Escorted & Package Tours

With so many options spread out over such large distances, the options for travel to Turkey seem to be limited only by your individual travel style.

Independent travelers tend to prefer package tours that, while not necessarily spontaneous, provide competitive prices on airfare and hotel accommodations. Some people love escorted tours; they let you relax and take in the sights while a bus driver fights traffic for you; they spell out your costs upfront; and they take you to the maximum number of sights in the minimum amount of time with the least amount of hassle. With few exceptions, most operators offering escorted tours will offer air/hotel packages, arrange land-only trips, customize a tour, or add on short stays or gulet excursions (if not already included) on request. These days, the travel industry competition is stiff, causing the lines of delineation between the two to become slightly blurred. With increased personal service in mind, many escorted tours are offering customized options, while many traditional packagers are offering escorted land packages.

Escorted Tours

If you do choose an escorted tour, ask a few simple questions before you buy: What is the cancellation policy? How busy is the schedule? What is the size of the group? What is included in the price? Think strongly about purchasing travel insurance from an independent agency, especially if the tour operator asks you to pay upfront. One final caveat: Because escorted-tour prices are based on double occupancy, the single traveler is usually penalized.

Many of the companies offering escorted tours to Turkey offer ambitious itineraries; it's important to select a tour with a pace that's right for you.

Cultural Tours

Turkey is, essentially, one big open-air museum, and it would be difficult not to have a learning experience while traveling in such a historically rich country. For their Turkey trips, Intrepid Travel (in the U.S. tel. 877/847-8192; www.intrepidtravel.com) manages to effectively combine authentic experiences with an optimal cultural overview.

If you're looking for luxury without compromising the authenticity of your Turkish experience, INCA (tel. 510/420-1550; www.incafloats.com) provides nature and cultural adventures.

Using a local travel agent can make anybody a bit skittish, but expert in the region is the English-proficient Credo Tours (tel. 90-212/254-8175 in Istanbul; fax 90-212/237-9670; www.credo.com.tr), inspiring nothing but confidence with their quick, efficient, and competitively priced service. Faxes and e-mails are answered within 24 hours, and there is no request that is too unusual.

If you're planning to drag along unwilling offspring, try booking through Thomson Family Adventures (tel. 800/262-6255 or 617/864-4803; fax 617/497-3911; www.familyadventures.com) for kid-friendly trips without adult compromise. Thomson takes an added interest in your children, establishing departure dates according to the school calendar, and they provide fun educational activities prior to departure.

Depending on your commitment to the educational aspect of your vacation, you may want to connect with one of the outfitters geared specifically toward this type of travel. IST Cultural Tours (tel. 800/833-2111), organizes painstakingly researched tours for the traveler who's looking for a more in-depth cultural experience, and a partnership with the History Channel ensures a high level of quality. Far Horizons (tel. 800/552-4575; www.farhorizon.com) offers eight archaeological tours for small groups, including a 10-day voyage by sea. Tours hook up with local professionals like archaeologists, scientists, and experts as guides. The Smithsonian (tel. 202/357-4700; www.si.edu) has land and sea "study tour" voyages available to members.

Boat Trips (Aka The Blue Voyage) -- Club Voyages, 43 Hooper Ave., Atlantic Highlands, NJ 07716 (tel. 888/842-2122 or 732/291-8228; fax 732/291-4277), bent over backward to accommodate my absurd itinerary, and I've later learned that this individualized attention is due not only to a love of and commitment to the trade and to Turkey, but because owners/operators Pat and Kemal are sincerely caring people. They specialize in high-end quality private charters with or without crew, with the possibility of land tour add-ons or land-only packages.

Blue Voyage Tours & Travel (tel. 800/818-8753 or 414/392-0146; www.bluevoyage.com) has all the gulet charter options, as well as a three-cabin boat they've added to their fleet. Depending on availability, the boats can be chartered for as few as 2 days and for as little as 470€ ($575) per day if you're willing to travel in May or October.

For reliable contacts within Turkey, contact Credo Tours (in Istanbul tel. 90-212/254-8175; fax 90-212/237-9670; www.credo.com.tr), Aegean Yachting (tel. 90-252/316-1517; fax 90-252/316-5749), or Gino Group (tel. 90-252/412-0676; fax 90-252/412-2066).

You can go the extra nautical mile on a Blue Voyage by signing up with a reputable sailing school. Gökova Yachting, based in Netsel Marina in Marmaris (tel./fax 0252/413-1089; http://sailturkey.org) is the only licensed international sailing school where students can advance through the five levels of sailing proficiency from beginner to racer. Yacht master Cumhur (Jim) Gökova presides over one of the newest fleets in the Mediterranean, and also handles bookings directly. Tuition is 600€ ($730) per person per week, and covers one proficiency level of instruction.

Culinary Tours -- Only a true foodie can appreciate the rewards of planning a vacation with a special emphasis on the eating habits of a country. In Turkey, where much of the language and expressions refer back to the kitchen, there's no better way to get to the heart of this culture. Kathleen O'Neill's Culinary Expeditions in Turkey (tel. 415/437-5700 in the U.S.; fax 925/210-1337; www.turkishfoodandtravel.com), provides a gateway to the tradition, hospitality, and gastronomy of Turkey through "eating expeditions" that focus on the food of Turkey's eastern Mediterranean, either in the region of Gaziantep or cruising along the Turquoise coast.

Active Vacations -- Gorp Travel (tel. 877/440-4677; www.gorp.com) offers the most variety of choices, with excursions organized around trekking, watersports, and cycling. Gorp is also one of many U.S. booking agents for The Imaginative Traveler (tel. 800/225-2380; www.imaginative-traveller.com), the U.K.'s leading adventure tour company.

Wildland Adventures (tel. 800/345-4453; www.wildland.com) gears its off-the-beaten-track hiking and cultural trips toward ensuring distinctive accommodations and plenty of downtime. Argeus, based in Ürgüp, Istiklal Cad. 13 (tel. 0384/341-4688; fax 0384/341-4888; www.argeus.com.tr), is the most qualified local company for tailor-made tours and packages in Cappadocia, and the exclusive representatives for REI activities in Turkey. Guides are knowledgeable and enthusiastic. The price for a regular day tour is 100€ ($120) per person for two people -- a bit hefty in comparison to the lower-end outfitters, but with Argeus, there are no shopping detours and all museum fees are included. Meanwhile, Middle Earth Travel, Gaferli Mah. Cevizler Sokak, Göreme (tel. 0384/271-2559; www.middleearthtravel.com), targets the hardiest of independent adventure travelers, with 6-day and 2-week treks into the Kaçkar Mountains, an 8-day climb up Mount Ararat, volcano climbs, and organized expeditions along the Lycian Way and St. Paul's Trail.

Clients of Cappadocia Tours based in Ürgüp (tel. 0384/341-7485; fax 0384/341-7487; www.cappadociatours.com) leave Turkey with a deeper attachment to the country thanks to a grass-roots approach that moves beyond the museums. In addition to the must-sees of Cappadocia, they also lead safari tours into the mountains, to waterfalls, and to off-the-beaten-track villages and little-explored underground cities.

Special Interest Tours

Spa Vacations -- It's obvious by the glossy brochure published by the Ministry of Tourism that Turkey recognizes the value of the country's natural thermal resources. But it's only recently that entrepreneurs have stepped up to the plate with suitably deluxe facilities that provide alternatives to the medicinal or blue-collar environments of some of the country's older centers. At the top of the list is Istanbul's Ritz-Carlton, with its deluxe menu of signature treatments and ultimate spa packages.

In the hot springs-rich peninsula of Çesme, a luxury thermal spa is now the rule rather than the exception. The Altin Yunus was the first, and now five-star properties with thermal-rich waters include the Süzer and the new Sheraton Çesme, which gears its high-tech thermal center to nothing more ambitious than treatments for pure pleasure. The Sheraton Voyager in Antalya features a high-tech wellness center.

Two other traditional centers for thermal treatments are Bursa and Pamukkale.

In Bodrum The Marmara Oteli converted five of their rooms into a center geared toward complete self-indulgence. The spa offers stone therapy, a "fat attack" sea mud body pack, and the ultimate endorphin high: 60 minutes of weightless relaxation in their state-of-the-art flotation tank.

Excursions Into Eastern Turkey -- For the first time in more than 20 years, eastern Turkey is enjoying an extended period of calm, and slowly but surely, destinations that previously came with State Department warnings are appearing in tour brochures. Make no mistake, however, as far as creature comforts go, it's still the Wild West out east. Alas, publisher's directives about page limits constrain me from elaborating on such wondrous destinations as Zeugma, Antioch, Mt. Nemrut, and Lake Van. Instead, I can highly recommend Credo Tours (tel. 90-212/254-8175; fax 90-212/237-9670; www.credo.com.tr) for your foray into Turkey's eastern and southeastern provinces.

Another reputable outfitter experienced in the east is Fez Travel (tel. 90-212/516-9024; fax 90-212/638-8764; www.feztravel.com), run by a group of Australians who made a name for themselves with a hop-on-hop-off circuit of Turkey's hot spots. These trips, top-heavy with Australian backpackers, are geared more toward the budget end of travel. Meanwhile, many tour operators based in Göreme, in Cappadocia, run overnight bus tours to Mount Nemrut, mostly utilized by backpackers.

All About the Blue Voyage

The Mavi Yolculuk or "Blue Voyage" emerged in the late 1920s, when Cevat Sakir Kabaagaçli, a dissident political writer who had been exiled to Bodrum, began offering visiting friends the idyllic experience of cruising around the Gulf of Gökova. Today cruising along the Turkish Mediterranean is one of the highlights of any trip to Turkey. And in some cases, it's the only way to visit the small fishing villages and islands of the southwestern coast. But to do it right, you should plan in advance and know your options.

The traditional Turkish sea excursion is either by gulet or yacht cruiser, the majority of which depart from Marmaris or Bodrum. Hiring a private yacht (or bareboat charter) is a popular choice for those with sailing proficiency and a taste for independence and adventure. Captained yachts are also available as an option. The gulet, a wooden broad-beam boat that evolved from a fishing vessel, typically accommodates 8 to 12 people and comes equipped with many modern conveniences.

In addition to chartering the entire gulet, it is also possible to charter a cabin on an individual basis. This last option, however, is riddled with pitfalls, not the least of which can be safety concerns. Generally, the gulets used for individual cabin charters didn't make the first cut for that season, thanks to torn cushions, faded decks, clogged toilets, smelly cabins, and a boat that should have been sent out to pasture long ago. Many tour operators and yacht agents have responded by acquiring and chartering out their own gulets, so check at the time of booking to make sure you'll be on one of these more recent acquisitions. If your booking agent can't or won't give you specific information about the boat you'll be on, be prepared for the worst, and negotiate a discount in advance if the gulet you were promised gets substituted at the last minute.

Weeklong gulet cruises commonly depart from Marmaris on Sunday mornings (boarding Sat nights) and last 1 week, although it's also possible to sail from Fethiye, Bodrum, or anywhere else your heart desires. (There may be a transport fee.) A typical weeklong Blue Voyage will run you anywhere from 340YTL to 1,080YTL ($250-$800) per person, with as much as 70% added on for a single supplement. Meals are usually included, but all drinks, even water, are extra (but available and reasonably priced onboard). Boats may come equipped with air-conditioning, but even on a private and comparatively luxurious boat, the generator, and thus the air-conditioning, gets shut down at night.

Although most Turkish boat operators offer their services directly to the public, every travel agent and his brother has a friend in the boat business. The problem is wading through all of the brokerage options, especially when the ship's captain lists his boat with multiple agencies. The best way to ensure quality in booking your gulet or yacht cruise is to use a reputable local tour broker. Be an informed buyer and get a detailed description of the boat, keeping in mind that vessels need a complete renovation at least every 5 years. Also, decide whether a hose attachment to the sink faucet is sufficient, or whether you require a separate cabin shower. Finally, flush toilets (as opposed to the hand-pump type) are considered a luxury.

But look, it's not all bad news. There's really no way to ruin a week of tooling around turquoise waters with a culturally and linguistically diverse passenger list. Hold your nose and just dive in.