Question re Levent Solmaz tours in Turkey

[ManhattanLawyer]

Hi,

 

I have seen several rave reviews about Levent Solmaz on this board, and I had a few questions.

 

First, has anyone had a negative experience with him?

 

Second, for those of you who have used him for tours, could you give me an idea of the prices he charges for either a half day tour of Ephesus or a full day tour of Istanbul?

 

Thanks!

[C 2 C]

We toured with him in May. I can't remember ... $150 pp for Istanbul and Ephesus... Absolutely wonderful experience. The evening was additional.

[Carmic]

We have him booked for October and he is charging $40 pp for 7 of us for a tour of Istanbul.

 

Carol

[Mike073]

We has a group of 9 with Levent in both Ephesus and Istanbul. Ephesus - $40 per person plus admission fees to the ruins of $7 per person. Mary shrine - $8 per person.

 

All day Istanbul was $55 per person plus some admission fees. St Sophia - $8, Topkapi - $16.

 

Great lunch at the Pudding Shoppe.

 

US dollars are OK in Turkey. No Euros, Turkish New Lyra is the local currency.

 

Levant is supurb. Contact him via email for your size group. He is most helpful.

[TheMiz]

We has a group of 9 with Levent in Ephesus . Ephesus - $40 per person plus admission fees to the ruins of $7 per person. Mary shrine - $8 per person.

.

 

$40 pp that sure seems low. Thought he was getting $55 pp

[C 2 C]

$40 pp that sure seems low. Thought he was getting $55 pp

 

I think the admissions are extra. Most places charge about 10 euros pp.

[Mike073]

The $40 was for a half day only in Ephesus and the admission was extra. There were 9 in our van.

[TheMiz]

The $40 was for a half day only in Ephesus and the admission was extra. There were 9 in our van.

 

Ours is $55 for 9 of us for Aug 21st

6 hour tour including lunch break.

[whenzuc]

First off, we toured with Levant last week and he is one of the best guides that we have ever had. Knowledgeable, well spoke, and a really likeable guide with a comfortable van!! We paid $55 pp plus admissions for each of the 4 of us. I would use him again anywhere that he would travel to .

[NRG]

First off, we toured with Levant last week and he is one of the best guides that we have ever had. Knowledgeable, well spoke, and a really likeable guide with a comfortable van!! We paid $55 pp plus admissions for each of the 4 of us. I would use him again anywhere that he would travel to .

 

Welcome Back! How did you enjoy your cruise? Do you think it is too early to try and book Levant for next fall? I hope you are planning to post a review soon.

[whenzuc]

i w ill post a review this weekend. I would book Levant as soon as you could. What a find!!

[slgjhg]

Hi All,

 

We (a group of at least 8) used Levent in Istanbul in September of 2004. We were on a 30 day cruise from Rome to Bangkok. He was not available for Esaphus (sp) but did have a backup that we used, he was terrific. Levent met us at the ship with a Van and driver and we were off to Topkapi. We spent the entire day with him and it was wonderful.

 

If you do searches on these boards, you will find that he is simply the best, I believe he was the #1 tour guide in Turkey at least one year.

 

Anyone who tours with Levent is in for a delightful day.

 

Regards,

 

Shannon

[C 2 C]

Levent in Istanbul May 2006.. right of the gate:

[ManhattanLawyer]

Hi,

 

One more question please: I emailed Levent a few days ago but haven't received any response back as of yet. Just wondering approximately how long it took you to receive a response from him.

 

Thanks!

[TheMiz]

Hi,

 

One more question please: I emailed Levent a few days ago but haven't received any response back as of yet. Just wondering approximately how long it took you to receive a response from him.

 

Thanks!

 

He has been very fast in the past , but I am not sure what is wrong at this point!

 

I have him booked for Aug 21st and from what I have been reading here he maybe over booked.

 

I emailed him as did another party and neither of us have recieved a reply.

[Mike073]

He told me he often does mutiple day tours and is away from his computer. He catches up when he can.

[TheMiz]

He told me he often does mutiple day tours and is away from his computer. He catches up when he can.

 

Thats good to know!

It has been 5 days since we first emailed him about the over booking questions!

[Kenwoody]

Could I ask, what did you site see here? And what would you recommend? We will be spending a day, after our cruise in Oct.

[C 2 C]

Could I ask, what did you site see here? And what would you recommend? We will be spending a day, after our cruise in Oct.

 

I don't understand the question... but see it all the mosques, palace, bazaar, etc

[drwong]

Could I ask, what did you site see here? And what would you recommend? We will be spending a day, after our cruise in Oct.

 

You'll need to spend two to four days just to see the "basics." OR, you could do the abbreviated tour with a quick walk-through of the two major churches (the Sulimanye Mosque and the Hagia Sofia) and the two major palaces (Dolhambace and Topkapi), with a quick walk through either the Grand Bazaar or the Spice Market for souvenir buying opportunities.

 

Keep in mind that if you decide to do a guided tour of the palaces, the tours average two hours, so that's going to eat up a lot of your available time. (At the Dolhambace Palace, you must go with a guided tour, but you can just walk around Topkapi after paying the entrance fee). Save Topkapi for the last, because it's open until 7 pm during the summer months.

 

If you had more time, you could have done a Bosphorus cruise, or taken a ferry across to Asia, or explored the fantastic underground cisterns, but with only a day in Istanbul (some call it Constantinople), I'd limit yourselves to those four or five sites without spending too much time at each.

[TheMiz]

OK where's Levent ?

 

Anyone know how to contact him.

I and a few others have tried now for 10 days and he is not replying about overbooking our tour!

[C 2 C]

OK where's Levent ?

 

Anyone know how to contact him.

I and a few others have tried now for 10 days and he is not replying about overbooking our tour!

 

+90(232)372 14 28

+90(232)367 30 22 FAX

cell: 0533 249 30 19

 

Info from Levent's business card.

 

Good luck

[eileen & jay]

OK where's Levent ?

 

Anyone know how to contact him.

I and a few others have tried now for 10 days and he is not replying about overbooking our tour![/quote

 

Levent had "major" computer problems recently. I would send him another email with your info, etc. I heard about his computer problems on another post. I mailed him on Sunday and received a response from him on Monday.

 

We are using his services in Oct., 2007. Hope this helps.

[eileen & jay]

Levent had "major" computer problems recently. I would send him another email with your info, etc. I heard about his computer problems on another post. I emailed him on Sunday and received a response from him on Monday.

 

We are using his services in Oct., 2007. Hope this helps.

 

 

Here are his email addresses - mail to both. primy@tnn.net primy@turk.net

 

 

Hope this helps!

[TheMiz]

Levent had "major" computer problems recently. I would send him another email with your info, etc. I heard about his computer problems on another post. I emailed him on Sunday and received a response from him on Monday.

 

We are using his services in Oct., 2007. Hope this helps.

 

 

Here are his email addresses - mail to both. primy@tnn.net primy@turk.net

 

 

Hope this helps!

 

We have his email addresses and phone numbers

He just isn't replying to us. Least emails went to him on Sunday and Monday

 

Just want to know why he booked others on our dates. He confirmed our booking May 2nd then when reading post on here, at least 2 other groups are booked on our date.

 

We have 8 in our group

There is another group of 3 and another of 2

It would have been nice to be told in advance that he might add people to our PRIVATE tour.

 

I really don't mind the extra people but it should drop the rate we ALL have to pay.