Istanbul Guide service

[AWED23]

Looking for a car and guide in Istanbul for only 2 people....Prefer an accredited guide and also I am not looking to "Skin a flea" to find the "Best price"....I do not feel that less is always a bargain...Sooooo, who can help?...Thanks for any and all considerations.

[wwinfl91]

We did a tour with this company in 2003 and they did an excellent job. I don't know what they would charge for a 2 person tour but you could check.

 

http://www.turfantastik.com/

 

Have a great next cruise.

[katz]

We have hired Bursak Sansal of All About Turkey tours. We are paying $360 for four people for an all-day tour, which is call "Highlights of Istanbul", including a traditional lunch. He said that we could also add other things that we might like to see and do. He is english speaking. We will have an air-conditioned, non-smoking van.

 

He is also arranging for us to attend a "traditional evening of dance and dinner" at a local place. This will cost $75 a person with transportation. It sounds like a touristy-type thing, like a luau in Waikiki.

 

I think that we have to pay extra for entrance to any site that has a fee. I am not sure if this is Turkey or Greece (we have private tours in both ports).

 

So far, he has been very easy to deal with over the internet.

 

The website is: http://www.allaboutturkey.com

 

I hope that this information helps. If you are not going on your cruise until after October 17, I will happy to let you know how it goes.

[Denverite]

There is a lot of information on these boards about tour guides in Turkey. Just use the search function. Many people have their own favorite guide or company and I have read very little negative comments about any of the guides. When we were searching for a guide for 4 people for our trip this November, we centered on 3 different companies and requested information to compare. Two of the companies are Meander Travel and EKOL Travel - both have extensive web sites with good information about the types of tours in Istanbul. Also, you can get a general idea of prices on their sites. Just remember to ask if entrance fees are included in the fee--our tour includes all entrance fees, but does not include lunch. We finally settled on EKOL Travel (and if you check their site the difference between 2 and 4 people is only about $5 per person).

[moski]

Hi

I just returned from a 12 day Med cruise. I spent a day in Kusadasi and a day in Istanbul. Both days we used Ekol travel and found them to be wonderful.You will not be disappointed in you decide to go with them. Both days our entrance fees were included in the price quoted and we were responsible for our own lunch.

[AWED23]

Thanks for the great input!....:D

[Phoenix cruiser]

From my cruise review:

 

Based on all the advice through Cruise Critic and Yahoo we selected Lale Kosagan (www.toursinistanbul.com, kosagan@yahoo.com) as our guide. It may have been one of the best decisions of our trip, as we enjoyed two days of personalized service seeing the sights on our customized tour. She was able to get us into Mosques as they were closing to the public and everywhere we went we were several steps ahead of the bus tours, or went places they skipped. Lale met us at our hotel right after breakfast and we did a walking tour of the Sultanahmet area. At lunch Lale came through again as she made sure we got to the selected café and were immediately served- sure enough 15 minutes later up pulls a tour bus with 40 people. Lale even accompanied us in a cab to the ship to be sure we got there ok. On the second day Lale picked us up portside and continued our touring by car. For lunch she took us to an Ottoman Restaurant overlooking the Bosphorous far from the tourist crowds. I would rate Lale as one of the best guides we ever experienced.

[bigmjh]

We used Ekol Travel for both Istanbul and Kusadasi ... couldn't have asked for a better experience. Guides were excellent ... drivers were good ... vehicles were clean and new(er). They were exceptionally reasonable and were prompt to answer emails (Fevzi Turhan was our contact person). However, be prepared ... they do request a 25% deposit up front to secure the reservation.

[bunnyette]

Thank you for this great info - I am cruising with hubby in August/September 2007 - but it is never too early to start investigating alternatives to the ship's shore excursions.:cool: