gnu2cruisin' Posted September 12, 2007 #1 Share Posted September 12, 2007 We'll be on the Nautica May 20-June 1 cruise from Istanbul to Athens and would appreciate any advice regarding reliable, entertaining, non-smoking, reasonably priced tour guides in these 2 cities. We'll be arriving in Istanbul on May 16th and will be in Athens until June 3. We also need a hotel in Athens. Any suggestions???? Thanks ever so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andee Posted September 12, 2007 #2 Share Posted September 12, 2007 We liked the Antens Cypria Hotel--it was well located, had clean, large rooms, modern bathooms, friendly front desk staff, moderate prices. Ask for a room on the 6th floor with a view of the Parthenon. We were very satisfied with Spiros from ********************. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andee Posted September 12, 2007 #3 Share Posted September 12, 2007 OK, I'm not sure why the website got blanked, as it isn't a tavel agency, and I thought the rules permitted answering questions about guides. Let's try again: wwwdotathenstaxidotnet--just substitute periods for the word dot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnu2cruisin' Posted September 12, 2007 Author #4 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Thanks for the leads. I will check them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whyme Posted September 12, 2007 #5 Share Posted September 12, 2007 We'll be on the Nautica May 20-June 1 cruise from Istanbul to Athens and would appreciate any advice regarding reliable' date=' entertaining, non-smoking, reasonably priced tour guides in these 2 cities. We'll be arriving in Istanbul on May 16th and will be in Athens until June 3. We also need a hotel in Athens. Any suggestions????[/b'] Thanks ever so. Drop me a note will give you the guides we used on our Sept 06 black sea cruise..whyme71842@aol.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caribbeansun Posted September 12, 2007 #6 Share Posted September 12, 2007 We used Jordan in Athens - he was okay but he's not a guide (nor is Spiros for that matter), he's a taxi driver and that was apparent - he had knowledge of Greek history but lacked the depth of knowledge that a guide would have. At the time we were happy with him but then realized how much we missed when we had Kagan Kosagan in Istanbul who was outstanding. We stayed at the Hotel Grand Bretange in Athens on Starpoints. I understand it's rather pricey but it's located adjacent to the Plaka district which is where restaurants and shopping abound as well as a reasonable walk to all the major historical sites within Athens. We did hire a cab to take us up the hill to the Acropolis as we couldn't see doing that climb in the heat but we did walk back to the hotel from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChatKat in Ca. Posted September 12, 2007 #7 Share Posted September 12, 2007 We toured Istanbul with a guide named Yavuz referred to us by Levant. Levant is a frequent referral on the board, if you search. He was the best private guide we have toured with customizing our tour as we were with him and showing us life in Istanbul on both sides of the Bosphorus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apex Cruiser Posted September 14, 2007 #8 Share Posted September 14, 2007 We cruised same time last year and had a great guide in Turkey. Hakan was our guide in Istanbul and Ephesus. We got him through Kagan Kosagan. If you want more information email kagan at his last name at yahoodotcom. Enjoy the cruise it was the best we have taken. Tons of things to do and see although many people get muesumed and ruined out so plan one or two fun days along with the usual sites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maimai Posted September 16, 2007 #9 Share Posted September 16, 2007 We found a guide for our group of 9 from this website on the same cruise we took this May. We struck gold with the recommendation. You can't go wrong with: Mesut YILMAZ Proffessional Tour Guide- All Turkey (National Category) English Russian Bulgarian http://www.mesutyilmaz.org http://www.ephesusprivate.com His service was professional, warm and very personable. It was cheaper than the excursion offered by the cruiseline and included lunch. We got to pick the sites we wanted to see and spent the time we wanted to spend. This guy is a real gem! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnu2cruisin' Posted September 16, 2007 Author #10 Share Posted September 16, 2007 We just received confirmation for 3 days with Kagan or Lale Kosagan and are looking forward to our Istanbul adventure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conan Posted September 17, 2007 #11 Share Posted September 17, 2007 On the internet, most services to take you around Athens and day length tours are offered by taxi drivers who, by law may not function as tour guides. Hence the difference between Spiros and the Kagans. In Istanbul, besides the Kagans and Levant Solmez, Anna Karaagac and Nejat Incedogan are excellent, knowlegeable and personable guides. Nejat lives in Izmir so is also readily available to guide in Kusadasi/Ephesus. Anna often is used as a guide on bus tours throughout Turkey. Anna is found on the net at wwwdottourinturkeydotcom. Her e-mail address is guideattrdotnet. Nejat can be contacted at (first initial n with last name incedogan)atyahoodotcom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penzance Posted October 16, 2007 #12 Share Posted October 16, 2007 gnu2crusin' My husband and I are on the same cruise next May. I see that you have already booked 3 days with a tour guide in Istanbul. May I ask is it a private tour or have you been placed with others in a tour? Did you decide which taxi driver to use in Athens? We are in the process of seeking guides and/or taxi drivers in Istanbul and in Athens, but first we want to read the guide books and decide which sites we would like to visit in both cities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenneagle Posted October 16, 2007 #13 Share Posted October 16, 2007 We used kagan in june.he was outstanding. had 3 wonderful days.he took us to great local places to eat.enjoy.Istanbul was the high light of our trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillipahain Posted October 17, 2007 #14 Share Posted October 17, 2007 We were in Istanbul 3 weeks ago and had a superb guy pick us up at the airport ,Stayed at the lovely TAN hotel which was inexpensive and we booked independantly and he took us to the cruise port next day He does tours too and as he has spent time working both in the UK and USA his english and his whole attitude is truly excellent email me on linkman234@btinternet.com and I will give you both contacts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare judi666 Posted October 17, 2007 #15 Share Posted October 17, 2007 We had Jordan pick us up at the airport and were booked with another couple for a tour of the coast and the city. He picked us up in a very small Mercedes coupe. I assumed that when we were going on the tour (a few days later) he would have a bigger vehicle. Not the case! We had 5 people crammed in a car that would have been a tight fit for 4. It was so miserably uncomfortable, that my husband and I left the "tour" about 1 hour into it. I could not see making the 5 hour trip along the coast. I also found Jordan to be very rude and misoginistic. If you want someone to pick you up at the airport, he is your guy. Basically he is a cab driver, and he does know some historical facts and speaks english well enough. We also were forced to get another cab from our hotel to the port. Even though we talked about there being no way he could get all 4 of us and our luggage in his car. He once again promised a bigger vehicle, but when that failed to materialize, we sat in the hotel lobby for an extra hour waiting for the new cab ordered by the concierge (the other couple went with Jordan). We stayed at the Erindanus Hotel, which I would highly recommend. It was lovely and our room had a fabulous view of the Acropolis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penzance Posted October 17, 2007 #16 Share Posted October 17, 2007 judi666 Oh how awful for you both. Is it possible to "name names" so that I don't book this fellow Jordan in Athens. Did he come recommended or did you find him on your own? Was he an independent or with a group of taxi driver/guides? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Napi's Mom Posted October 19, 2007 #17 Share Posted October 19, 2007 gnu2crusin' My husband and I are on the same cruise next May. I see that you have already booked 3 days with a tour guide in Istanbul. May I ask is it a private tour or have you been placed with others in a tour? Did you decide which taxi driver to use in Athens? We are in the process of seeking guides and/or taxi drivers in Istanbul and in Athens, but first we want to read the guide books and decide which sites we would like to visit in both cities. We were on Nautica last Nov. in Athens we had Paul from Greektaxi...google it or make it into a web link by adding the missing parts ... .com He was from Athens, transplanted to NJ owned a pizza place 15yrs....speaks great english obviously, and has either the smaller Merc.s taxi..or for larger group 20 passenger mini bus. Again not guide...but the guides are $$$$$ He IS knowledgeble, but not allowed to go on site as guide...but fills you in as he drives to site...provides guidebooks. we paid 400Euro/$500 for a full day on the mini bus..had 12 people ..around $45.pp (ships tour was 3 hrs for 50$+) with that many going he's great fun too. Can't go wrong with Levent OR Nejat, I especially like Nejat...very down to earth and loves his subject and country, we had both...they are good friends and because of a screwup in their reservations...did a quick sharing of ours, and we certainly didn't suffer because of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caribbeansun Posted October 20, 2007 #18 Share Posted October 20, 2007 We used Jordan for 2 full days BUT there was only 2 of us - I couldn't imagine putting more than 3 people in his car - how the heck you got 5 in is beyond me! He spent far too much time complaining about the other taxi drivers and the way they market - I frankly didn't care nor did I wish to listen to someone complain about their business - I get enough of that in my job. We found him to be a bit rude at different times - mostly if we didn't share his opinion on something. It felt like we were being quizzed on the information he passed along which we grew tired of very quickly. Can't say that he came across as misogynistic necessarily but you've made me consider that with respect to some of the exchanges he had with my DW. She may well have felt that way but didn't express it that way to me - she was happy to be done with Jordan at the end of the second day as was I. We had Jordan pick us up at the airport and were booked with another couple for a tour of the coast and the city. He picked us up in a very small Mercedes coupe. I assumed that when we were going on the tour (a few days later) he would have a bigger vehicle. Not the case! We had 5 people crammed in a car that would have been a tight fit for 4. It was so miserably uncomfortable, that my husband and I left the "tour" about 1 hour into it. I could not see making the 5 hour trip along the coast. I also found Jordan to be very rude and misoginistic. If you want someone to pick you up at the airport, he is your guy. Basically he is a cab driver, and he does know some historical facts and speaks english well enough. We also were forced to get another cab from our hotel to the port. Even though we talked about there being no way he could get all 4 of us and our luggage in his car. He once again promised a bigger vehicle, but when that failed to materialize, we sat in the hotel lobby for an extra hour waiting for the new cab ordered by the concierge (the other couple went with Jordan). We stayed at the Erindanus Hotel, which I would highly recommend. It was lovely and our room had a fabulous view of the Acropolis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare judi666 Posted October 20, 2007 #19 Share Posted October 20, 2007 judi666 Oh how awful for you both. Is it possible to "name names" so that I don't book this fellow Jordan in Athens. Did he come recommended or did you find him on your own? Was he an independent or with a group of taxi driver/guides? I think his last name is Jordan Nagalou. Maybe the other cruisers who used him can remember. He was recommended to another couple on our cruise and we decided to go with them on the "tour" as they had had dinner with us in LA beforehand. We did several other private excursions (Cairo, Alexandria, Santorini, Ephesus) with them. I guess there was bad and good to all of them, but Jordan was really a piece of work. Yes, he did that quizzing thing with us as well. Very annoying! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare judi666 Posted October 20, 2007 #20 Share Posted October 20, 2007 I think his last name is Jordan Nagalou. Maybe the other cruisers who used him can remember. He was recommended to another couple on our cruise and we decided to go with them on the "tour" as they had had dinner with us in LA beforehand. We did several other private excursions (Cairo, Alexandria, Santorini, Ephesus) with them. I guess there was bad and good to all of them, but Jordan was really a piece of work. Yes, he did that quizzing thing with us as well. Very annoying! He has a website. That is how the other couple found him. Apparently he did some work with ABC during the Olympics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caribbeansun Posted October 21, 2007 #21 Share Posted October 21, 2007 It's Jordan Ntaioglou and the web site is http://www.athens-tours.gr if you're inclined to use him - we found his name on Cruise Critic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnu2cruisin' Posted November 20, 2007 Author #22 Share Posted November 20, 2007 gnu2crusin' My husband and I are on the same cruise next May. I see that you have already booked 3 days with a tour guide in Istanbul. May I ask is it a private tour or have you been placed with others in a tour? Did you decide which taxi driver to use in Athens? We are in the process of seeking guides and/or taxi drivers in Istanbul and in Athens, but first we want to read the guide books and decide which sites we would like to visit in both cities. Hi Penzance, Would love to chat with you about the cruise since we both live in LA. We can compare notes. We can be reached at pippin85070@mypacks.net. At this point, all I've booked is the guide for Istanbul and a hotel. I guess I'd better get working on the rest! Looking forward to meeting you at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tucker4000 Posted November 20, 2007 #23 Share Posted November 20, 2007 We used Levant Solmez in Istanbul. He is the best tour guide we ever had. He will customise the entire tour to what ever you want. We went to a Turkish night club with him for dinner,traditional dances and increadable belly dances! Worth every penny ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnu2cruisin' Posted November 22, 2007 Author #24 Share Posted November 22, 2007 We received a quote from him for $150 per person for a full day tour of Ephesus. Is that a typical price? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caribbeansun Posted November 22, 2007 #25 Share Posted November 22, 2007 EKOL charges $55 per person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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