7 Days Best of Turkey Tour: Istanbul-Cappadocia-Ephesus-Pamukkale

Excellent experience-guides and drivers were all excellent. Timing and free time were adequate. No complications or issues with any part of the process from booking to rides and meals.

The organization of the tour, the opportunity to customize it, and the quality of hotels and excursions were wonderful, even for economy class. My cudo to multilingual guided who provided connection through languages, cultures and history. Larissa

What a great tour! We went to Cappadocia and palmukke. This tour was great! The drivers, tour guides and hotel staff were wonderful. I was impressed with the punctuality, food and knowledge of the guides. Ozzy was our coordinator. He was amazing. Emails were always answered promptly and the itinerary was clear. I cannot recommend them enough.

About my trip to Turkey and Cappadocia   I took part in a tour trip to Istanbul and Cappadocia from 6 to 13 July 2025 organized by Sherwood Travel.   Upon arriving at the site, immediately after landing, our group was formed, and we understood that several travel agencies rely on a single Turkish operator from Istanbul - Bravo Travel - which, we were told later, is responsible for identifying the tour guide who accompanies the group throughout the journey. A fundamental element for the success of a good trip: it is the driving that makes the difference.   Our guide was Mr H, whose cultural background we do not discuss, with whom we have had some disagreements since the third day which have turned into serious and unacceptable successive behaviour. The first discussion took place in relation to participation in the extra activities proposed by the guide himself, already indicated by the Italian tour operator. Such activities can be organized by Italy in total autonomy, as some had done. There is no contractual clause that provides for the obligation to do so with the assigned guide; moreover, the cost, often, has turned out to be more than double what was found on other sites. The guide implied that we could not organize individually and for the choice of some to go independently canceled the trip itself scheduled for the fourth day without even notifying us in advance. He ironically apostrophed us, telling us in summary that we were beggars, or that we should understand how important our financial contribution was to him and the driver. However, after various attitudes of considerable rudeness, we decided to let it go.   DA then we have made stops, absolutely unplanned, of endless durations in points of sale of "tarot" objects or tourist gadgets where we have wasted a lot of time. This was at the expense of the time spent visiting important archaeological and natural sites such as Hierapolis and Pamukkale, and Ephesus. In Hierapolis, for example, the guide left us an autonomous tour of only one hour and 15 minutes. In Ephesus - after a morning shopping for shopping malls - we arrived only at 14.00.    We made the visit, and the guide arbitrarily skipped the entrance to the Ephesus museum. The impression – clear to most of us – is that the trip to Turkey was organized (at least in part) for the purpose of selling fake bags of Italian brands and not to visit some of the most extraordinary archaeological sites in the world.  The dismay was general.  The situation came to a head when a fellow traveller pointed out to the guide that he had missed the visit to the museum. As if nothing had happened, the guide went to the bus to leave, but I followed him and asked those who had already boarded to get off to decide together what to do: whether to continue to Izmir or return to the site to visit the museum. At that point the guide got out and ran to the ticket office without saying anything. He kept us waiting several minutes because he couldn't get us back to the museum. After at least half an hour of waiting I went to ask him what had happened. He started swearing, saying that someone wanted to ruin him because he had written to the Italian agency about what was happening. So he attacked the kids in a rage with phrases like, “I’ll smash your face.” However, at this point, after that futile wait to return to the archaeological zone of Ephesus, from which we had certainly left through no fault of our own, what would we be left to do? We got back on the bus and left for Izmir. After what happened, the relationship with the guide - for some of the participants - became irretrievable. Moreover, not content, the guide read aloud in the coach the letter of objection of some members of the group putting everyone in embarrassment and some of us in serious psychological difficulty. Wanting to prove what? With what intention? Moreover, the next day he asked to sign a sheet specifying that the decision to leave Ephesus had been taken independently by the group. I personally refused to sign it because it omitted a substantial part of what had happened.   All this without mentioning: 1) arrival time at Ephesus (all morning spent in shopping malls) 2) failure to communicate to visit the museum due to the difficulty of returning to the site  3) the wait to be able to return once out of the turnstiles.   Izmir was not examined.    Last unqualified situation: the gui DA told some of us that a fellow traveler had pocketed the money of a collection organized by us (with a cover letter) delivered to the bus driver.   In conclusion: 1) I don't want to feel in danger or at the mercy of anyone's arbitrary decisions. 2) The agreed tour must be carried out as far as possible with congruity with what has been signed. 3) The extra trips proposed by the guide are not mandatory and cannot pass for such. We also do not understand why there was no trace of payment receipt. (we are still waiting for it). Moreover, such trips are much more expensive than those booked on the web. 4) I don't want to see aggressive attitudes or be put in trouble and embarrassed by a legitimate complaint from someone in the group for excessive visits to commercial places.   After further research we found that many of the past reviews confirmed what we experienced DA and we looked into the divisions of competences FRA agencies. DA web sources (so DA): the management of hotels in Turkey (bookings, contracts, tourist reception) depends mainly on the Turkish tour operator with whom you travel — in this case Bravo Travel Turkey — and not on the Italian agency.   Here is a clear distinction between the roles:   Bravo Travel (Turkey) If you are the local travel package partner:  • Manages hotels directly (reservations, check-in/out, any problems).  • Organize transfers, excursions, and on-site support.  • Often he is also responsible for the local tour guide and additional services.  • Collaborates with Italian agencies, but is the operational contact in Turkey.   Basically: Bravo Travel takes care of the Turkish part of the trip. Italian agency (intermediary)  • Sells packages (flight + hotel + tour) to customer.  • Takes care of communication, advice, payments.  • It is the reference point in Italy, but does not directly manage the hotel in Turkey.  • In case of problems, DA bridge with Bravo Travel or other local suppliers.   I hope that what has been written will contribute to improving the organization and monitoring what happens to tourists on these trips.   Best regards

I am very happy w their services. Communication is easy and Ozzy was amazing! Out tour guides are punctual, friendly and very informative. Pickups are on time and reliable. Accomodation is great. They are very organized too. Absolutely recommended!

Ozzy was the agent assigned to coordinate this package trip. We saw a lot in few days which is a challenge to fit in. Whatever issue came up, Ozzy was very responsive and attentive in addressing it. What an amazing country!

Ozzy from ToursTurkey.com was patient and answered my questions. He looked after us all the way through our tour until the very last. He stayed up after hours and took my call, making sure we got to our hotel safely. I highly recommend anyone contact Ozzy if you are planning to visit Turkey. He organised the tour and the Crowded House tour guides he engaged were engaging and informative at each different city. Turkey is a beautiful country. The only thing I would suggest is that Turkey particularly being so dry and hot when we were there, that cold water was a necessity and only 1 tour guide heard me and supplied bottled water for us all.

This was my first group trip vacation. Impressed is an understatement. The itinerary was a fun mix of visiting historic places, interacting with the local culture, taking in picturesque locales, and unique shopping experiences that were also educational. From the itinerary, to the group, to the guide (Metin is THE best and most fun, some might say “first class” ;-) )- everything was top-notch! Neither my fiancé nor I wanted to go home at the end. Turkey is magical, but I think this tour helped us truly fall in love with all that this beautiful country is. I would recommend this experience to anyone!

Metin was fabulous, everyone had a great time, and I would go back to Turkiye anytime! Istanbul, Ephesus, Kusadasi, Goreme and cappadocia region.

This itinerary was impeccable. Well-located and pleasant hotels, perfect logistics, professional guides, good restaurants included and attentive and super friendly staff! I recommend it!