Prior to my week in Turkey with Trafalgar Travel, my knowledge of the country was mostly hot air balloon rides, baklava and the Bosphorus. While those are a few great things about Turkey, I came to find out that the country is full of incredible landscapes, breathtaking ancient ruins, and extremely kind people.
I was lucky to have the opportunity to go on a travel agent familiarization trip with Trafalgar Travel of TTC Tour Brands, one of Grueninger Travel’s preferred suppliers, to experience the country of Turkey and see firsthand how Trafalgar organizes and executes a guided vacation. It takes a great deal of time, effort, and expertise to seamlessly move 40 people around a country – something Trafalgar makes look easy.
Our familiarization trip was a condensed version of the Highlights of Turkey Tour. Normally a 10 day itinerary, we completed the tour in 7 days (see, I told you all I was working hard all week! 😉). Below is a breakdown of our itinerary and highlights from the week. If this tour or travel style piques your interest, feel free to reach out to our team to find a trip that might be a good fit for you.
I opted to fly out of Chicago because I preferred the itineraries, so I flew from Chicago to Izmir via Frankfurt with United. It was a typical trip to Europe that included a red eye flight, and I arrived into Izmir, Turkey mid-day to join up with the TTC Tour Week group. The Trafalgar reps were easy to find just after arrivals with red Trafalgar signs, where they escorted a group of us to our transfer vehicle and drove us about 25 minutes to the hotel. I met up with my roommate for the week at the Kaya Izmir Thermal and Convention, and shortly after, met all of my fellow travelers for a Welcome Dinner. It was a great introduction to Turkey at a restaurant right on the bay, full of delicious mezzes and grilled fish.
Our group was traveling during Ramadan, so everyday around 5:30AM I woke up to the call to prayer. I loved it! What a unique way to start the day – plus, it’s always easier to wake up early when you’re traveling.
We set off around 8AM for the ancient ruins of Ephesus. This is a popular stop for guided tours and cruises, so it can get very busy (and very hot!). One of the perks of traveling during the off season, is it was hardly busy at all for us! We had great weather and Ephesus wasn’t too crowded, allowing us to really take it all in. I personally couldn’t get enough of all of the adorable and friendly cats.
Next up we learned about the intricate heritage and art of carpet weaving, a long-standing Turkish tradition. The carpets are hand-made and absolutely beautiful. I could’ve stayed for hours while they rolled out rug after rug.
We continued on to Pamukkale, famous for it’s mineral-rich thermal waters and chalk white limestone terraces. This was a great opportunity to walk around and stretch the legs while taking in all of the sights at the ancient Roman spa city of Hierapolis, capped off with an incredible view of the theatre carved into the hillside.
This was a long travel day on the motorcoach for us, which on the actual tour would be split into two days. We visited the well-preserved 13th century Sultanhani caravanserai at which weary travelers used to rest, and the underground city of Saratli. I’m not crazy about tight spaces or being underground (kind of makes you wonder what I was doing in an underground city) but Trafalgar did a nice job of choosing a location that was as spacious as an underground city can be, and accessible for almost everyone in the group. Those who didn’t feel comfortable stayed at the entrance where there were restrooms and local vendors.
In the early evening, we arrived at my favorite hotel of the week, the Exedra hotel in Cappadocia. We were greeted with a welcome drink paired with a breathtaking sunset over the valley during the call to prayer. Quite a welcome to Cappadocia!
Cappadocia is well known for its hot air balloon rides, and while Trafalgar does not offer this on their itineraries or organize it as an excursion, my roommate and I decided to book a hot air balloon ride on our own.
We woke up at 5AM, were picked up by the hot air balloon company, and were loading into our basket just before sunrise. Then we were off! The ride was super smooth, and the view was unbelievable. Floating over the magical landscape of Cappadocia’s fairy chimneys and rock formations, surrounded by dozens of colorful hot air balloons, while the sun rose over the Aegeus Mountain was one of the best things I’ve experienced while traveling.
That was just the beginning of the day, as we continued to Pasabagi to see more fairy chimneys, ventured to the town of Avanos and a fifth-generation pottery studio, visited a cave house of a local Cappadocian family, followed by viewing the cave churches at the Goreme Open Air Museum.
Later we went to the performance of the Whirling Dervishes, followed by one of my favorite dinners of the trip where we had Testi Kebap - a mixture of meat and vegetables cooked in a clay pot over fire.
On this day we were back in the motorcoach for a visit to Turkey’s capital city, Ankara. While our time here was short, this was a livelycity with a great energy to it. We visited the Museum of Anatolian Civilization and had some free time for exploring on our own before dinner at the Grand Mercure Ankara.
After a few hours of driving, we arrived in our final destination of Istanbul. Trafalgar executed our arrival perfectly – we drove straight to the harbor, got off the motorcoach and walked right onto our private boat for a cruise on the Bosphorus. The sun was shining and weather was perfect as we took in Istanbul for the first time from the water – talk about a great way to arrive into a new city! This was one of my favorite parts of the entire week – there’s just something about being on water that is hard to top.
We were conveniently dropped off in the Old Town of Istanbul, where we visited the Spice Market. I loved walking amongst the organized chaos of the market and surrounding area. Later we checked into the Novotel Istanbul Zeytinburnu, then had dinner at a beautiful cistern turned restaurant.
Our Travel Director GG refers to this day as “Mission Impossible” because of all the sights it includes. It’s a full day of walking and sightseeing – I ended around 17,000 steps – my kind of day! We started with a visit to the beautiful Hagia Sophia, then Topkapi Palace where we could admire the opulent style of the Ottomans, then lunch on our own – I had a Doner Kebab at the Pudding Shop and it might’ve been my favorite meal of the whole trip.
After lunch, we had our Make Travel Matter Experience, an event that gives back to the local communities that Trafalgar incorporates into all of their tours, at the House of Dede Efendi. Next up was the Grand Bazaar, which was another overwhelming and exciting market with over 4000 shops. I proudly came away with a new chess set. Finally, we returned to the hotel before our Farewell Dinner and departures the next morning.
I flew home on Turkish Airlines as they have a non-stop flight from Istanbul to Chicago. Turkish Airlines only offers Business andEconomy (no premium economy) and I found this to produce a better economy experience than on some competitor airlines. This is the longest flight I’ve taken to date at just under 12 hours, but I didn’t find it to be bad at all(the extensive movie selection helped!).
My experience in Turkey with Trafalgar was excellent. The Turkish people were welcoming and kind, and I never felt uncomfortable or unsafe. Our Travel Directors and hosts on location, GG and Ali John, were fabulous.
Trafalgar’s Highlights of Turkey is a thoughtful itinerary full of can’t-miss highlights and hidden gems. I’m grateful for the opportunity to travel with one of our trusted partners. Turkey is a vast and multi-faceted destination, best experienced with the care and attention to detail of a tour company like Trafalgar.
