Private Guiding In Cappadocia

In general, the country of Turkey is a great place to visit. We took several flights on Turkish Airlines between cities. They were always on time or early. We also took a ferry between Turkey and Rhodes and this also left on time. Turkey currently boasts the largest airport in the world. It is very modern. We were picked up from the Istanbul International Airport on time and were greeted by a driver who took us to our hotel in the Sultanahmet District in Istanbul. Our guide the next day was Edip Ozcan Arslan who had extensive knowledge of the history of the sights we visited. He accompanied us in Istanbul and Cappadocia taking us through the Turkish Airline process. He also worked with us to arrange two meetings with our foreign exchange sister from 1972 and whom we had seen in many years. We were taken on a 1-1/2 hour cruise on a private yacht on the Bosporus. They were ready for us and were friendly and welcoming. The boat itself was very clean and comfortable and we were provided with a delicious plate of different fruits and Turkish coffee. Totally excellent! Cappadocia was very special with many wonderful World Heritage sights to see. We stayed at the Argos Hotel which has excellent views of this enchanting area. Dinner at this hotel was a highlight. From Cappadocia, we flew to Ephesus where all went smoothly and efficiently. I cannot remember the name of our guide, but he spoke English well and provided us with thorough information about the ruins of Ephesus. All lunch stops arranged by Pupa were delightful places with good Turkish food. The experience with all drivers and private vans was perfect. We felt safe the entire way. Our last driver made it a point to ask if we needed a toilet stop and helped us with luggage, etc. He helped us obtain our boarding pass at the ferry in Marmaris and made sure we were in the right line to board the ferry to Rhodes. I pre-selected most of the hotels, except the one in Kusadasi (Ephesus area). The Villa Ephesus was selected by Pupa and was a charming place on the side of a hill overlooking the harbor with good access to the town. The breakfast there was excellent and the setting with jasmine and bougainvilleas provided an enchanting ambiance. In summary, you can have complete confidence in Pupa Tourism and Travel agency.

We had the very good fortune to be put in contact with Mustafa when our original travel arrangements went astray. Overnight he made himself available to show us the very long history and incredible landscapes of the Cappadocia region. His personal attention made this one of the special times of our five weeks of travel. We also had the opportunity to meet some of his colleagues in the Pupa Travel office in Urgup and they too reinforced our feeling that along with Mustafa the whole organisation is committed to providing visitors with a great experience. As a more general comment, our two nights stay in Cappadocia should have been at least one or two nights longer as it is such an amazing area to explore and far exceeded our expectations, no doubt boosted by our time with Mustafa.

Great day spent on a private tour with our guide, Alper Tor! Toured Derinkuyu underground city (Alper knew when to go so we missed tne crowds!), hIked the Ihlara Valley (beautiful hike along river) and stopped for a delicious lunch at a local restaurant on the river. Hiked the Red/Rose Valley at sunset - spectacular scenery! Alper Tor - excellent guide, very personable young man - highly recommend!