"Turkiye 10 Day Essentials Tour - a perfect introduction"

The Turkiye Essentials Tour was the first organised group trip that I have done and I had no idea what to expect, especially travelling on my own. I chose this tour because of all the Historical sites on the itinerary and I was not disappointed! Right from the first day Turkiye completely blew me away!

There was so much packed into the 10 days without it feeling overwhelming. The tour felt really well organised and our Guide Mustafa had thought of everything, including where to find clean rest stops and food options. His passion for and knowledge of Turkiye and its fascinating history was infectious, making every site come alive. This was the perfect introduction to Turkiye.

All of the sites, excursions and experiences were amazing, there was so much to see and do everywhere: it’s impossible to choose a favourite but the hot air balloon ride over Cappadocia and walking around sites like Topkapi Palace and Ephesus will stay with me for a long time. It’s safe to say that I will be coming back to Turkiye in the future. And I will definitely be travelling with Travel Talk again.

"Dream Trip: Fell in Love with Turkiye "

This was the first group tour I've ever taken and the farthest I've travelled from Canada, but I've been wanting to see Turkey for a long time. It was an incredible experience and I felt very taken care of; this tour is very expertly planned and run. Now, I can say I've seen more of the country than many of my friends from Turkiye. I wanted to stay a few extra days before and after the trip, and TravelTalk arranged for the extra days at the hotel. Pickup from the hotel was a breeze and I ended up in my own private transport. Our guide, Mustafa, went above and beyond here, helping me to arrange transport back to the airport and checking on me to make sure my car arrived even when the tour was officially over. Mustafa made sure everyone's needs and comfort were considered. Pleasant, informative, and very well-organized. You never have to worry about bathroom breaks while travelling from place to place, or lineups at major tourist hotspots, and if you're not familiar with Turkish cuisine, you can count on your guide providing translations, descriptions, and taking orders in advance so that when you arrive at stops along the route, food is ready. Tour members in our group ranged from mid-twenties into senior ages with people from NZ, Australia, Canada, America, Russia, and India; from mild medical conditions to basic questions, everyone was treated with respect. Of the Turkish guides, bus drivers, and people in general, I can say that everyone is very friendly and helpful in Turkiye and eager to share their culture. I loved our drivers, who got us smoothly and safely where we needed to be in good humor and with a smile. I brought back so many memories and photos and keep in touch with a few of my tour members. Troy was one of my favourite stops, but there's nothing about Turkiye and this tour I didn't love. The underground city, fairy chimneys, and hot air balloon ride in Cappadocia were magical experiences; Mustafa ensured that we beat the sunrise on the way out of the city so that we could see the balloons as we were leaving (helpful if you opt not to do the ride). Ephesus and Pamukkale were so rich in natural beauty and history. Parasailing in Fethiye is now a major highlight of my life, and three days on a Gulet cruise with swimming, sunning, laughter, wine, and some of the best food I had in Turkiye (thanks to Chef Suleyman for the mousaka recipe!) has left me craving a return trip just for that alone. Lots of love to Turkiye's street dogs and cats as well. So many everywhere, and I loved seeing them around the Hagia Sophia. What an incredible place to visit. It's so lovely to visit a country and not have to worry about any of the logistics; just be sure to bring Turkish lira as its more expedient to pay the guide in advance for tourist sites than to pay one by one when you arrive at each place. I have raved to my friends about this particular tour and the excellent guide we had. Can't recommend enough.

"I took Travel Talk's Essential Turkey tour and it was excellent"

I took Travel Talk's Essential Turkey tour for 10 days and my guide was Mustafa. He was excellent and the group of people on tour were wonderful as well. Mustafa covered everything promised on the tour well and went above and beyond to with additional stops. I would highly recommend Travel Talk and if you can get Mustafa you will be lucky. He was professional and informative.

"5 STARS! EXCELLENT EXPERIENCE!"

Finally getting around to posting a review from my experience with Mustafa as our guide on the 10-day Travel Talk Tour of Turkey by land.

The tour was WONDERFUL and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning about the history of the country while having a lot of fun along the way.

It was clear that Mustafa was very well studied. He spent many years becoming certified to do this tour and it showed. I learned a lot about the history, culture, food and even small trivia facts about of the country.

Thank you Travel Talk and Mustafa for a great experience.

It was well worth the spend!

"We booked our very first escorted tour…"

We booked our very first escorted tour with Travel Talk after many years of travelling on our own. With age and physical limitations, we decided to be on this tour. From the booking and arrangements, its was cordial and went very well. Then,that day arrived and we were greeted at IST and taken to our hotel. Arriving late, we missed the welcome meet up. The next morning we met a very gracious person who was our guide. MUSTAFA! Through the next several days of our amazing tour, he was courteous, emphatic, compassionage and not only armed with incredible knowledge about the sights but also a great entertainer. He is very photogenic. Those on his tours will understand. He was a lively and professional tour guide and perhaps a
standard other guides need to be measured by. Thank you Travel Talk. If this is your standard for tours and all your guides, I will certainly be travelling more with you.

"A taste of the best of Turkiye"

We did Travel Talk's Turkey by Land (12 day) tour. What a fabulous combination of history (ancient and more recent), beach and sunshine and of course, the glorious spectacles of Pamukkale and Cappadocia. Our guide, Mustafa, looked after us superbly, every step of the way. From streamlined meal stops (with clean toilets) to fun facts and bite sized history lessons, Mustafa was able to make the journey interesting and comfortable. We especially appreciated the extra effort to change the schedule to avoid the cruise ship crowds and cater to individual requests. Truly a masterful guide for a wonderful journey.

"I took the 10 day turkey to tour Best…"

I took the 10 day turkey to tour Best tour I ever took had so much fun land to take all my tours with travel time if all the guides are as good as Mustafa

"Speechless at casual racism and history revisionism "

This relates to how Travel Talk Tours have chosen to completely ignore an issue of racism that I have been raising for 4+ years with them, up to my latest experience raising it with them on 11 December 2024 (the date of my current experience with them).

At the welcome meeting on my trip, the guide asked “is anyone here American - because we hate Americans”, then followed it up with “is anyone here Greek - because we also hate Greeks”.

I am Greek Cypriot.

Later in the week, in the microphone on the coach, he said that there had been no genocide of Armenians in Turkey. He said this had been made up.

Up to 1.5 million Armenians were systematically slaughtered in Turkey early in the 20th century. This is well documented.

I raised this with Travel Talk Tours via various online platforms up to the present date and they did absolutely nothing to address it. They’re happy to address positive reviews, but sanction racism.

EDIT IN RESPONSE TO BELOW: the date of my tour and my booking reference number has already been provided to Travel Talk Tours (and in fact they actually called my mobile in response to the message where I included those details - proving they received them), long before the time they wrote this response questioning “if” I ever went on a tour and the need to “substantiate” that I was ever on one. I can see that suggesting the tour was a figment of a customer’s imagination is a slick way of not having to be held accountable for it though. Quite disgusting to ignore the details provided only to come back with this sort of toxic, gaslighting response. Not really much good purporting to be anti-racist if your actions as a company fully suggest that you’re willing to do whatever is necessary to silence those who call it out.

"Traveltalk Tours- Ultimate Balkans Tour"

Traveltalk Tours
Ultimate Balkans tour

We recently participated in the 19 day tour from Bucharest to Athens, (October 2024).

Yes, the tour visits all the places mentioned but be aware that it moves at such a pace that you often don’t have time to look around the cities where you stop for the night. Usually due to late arrival each evening & location of hotels from the city centre.

Traveltalk tours use words such as “Dynamic” & “Fast-Paced”, which in reality means they are trying to pack too much into the timeframe on offer.

I believe the reason that they can offer the Tour at the price is because they maximise the number of people travelling - (up to 42 participants).
Travelling with this many people is not enjoyable & makes for slower moving.

There is obviously a lot of time spent on the bus travelling to get to all these places with some days involving over 8 hours travelling time without actually seeing much.

Personally, I would not recommend the Tour.

I would estimate that they run at least 20 of these tours every year if not many more & they have been running them for a few years. That’s more than 1500 people that have participated in this tour & they only have 1 review on their website regarding this tour.
What does that tell you?

"Amazing Greek Island Adventure "

Absolutely loved my Travel Talk experience in Greece. Did the 7 day Greek Island Hopper. If you’re lucky enough to get Marios as your guide you’ll be blown away. This guy made it incredibly special. What was particularly noticeable was how he went out of his way to include every single person and make sure they had the best experience possible. The accommodation was lovely, the itinerary was spot on, the recommendations were great. A good balance between affordability and quality. But the sense of having an adopted family for the week made it unforgettable and that’s largely down to our guide. Highly recommend this trip but if I was doing it again I definitely would include the Athens option at the beginning. Book it!