Best Things to Do in Kas

Wonderful introduction to this huge and beautiful country.
Ancient history, beautiful coastlines, Turkish Baths, friendly people,
gorgeous food
The Wow moment was the Roman theatre at Aspendos,


Aysenur Geng was excellent, her depth of knowledge was incredible and her
organisational skill very good. Personally I did have some problems with her
pronunciation of English


\be prepared for anything

This was our ninth Exodus tour and it didn’t disappoint. We saw so much in
2weeks..Gallipoli,Cannukale, Pammukale,Ephesus,Troy,Antalya and Kas,
Capadoccia........the list goes on..... so much interesting history
,architecture, beaches etc etc. There is a lot of travel so you need to
expect that.....most was broken up with interesting visits. Our guide was so
knowledgeable and we felt we really got the most out of our visits to the
various sites. The driver was a lovely man... very safe. The hotels were on
the whole good...some very nice eg Safronbolu ,Kas and Antalya. The food was
excellent and varied...our guide took us each evening to great local
restaurants and helped us choose local dishes. The final two days were full
on travel so that was hard. A delay caused by an accident on the motorway
meant we hit Istanbul rush hour traffic. We went two days early......worth it
to see Istanbul but you need even more time! It is a fantastic city...very
walkable although the Bosporus cruise is worth doing.
Lots.....
The boat trip at Kas to the sunken city .Enough members of our group went so
we got a private boat.
Ephesus
Capadoccia...scenery and underground city
Gallipoli
Antalya...lovely town
Sunsets
Whirling dervish ceremony and the Rumi mausoleum in Konya
The theatre at Aspendos
Others in the group would say the hot air balloon ride.....it is very
expensive...195 euros.


Emir was a five star leader.Our group was very varied with some young people
as well as a variety of older people with varying levels of energy but Emir
tried always to keep everyone happy. He was always patient and was great fun.
His English was excellent and his knowledge and love of his country while
remaining objective was amazing. He was very stimulating to be with. If he
didn’t know the answer to a specific question he researched it.....he was
keen to know everything. I have come home determined to read up about Greek
gods etc. A real people person.....he seemed to know lots of people on every
stop and they all loved to talk to him. He took us every evening for a group
meal and that helped us enjoy the Turkish food and order confidently. The
driver was such a nice man but not much English.....frustrating not to be
able to chat to him. We did learn a bit of Turkish in the end!


Don’t bother to take walking boots...strong trainers are enough. None of us
did the Lycian walk although we intended to do it. It was too hot and only a
two hour walk so not really worth it. The boat trip was a better option.
It is hot in August....take light clothes. There were opportunities to wash
clothes.
Go early or stay to see Istanbul.
Take a head scarf...long shorts were fine. They give you a skirt if it is
necessary.
Loads of ATMs and change places.
All hotels had hairdryers.
Take swimming stuff...lots of chances to swim in pools and beaches.


You do need to be able to manage your own luggage at times....not all hotels
have lifts so best to travel fairly light. Sometimes the bus can’t drive up
to the hotel in the old parts of town.
Several restaurants don’t serve alcohol if they are near a mosque....but
they have good soft drinks and of course,tea!

This is a very interesting and comprehensive tour of all the major sites in
Turkey though with 11 different hotels in 14 days it's not particularly
"leisurely" and some hotels I would describe as "basic" rather than
"comfortable". Apart from the obvious (Ephesus, Cappodocia, Whirling
Dervishes etc) my highlights were the lovely seaside resort of Kas where I
had a free day to explore, the clean and bright Islamic town of Konya and the
beautiful World Heritage town of Safranbolu where our hotel was a former
Ottoman house. Many towns are cobbled, particularly in Safranbolu, where
this could be a problem for anyone with less than perfect mobility. Be
prepared for very hot temperatures in August and appropriate clothes for
visits to the mosques which should not be missed. On this trip there is no
time for sightseeing in Istanbul and despite arriving a day early 24 hours
wasn't enough. As the oldest in my group at 69 I thoroughly enjoyed this
trip and am already planning to re-visit Istanbul. Highly recommended if you
want to learn about Turkey's amazing history.
There were lots of highlights but the less obvious was the beautiful seaside
resort of Kas where I had a day to relax and explore on my own and the lovely
Islamic town of Konya. The floodlit mosque was stunning as was watching the
sunset at Pamukkale with wine provided by our tour leader!


Emir was a lovely man and very knowledgable about all the gods and extensive
history of Turkey as well as being fun.


Be prepared for 38C+ heat in August, take appropriate clothing for mosque
visits, including headscarves for ladies, long trousers for men. Last 2 road
journeys are long - ours were 9 hours plus including toilet and lunch stops.
Driver is obliged to take at least a 45 minute break for Tachograph reasons
so take plenty of music or reading material.

This trip is a great mix of man-made and nature-made. If you like ruins and
nature it's an amazing trip! The scenery was great, you can't get bored and
the ruins in Troy don't look like the ones in Ephesus which don't look like
the ones in Bergama, which don't look like the ones in Aspendos and so
on...they are different and each one is unique and fabulous. It's really
hard to compare Cappadocia to anything else and the balloon ride over those
interesting rock formations was absolutely wonderful!
I loved every moment of this trip!
The underground city of Derinkuyu and Cappadocia.


Atahan did his best. His knowledge about Turkey was impressive and his
organizational skills really good.

We visited all the places that we booked the trip to see and our excellent
guide Ali also took us to a number of smaller less well known places.
Although some of the coach journeys were long, they were split up as best as
possible. A few times lunch and dinner were much later than expected.
Seeing the candy mountains at Pamekalle and paddling in the warm spring
water.


Ali was very informative amd knowledgeable about the history of all the
places we visited. He was always considerate towards all the members of the
group and treated us all equally.


Wear long sleeves and long trousers for the Lycian way walk in Kas and be
prepared for a spot of mountain climbing!

Overall, the trip was wonderful! It was my first time doing a trip where we
covered so many kilometres which made it tiring, but I expected that at the
outset. Some of the hotel rooms could have been of a slightly higher
standard.
Seeing Galipoli and gaining a greater understanding of the battles fought
there.

Generally getting a sense of the ancient history of this part of the world

Experiencing the power of nature at Cappadocia.


Ali was excellent! He’s knowledgeable, organized, personable and has a
brilliant sense of humour. He’s also wonderful at managing a diverse group
- although we regularly told him we were his best group ever.


To understand the pace and how that, more than anything else will be
challenging. I would also suggest that walking poles could be offered as a
suggestion in the trip notes for anyone who may need than. This is relevant
for only a few days.


This trip was invaluable in teaching me how to determine which types of trips
to book in the future.