My wife and I traveled to Turkey, Istanbul, last October for about three weeks. We based our selves out of The President Hotel, in Istanbul, a SUPER Best Western property staffed by great staff in a GREAT area. We did a number of tours in the Istanbul area, full day and half day. Some days on our own and others with the GREAT tour guides form Before Travel. The guides were excellent, true professionals with in-depth knowledge of their specific locale of our travel. They were fun to be with and ever tour was not just informative but just down rite fun. We did multiple tours by boat, air and bus. After a few days in Istanbul we would have the company arrange for a side trip out of town. We traveled to the Cappadocia region as well as other regions around Turkey.
Without qualification, the local as well our side trips were excellent, not a hitch; transfers, hotels, flights, boats, restaurants and the local guides on side trips in the selected regions of travel. Of course in Cappadocia we considered doing a Hot Air Balloon ride. That said, although I am a commercial pilot that learned to fly in Alaska and did the majority on my flying there, I have a phobia of heights, Acrophobia. Now not from an airplane mind you but from solid ground, the edge of a roof, up on a ladder, anything above about 10 feet I get really unsteady. I can't even watch television that depicts someone on a cliff, or riding a bike on a mountain ridge, I can't explain it, it just is, a cold sweat, a dizziness I just can't even visualize being up there without getting vertigo.
With that in mind I was reluctant to get in a hot air balloon and float away, all that bitter empty air trying to suck me out and over the edge of the basket, to tumble head over heels until I dashed into the cold hard earth below. I talked to our tour consultant from Before Travel: Metin Cobanoglu about my phobia and qualms about taking the hot air balloon ride. He advised if when I arrived at the final "Go, No Go decision point" , to board or not and just couldn't do it, the monies for the ride would be refunded.
Well, with assurances from Metin and encouragement of my wonderful wife, (and from now on my faithful co-pilot) we took the ride, it literally took only about two seconds after liftoff and there wasn't any of the dreaded feelings of the fall, no vertigo what so ever. It was an experience of a life time. It was early morning and the sun had yet to break the horizon, morning civil twilight. As we ascended above the surrounding mountain peaks we rose to meet the rising sun. Throughout the ride with each ascent and decent the sun would rise and set. We must have had a dozen or more sunrises and sunsets on that trip. The views of the surrounding mountains, fields, vineyards. villages and the Cappadocia pinnacles was breathtaking. The pilot and crew were excellent, the trip was excellent and none of this wonderful experience would have happened without Before Travel. I apologize for the ramblings but I just can't say enough about them. In three short weeks they arranged trips of a lifetime, we experienced Turkey and it will be a forever treasure, never forgotten. If you have unlimited time and resources you could perhaps do the trip without Before Travel, but if you are like the majority of us mere mortals' be sure to take advantage of their services, it is time and money well spent.
Tom and Kristin