on our own, rather having Pupa provide a guide and driver. And he and the other guides were very flexible when we asked to modify the itinerary on the fly, and very willing to make recommendations for places to visit on our own. Most importantly, all of Pupa's arrangements--flights, transfers, drivers, guides, rental car--were on schedule, which allowed us to relax and truly savor our time in Turkey. The price for these arrangements--about US$5,000--was half of what a different, luxury tour operator had quoted us. It wasn't cheap, but we feel it was money well spent.
This was our first (and hopefully not our last) visit to Turkey, an amazing country whose history and culture trace back to the dawn of human existence. There is so much to see and experience, it can be overwhelming. Thanks to Mustafa and Pupa Travel, our experience was everything we hoped it would be. We would absolutely work with Pupa on our next visit!
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Posted On : 2024-01-18 09:28:58
Posted By : didosh2000
Ilker Olcaydu was our personal travel planner and he was fantastic, especially since I was booking very last minute tours and I reached out to 3 very reputable agencies including g Pupa and they were the most responsive- especially with the California-Türkiye time difference. Their drivers, hotels and tour guides were top notch! I’m addition to this tour they were able to customize for us and add 3 days at a luxury resort- Barut Lara as well as adding the Ancient City of Troy. I asked for fun cultural experiences and got a fashion show in a leather wholesaler, silk rug weaving, great restaurants and amazing hospitality everywhere we went. When we wanted to change course a few times during our vacation, it was no problem. We truly felt taken care of and we highly recommend this travel agency to anyone who has worked hard and knows they deserve to be treated like royalty on their vacation!
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Posted On : 2023-08-19 15:59:57
Posted By : OneFunTravelBug
As a seasoned traveler with over 1 million frequent flyer miles, I can confidently say that Mustafa at Pupa Travel is one of the best guides - ever! We shared a list of places we wanted to visit and must do activities in a private tour setting with Mustafa and he returned to us very quickly with everything we wanted to do and more. Mustafa is an expert of Turkey who can recommend the best routes and/or mode of transportation to save time and enjoy the country. He proposed a custom itinerary with domestic flights, airport transfers, balloon ride, private tours, hotels, and meals. We booked everything within 24 hours and that’s the way every travel agent should operate - efficient and effective! We had a limited travel time of 7 days. So, we took flights from Istanbul and chose a private minivan for our transfers to Cappadocia, Kusadasi, Ephesus, Anatolia, Pamukkale, and spent our last 2 days in Istanbul. Mustafa followed our itinerary closely and made sure we’re taken care of the whole way. He was our private guide in Cappadocia. He’s attentive, flexible, accommodating, we could go on with all of his wonderful qualities. Next time, we will ask for him to be our guide for the entire time! Thank you so much for your hospitality, Mustafa. We’re looking forward to returning to Turkey soon!
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Posted On : 2022-09-06 04:25:20
