Treasures Of Ancient Turkey Tour 14 Days Small Group

Posted By : C9314ZWserenam
Wow, what an experience! The itinerary was amazing - every location was awe inspiring.

Our guide Ceylon Tuna was a true professional navigating us around the country, explaining each sight, handling the details of hotel check-ins, food and SO much more!

Our driver was top notch! We got to locations on time, safely and he made sure we always had plenty of bottled water on hand.

The hotels were comfortable & ALL had air conditioning (which was extremely important as we came across some unseasonal heat 110 degrees) and all hotels were in good locations.

14 days is a long tour and our Serendipity team did a wonderful job every single day!

I highly recommend this Tour Company!
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Posted On : 2024-06-24 18:26:32

Posted By : 1CaliforniaTraveler


After 2 or 3 years of watching Turkish tv shows, I knew that’s where I wanted to go on my next vacation. I also knew I wanted a tour with a Turkish company, and wanted only a small group - not one of those tours with 30 or more people on a big bus. After looking at tours offered by dozens of other companies, I found exactly what I wanted with Serendipity Tours Turkey and signed up for their 14 day Treasures of Ancient Turkey tour. We had a small group - just three of us who were strangers when we met, with two more people joining us the last few days - so it was like a private tour. The ancient sites we visited blew me away. I didn’t know much - if anything - about archeology and Turkey’s ancient cities before the tour and now I can’t wait to get home and start learning more. But as fantastic as the sites and the history were, they really weren’t the highlight of the trip. The real highlights were our tour guide Mustafa, and our driver Fevzi. Our driver put in incredibly long days behind the wheel driving over some incredibly difficult terrain, yet he never lost his cheerful disposition no matter how long the day or how difficult the road. He was always there for us - when our luggage needed to be moved either to the room or back to the van, or when we finished a museum tour early and wanted to get back on the van ahead of the others. And he always made sure there was a full cooler of water for us.

But my greatest appreciation has to go to our tour guide Mustafa. First of all, he clearly has a passion for both his country and its history. He is a walking encyclopedia of the history of all the sites we visited and I wondered with each site we saw how one person could know so much about so many places. He also knew how to share the salient points of each place without getting us bogged down in too many details, but if we wanted to know more he always had more to share. He also took time to answer the many questions we had about Turkish culture because it is different in many ways from what we are accustomed to. Mustafa is also a perfect guide in that he often let us know whether it was helpful to visit a site or its museum first, and whether we should spend more time or less looking at certain places. We appreciated his flexibility regarding special requests to add a site when one of us wanted to see something that wasn’t included on our official list of places to go. There were a few times on the tour when I wandered off and got lost and even though I said I would find the group on my own, he was like a shepherd taking care of his flock and waited until this wandering sheep could be found before moving on.

Finally, after our tour ended and he was still on tour with the others who had joined our tour late, I had a serious SNAFU with my airport transportation. His was the only phone number I had so I called. Notwithstanding that he was still leading a tour, he jumped in to solve the problem, something that required a lot of his time, and took his attention away from his clients. As a result, I am grateful that in addition to being an outstanding tour guide, Mustafa is also a caring and committed problem solver who goes the extra mile.

So - the bottom line: if you have been thinking about visiting Turkey, just make a plan because it is a remarkable country with such an important and fascinating history. And then contact Serendipity because I seriously doubt you will find a better tour than what they offer. And I’m pretty sure you won’t find a better driver than Fevzi or a better tour guide than Mustafa.


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Posted On : 2023-11-06 09:51:16

Posted By : elainedB2208XF
This was an unexpected trip for me; I went knowing absolutely nothing about any aspect of the itinerary and I had no idea of what to expect. I was so impressed by the magnitude, diversity and breadth of the historical sites, particularly Ephesus, Topkapi Palace, Hierapolis, Gobekli Tepe, and Aphrodisias, that I consider Turkey to be the best destination imaginable. In addition, I marveled at the breathtaking scenery, such as the Aegean Coast, Pamukkale rock pools, Cappadocia volcanic rock formations, and the mountain wilderness of Mount Nemrut. There is cultural diversity ranging from small rural villages whose population practices the traditional Turkish lifestyle to sprawling, modern cities. Each meal offers a representative sample of traditional Turkish foods that are well-presented. Even the museums were an enjoyable experience, especially the archaeology and mosaic museums. The performance of the Whirling Dervishes is a must-see event, and well worth the nominal fee. My tour guide, Veysel Bayam, has 25-years of experience, which benefits the group as he effortlessly maneuvers through every site and negotiates with the locals who are obviously familiar with him. Serendipity Tours is a fantastic organization with great customer support from the beginning to the end of the experience. In particular, Veysel is very well informed and he goes the extra mile at every stage. I recommend Serendipity Tours unreservedly.
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Posted On : 2021-09-13 17:05:12

Posted By : Gemmalyn000
Absolutely the only way to see and experience Turkey. From the time we landed in Istanbul until the last day in Gaziantep (on our way back to Istanbul via flight the next day), Veysel, our tour guide, and Favezi, our driver, took care of us and treated us like family. Veysel is very informative of Turkey and its culture and history. He made sure we experienced Turkey the way it should be: trying different dishes, desserts, shopping, sights, etc. We’ve been to Turkey before but this was a better way to see the country. There were 4 of us on the tour so we were very comfortable during our trips in the van. Cold water was always available. We ate in so many restaurants and even though the menu was sometimes the same, it was still good to taste the different variations of meatballs, chicken kabob, and baklava! The hotels were all different with the highlight being the cave hotel in Cappadocia. The Turks are friendly towards the tourists and we felt safe the whole time. Veysel has been doing this tour for a long time that it seemed like everywhere we went, everyone knew him personally. We highly recommend this tour. It has been a pleasurable 2 weeks.
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Posted On : 2021-09-07 10:28:43

Posted By : maggierY8069HX
What an incredible well organized, amazing, and beautifully well rounded arranged trip! From getting picked up at the airport to getting dropped off at the airport--every detail with Serendipity is taken cared of! Serendipity made our tour group feel like it was personalized just for our family. It is very difficult to highlight any single part of our trip-as it was all exceptional. Our tour guide Veysel Gokhan Bayam is a walking historian, with a heart of gold. He made certain that certain members of our group that were having a hard time with some of the terrain he was there to lend them a hand, literally! Veysel was very organized with every step of our tour-right down to arranging COVID testing before we left Istanbul and checking our results! Due to his knowledge and care, we are wanting to take another trip with him as our tour guide and Serendipity. Truly a spectacular and incredible trip. Thank-you Veysel Gokhan Bayam and Serendipity tours-until our next trip with you!
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Posted On : 2021-07-24 11:05:31

Posted By : 7241914
This has been the best trip I have ever taken. Not only the itinerary was perfect, but the whole experience was outstanding.

As a 74 years old woman who has knee issues , I was more than surprised that I was able to visit and enjoy all the sites. The only reason I was able to do it was our guide Veysel G Bayam. Veysel was helpful, kind and due to his knowledge of the sites, he would adapt my experience without missing out. He would hold my hand and help me have an enjoyable experience.

The hotels were all very well located, clean and usually would depict what was special at each site.

I think Serendipity was the best choice for me, price and location wise.

I’m looking forward to book another trip with them.
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Posted On : 2021-07-22 13:09:44

Posted By : eugenia236
Let me start by saying the other great reviews are spot on! 6 of us decided to visit Turkey. All of us seasoned travels—from backpacking through Europe to staying at the Ritz in Cairo. We decided to book this tour as we liked the itinerary-in particular visiting Gobelitepe. I also personally wanted to see Hatussas, and they accommodated this in our itinerary. This was a fabulous trip-and what put it over the top was our guide, Veysal Gokhan Bayam. As a guide he was very organized, and quite knowledgeable and was able to speak with great facility about the history, archaeology,, and the population movements that affected the sites we saw. As a person he is extremely kind and helpful. All of us hope to take another trip in the future with him as our guide. We were also very pleased with the driver and van provided by Serendiptiy-very professional. The hotels were good—Celal Sultan in Istanbul is not flashy, but is very comfortable and has a great location; the accommodation (MCD cave hotell) in Cappadocia was outstanding, and the meals there were great. Our itinerary took us to South Eastern Turkey which was fascinating—and also had some of the more interesting archaeological sites-highly recommend others consider visiting this area. It is more rustic-and on our trip we saw no other Westerners, let alone Americans, in this part of the country. However, the sites are very interesting, and the people very friendly. Serendipity had us clearly in the finest hotels in this part of the country, however electricity and “western” amenities are not as developed as in other parts of Turkey, which was fine for us, but fyi for those who are less intrepid. In short, it was a magnificent trip and all of us are recommending this tour, and especially our tour guide, to our friends
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Posted On : 2021-07-21 09:08:30

Posted By : taekod
I would say this was one of the best trips I've ever taken. Brilliant itinerary - Visited 9 UNESCO Wold Heritage sites. The places we visited were truly breath taking.
Fazli, the tour director/guide pulled together an amazing trip in the challenging environment during the pandemic in April 2021. He was the best, very knowledgeable and super dependable. Requests and questions before, during and after my trip were always welcomed with a courteous attitude, so called " Turkish Hospitality". He also knew the best restaurant in each place we visited which is a very important attribute as well.
Everything was wonderful and hoping to come back to travel the Black sea and eastern Turkey with him in the near future. Lastly, I would like to thank Mr. Favzi for driving us during the trip with such a pleasant attitude and professionalism.
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Posted On : 2021-05-06 17:38:37

Posted By : Freenz216
Every day was an amazing experience! The trip could not have been any better considering the COVID restrictions, it in fact made what we did do that much better as there were NO crowds. We were the only ones at some sites and if it was "crowded" it was never inconvenient. Fazli was full of information. I felt I was in competent hands at all time. He was soooo delightful. I highly recommend his tour!
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Posted On : 2021-01-20 23:35:47

Posted By : ReetsBisht
I was so skeptical to book a tour as I’m not a package trip kinda person but since Turkey is so huge plus Covid situations, I thought to go with a tour company for my first trip to this beautiful country. And what a great decision😁! I’m so glad that I found serendipity tours because I don’t think any other tour company could give you the kind of hospitality that I received from Fazli the tour guide/owner/ who became my friend forever as well. He keeps the group small so you won’t get that “lost in the crowd” kinda feel. I had a lot of questions before the trip and Fazli was so prompt to respond without delays. Hotels were pretty good(except the one in Istanbul. Too cramped for a 4* standards ). Very knowledgeable and ready to modify/customize the trip as per your needs even while you’re already in the trip. That’s very rare and I was so happy to see that kinda service. Mr Fazi(the driver) drove us all around the Turkey in his comfortable Mercedes Van without any hiccups. Very safe driving! Traveling in covid era is tricky but since they’ve been following up all of the protocols, I felt really good and safe throughout the trip. And the places that we visited..Outstanding!
I’m planning to explore another side of Turkey soon and without any second thoughts will book it again with Fazli. See ya soon guys!😁
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Posted On : 2021-01-17 15:37:51