|
PRIVATE
SHORE EXCURSIONS
IN KUSADASI to Ephesus
Pope visits
'Mary's House' near Ephesus
Click
here to view Istanbul Private Tour programs
Please,
contact for group & professional rates.
Kusadasi
is your gateway to Ephesus, a city created by the Ionians
in the 11th century BC and later expanded by the Romans.
Now considered one of the grandest reconstructed sites in
the ancient world the region also saw the likes of Cleopatra,
Mark Anthony, the Virgin Mary, and John the Apostle.
TOUR
1 : Private Ephesus
Anytime
you want : Met by your private guide at Kusadasi port with
your name sign and start for Ephesus trip.
Ephesus was undoubtedly one of the most important
cultural centers of the ancient world. Impressive structures
we will see include the Library of Celsius, Temple of Hadrian,
Theatre and Odeon. Drive back to Kusadasi. Some free time
for shopping.
Including
Professional Licensed Guide, transportation A/C, entrance
fees.
Minimum
Required time for this tour is 3 hours.
|
PRIVATE
EPHESUS TOUR RATES
|
|
Pax
|
Per
Person
|
| Min.
2 - 3 |
72-US$
|
| Min.
4 - 5 |
69-US$
|
| Min.
6 to 10 |
64-US$
|
| Min.
11 - + |
60-US$
|
Terrace Houses is
optional with 15-$US extra per person.Minimum required
time is 30 minutes.
Note
: Ephesus include walking ( 1.5 k.m. ) and Terrace Houses
has steps, Not recommended for people with physical disabilities.
BOOK
NOW
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TOUR
2 : Private Ephesus + The Temple of Artemis
Anytime
you want : Met by your private guide at Kusadasi
port with your name sign and start for Ephesus
trip. Drive to the Temple of Artemis, one
of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Ephesus
was undoubtedly one of the most important cultural centers
of the ancient world. Impressive structures we will see include
the Library of Celsus, Temple of Hadrian, Theatre and Odeon.
Drive back to Kusadasi. Some free time for shopping.
Including
Professional Licensed Guide, transportation A/C, entrance
fees.
Minimum
Required time for this tour is 3,5 hours.
| PRIVATE
EPHESUS TOUR RATES |
| Pax |
Per
Person |
| Min.
2 - 3 |
80 US$ |
| Min.
4 - 5 |
72 US$ |
| Min.
6 to 10 |
66 US$ |
| Min.
11 - + |
62 US$ |
| Group
Tour |
55 US$ |
Group
tour departure : 08.15 a.m. Terrace Houses can not be included
in the Group Tour program
Terrace Houses
is optional with 15-$US extra per person.Minimum required
time is 30 minutes.
Note
: Ephesus include walking ( 1.5 k.m. ) and Terrace Houses
has steps, Not recommended for people with physical disabilities.
BOOK
NOW
@Do
You Need More Information?
TOUR
3 : Private Ephesus + House of Virgin Mary + The Temple
of Artemis
Anytime
you want : Met by your private guide at Kusadasi port with
your name sign and start for Ephesus trip. Drive
to the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven
wonders of the ancient world. Ephesus was
undoubtedly one of the most important cultural centers of
the ancient world. Impressive structures we will see include
the Library of Celsus, Temple of Hadrian, Theatre and Odeon.
We also visit the House of the Virgin Mary where
she is believed to have spent her last years. On July 26,
1967, Pope Paul VI visited The House of Virgin Mary . He
led the Liturgy and gave a bronze candle holder as a gift.
Drive back to Kusadasi. Some free time for shopping.
Including
Professional Licensed Guide, transportation A/C, entrance
fees.
Minimum
Required time for this tour is 4 hours.
| PRIVATE
EPHESUS TOUR RATES |
| Pax |
Per
Person |
| Min.
2 - 3 |
83 US$ |
| Min.
4 - 5 |
77 US$ |
| Min.
6 to 10 |
72 US$ |
| Min.
11 - + |
66
US$ |
| Group
Tour |
61
US$ |
Group
tour departure : 08.15 a.m. Terrace Houses can not be included
in the Group Tour program
Terrace Houses
is optional with 15-$US extra per person.Minimum required
time is 30 minutes.
Note
: Ephesus include walking ( 1.5 k.m. ) and Terrace Houses
has steps, Not recommended for people with physical disabilities.
BOOK
NOW
@Do
You Need More Information?
TOUR
4 : Private Ephesus + House of Virgin Mary + The Temple
of Artemis + St. John Basilica
Anytime you want : Met by your private guide at Kusadasi
port with your name sign and start for
Ephesus trip. Ephesus was undoubtedly one
of the most important cultural centers of the ancient world.
Impressive structures we will see include the Library of
Celsus, Temple of Hadrian, Theatre and Odeon. We also visit
the House of the Virgin Mary where she
is believed to have spent her last years. On July 26, 1967,
Pope Paul VI visited The House of Virgin Mary . He led the
Liturgy and gave a bronze candle holder as a gift. Than
visit the Basilica of St. John, who came
here with the Virgin Mary and wrote his Gospel. Drive back
to Kusadasi after visit the Temple of Artemis,
one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Some free
time for shopping.
Including
Professional Licensed Guide, transportation A/C, entrance
fees.
Minimum
Required time for this tour is 5 hours.
|
PRIVATE
EPHESUS TOUR RATES
|
|
Pax
|
Per
Person
|
| Min.
2 - 3 |
100 US$
|
| Min.
4 - 5 |
94 US$
|
| Min.
6 to 10 |
88 US$
|
| Min.
11 - + |
83 US$
|
Terrace Houses
is optional with 15-$US extra per person.Minimum required
time is 30 minutes.
Note
: Ephesus include walking ( 1.5 k.m. ), Terrace Houses and
St. John have steps, Not recommended for people with physical
disabilities.
BOOK
NOW
@Do
You Need More Information?
TOUR
5 : Didyma + Miletus + Ephesus
Following an
early departure from the pier, the first stop will be Miletus,
an ancient city located near the present Akköy at the mouth of
the Buyuk Menderes (meander) River. Miletus owed its importance
to its position on the trade routes. It was one of the largest
cities in Anatolia with a population of between 80.000 and
100.000. Highly prosperous, it founded many colonies and was the
home of the 6C BC philosophers Anaximander, Anaximenes and
Thales, the town planner Hippodamus and architect Isidorus.
Having a prominent position, Miletus became the most important
port in this area and it was the most active member of the
twelve cities of the Ionian Confederation. In the 7th century BC
Lydians besieged the city. The city was then controlled in turn
by the Persians, Roman and Seljuk Turks.
The next visit after Miletus will
be Didyma. The world Didyma meant "twins" and it was associated
by some as being the meeting place of Zeus and Leto to have
their twins Apollo and Artemis. Didyma was famed as a prophecy
center dedicated to Apollo, which served a similar purpose as
the Delphi of Anatolia. It was not a city but a sanctuary linked
to Miletus by Milesians with a 19 km/12 mi sacred road.
Drive to Ancient
Ephesus,we visit the Gate of Magnesia, Girls’ High School, State
Agora, Odeon, Bouleterion, Curetes Street, Town Hall, reliefs of
the Gods Hermes, Apollo and Zeus, Monument of the Roman Dictator
Sulla, Hercules Gate, Temple of Hadrian, Celcus Library,
Hellenistic theatre, Temple of Artemis. Visit Turkish Handycraft
Production Center and shopping facilities.
At the end of the tour, you will return to Kusadasi port.
Including Professional Licensed Guide, transportation A/C,
entrance fees.
Minimum Required time for this tour is 8 hours.
ephesus tours, ephesus tours, ephesus tours, ephesus tours, ephesus tours,
|
PRIVATE TOUR
RATES
|
|
Pax
|
Per
Person
|
| Min.
2 - 3 |
110 US$
|
| Min.
4 - 5 |
105 US$
|
| Min.
6 to 10 |
100 US$
|
| Min.
11 - + |
94 US$
|
Terrace Houses
is optional with 15-$US extra per person.Minimum required
time is 30 minutes.
Note
: Ephesus include walking ( 1.5 k.m. ), Terrace Houses and
St. John have steps, Not recommended for people with physical
disabilities.
BOOK
NOW
@Do
You Need More Information?
|
Tour 6:
Jeep safari and Ephesus
Any time you want met by our guide at Kusadasi
port with your name sign by our safari guide and tour
guide and start for our private tour. get on our jeeps and
drive to Sirince village to visit
the pretty old Turkish-Orthodox village Sirince,
located on the top of a mountain, where anyone will enjoy
the impressive wine yards' and peach trees'. The village has
synthesis of Turk-Greek culture, where we visit mosque and
nicely restorated Orthodox church. All the narrow streets
of the village belong to the women, selling handcrafts of
all kinds, olive oil. Another attraction of Sirince is its
wine: try its taste in small cafés or in the former
municipal school restorated.then
drive to ephesus via Camlik , Gokcealan, yenikoy and arrival
in Ephesus. visit Ephesus was undoubtedly
one of the most important cultural centers of the ancient
world. Impressive structures we will see include the Library
of Celsus, Temple of Hadrian, Theatre and Odeon.
After BBQ lunch short
break in Temple of Artemis, one of the
seven wonders of the ancient world. Drive to kusadasi.
the end of our services.
This package includes;
Professional tour guide,
professional Jeep safari guide, entrance fees to the sites,
transportation by Jeeps and lunch.
Minimum Required
time for this tour is 8 hours
|
PRIVATE EPHESUS TOUR RATES |
|
Pax |
Per Person |
|
Min. 2 - 3 |
131 US$ |
|
Min. 4 - 5 |
120 US$ |
|
Min. 6 to 10 |
87 US$ |
|
Min. 11 - + |
76 US$ |
Terrace Houses is optional with
15-$US extra per person.Minimum required time is
30 minutes.
Note
: Ephesus include walking ( 1.5 k.m. ), Terrace Houses and St.
John have steps, Not recommended for people with physical disabilities.
BOOK
NOW
@Do
You Need More Information?
TOUR
7: Private Ephesus + Sirince Village
Anytime
you want : Met by your private guide at Kusadasi port with
your name sign and start for Ephesus trip. Ephesus
was undoubtedly one of the most important cultural centers of the
ancient world. Impressive structures we will see include the Library
of Celsius, Temple of Hadrian, Theatre and Odeon. Then drive up
to the pretty old Turkish-Orthodox village Sirince,
located on the top of a mountain, where anyone will enjoy the impressive
wine yards' and peach trees'. The village has synthesis of Turk-Greek
culture, where we visit mosque and nicely restorated Orthodox church.
All the narrow streets of the village belong to the women, selling
handcrafts of all kinds, olive oil. Another attraction of Sirince
is its wine: try its taste in small cafés or in the former
municipal school restorated. Drive back to Kusadasi. Some free time
for shopping.
Including
Professional Licensed Guide, transportation A/C, entrance fees.
Minimum
Required time for this tour is 6 hours.
| PRIVATE
TOUR RATES |
| Pax |
Per
Person |
| Min.
2 - 3 |
105 US$ |
| Min.
4 - 5 |
100 US$ |
| Min.
6 to 10 |
94 US$ |
| Min.
11 - + |
66 US$ |
| Group
Tour |
55 US$ |
Group
tour departure : 08.15 a.m. Terrace Houses can not be included in
the Group Tour program
Terrace Houses is optional with 15-$US
extra per person.Minimum required time is
30 minutes.
Note
: Ephesus include walking ( 1.5 k.m. ), Terrace Houses and St. John
have steps, Not recommended for people with physical disabilities.
BOOK
NOW
@Do
You Need More Information?
TOUR
8: Private Sirince Village
Anytime
you want : Met by your private guide at Kusadasi port with
your name sign and start for Sirince trip. drive
up to the pretty old Turkish-Orthodox village Sirince, located on
the top of a mountain, where anyone will enjoy the impressive wine
yards' and peach trees'. The village has synthesis of Turk-Greek
culture, where we visit mosque and nicely restorated Orthodox church.
All the narrow streets of the village belong to the women, selling
handcrafts of all kinds, olive oil. Another attraction of Sirince
is its wine: try its taste in small cafés or in the former
municipal school restorated. Drive back to Kusadasi. Some free time
for shopping.
Including
Professional Licensed Guide, transportation A/C, entrance fees.
Minimum
Required time for this tour is 3,5 hours.
| PRIVATE
TOUR RATES |
| Pax |
Per
Person |
| Min.
2 - 3 |
93 US$ |
| Min.
4 - 5 |
87 US$ |
| Min.
6 to 10 |
80 US$ |
| Min.
11 - + |
74 US$ |
| Group
Tour |
60 US$ |
Group
tour departure : 08.15 a.m.
BOOK
NOW
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What some of our guests said after their tour;
Thank
you for the wonderful tour with Emre Ates. Emre was very knowledgeable
about the area and was fun to be with. We will surely recommend
your company and Emre to anyone traveling to your area.
Kathy and Pat Briggs, Lake Charles, LA, USA.
I just have to write to let you know what a fantastic tour
of Ephesus we had with our tour guide, Emre Ates. This day (Saturday,
May 3) was definitely the highlight of our two week cruise.
Emre's knowledge of the region was amazing, his English was
perfect, and he was so much fun! We all agreed this was our
best day of the entire trip. Please tell Emre how much we enjoyed
his tour, and we will certainly recommend him to anyone else
we know that is going to this area. Thank you for a very enjoyable
day.
Sincerely,
Ken and Barbara Averell
Mike and Gwen Silkwood
Nur,
I wanted to take this opportunity to express my deep satisfaction
with Ekol Travel. We just returned from an East Mediterrean
cruise on Oceania and you arranged for our private tours in
Istanbul, Ephesus and Athens. Although we were delayed in New
York City by one day due to inclement weather, your tour guide
was waiting for us on the next day and rearranged all the sites
we wanted to see and we were able to see them all!! Thank you
also for contacting our hotel to adivse them of our delay. All
the guides we had on the trip were knowledgable, personable
and very accomodating to our needs. Your prices beat the cruise
ship everytime and we had our own private van for four which
was such a treat. We were able to stay as long as we wanted
at each site and walked at our own pace. We never felt rushed!!
I
have recommended Ekol Travel to all my friends and travel agent.
We plan to return someday to your spectacular country on a land
tour so we can concentrate especifically on Turkey which has
so very much to offer its visitors. We will definitely be contacting
Ekol for our future plans. I wish you continued success in your
endeavors. Keep up your great work!!
--
Ibis Carrera Fullerton,
California
Dear
Fevzi, Greetings. Just to say thank you very much for organising
our tour. We had a wonderful time in your beautiful country
and would just like to say that Omer and our driver were superb,
courteous, very reliable and exceedingly helpful for our mission
– filming at relevant places in Istanbul and Nicea. I
would highly recommend them to anybody. So many thanks again.
I am hoping to come over with my wife to do another tour some
time in the future and will be in contact with you again.
God’s
blessings, David
Dear
Nur,
Just
wanted to thank you and your professional guides for a wonderful
tour….We will continue to refer your services and try
other guides in different regions. Professional, knowledgeable,
courteous and efficient
Best
regards, Larry Bronner
Dear
Fevzi,
I
wanted to let you know what a great tour we had to Ephesus.
Our tour guide was fantastic and he brought everything to life!
I can't remember his name but it tarted with a Y.
Elizabeth Woolnough
Dear
Fevzi,
Hello!
How are you? We just got back Friday needing some sleep after
the conclusion of our cruise.
I'd
like to express my sincere thanks to you and your excellent
and
knowledgeable guides for giving us an interesting experience
of Turkey.
Deniz and Umit were wonderful and real prefessionals and gave
us a
well-conducted tour. Although we did not really explore Kusadasi
and
Istanbul especially, more extensively, because of time constraints
my group
was satisfied and has a new knowledge about your wonderful country.
The
Grand Bazaar was really grand.
Once
again Fevzi, I thank you for everything.
My
best regards. Don Olympia
great
guide. She was so informative and made Epheus come alive for
us. I would recommed your service to anyone who asked.
Regards,
Shevvi Crowley
Dear
Izze,
We
want to thank you so much for the wonderful tour that
you took us on
to see Ephesus, the Terrace Houses and the House of
the Virgin Mary. We
really were overwhelmed with all the beauty there, and
we learned so
much history from you. We can't stop talking about it
to everyone here,
and now we have the photos to enjoy too. Our lunch at
the House of the
Virgin Mary was delicious and everyone enjoyed it. We
did see the skull
and arm of St. John in the Topkapi Palace. Istanbul
is such a beautiful
place also, with so much to see.
If
you would like to use us as a reference, please do.
Linda Hyde
just
got back from our trip, thank you so much for terrific guides,
and great times in turkey, will recommend you to everyone who
is going to your corner of the world.
Bernice
Dear
Ekol Travel,
I am just now catching up on all my e-mail after returning from
our 3 week trip. Just wanted to let you know that Turo (nickname)
did an EXCELLENT JOB of being our guide. He was able to answer
all of our questions, and it was obvious that he was very knowledgeable
about the sites we were visiting.
We had a fantastic tour with him and it was 20 times better
than the cruise shore excursion would have been. All of the
reviews we read on your website definitely held true. We would
definitely recommend Ekol Travel to any of our friends visiting
Turkey.
Thank you so much.
Ronda Judd and daughters
Hi
Len!! We just came back from our trip and thanks toyou we had
a wonderful time in Istanbul and Ephesus. Your guides were great
and just as you said, spokeEnglish beautifully and were super
informative. Iappreciate your handling our tour and making our
tripmore enjoyable. Thanks again. Bonnie
Nur,
We wanted to send you a follow-up e-mail to let you know how
pleased we were with the tour of Ephesus we had with your guide,
Tokay on Thursday, May 17. Please forgive me if I have misspelled
his name. I didn't write it down that day.
Everything about the tour was just perfect. Tokay was so nice
and helpful. He loves his country and made us feel the same
way. He was very flexible in his schedule to allow us plenty
of time to do and see all of the things in which we were interested.
We were so happy that we chose Ekol Travel and we will recommend
it to others.
The driver, Levin was also very pleasant. We were very impressed
with the beautiful van designed especially for touring.
Please tell Tokay "hello" from us.
Sincerely, Janelle & Armin Brahm
Dear
Nur,
We want to thank you and to commend Umit Ozipek for his guide
services during our cruise stop in Istanbul.
Umit's services were outstanding. He adapted to our needs, moved
at our pace, and knew fully every aspect of the history, culture
and background of the areas we visited. He is a superb guide
and we fully enjoyed being with him during the day.
Sincerely,
Jerry and Peggy Rose
Dear
Fevzi, I am writing on behalf of our group to tell you how much
we enjoyed our visit to Kusadasi and how wonderful our guide
was in seeing that we felt welcomed in your country and made
sure we enjoyed ourselves. We were impressed and pleased with
the knowledge, the enthusiasm and the helpfulness of our guide.
He was outstanding and went out of his way to show us a wonderful
time. We cannot say enough about how much we enjoyed our visit
there and we will certainly recommend your service to any of
our friends who may be considering traveling there. Thank you
so much! Donna Rains
Nur,
we have just returned home. I wanted to let you know that we
were very pleased with our tours and guides in Istanbul and
Kusadasi. Naz and Inan were terrific and we felt in both cases
we saw much more with more insight than would have been possible
on a regular bus tour. Thanks for your assistance.
Tom Galloway
Canada
Thank
you very much. I received it today. I'm sorry for all of the
trouble. It was my mistake, as the kids jumped out of the van
into a very active bus parking lot, and in making sure they
were safe, I was distracted, and didn't check the van. I really
appreciate your kindness in returning the documents to me. Your
customer service is terrific! And I will be sure to let everyone
at Cruise Critic know what wonderful care you take of your customers,
even afterwards!!
Mary Margaret Watson
We
Were met at the cruise terminal by Inan,and within minutes we
were being educated about the wonderful country of Turkey,Inan
was extremely knowledgable and easy to understand.We never felt
rushed,and he avoided all the crowds from the tour buses.If
we can remember a fraction of what he told us,we will feel very
fortunate,we heartly recommend Ekol Travel and specifically
Inan
jo Ann &wendell
Houston,TX USA
We
are now back in the US and life is to return to normal.
However, I will miss Turkey and my son and I very much
enjoyed our trip to Ephesus. Thank you so much for your
assistance! Your country is wonderful and I was sad
to return to the US ....
Best Regards, Molly Hyatt
Hello,
We thought you company
should know what a great tour guide Naz is and what an asset
she is to your company. She was our guide while in Istanbul
a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed her very, very much.
She was extremely knowledgeable and so kind as well.
She was a pleasure to spend a full day with. I will
also put a great review for you company as well on the Cruise
Critic message boards.
Again, thank you!
Ralph and Donna DeBlasio
UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA
Your service was
excellent and we enjoyed the tour very much.
I will recommend
your company highly as you are very professional in the way you
handled every aspect beginning with my first email to you.
Nancy Wilkes
Fevzi:
I just wanted to say thank you for the wonderful time we had in
Ephesus and Istanbul. The guide we had in Ephesus was very
informative and flexible and made the ruins of Ephesus a very
special experience. The Terrace Houses are unbelievable!
Our guide in Istanbul, Murat Gurer, was outstanding. I would rate
him a 5-star guide! He was so knowledgeable and personable and we
felt like our day in Istanbul could not have been better. He was
very conscientious of what we wanted to see and hear, and if a
certain area of the Topkapi Palace was crowded, he headed us off
to another location to circumvent the crowds. He did an excellent
job and I just can't say enough nice things about him.
Once again, thank you for having wonderful guides to make our
short stay in Turkey a memorable one.
Steve and Fran Susman, Denver, Colorado
Note: I did write a mini-review for the cruise critic Europe,
Ports of Call board. I have already had one person contact me
wanting your contact information so hopefully this will generate
some additional contacts for your company.
Dear Fevzi,
We were in Istanbul
and Kusadasi on the Brilliance of the Sea for the past two weeks
and just arrived home last night.
I wanted to let you
know how much we enjoyed our touring with Omer Elkay in Istanbul.
He picked us up at the airport on arrival, took us to the hotel
and then we toured with him the next day in Istanbul.
Omer was terrific and
we enjoyed his guiding us. He was very knowledgeable and
informative.
When we were in
Ephesus, the woman guide (I forget her name now) was also
wonderful.
We will certainly
recommend your firm to any of our friends who travel to your part
of the world. Thanks again.
SANFORD J. WEINBERG
San Mateo, CA USA
Dear Jenny:
We would like to thank you for the wonderful job Zakir did on our
tour of
Istanbul both on Oct 21 & 22. (GALAXY) She was very pleasant and
knowledgeable and we enjoyed her company. Also, On Oct 26 Asil
and his
driver (Lucky) were fabulous. The driver was right on the ball
and very
polite. Asil was excellent and professional and we really
enjoyed them
as well. Please extend this message to the others in your office
as I
will try my best to give your agency an excellent review online.
Many
thanks--pleas give our regards to the guides we had.
John and Teresa Gately
Dear Fevzi,
Thank you for a wonderful day in Turkey. We so enjoyed the trip
to Ephesus and seeing the Turkish countryside. Thanks for all the
information. The day was just perfect. Our visit with you was a
highlight of the trip.
We are back home in Pheonix with many good memories.
Sincerely, Susan Hixson
Hello, Fevzi,
We all enjoyed our day with Ekol in Kusadazi and
Ephesus. We were very impressed that you were there at the dock
to greet us, especially when an accident prevented our scheduled
driver from being there. (We do hope that all is well with the
driver and anyone else involved.) Mustafa is a dedicated guide
and an excellent ambassabor for Turkey.
Thank you so much for your speedy responses to us
by email as we were making our plans and for making sure that we
had a wonderful time in Turkey. We hope soon to be back to visit
other places in Turkey, especially Istanbul, and hope that you
will be there to help us when we return.
Sincerely,
Sandy Langfitt
Dear Ekol Travel,
We absolutely loved our day in Turkey with Ekol Travel. Our guide,
Selcuk and driver were both very cordial and kind, we loved the
countryside and everything we were taken to see. In fact, of all the
stops on our Mediterranean cruise (Rome, Florence, south of France,
Naples, Athens, several Greek Islands), Turkey was our favorite
place, mostly due to Ekol Tours and Selcuk.
What a wonderful surprise Turkey was to us! I even wandered to
the market afterwards (a single woman, alone) and the people at
the market were very friendly and nice to me as well, not
bothersome as in some other country's markets. We were very
impressed with Turkey and would love to come back.
I would not miss an opportunity to advise others to use your
company, Please know that I will take advantage of all chances this Winter
and Spring (when people are planning their 2007 cruises) to
recommend your company.
Best, Ellen Quinn
Dear Jenny,
This is a first for me, I never write letters back to companies but here
goes. My name is Diana Sandal, a few months ago my husband Fred
contacted your company by e-mail on the recommendation of a
friend that had used your service. He was inquiring about
your tours available for Istanbul and
Ephsis. You responded very quickly with full details from pick up
options, times, and cost. We tried sending you our credit card
information and the charge would not go through. We talked with
our bank
and found out that charges were not allowed in Turkey. We were in a panic
as this was our only credit card and thought we would not have the
chance to use your company. You e-mailed us back saying
don't worry we will take you at your word that you will be
there and we will go ahead and send the
tour guide and car for you. This in itself was very impressive to us as
you did not know us and as a company did not have to make this "special
arrangement" for us. A lot of companies would have said So sorry
that is our policy pay first by credit card or no tour. When we
arrived in Istanbul we were greeted by a big sign with our names
on it held by Mr. Omer Elkay, we were immediately impressed with
Omer,
not only by his extensive knowledge of the history,legends, myths, and
tales of the area but by his extremely friendly and pleasant
personality. He answered EVERY question we had and trust me
there where many. I am an avid camera buff and wanted tons of
pictures Omer was very sweet and
allowed me plenty of time to take what ever photos I wanted and even took
some pictures of my husband and me together. We also had some
special requests...I needed to find some Turkish coins to bring
home to my 10 year old daughter.......Omer took us right to a
stand that sold old coins
mounted on a card with details about the coins and got us an excellent
price on it. We also wanted to see the Sistine system.......again
this was arranged for us and worked into the schedule without
delay. I also want to mention our driver on this tour......Forgive
me but I have forgotten his name.....but I have not
forgotten the excellent driving skills and also his
politeness and his never in a rush attitude. We have done
several Excursions with the cruise lines always with the feeling
that we were being treated like a heard of cattle, get on
the bus, go to the site,get off the bus, get a few details
about the site, strain to hear the short memorized facts
offered by the tour guide, get back on the bus, go back to the
ship. We had never considered doing any private tours. Omer has
spoiled us we will look for companies like yours from now on.
This tour took place on October 1st. We ended our time with Omer
exchanging
e-mail addresses and phone numbers. Feeling that we had made a friend. And
just knowing there was no way that we would have another guide as
wonderful as Omer.On October the 2nd we went to the port of Ephsis
and again we were greeted by a sign with our names on it and
within a few moments we knew that we were wrong!!! We did have
another wonderful tour guide and driver. We were met by Ms. Filiz
Capraz and our driver Lucky........I am very bad with names
and how to pronounce them I could not say his name properly,
he very sweetly said just call me Lucky. We feel we are the ones
that were Lucky for the time we spent with these people.
Again we were with extremely friendly and knowledgeable people.
The details and information shared with us about the sites and
history of the area we were in was beyond impressive. Again every
question was quickly and skillfully answered. Once more we had a
special request we asked to go to a "local" place for lunch....Filiz
and Lucky took us to the most charming restaurant with real
lounging couches and fabulous food. It was the best meal we had
the entire trip (this includes the food on the 5 star cruise ship) We
feel that again we had time with wonderful people and friends. We
also ended this tour with the exchange of e-mails and left feeling
once again that we had spent time with good people that we were
happy and blessed to have met.
I would like to end this letter with a few facts as to why Omer
(his driver), Filiz, and Lucky, and the key to all of it Jenny
meant so much to us. I am a simple southern girl from very small
towns I never thought Iwould ever see the sites I saw on this
trip in my life!!! This was truly a once in a life time trip for
me. Fred and I put over a year and a half of our lives into
planning and saving for this. Everyone could have done a so so or
ho hum job with us and we would have been very satisfied it would
have been what we were use to receiving on tours..........But
instead we feel that we received service of a lifetime. I only
hope that the people mentioned in this letter receive satisfaction
and blessings for a job that they all have a special talent for.
Helping peoples dreams come true.
Thank you one and all,
Mrs. Diana Sandal
507-358-8337
Dear Fevzi,
I want to let you know that we greatly enjoyed our excursions in
Izmir/Esphesus and Istanbul. The guides (and our transfer to the
airport)
arrived promptly on time, and were most friendly and helpful. The
tours
were much more informative, personal, entertaining, and leisurely
than those
done through our cruise ship. If our future travels find us in
Turkey, we
will certainly contact Ekol for assistance.
Also, I would like to thank you again for all of your assistance
in
arranging the tours, including our last minute request for an
airport
transfer.
Lisa Richardson
I wanted to write a thank you for the wonderful tour you gave us
to Ephesus on September 27. Ayse nur was our guide and she was
fantastic, so knowledgeable and such a great sense of humor. She was
a delight! I have already given her name and your company name
to two people who will be in Kusidasi in October of this year.
Your company is first class and I hope we can use your services
again. We definitely want to return to Turkey and Greece. Thanks
you so much,
Charles Burgin
We just returned last night safely and wanted to write and express
our gratitude. All ten of us were impressed by the knowledge and
professionalism of all your people. We enjoyed ourselves and
learned a great deal and appreciated your efforts. Thank you to
all your staff. When we come back, together or individually, we
will certainly call you first. Thanks again.
Sincerely,
Rich Rosenthal
Dear Ekol Travel,
Our day with our Ekol
travel guide, Omer, was the best day of our Mediterranean
adventure. He was charming,knowledgable and interesting and he
made Istanbul exciting and wonderful. We have told our friends
about Ekol and Omer and will continue to do so. We hope we will
have an opportunity to use your services again.
Sincerely,
Barbara & Mark Lippman
Thanks for the response. We truly enjoyed our time with your
company and felt we were well informed and had the opportunity to
really enjoy the day. Hope to see you all again soon. We will
certainly recommend your services as we felt you were warm,
sincere, honest and professional.
Thanks again!
Jim Shambo
Dear Fevzi
Turhan
The services rendered by your tour agency were very good
and we appreciate the guides assigned, and the drivers.
We will recomend your services to
your embassy in our country and to our travel agency. And
Istanbul and Ephesus great places, we appreciate your country
and your culture,
kindest regards
Nora
Fevzi Turhan -
Wanted to thank you for arranging
for our Istanbul tours. Mr Umit was a great tour guide and very
knowledgable. I will recommend your company to my travel agent
as well as anyone I know travelling to Istanbul. Thank you
again!
Tory Johnsey
Dear Jenny, I want to thank you very much for taking care of our
tours in Istanbul...We had a wonderful time and loved the city.
Our tour guide, Omar, was fantastic...very accommodating, easy to
get along with, and very knowledable...We were able to see
everything we had planned...and we are greatful for assuring that
everything went smoothly. Best regards,
Lourdes
Hi Fevzi,
We just returned from our European
vacation and wanted to let you, and anyone else who plans to visit
Turkery, know how pleased we all were with the two tours we booked with
you through the internet. We were the first ones off the boat and
were gone while all those who booked with the cruise line were
still gathering in the ships lounges. We docked earlier than
expected and your guides were already there with their signs to
meet us. Through out the day we were always a step ahead of all
those big groups who booked their tours with the cruise line so we
had extra time at the end of the day. Your guides showed us other
sites and we went shopping! We know, being from the most popular
vacation destination in the world ourselves, how there is so much
to see in the short time allowed for shore excursions. We would
let others know that these are unsolicited comments and
that we would highly recommend your tours to anyone
planning to visit your country.
Allan, Lundie, Margaret, Dorothy
Maui, Hawaii
Dear Fevzi,
Just to give you a
quick report that we had such a wonderful time
with Omer in Istanbul
and with the lovely gal in Ephesis and particularly
with Olga in Athens.
Everyone was so professional, on-time, courteous.
We would cetainly
recommend Ekol (and did!) to other passengers and friends for
future trips.
Thankyou again for
making our trip in Turkey and Greece so enjoyable.
Kind Regards,
Dave Wescott
Do you by chance have
contacts in France or Italy for similar bookings?
Dear Jenny.
Thank you so much for arranging the
wonderful time we spent in Turkey on our recent cruise.
George was great, so informative and
lovely to talk to, he made the tour a day to remember.
I will recommend Ekol travel to my
friends and if we are lucky enough to plan another trip which
includes a visit to
Turkey we will most definately be in
contact with you.
Kind regards.
Jean Callister.
I wanted to thank you
for making our trip so wonderful. My husband and I booked 3 shore
excursions with you instead of our cruise ship. We couldn't have
been happier.
We received excellent treatment that far surpassed the cruise ship
tours. Jenny was wonderful in helping me choose and decide the
tours. I only wish we were able to use your tour company for ALL
the excursions. I am highly recommending you to my travel agent
here in the USA.
Paula McDonough
Kingston, MA
Just wanted to thank you for the great service you provided on our
trip to Istanbul and Kusadasi. Your service far surpassed our
expectations. We would highly recommend your services to everyone.
Umit in Istanbul and Aysenur in Kusadasi were very knowledgeable and
enjoyable. Our kudos to them and you.
Dianne and Carroll
Myrtle Beach, SC
June 17-24, 2006
I just wanted to write and tell you how much we enjoyed our tour of
Istanbul with Tolga Koseoglu. He was a great guide and gave
us so much interesting information on your city. We will
highly recommend both him and your company to future cruisers!
Thank you for helping make our visit to Istanbul a completely
memorable trip. Tolga is for sure a jewel to your company.
Deborah Tragesser.
Both my family and I were truly impressed by both of these
wonderful, gracious and knowledgeable gentlemen. The experience
of sharing both your country and their knowledge was far more
than we had expected. On at least 8 occasions since our return
to Canada we have raved about their abilities as well as their
hospitality. In addition, at least 4 people have already asked
for your web site info as well as your direct e-mail address.
Simply put, we could not have been treated better. The drivers
were courteous and efficient, the AC vehicles were spotless and
comfortable and the guides were, as Omar would put it, truly "world
class". On any return to your country, you would be the first
people we would turn to for guidance and assistance in putting
together a Turkish Experience.
Gord Stovel
It's been two months since you arranged our day tour in Kusadasi. I've been wanting to write you to tell you how much we enjoyed our short stay there. It was so nice to meet you there at the dock. We could immediately tell we were well taken care of. The van was nice and very roomy and our guide, Tunc, was amazing. He was so friendly and knowledgeable. His love of Turkey was very apparent and very infectious. If you have an email address for him I'd appreciate it. We were all so impressed with your beautiful country and would like to return again someday soon. If we do we will definitely call you to make the arrangements. We have friends who travel quite a bit. We'll be sure to tell them about Mr. Turhan at Ekol Travel. Again, thank you for a wonderful trip. Good luck in all you do! Sincerely,
Dear Ekol travel,
I just wanted to thank you for making our Turkey trip so marvelous--everything you planned went beautifully. We both fell in love with your country, and if I ever return, I will definitely contact you immediately.
THANK YOU!
Cheers Alisa
It was a pleasure to meet everyone in person and we sincerely appreciate your lovely gift. This will be displayed proudly in my home. I look forward to visiting Kusadasi again next week. I think that I will simply stay with the group again as already planned as I think it is important to spend this time with my clients. Thank you once again, you did a fantastic job. Ngaire
Hi Fevzi,
I have to say without a doubt that the highlights of our
Mediterranean cruise were the two private tours of Kusadasi and
Istanbul that we booked with Ekol Travel.
As we disembarked the cruise ship in Kusadasi, it was comforting
to see Yagit standing on the dock holding a sign with our name on
it. Within
minutes we were comfortably seated in his air conditioned car and
on our way to Ephessus while those passengers that booked the
cruise line tours were
waiting around on the dock for everyone on their tour to show up.
This gave us the opportunity to arrive at the archeological sites
early enough to be
ahead of the crowds. Yagit was very knowledgeable of the history
and culture of the area and we found him delightful as he
explained Turkish culture to us.
His English communication skills are excellent.
At Ephessus, he allowed us to progress at our rate while allowing
us plenty of time to take pictures or to ask questions.
With his knowledge of the site, there was never a question asked
that he could not answer.
From Ephessus we drove to the Temple of Artemis, where again,
because of his knowledge we had the opportunity to experience what
the original site must
have looked like before it was destroyed.
On the way back to Kusadasi we stopped at a rug manufacturing
facility where we were provided with some Turkish coffee and apple
tea while sitting under
a walnut tree. This gave us an opportunity to ask Yagit questions
about modern day Turkey
and also to discuss Islamic customs and traditions. Please extend
our heartfelt thanks to Yagit for making our time in Kusadasi such
a wonderful
and memorable experience.
Our experience with Tolga in Istanbul was the same. As we
disembarked the cruise ship he also was standing on the dock
holding a sign with our name on
it. Again we were seated in his car and on the road well ahead of
those who had signed up for the cruise ship tours. Tolga's English
communication was
excellent as well as his knowledge of the sites that we visited.
We were never rushed through any of the sites and were allowed
plenty of
time to ask questions or to take pictures.
Since the tour was only a half day tour ending around
lunch time we asked Tolga if he could recommend a local Turkish
restaurant to eat at where we
could experience real Turkish food. Not only did he recommend one
near the Grand Bazaar, he took us to it and even ordered the food
for us. The rest of
the day was spent wandering through the Grand Bazaar shopping for
some jewelry and leather goods. Again, please extend our
heartfelt thanks to
Tolga for a wonderful time in Istanbul.
I have already given several of your business cards to people on
the ship and will give one to the travel agent who booked our
cruise. I certainly
would recommend your company to anyone who is traveling to Turkey
or Greece.
Finally, Fevzi, I would like to thank you for giving us Yagit and
Tolga as our guides. Your arrangements for us were first class and
much appreciated.
I guess the best compliment I can give you is that if Debbie and I
find ourselves traveling in Greece or Turkey again, I will
certainly call you to
arrange another private tour.
Bob and Debbie Taylor
Just wanted to let you know we all thoroughly
enjoyed our trip to Kusadasi, Miletus, Didyma and Ephesus. Our
tour guide was friendly and extremely knowledgeable.
We will certainly recommend you to our
traveling friends and we’ll contact you next time we’re
traveling to Greece and/or Turkey.
Thanks
again,
Doug
Just wanted to drop
you a note to thank you and Nilay for the wonderful tour of
Ephesus -- we could have spent more time there, but the ship was
leaving!!
Nilay was wonderful
and we had a delightful and informative time!
Thank you again.
Maureen Anderson
A message to say we
enjoyed your tour for us in Istanbul.
You guide , Selcuk
Sebilcioglu, appeared very knowledgeable. He spoke
passionately of the town and of Turkey. We appreciated
learning some ofTurkey's history.
We will recommend your
services to anyone travelling to Istanbul.
Richard and Diana Magnuson
Hello Fevzi,
We have now returned to Australia and I would like to take
this
opportunity to thank you for organising our trip to Turkey.
My wife and I had an excellent holiday and the effort you
and your
company made to ensure all the details were correct and that
the holiday
would run smoothly was excellent. The accommodation , guides,
route
taken through Turkey and support during the trip made our
holiday one we
will not forget.
We are pleased to have chosen your company and will
recommend you to
our friends and any body who is planning a trip to Turkey.
Regards
Phillip Andrews
We just returned from our tour and wanted to waste no time
in telling you how wonderful it was. The guide and driver
were first rate. Our tour went smoothly, we were able to
see all the sites we planned and more. Thank you for all
of your help. We are looking forward to tomorrow in
Kusadasi with great anticipation!
Another GREAT tour - guide and driver were
excellent - you can use me for a recommendation any time
wish your were also in Venice
Sandy StrumMr. Turhan,
We would like to thank your agency, for the very
prompt response to
our inquiry. Jenny helped us to pick the most beneficial
tour for the
right price.
We had a wonderful tour in Ephesus on April 9 with
Haluk Caliskan and
Ugur. They were very professional and knowledgeable, and
very
responsive to our needs. We received service, that we
honestly did not expect to
get and we will use and recommend your agency in the
future.
Thanks again, great job,
Igor and Edit Vaynberg
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