Holiday Reviews
We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same trip can have different views!
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Short breaks to Istanbul, independent reviews
 Reviewed 28 Oct 2009 by Keith Glover |  |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
We packed so much in, it's hard to say what was the best bit! The Aya Sofia was breathtaking and the Topkapi Palace was also very atmospheric. The hamam (turkish baths) were brilliant - we felt wonderful afterwards! Our guide, Najat, was very knowledgeable and helpful, yet we didn't feel rushed.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
The services of a guide are well worth it, especially if you only have a short time to spend. It also meant that we were much more confident going out on our own on the days when we were by ourselves. Don't be phased by the barrage of locals trying to sell you their wares - it's all very good natured and fun if you get into the banter.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Yes, our hotel was run by a local family and using a local guide helped.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Fantastic - would definitely recommend Istanbul and also booking through Responsible Travel.
| Reviewed 28 Apr 2006 by Nicola Elliott | |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The Iznik tiles in the mosques are really beautiful. The city was planted with £3m tulips. The Turkish promised to make me feel "reborn" and was not far off!
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
This operator organised my short trip very well. It was great to have a guide who was very knowledgeable and pointed out interesting things which I might otherwise have missed. It also meant I did not waste time finding my way to the different sites and was able to get more done in the time. Easter is an excellent time to go to Istanbul - it is sunny and warm in the day time but not too hot to enjoy the site-seeing - and the city is full of tulips which were a popular emblem in Ottoman design.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
I think local people benefitted from the money I spent on hotel, guide, textiles, Turkish bath, etc.
| Reviewed 1 Mar 2006 by Sophie James | |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The tiles in the mosques - small or large they were all beautiful.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Book with Responsible Travel, read the guide book before you go as the guides are flexible and will visit what you want to see.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Yes.
4. Any other comments?
I can not praise the service I received from Serkan highly enough and have been telling all my friends to look at the Responsible Travel website and definitely go to Istanbul! ***** genuinely the best holiday I have had - am looking forward to going somewhere next year and will book with Responsible Travel.
| Reviewed 24 Apr 2009 by Sue Ring | |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
We enjoyed the 2 days with a guide - it made so much difference. Our guide was brilliant - very knowledgeable and adjusted the pace of sightseeing to suit our family. We saw a lot more and learnt a lot more with him than we would have done on our own.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
If you are going for a short stay like we did make sure you have a guide. Also next time we would not fly to Sabiha Gokcen as it is a long transfer time.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Not sure - apart from providing employment/income to those in tourist business. Flying to a destination is not ideal although we pay for carbon offsetting.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
The hotel was great and the staff were friendly and helpful. The breakfasts were excellent. But we were a bit disappointed with our rooms which were on the lower ground floor - they were small and one of them adjoined the road and was noisy. Overall a great introduction to a beautiful and fascinating city.
| Reviewed 12 Jun 2008 by Heema Patel | |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The fact that our first day of touring was all on foot was great and our hotel was very central to the major tourist sites without being on busy main streets was great.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Make sure you read the guide books on where to go and what to do in the evenings, don't get pushed into going to whirling dervish shows which are expensive when you can easily see these in local cafes and eateries in a more relaxed atmosphere.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
We definitely contribute to the local economy by buying souvenirs and textiles. Having mostly a walking tour due to our central location minimised our environmental impact.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
It was a well planned itinerary with some flexibility due to our good tour guide and it was a shame we couldn't stay longer! The only issue was that we weren't informed when to meet our guide on our first morning of the holiday.
| Reviewed 8 Apr 2008 by Katherine Wright | |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The bazaars were a favourite part for our teen age boys, plus the food and great deserts. Plus seeing the blue mosque and agasofia. For all of us, the size and density of the city was a shock, but for such a dense city, it seemed relatively clean. Also we made the effort on our day by ourselves to go the Asia side.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Come prepared for long walks and stay relaxed. It was enjoyable to have time to see things on a casual schedule. One bit of advice would be to get some ideas of reasonable restaurants and know in advance where to go and eat, as the pressure from the sales people in the streets were intense every time we even glanced at a restaurant or menu.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
We arrived without car and used either van or public transportation throughout the city. I felt we could have walked more often than ridden in the van. In a city that size, it’s hard to know how we could minimize our impact. The local people were determined to benefit from us, they were very aggressive and a bit annoying.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
With a private guide and no group or crowd, we felt absolutely pampered.
| Reviewed 9 Jan 2008 by Robert Lambourn | |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The variety of different things to do and see during a short trip to Istanbul. Very friendly people - interesting mix of cultures. Highlights: the Basilica Cistern, St Saviour in Chora, Archaeology museum, Rumeli Fortress; but enjoyed the lot!
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Also visit St Saviour in Chora - fantastic 14thc frescos/mosaics, stunning, possibly should be part of the tour. Also archaeology museum [requires at least half day]. Don't be afraid of a Turkish Bath!
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Yes.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Excellent four day city break - particularly in winter when no crowds.
| Reviewed 23 Jul 2007 by Heather Schirtzinger | |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Cruising the Bosphorus
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Read about the history of Istanbul before going.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Absolutely - we mostly walked, once used a small mini bus and used public ferries.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Really wonderful. Our guide, Aykud couldn't have been better. He was well informed, pitched his information at exactly the right level and was always pleasant and helpful.
| Reviewed 23 Apr 2006 by Rachel Duerden | |
Our holiday was lovely - at least four stars. Everything ran very smoothly and efficiently, the hotel was great, our guide was excellent. Memorable things - well, there were many of them. The muezzin's call to prayer, amplified considerably, from the Blue Mosque which we could see (almost touch!) from our hotel window. It was a bit of a shock at first, because we happened to arrive on Mohammed's birthday, so there was extensive reading/chanting from the Koran until very late the night we arrived, and then the first call to prayer at about 0520 every morning (got used to that though). But marvellous.
To look out from our hotel and see Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque and Sultanahmet square was quite wonderful (certainly a very memorable aspect). And apart from the muezzin (which was of course only occasional and very brief, after the big event of the birthday - and we enjoyed hearing that strange, eerie and compelling call reverberating through the city at different times of day) it was very quiet. No traffic noise at night - incredible considering we were so central.
Other memorable things - the gorgeous spring flowers everywhere throughout the city - beautiful. The friendliness of the people - we didn't feel at all harassed or intimidated by the 'hard sell' approach, because there was no aggression in it, just good nature, so it was easy to walk away with a smile. Watching a carpet weaver at work - an extra that our guide arranged for us - was absolutely wonderful, and to have the carpets displayed for us so professionally and knowledgeably was wonderful, too. This was in a 'proper' shop, not the bazaar. Of course we bought one...
Our guide was from Istanbul, and loved the city, and knew a great deal about it; we felt that we were getting a much more rounded understanding from him than from a guide book. The hotel was lovely, as mentioned - spacious, light, clean, quiet, friendly. We were met from the airport, and taken back to the airport (for a horribly early flight) and all of that went very well, so it was a stress-free holiday. Hmm - it sounds more like five stars now I've written a bit about it - certainly I don't know what else we would expect or want, really.
I hope we benefited the local people - it was a small private hotel, and the guide, as I said, is from Istanbul; we were taken to lovely restaurants for lunch each day, and found our own for the evening, ate Turkish food and drank Turkish wine. We certainly felt that we were meeting and dealing with local people, not big multi-national companies or chains. All the arrangements with this operator were organised efficiently and in a very friendly way - I always communicated with the same person (Serkan Cetin) who was happy to answer all kinds of silly questions, and at the hotel they asked if we knew him; I said that I only knew him through email communication, and they said 'he is a good person'. I just wanted to let you know that we had a marvellous time on our recent trip to Istanbul with this operator. Everything ran very smoothly, the hotel was lovely, the guide was great, and it was all super. Thank you!