We just returned on a 10 day trip to Turkiye.
Corbeico did a fantastic job or planning, booking and the executing the trip. We worked with Buse to plan our entire trip and tailored it to what we wanted to do. She was very patient in terms of answering my questions and making useful suggestions. We made our own hotel bookings because we wanted better quality hotels. Each pickup and drop off was perfectly on time. Their people were always at the airport to pick us up on time. We never had to...
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We just returned on a 10 day trip to Turkiye.
Corbeico did a fantastic job or planning, booking and the executing the trip. We worked with Buse to plan our entire trip and tailored it to what we wanted to do. She was very patient in terms of answering my questions and making useful suggestions. We made our own hotel bookings because we wanted better quality hotels. Each pickup and drop off was perfectly on time. Their people were always at the airport to pick us up on time. We never had to wait around. Their vans were clean and the drivers were punctual. Our Istanbul guide Ismail showed us around for 3 days. We had a great day of seeing the main Sultanahment area sites- Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Bascilica Cistern, Topkapi palaceband Harem were the highlights. Ismail then took us to Dolmabacche Palace (a bit over the top), the grand Sulemaniye mosque, Egyptian Spice market, Ortakoy and a Bosphorus cruise. In between we went to Cappadocia and the returned for a day to the Asian side of Istanbul. Ismail was again our guide and took us around to Camlica hill, Uskadur, Kuzguncuk and Kadikoy. Ismail always took us to good local restaurants as we wanted to try Istanbul street food rather than eat at fancy restaurants.
We spent 3 days in Cappadocia as well. Our guide Didem was superb. The places that we enjoyed the most were the Goreme open air museum and the Zelve open air museum. The geology and cave houses, some with churches and painted frescoes. The geology in Cappadocia is truly like nothing else we have seen. An ancient volcano deposited ash over a vast area and erosion and weathering over millions of years has created a unique geology of towers, conical shapes etc. The Derinkuyu underground city was one of the highlights. It is hard to imagine how this elaborate underground city could house 30,000 people, their livestock, grain, water and have elaborate ventilation systems. Didem also took us to local restaurants to eat simple, authentic Turkish food as we requested. Some of the stops to see overpriced Pottery and semi precious jewelry was something we could have avoided. The pottery and precious stones were lovely but the prices were absurdly high. The two castles Uchisar and Ortahisar were quite imposing. The clean air, fresh air in Cappadocia was a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of Istanbul. Due to weather conditions our Balloon trip got canceled on the day we booked it as well as on the reserve day. That would have enhanced the experience in Cappadocia
All in all a very successful trip that exceeded our expectations
Activity Reviews
Two Continents tour with Dolmabahce Palace
İstanbul
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Ismail was a wonderful guide. Very patient. Took us to good local restaurants. Hiss knowledge of history was very good and accurate (I had read up quite a bit on the Byzantine and Ottoman empires before the trip)
Old City Tour with Hagia Sophia and Topkapı Palace
İstanbul
The best day of the trip. The Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and Topkapi palace are the best sights in Istanbul. The architecture and history is fabulous
Food
The street food and local food was amazing. We did not go to any fancy restaurants
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Ismail was a great guide. Very knowledgeable
Mustafapasa Village Tour
Cappadocia
To be fair this was not the best part of Cappadocia and we could have shortened our trip by a day. But it was nice to be in the open air and see the magical geology of Cappadocia
Food
The local food was amazing. We had Gozleme
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Didem was superb and took us to good places to eat local food and have Turkish tea and Coffee
Transport
Comfortable van and good driver
South Cappadocia Tour
Cappadocia
Though the balloon ride was cancelled due to bad weather we had a good day. Cappadocia geology is terrific. The Zelve open air museum with the fairy chimneys was very interesting. The cave houses were quite amazing and being able to clamber through them was a treat.
Quality of Experience
The geology and houses carved into the rock was great. The Open air museum was well preserved and presented
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Didem our guide was superb. Very knowledgeable. She took us to good local places to eat great bebans, have the Aryan butter milk and of course Turkish tea and Turkish coffee
Transport
The van and driver were great
Chic Asian Side Tour with Beylerbeyi Palace
İstanbul
The trip across the Bosphorus on Bridge 1 was a treat. We went to Camlica hill on the Asian side from where we could see the entire city, both the European and Asian side as well as the Bosphorus strait. We then went to the Uskudar and Kuzgunchuk (spelling?) area which were quite chic and had great houses overlooking the Bosphorus. The Beylerbeyi castle though quite modern was superb. The furniture, rooms, Bohemian chandeliers and Turkish rugs were exquisite. We then went to Kadikoy to wander around and eat at a couple of local restaurants- lahmacun (a thin pizza like bread with a meat topping), Adani kebabs and of course Turkish tea and Turkish coffee
Food
Super Turkish street food
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Ismail was a great guide
Transport
The van was very comfortable and the driver was skilled
North Cappadocia Tour
Cappadocia
The Goreme Open air museum is superb. A World Heritage Site! The geology, cave houses and churches were great considering their age!
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Didem was a superb guide. Very knowledgeable about the area. She also knew the best places to eat
Transport
Very comfortable van and a great driver
Local specialist: Buse Nur Erkan
