Christmas Turkey

It was one of the best holidays we've ever had, we met some lovey people on our tour. They were long days, packed with interesing places to see, we now know a lot more about Turkey and it history, because we had an excellent tour guide. We are looking to do something like it again this year with On the go tours.

We picked this tour because of the name Christmas Turkey. Neither of us had been to Turkey before and were interested to find out about the country that is often in the news for the wrong reasons. We were very pleasantly surprised as despite there being a bombing just before we left we felt perfectly safe in the country and everybody we met was very helpful. Turkey is really suffering because of bad press. Tourism is down 80%. Turkey is a fascinating country so rich in culture and history. Having travelled around a large part of it we could see why so many nations wanted to invade it. For us Ephesus, Pamakkale and Cappadoccia ( and our snowman built on Xmas Day ) were the highlights and we felt we only scratched the surface and so intend to return. We both came home feeling thoroughly enriched by the experience and empowered. The government is investing hugely in the economy building big highways to link the west to the east , tunnels under the Bosphorus, a huge water pipeline under the Mediterranean sea sharing water from Turkey with Northern Cyprus.Recep was an excellent guide and prepared to answer any question the group posed. He made sure the whole group was catered for and consequently everyone gelled very well. It was a very special way to spend Christmas 2016

This tour was fantastic, exactly what I wanted to get in terms of learning some history and culture of Turkey. Recep was very knowledgeable, he provided enough information and background for us to understand what we were looking and needed to look. The driver worked hard and often had to drive a long time to reach the sites. I really enjoyed this holiday.

This was one of my best Christmases ever, even though it was spent with complete strangers miles from home! The group worked really well, just the right number of people and mix of personalities, but above all it was our fantastic guide Recep who made the trip for me. His knowledge, enthusiasm, patience and timings were excellent. I was well looked after from the moment I landed in Istanbul, with nothing to worry about or organise because everything was taken care of. I was on my own yet it didn't feel like that at all, everyone was so friendly and kind to me within the group. The hotels we stayed in were far better than I expected. A few had pools, all had WiFi, which are things I wouldn't have expected. There was so much information to take in on the trip and the sites we visited were out of this world. Ephesus was the highlight for me! I would love to go back to Turkey and learn even more about the history. The pace of the tour was busy but I have still returned home feeling relaxed and slightly more knowledgeable than when I left! This is my 3rd trip with On The Go and I would highly recommend this particular cultural trip and our brilliant guide Recep.

Having returned from our trip, we'd like to share some of our thoughts and feedback regarding the Christmas Turkey Tour with On the Go. This was our first tour experience together and were not certain what to expect. The full itinerary was enticing and we were intrigued by Turkish culture and Anatolian history, but had no familiarity with the format or standards of tour guides and tour groups. After nearly two weeks with our traveling group, I have to say my wife and I have walked away from the experience thoroughly impressed by our tour guide and driver. Recep was incredibly knowledgeable and shared his knowledge with eloquence and humor. He was accommodating and gracious, happily amending the itinerary for the requests of our small group without impacting our overall timeline and subjecting any of the tour members to unwanted inconveniences. We visited many historical sites with Recep and always walked away with far more fascinating history than we could retain. His lectures were always filled with interesting tidbits and there were no questions of relevance that Recep could not answer. We were a curious group with many questions as well and Recep was patient with each of our questions. Above all, Recep was very warm and friendly. This was a personal touch that made our trip incredibly memorable. His approach helped set the tone of our group dynamics and we all walked away with new friends spread around the world. I believe this is what truly separates our On the Go tour experience from all other options. We are extremely happy and very grateful to have had Recep as our tour guide. Even with limited English, our driver Yusuf was funny, endearing, and very helpful. He was ALWAYS on time, but usually early so we were always able to rely on his presence. Yusuf did an excellent job in navigating us through difficult mountain passes and rough Istanbul traffic with speed and safety above all. We were never lost and always made it to our destinations diligently and with surprising punctuality. The bus was always clean and reliable and we never had to be concerned about missing a bag. He did not say so, but I believe Yusuf had learned to recognize each of our bags and had a count of how many belonged to the group. Sometimes he would hand our bags specifically to the owners, knowing which bag belonged to whom. Yusuf was a reassuring presence throughout the tour and we could not have asked for a better driver. Again, please extend our heartfelt gratitude to Yusuf.