Turkey customer reviews
We are very proud of the feedback that we get from our trips and are pleased to share reviews from past travellers. These are kept as up to date as possible. Please have a read through these Turkey customer reviews to get a real sense of the kind of experience that you might have on a family trip.
Exploring Ephesus
Milne Home Family (with children aged 11 & 13)
Travelled Summer 2023
Hi Claire. Just a quick note for now to say we’re back. The holiday was brilliant we thoroughly enjoyed it and should get back to you with proper feedback.
Briggs Family (with teens aged 17 and 2 x 15 year-olds)
Travelled Easter 2023
We had a great holiday in Turkey and would definitely recommend it to other families. We covered so much with our excellent guide Emre in Istanbul, who was very knowledgeable and happy to adapt the tour as the days went on based on our family’s interests. By the 3rd day, when we were our own, we had a really good idea of where we wanted to go and how to get around the city. The second stop in Cappadocia was completely different and we were very lucky to have the weather to do the incredible dawn balloon trip as it hadn’t gone ahead for the previous 15 days.
Cappadocia is probably better a little later in the year (we went at Easter) as it’s a bit chilly at night, particularly in a Cave hotel! We travelled during Ramadan which was no problem at all, and actually we inadvertently arrived at a restaurant shortly before large groups arrived to share Iftar, which was really interesting to see. All in all, we have some great memories and really appreciated how well-organised everything was and how easy it was for us to relax and enjoy ourselves.
Thank you!
Weitz-Shapiro Family (with two children aged 12)
Travelled Easter 2023
Hi Claire. We had a great trip! We loved the Kimera Hotel and it was definitely the right move to stay 3 nights there — did Olympos, Chimera, and a boat trip by ourselves. The food at dinner and breakfast was great. In Kas, the weather was too windy for kayaking, so we went on a day boat trip to Simena and the ruins, and that ended up being great. If I had more time, I’d be tempted to stay a night in Kekova. We were happy to have drivers instead of self-drive. The drivers definitely didn’t speak any English, so there was a bit of a hiccup in Myra communicating where we wanted to go, but Google Maps/translate got us to the Lycian civilisation museum, which was quite interesting.
Joynson Family (with child aged 12)
Travelled Summer 2022
Hi Kelly. It really was an amazing trip. I’d never been to Turkey before and it surpassed all my expectations. Very family-friendly place. Great food, scenery, weather, people. The guides were great too – especially those in Istanbul and Capadoccia. We found Erkan incredibly helpful and he went out of his way to be flexible and communication was good. The overall route for us was perfect. A great mix of city, mountains, coast – a really varied holiday with something for everyone. Similarly with the hotels – good variety from small to huge! Travelling at Eid turned out to be absolutely fine. Actually, it was quite interesting to see Turkish families celebrating etc.
Wayman Family (parent with teenagers aged 12, 16 & 18)
Travelled Summer 2022
Hi Liddy! Hard to believe we’ve been home for a week now. The trip was really fantastic and has given us some terrific memories. The guides on the ground were all good and Erkan was also fabulous as a contact throughout the whole trip. I really valued that personal attention. I had never been to Turkey before and I was pleased to see how smoothly everything went for us.
Pros:
– Hotel in Istanbul was nice and quaint and in a good location.
– Saw all the major sites in Istanbul with plenty of guide explanations all along. Ece was our guide. We liked her a lot.
– Cappadocia was amazing. Recommend the sunset horseback ride if your backside can handle it. Stunning. The balloon was the biggest hit. We all loved it. Also exploring the rock formations (Monk Valley for example) was a lot of fun for the kids.
– South coast: Loved the hotels a lot… one had great access to the water and a pool.
– We did the boat trip to Greece. Was good but would have been better if it was 2 hours shorter.
– Kids loved the Ghost Town Kaya more than I expected. They said as it was recent history it was more relatable.
– Kayak tour was fantastic as well.
– Kids loved playing in the waves at every beach. Turtle beach was the most stunning, most soft sand and we saw lots of Turtles. Boat ride to the beach is pretty cool as well.
– Loved all the cat visitors everywhere. We are cat people.
Mixed:
– The Gulet boat: Loved the time in the water and cruising around. The other passengers were great so and we all got on well. Cabins were too hot to stay in (think Sauna style heat next to engines) so we slept on deck. Sounds cool but practically, it wasn’t very comfortable. The food was pretty good for the limited space they had to cook it! We actually got off the night before we were meant to as the last night we would have slept at the port of Marmais. We didn’t want to sleep on top of the boat right in town so Erkan arranged for us to go to our resort a day early.
Cons:
– The heat was over the top for us at times. We skipped the Antaya ruins because it was too hot at that point. The humidity in the south was so much higher than Istanbul and Cappadocia. I’d recommend doing this trip in June or May to ensure you have the stamina to enjoy visiting the cities and ruins.
Overall it was a super experience and I’d be happy to book again with Stubborn Mule.
Kind regards.
Thompson Family (with child aged 6)
Travelled Summer 2022
Hi Claire. Firstly I want to say thank you for organising a great trip. We did all enjoy it and we liked the variety in the itinerary. The people were lovely, a lot friendlier, and less conservative than we expected, and we were made to feel welcome by everyone we came into contact with. We absolutely loved the street cats and the cat-loving culture – I can’t imagine many shopkeepers allowing stray cats to curl up in their windows or on their displays in this country. Our guide in Istanbul, Ece, was fantastic. Really knowledgeable, and very easy to get along with. She shared not only information about the city & Turkish history, but also about herself and her own family, and made us feel like friends rather than clients.
I think there was a very good mix of different things/places that we saw in Istanbul… A friend of mine had told me about the Basilica Cistern which we visited on our own at the end of the second day (Ece helped us jump the queue to get tickets), and I would definitely recommend adding it to any future itineraries.
We loved Cappadocia. I knew we would and it was the main selling point of the holiday…We’d definitely go back to Cappadocia again, but at a cooler time of year, and with a hire car rather than a guide so that we could spend our time walking and exploring the canyons & rock formations. The hotel here was fun and the location/view fantastic.
The kayaking trip at Kekova was really good and it was great to get out in kayaks, though we didn’t see much of the underwater ruins because it was windy so small waves were obscuring what lay below (all that was visible was the harbour wall). The scenery was beautiful, the villages of Kaleüçağız and Kalekoy were lovely, and the view from Simena castle was stunning. We also saw our first turtle while paddling!
We did a day trip to the Saklikent Gorge which I would recommend for families as there are lots of different activities in addition to walking up the gorge itself. We managed to pick the only day it rained so most of the gorge was closed in case of flooding but we went rafting in “doughnuts” and took in the atmosphere. It’s very touristy (mainly Turkish tourists) but quite fun for kids and was about a 1.5-hour drive.
On the way to Dalyan we stopped at Xanthos, which again I would recommend as quite impressive even for those not particularly interested in ruins. We were actually quite struck everywhere we went at how freely people are allowed to wonder around in archaeological sites which makes it a lot more fun for kids, whereas in the UK everything would be cordoned off. Also with such cheap entrance fees, you don’t mind just stopping for half an hour or an hour to have a look.
Taylor Family (with teenager aged 15)
Travelled Summer 2022
Hi Liddy. Just to say thank you very much for organising our recent holiday in Turkey. A, N and I had a very enjoyable time. The hotel in Istanbul was perfect and such a great location, the hotel in Cappadocia was a good choice, the beach resort was great and offered a lot, with amazing food, a good atmosphere and plenty of swimming/water sport options. All our guides were good, especially for the coast and all the transfers, including internal flights, were punctual. On our second evening in Istanbul, N did a sketch from the hotel’s rooftop of some sites that we had seen that day and, not Turkey, but for his school art project last year he chose a familiar site in Sri Lanka. Please also pass on my best wishes to Claire.
Dolby-Smith Family (with children aged 9 & 12)
Travelled Summer 2019
This was our first visit to Turkey and we all absolutely loved it. Much to our surprise, the kids really enjoyed visiting the ancient ruins and learning about the different eras of history. Local people were amazingly welcoming and the food was incredible, the local baklava was just something else and who knew there were so many flavours of Turkish Delight!
The jeep safari into Dilek National Park and the cave of Zeus was one our favourite activities, the fresh smell of pine trees and the crickets chirping really made you appreciate the natural beauty around you.
Our guide at Dilek, Yusuf, helped us spot the wild boar which roam free throughout the park, and we even saw one down by the beach looking for lunch.
The beaches were fabulous and the water was textbook crystal clear and great for snorkelling.
Another hit with the kids was shopping in the markets, our guide gave us great tips about which ones to visit for the best replica goods. The kids soon learned how to haggle for a bargain! Next time a spare suitcase is definitely needed…
Call us and we will be happy to provide you with a free-of-charge no obligation itinerary and quotation designed for you.
01728 752751
Turkey in pictures
