29 Oct 2019
We were met at the airport, brought to our van (which looked more like a limo), delivered to a centrally located hotel... and that set the tone for our 8 day tour. Our 1st day was a walking tour with a very knowledgeable and friendly tour guide, Berish (spelling?), given lunch at Sultanamet Fish Restaurant (all good, specially lentils soup), The next day we were brought to the airport,, met at Izmir by the BEST tour guide anyone can ever have, Emre, and our safest and kind driver, Faruk. The next 4 days were just amazing. We could not believe our luck. Breakfast and Lunch were included daily; and once dinner too. The hotels were clean and more than adequate. They brought us to the airport on the 7th day, to fly back to Istanbul, where again we were met and transported back to our hotel. Then at around 1:40, we were picked up for our last half day tour - and this is where it went downhill. It almost would have been better not to have this half day tour - because I almost gave a 4 star instead of 5 star rating. But I did not want to rob the great 6 days we had just experienced. The fish restaurant was OK; but for whatever reason, we missed our planned 3pm boat ride; so we caught up with it elsewhere. There was nothing worth it about the Bosphorous boat ride. To be honest, it would be better to scrap this one out of the 8 day itinerary. We never got to see the spice market, because our guide had to leave. But in summary, except for the last half day tour, this is an excellent 8 day tour. Hopefully they will replace the Bosphorous tour with something else, because there is so much more to see and experience in Istanbul.