Hi Paul and all the team.

We have just returned home after a spectacular walking holiday with Amber Travel and were keen to give you our thoughts re our trip.

Pretty much everything worked really well.

We loved the route, lots of variety and the extra length days suited us perfectly. Your choice of accommodation was spot on, we particularly enjoyed staying with the two families, one in Gey at Dumanoglu Pansiyon, where we had the most spectacular meal and the other at Ali’s House where we enjoyed the company of their son Husain and Ali’s wife who also kindly organised a visit to the Mosque. We appreciated Ali’s lift up the last bit of the climb to their house at the end of what was a long hot day.

We also enjoyed the variety of accommodation. The food was always good...both quality and quantity. Turkish cuisine really is first rate!

Baggage transfer worked perfectly and we were confident our bags would be waiting for us at our next location.

We appreciated Pauls quick response to any queries we had and it was good to know someone was there should we need help.

Upon the Turkish coastline, on Kas we did descend. With many fun and frolics that would last us till the end. We'd meet outside the airport or our first place of stay. Where our great tour leader would tell us of our days. Then down the Xanthos river, canoeing we would go. Spotting birds and terrapins in the banks and growths. The tranquil views and waters, we'd see along the way.  Would make us stop and reminisce on our fantastic day.

But soon we'd come to realise that this was just the start. With many more adventures in which we would take part. We'd hike the Taurus mountains to the grey rock summit. Where we'd view the stunning scenes, and hope we do not plummet. On the way we'd soon spot some mountain goats and horses. Admiring from a distance their beauty and  their forces.

Then as our walk did finish, on the bus we did descend. But more adventures were to come before the day did end. Dropped at the Turkish sauna. Some thrills we soon did have. With pain and joy and screaming heard throughout the baths. And by the end some of us were clean both in and out. With all their muscles loosened they relaxed, their is no doubt.

The next day was soon upon us and cycling we did go. Soaring through the forests and along the mountain roads. Some of us were fitter and made it to the top, of the steepest hills, whilst the rest of us did stop. But we all enjoyed the moments of mesmerising views and personalised achievements that each of us got through. And as an added bonus, when the cycling came to end. We got to spend some chill out time at the beech amongst our friends. We swam within the waters and strolled through glistening sand. Making pics and memories of this fantastic land.

Then our adventures did turn, to the sea and shore. Where we sailed and kayaked and snorkelled and much more. We swam amongst the fishes where we saw a sunken tank and felt the swishing water go gently through our hands. We then soon did kayak across the tranquil sea, where some of us were better at steering, that's not me ;).

Our final day did allow a time for fun and rest. We'd board a stunning gullet where we'd swim and chill and jest. The final meal then did come where we'd say our final words. We'd think about the fun we had whilst we laughed and did converse. Then that sad time did come where we would say goodbye and back towards our homeland we then did have to fly. We'll always have our memories of the joy and laughs we had, the friendships we have made. The adventures within Kas. 

Hi Paul,

Just got back yesterday, a wonderful trip indeed if not a little bit hot, but I can't say you didn't warn us :)

Organisation of the whole thing was spot on, from the transfers to the hotels knowing we are coming and the GPS maps were all great.

I will be happy to leave some positive reviews this weekend when I have a bit more time.

The Turkish people were very nice, scenery beautiful and the Beer abundant! I will be recommending this to people for sure. We did all of the activities recommended in the notes and enjoyed them thoroughly, so great recommendations!

A few highlights from me:

Dalyan - very beautiful town (as long as you avoid the couple of tacky bars where a lot of fellow Brits seemed to congregate.) We also thoroughly enjoyed the mud baths and lake swim!

Gocheck - Lovely marina, stopped in this bar where the seats were in the sea water just past the shoreline so you could keep your feet cool...was a really cool bar and very nice area.

Oludeniz hill climb to top of butterfly valley -. What a killer this was, very satisfying once it was done though!

A very simple one but still memorable for me - after we got the lift from Camp Shiva to the top of the hill, we did about 3-4 miles riding and stopped in the very rustic looking Village, I imagine they don't get many tourists around there and the locals were happy to introduce themselves, we had Turkish Tea which had been prepared over a wood stove on the roadside, and it was a lovely 30 min stop where it felt very Turkish.   

Patara - Nice chilled town, enjoyed this stop and the rest day. Took a horse ride through the ancient city and on the sand dunes which was great.

Kas - What a beautiful town, almost wish we had an extra night here just to try out some of the great looking restaurants.

Thanks for all your help in organising a great trip. Oh, and thanks for taking off my phone mount! nearly forgot that!

Cheers

Ryan

Hello Paul and Yesim,

I would like to repeat that we liked the tour very much and enjoyed everything that we saw and experienced.

Please take our review with a grain of salt as it is our personal opinion and some other travelers may like/dislike different things.

1. Tour:

We thought that the tour was well thought out and showed different sides of Turkey (history, geography, agriculture, people, and food).  We liked that we used public transportation where it was appropriate.

It was very intensive/packed program - we were leaving at 9:00am and getting to next hotel between 9pm and 10:30pm.

We were ready to switch from history to hiking on day 12 (or it would be a day off in original program). Good call.

Guided hike worked out really well - we loved it. We are definitely recommending it to our friends and may come back to do some more if we are near Turkey in the future.

We loved the Barhal village approach hike - thank you! GPS helped a lot and we definitely used hiking poles on the rocky portion of the hike.

2. Hotels:

All hotels were in good locations - close to attractions and restaurants.

Thank you for accommodating our request for non-smoking rooms - it really helped.

We liked both home-stays - during the hike and in Barhal. Food was outstanding and we enjoyed interacting with the owners.

3. Guides:

First of all, I would like to note that not only we were able to see different areas of Turkey, we were also able to interact with guides from different areas, different background, different ages, different views on life/politics/religion - we really liked it.

Timucin - outstanding. We connected with him from the start and it was an enjoyable week. His English is very good (probably better than mine...). He was knowledgeable about history and local culture and was willing to share his knowledge.

Fatih - very good. Good English and lots of information to share. He also gave us tutorial on farming and showed us his family farm :-)

Ani - very good hiking guide. We loved hiking with Ani. She adjusted to our pace in a first hour and it was enjoyable all throughout. She also gave us some historical information and showed us local plants growing on the trail. She had a good rapport with all accommodation owners and local vendors and we were able to communicate with them with her help.

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General:

Timucin, Fatih, and Ani knew the program and coordinated all movements without our involvement - it was perfect as we did not have time and did not need to look at the program and decide what to do next - we loved it.

In summary, we had a terrific trip and probably will come back to Turkey in the near future with our Turkish friend. Maybe we will talk her into doing some hiking.

Thank you very much!

Viktoriya and Alain

Dear Amber-Travel-Team,

we are just back from our self-guided trip on Lycian Way West with your company and want to thank you for a great week in Turkey. Our expectations were topped - carefully selected accommodations offside from mass-tourism, very welcoming hosts, a perfect description for walking and good tips for coffee stops. We met many interesting people and got insight into the Turkish way of life. It was really a great experience! Plus: our boat trip to Kekova and visit to Myra organized by your company was much more expensive than planned but to have our own boat was a real surprise and an experience we wouldn't want to miss!

Thank you so much. We will highly recommend your agency and hope to do the eastern part of the Lycian Way next year with your company.

Best regards!

Jönke

Dear Paul

just had to say a big thank you for arranging our holiday so well,Everything worked perfectly and your choices of walks and accommodation were spot on. I have already recommended you to my hiking friends.Hope the current troubles do not affect your business.

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Our guide Yalcin was perfect and so knowledgeable and very accommodating to our needs.We did not catch the train to Pamukkale but drove as he knew we would love Aphrodisias and he was right ! The day we went to Sardis we stopped at Tire as the Tuesday markets were on and they were so interesting.

Thank you once again

kind regards

Janice K

Dear Paul I just want to say thank you on behalf of our group for a very well organised and wonderful trip. The hotels were amazing ( even with all the Brits at the Olive Grove) and we all especially loved the Lighthouse and Montenegro Hotels, both for the spectacular views and the fabulous freshly prepared delicious food. The three girls who walked the whole trek loved each day but said the last day to Kas was their least favourite. My favourite day was the walk from Montenegro to Olive Grove and Kim enjoyed the walk from the Lighthouse. If we did another walk we would probably choose October, when the weather is a little cooler. Our night on Kassie was wonderful, so thanks for organising those tickets as well. We danced on Kythira ( at the end of season village dance) and had our book club lunch with 40 people and the author of the book , so all in all a very memorable holiday. Take care and thanks again for everything. Kind regards Margaret

 everything was so good - trust me; we have had many conversations about what we enjoyed the most and we all keep saying the same thing - every day was AMAZING and the week perfectly put together’

 

‘This has been probably our best family holiday EVER! Everything about it from booking; to the guides - Zeb and Paul - to the other families and everyone we met made us feel special. The programme that Paul has put together was perfect for us - he's thought about everything and knows his stuff - we learnt very quickly to take his advice! The lazy boat day was the perfect start and helped us ease in to the holiday; get to know Zeb and Paul without feeling too stressed or overwhelmed....and the food was on another level - WOW! Day 2 on the kayaks was again; perfect - Paul's expert local knowledge meant that we avoided the crowds; were immersed in the culture and history of the area and had loads of fun - once again; hats off to Pau for a superb spot for lunch. Day 3 was a hike with Zeb; which again was awe inspiring - A well chosen route; that was both challenging and enjoyable. Lunch was again a highlight; this time in a mountain village home; trying some local delicacies - pancakes and Iram. So generous and accommodating - felt really special. Zeb's local knowledge and enthusiasm led us to an off the programme stop at a small mountain village where we were introduced to smoked ice - cream. We were a little worried that the mountain biking straight after the trek would be a bit too much; but nothing could be further from the truth. This was again challenging; especially for our 10 year old; but also achievable. A good combination of rugged mountain terrain and smoother small roads leading to a picnic by a mountain spring - really felt quite special; especially as there was no one else around! The minibus follows you for the majority of the time; so if your confidence or skill leaves you; there is always the option to jump on to the next section. The thrilling descent is aptly named -it really does leave you with your heart in your mouth! The day ends with a swim in the sea at one of the few 'beaches' - great way to end the day. Next up was the free day; although Paul provided plenty of options to choose from - we chose a day visit to the 'Greek Island' which for us was the perfect 'chill day' - visiting more magical cultural sites; swimming in crystal clear water and visiting the blue cave - no spoilers on this one as it is a wonder best 'discovered'! The final day of activities took us to a gorge in the mountains and tubing - a thrilling ride in small dinghy's along the river. This was followed up by a mud bath and swim in a natural spring - we even had time left for the kids to try out the zip wire - just great fun. The evening and week was rounded off with another meal out with Paul and the group at an expertly selected restaurant - a great way to end a magical week; with strangers that we now consider friends. Sad to leave but grateful for an amazing experience that will be long remembered. If any of the other holidays offered as well put together; you've got yourself lifetime customers!’

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I'm sorry I was a bit long to give you a feed back about the hiking I did with amber travel from 13/05 to 20/05. I had a wonderfull hiking week. Annie has such a gift to organise things about walking: timing, knowledge of the area, ability to communicate in the group and toward the people who were hosting us in the week. I have to say I was very impress. 

I couldn't have done without help of professionnals, because I'm not use to walk in the nature alone, even if I love to walk, I have no orientation knowledge in the nature. Annie made it easy for us, and always being carefull about limits so it stays relaxfull for us. 

Everything was so good organise: transports, accomodation, food, itinery. I could swim as promise. And your team was very reactive when my bus and all my belongings left without me, to adapt plans and find solutions 🙂

I don't how to thanks Amber travel so I can't stop repeating it: thank you! 

Please send this message to Annie as well and if she's all right about it send me her contact. I would like to read what Annie write about to travel without doing too much waste. I don't know if Annie told you but I had a small personnal challenge while I was walking. I was trying to collect as much garbage as I could and I did collect a few bags (not plastic ones, new ecological material one) of garbage. 

I would be very fond to do a bike travel as well, with amber travel. But if I come back in Turkey this year (I hope so but I have to see if it's possible about time and stuff)  it would be late like november of december. Do you still organise bike trip at that time or is it too much winter weather? It's just an information I'm asking to see if it would be manageable. At this point I'm only making plans. 

Keep in touch and I can do something to give back all Amber travel gave me, fell free to ask. 

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Hi Yesim , we,ve just  arrived at fethiye and I want to say thank you for your hard work on organising the last few days.

I warmed to you when I wanted to book 1st class from Ankara to Kars. Your colleague explained that the 1st class single occupancy rooms were booked out by travel companies and released at a later stage. He booked me 1st class seats with a guess that he could book what I wanted. I went with it and He did it. I then realised then that you are not a booking agency but a travel agency without the short term “ get what you can”.

From that  experience,I booked the three day itinerary with you. I usually book my own travels but I could not have done better than you.

Necip was a sweetie, polite , knowledgable, kind, adaptable, a real gentleman. The Hotel was exactly what I was hoping for.

So in conclusion, thank you. Seat61 is asking for feedback , I will be contacting them. 

If you would like any reference ,I’d be pleased to help

Regards 

P S*******d (uk)

Paul,

I got back to Melbourne on Tuesday.  The Dogu Express was better than I had expected.  Wonderful!  Magnificent scenery and very helpful rail staff.

Only surprise was the very low number of foreign tourists.  Outward I don't think I saw one. Coming back I think there were two...  only.
10 minutes before the train left Kars, I saw a few folk still able to buy tickets....  presume for seats (only).
Appeared to me all the 2bed-compartments, and 4bed couchettes, were occupied.


Again....  thanks for your help.

Regards...J Z



 

Dear Yesim,

I take the opportunity to once more thank you very much for your kind assistance in all travel aspects. We had an excellent experience and all trains booked through you were on time and just a wonderful way of exploring Turkey and Iran.
The train from Ankara to Tatvan was quite empty, so we found our 4 bed compartment empty and just for ourselves. The train to Tabriz was also nice.
I will recommend your agency to other fellow travellers.

Best, Philipp

 

Thank's for the excellenta maps!

We really appreciated your help during this few days of hike! thank you for being so flexible😊Thank you so very much!
Ewa and Marianne🤗🤗

We are debating whether that was the very best walking trip we have ever taken (out of many). I was enraptured by the flowers, and swam at every opportunity in the streams and sea. The route was very well planned , balancing a pretty tough days with fascinating time pottering around ruins.
Comment on accommodation. We loved the authentic nights in Antalya and on the last beautiful village. The taxi pick ups was excellent and courteous.
WE would definitely recommend Amber to other people- and I got your address from a previously satisfied customer.

Just some quick feedback on the holiday we booked with you. I thought it was great. All the arrangements went very smoothly. We liked all the accommodation and people were kind and friendly towards us. Its also a fantastic walk of course and we were helped by having your excellent notes and the GPS. All round it was fantastic. I have copied this response for my friends and they may have some comments that might be helpful. (the only thing I should probably add is that we wished we had withdrawn more money at the airport because Muzzy's did not take credit cards - I think because it was the beginning of the season - so we had to get out more money). Might also be a good idea to alert people to how cold it might be at night so they come with enough warm clothes at that time of year. But overall the weather was very good, food delicious, scenery breathtaking and we even got a couple of swims in. It was also good there were so few tourists around. Many thanks Paul and team - we had a great time.

I just wanted to thank you for arranging a most enjoyable trip to Turkey
We thoroughly enjoyed the trip and will be recommending your organizational skills and patience
Very best wishes

In brief, every organisational part of our holiday meshed like clockwork and the human contact of our walking was helpful and personal. We thoroughly enjoyed the holiday in its entirety. The one aspect which would have been useful would have been a comment in the initial instructions that a visa is needed to go to Turkey!

In addition to the route notes we greatly appreciated the additional information notes - particularly those of around Patara. This having been the start of the season we met small numbers of convivial fellow walkers - some from Amber Travel and others from across Europe,  saw splendid flowers but not many birds and would readily recommend the holiday with Amber Travel. Yours aye,