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Turkey Land Tour recommendation

Mowie

I have gone on numerous Tauck tours and have very much enjoyed them. I see that they do not offer land tours of Turkey now. If they offered a land tour I certainly would sign up for it! Does anyone have suggestions for another high quality group tour company? The ones I looked at include A Lot of driving time in Turkey. Only A and K offers air instead of long bus rides.
Thanks, in advance,
Marilyn
I certainly plan on going on numerous Tauck tours in the future. But Turkey is on my list now.

Comments

Marla526

Tauck unfortunately does not offer Turkey land tours. We have done four Tauck trips, but did A&K to Turkey in September of 2022. It was fabulous. Don’t hesitate.

Mowie

Thanks! That is so good to know. I called A and K and was not given specific information. I would like to make sure we have enough time in Ephesus and Cappadocia. How were the flights? Did you have to get to the airports very early? All other group companies involve extensive driving time.

mil

I'm going with Audley in a custom-made tour after Namibia. 3 weeks , myself a guide and a driver.
You have to shop around and find the one company that suits you

MCD

Tauck cancelled my land tour to Turkey about a month before it was scheduled to start in 2016. I kept hoping that they would reinstate the land tour, but they haven't. I almost booked the A&K tour, but then saw the one offered by Smithsonian Journeys, and will be taking it this fall. I preferred their itinerary (with the Cappadocia extension) to A&K's. It does involve a lot of driving, but I like to see the countryside. I learned that Smithsonian contracts with Odysseys Unlimited to do the actual touring. Odysseys does a lot of college alumni trips. I'll see how it goes!

British

I’ve had Odysseys recommendations in general by various well-traveled people.

Mowie

I looked at Odyssey..All the other tour companies involve a lot of bus/driving time and many hotels...Turkey is a big country..Plus Cappadocia is not offered on their regular tour.. only as an extension.

Mowie

Thanks for the info about Smithsonian....I did look at that tour but will revisit it again after your comments.

henrypoon_66

I have done two Tauck land tours and one Tauck/Ponant cruise in 2023 and one A&K land tour and one A&K/Ponant cruise in 2024.

I was thinking about Smithsonian but have heard payment/refund issues with them. So Smithsonian fell off my list when I made my choice. Looking forward to the future, I will most likely sign up for one or two A&K land next year and go with Tauck for their Silicy cruise.

A&K and Tauck have their differences.

A&K has a very ambitous, fun and culture filled schedule that often starts very early in the morning and ends very late. A&K will give you the option to customize on your free time or break away from the group. With smaller group size, the A&K buses tend to be smaller and you will not see the frequent "seat fighting" or "seat saving for my friends" drama as in Tauck. For me, the situation got so bad that it occurred every day with people fighting for the front seat at the tauck's Venice and Adriatric Coast cruise and A Week in Portugal. At the Tauck "A week in Portugal" tour, a few couples hang out together and refused any one to sit with them at their tables. I found the A&K guests to be more worldly and sophisicated.If the A&K guests are snobbish, they hang out with themselves. For Tauck, I found some people tend to be very invasive and want to be "Life of the party", giving you the fraternity rush week feel.

In my opinion, Tauck is more geared toward those who need a lot of hand holding. All-american meals are the staples for your hotel dinners and lunches. A&K would go wild with the food choices and ordered the most expesnive menu items. When I visited the same restaurant Tauck has previously visited with A&K, I realize why Tauck is cheaper beacuse Tauck has ordered sphagetti for one of the meal at the same Kyoto restaurant while A&K ordered Wayu steak.

A&K tours move at an agressively fast speed. If some one is not able to keep up with the group, try to faint or fall, or complain about this and that about the food and the meals, the TDs will not bend over their backs for you. A&K will not be too generous with bathroom breaks, we were warned that one of the bus trip for one of the Greece cruise excursion would be two hours long each way with one 15 minutes bathroom break each direction. That day started at seven and did not end until six with a dinner scheduled at eight. I think A&K is more for the seasoned travelers.

A&K plane trip is very tightly scheduled with little room for issues at the airport and often you have to handle your own luggage but A&K will pay for your laundry.

henrypoon_66

One more difference:

The A&K TDs are very good but tend to be a bit more stand-off ish.The Tauck TDs tend to behave like elementary school teachers always giving extra time to those asking a lot of stupid questions, asking for long bathroom breaks, eating very slowly and needing more asistance with walking and climbing, which result in slowing down the whole group.

British

I’m sorry Henry, some of the things you mention about Tauck are not true. They always have seat rotation on their land tours! There is no seat saving. On river cruises, I understand that there may not be rotation on the river cruise coach excursions but you are not on the coach for long.
We have been on Tauck tours with A and K there too, one was the Yangtze River, Tauck went on to Hong Kong, A and K went home. Same on an Africa tour, they followed us around..But paid way more, I checked their tour.
I had friends take a private A and K tour with a few friends, They got hotel rooms with no views, the promised schedule could not be anchieve and the driver got seriously lost in one place. It was a similar tour we took with Tauck but it cost them a fortune and Tauck went to more places

AlanS

We have never seen problems, certainly nothing approaching "drama" with bus seating. There are often family or groups traveling together who want to dine at the same table on river cruisess and that is totally understandable. Did the couples hanging out together discourage, refuse or politely decline anyone and everyone to sit with them or just you?

Henry, it seems you are so underwhelmed by Tauck, why do you even bother traveling with them??

MCD

I second British's response that Tauck has seat rotation on their land tours, which works very well. The only exception that I have encountered is on the "Black Sea to Budapest" river coach excursions, where the same two couples always took the front seats. I actually found that amusing.

OurTravels34

I agree with British and MCD 100% snd we are all well-seasoned travelers who enjoy Tauck.
Henry, you are entitled to your opinion, but it’s definitely not etched in stone.

British

On a tour with another company, the TD said he expected the people to police each other and take turns with seating. It mostly did not work. I love the Tauck rotation, in my opinion it elevates the company above all others.

Claudia Sails

Seat rotation on all land tours we've taken. No seat rotation on river cruises. On cruises we typically head to the back door when boarding because the line is always longer at the front door.

gladysorlando984

I agree with everyone on the seat rotation and with Claudia on the river cruises, I always go to the back door, personally I don't care where I sit on the bus the scenery from the front window is the same as the side windows, the obsession with the front seat always amazes me.

AlanS

When sitting in the front I can easily get and monopolize the attention of the TD! But who would do that?

Wan

We've done 10 Tauck tours. Only once did someone request to sit up front at all times because of "headaches". No one accommodated that person. We don't care too much about food details on the trips because we can always find our own food experiences. What gives us a great deal of confidence about Tauck is their agility on the ground and extensive network of operations. One time we got to the Postojna caves in Slovenia, about to start our private tour, when a United Nations bus of officials pulled up next to us. We got to go in first! (The Odysseys Unlimited group had to wait.) Also think about this: All the Tauckers who got safely out of Israel in October.
You need quite a network for that.

British

You are so correct Wan. Did you know when Tauck had to evacuate people from the bombed hotel in Mumbai, that one person complained they had paid for business class when Tauck sent a plane! Yes, they made a fuss even though one Tauck person died by not listening to instructions

BKMD

Wan - you were lucky. When we toured Auschwitz, we had to wait about an hour for the Prime Minister of Sweden and his entourage to clear each building before we were allowed in.

the moores

Back to your question, Mowie. Here is what we did when we went to Turkey. We did an eight day tour of Istanbul with Road Scholar. We stayed in a four or five star hotel (not always the case with Road Scholar) and ate in great restaurants. Some of them plus the hotel were mentioned in travel or food magazines. Istanbul has so much to offer that you need all of that time to absorb this lovely city. We then flew to Selcuk. BTW, I like Turkish Airlines a lot. Our hotel arranged drivers to Ephesus, Aphrodisias, and Pammukule. We then flew to Cappadocia where we stayed in a great hotel. In addition to having a driver at the airport pick us up the owner arranged for our tours of the area and a hot air balloon ride. The combination of a tour plus DIY add-ons was one of the easiest trips we have made. And by flying, rather than sitting in a bus, we saved a lot of time and were able to concentrate on the sights.

Turkey and Tauck's trip to Japan are my two favorite trips. I don't understand why Tauck ignores the country.

British

Has anyone called Tauck to ask?

Wan

I actually emailed guest relations today. I asked if they were working on a land tour for Turkiye. The response was that they do not offer land trips. I said that I hoped they would work on such a tour, but got no response to that. Maybe the more of us request it, the more likely they will be to bring it back. But that could take years.

Mowie

"The Moores" Thank you so much for the great information. I really appreciate it. Sounds like you had a wonderful trip! I did call Tauck and the person I spoke did not know why they were not offering a land tour of Turkey. When I got off the phone, it was then that I realized that I do have the email addresses of some "higher ups" at Tauck. I will email them tomorrow and then let you know their response.

MCD

I have included a request for a land tour of Turkey on more than one of my comment cards at the end of other trips. Tauck's response was that they don't offer a land trip; just the cruise that goes to Istanbul and Ephesus. I don't see why they can't, because they often use the same local suppliers as A&K, but that's the way it is.

socalduo

We did a land tour with Tauck before there was a terrorist attack in the area where the hotel in Istanbul was located.

British

It can’t just be terrorist attacks that stop them going as they have gone back to other places where they are. I think it could be poor infrastructure and poor building codes or lack of supply if an earthquake occurs

the moores

After talking several times to Tauck about a Turkey tour and knowing that many tour companies, including Abercrombie & Kent, go there it just doesn't make sense. If they can do Africa and Southeast Asia, Tauck should be able to successfully package a Turkey tour. Rather than infrastructure could the reason be an irrational emotion based on a bad experience or watching Midnight Express too many times? .

Folsomdoc

Rick Steves does a 13 day tour of Türkiye. https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/greece-turkey/turkey It’s been halted when there was political upheaval and earthquakes but is up and running. Like all RS tours you’ll get a terrific guide, good local guides, easy access to sites. You’ll get clean and safe hotels but nothing close to what you’d get on a Tauck tour. The food will be decent but not elaborate. You’ll manage your own bags and need to get to and from the airport. I’ve done may RS tours, but not this one.

MikeHenderson

At our age, I want a tour company that takes care of everything. We used to travel on our own but that takes a lot of research, planning and effort. I'm happy to pay someone else to do all that.