Testimonials

Carla and Claudio – San Paulo, Brazil – February 2015

Thank you so much, we are leaving Turkey so in love with the country!

Doreen and Graham Burge – Warrandyte, Australia – September 2014

Thanks Gaye. Erdal and Greg for a memorable trip.  We will send all our friends to you!

Kate and Nyrie – Sydney, Australia  August-September 2014

It was great!  Next we would adjust our itinerary for a little more rest time in Istanbul at the end.  Thanks so much for looking after us.  K&N

Tim and Lea Curnow – Sydney Australia – June 2014

“ We did have a wonderful and very memorable time in Turkey, achieving everything we wanted to and much more and this was because you both made it so easy in the planning and the thought. There was also the totally unexpected like the extraordinary party at the Lydia Hotel and the wonderful little hotel in Ayvalik and our night at Kumkapi.   Warm wishes to you both and to the rest of the staff.

 Helen and Ian – New Zealand – July 2014 “ Transfers were seamless; well organised and made our holiday very easy. One of our best holidays ever! thank you.   Ayasofya Hotel sets a high standard of service and far surpasses the service we received at other places……

Meredith and Andrew Harkness – Melbourne Australia May 2014

“ It all worked like clockwork, which was fabulous. We loved it all. Thank you so much Gaye for all your attention and time with us. It has been a special experience.

Sue Kinnear – Melbourne. Australia – May 2014

“ Gaye your care. attention interest and warmth has made the trip so personal and special Thank you so much.   Also for showing us things we would have never seen……

Concessa Leuw – Capetown South Africa – May 2014

“ A good guide makes all the difference! Enjoyed the balance between free time and regular tours. Ayasofya is a warm, welcoming personal hotel. Excellent service and position. Thanks to everyone for making my trip such a success.

Graeme Jacqui and Jesse Murrell – Victoria Australia – April 2014

“ Very happy with high level of personal service and assistance provided. Overall tour experience wvery good – would recommend to others.

Virgona Family – Sydney Australia – March 2014

“ Gaye your personal service was wonderful – we appreciated the energy and responsiveness you demonstrated – loved having English speaking contact – it was a great asset. Communication excellent!

Caroline – Birmingham UK – June 2014

“ An excellent well organised trip that worked like clockwork. The guides were excellent, the connections were always on time and all staff incredibly pleasant. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Mc Kay Family – March 2014

“ We really enjoyed our tailoured 11 day tour of Turkey for our family of 4 (kids 12 & 9). With only 2 weeks notice they pulled together a suitable itinerary based on our requirements and their suggestions. Accommodation, connections and tours (group and private) exceeded our expectations. Service was excellent. The highlight was Cappadocia in a real cave hotel (family run) and the sunrise balloon ride. Gaye and her team looked after us from start to finish. And there was even vegemite for breakfast for us Aussies! It was great communicating with an Aussie with english as first language and who had extensive first hand knowledge of Turkey (she lives there). Other options we had looked at were lesser quality for same price. Thanks for a great time!

Cheryl and John – Australia – July 2014

“Thanks to everyone for looking after us so very well. Such a warm, friendly and hospitable group! A brillian tour, superbly organized!”

Louise and Rebecca Porteous – South Africa July 2014

“Very very enjoyable – thanks ! Tesekkur ederim!”

Lazarou Family – Mont Albert Victoria – July 2013

“ I am writing this review a little late but still wish to let others know about our wonderful holiday to Turkey in July.  I was finding it hard to  find a company who would take our requests seriously and not push their set itineraries onto us. Finally I read about Istanbul Stopover Tours in our newspaper. I contacted their office in Istanbul and with luck Gaye was visiting Melbourne (Australia) and we got in touch. She even came to my home to help me plot out where we would be going, good sights to see and what maybe could be cut out. She was always easily contacted via email is there was anything else we wanted to do. We had already booked our accommodation prior to engaging Gaye to help us. This didn’t cause any problems despite the fact that she and her partners run the Hotel Ayasofya. Our tour was exclusively for us with good drivers who made sure we were fine and happy with how things were going. We visited Gallipolli, Pergamon, Ephesus, Pamukkale, Cirali, Antalya, Cappadocia. As part of the tour we had the pleasure of experiencing a “village” stay. What a wonderful time we had. We were welcomed so warmly and the hospitality which was lavished on us was incredible. The food! So much of it. We managed to communicate with help from Gaye and Ceyhun. We were given equivalent Turkish names which we still use amongst ourselves. The guys went off to the ‘tea’ house while we girls helped out in the kitchen. The next day we went to look over their farm then visited another village in another valley, stopping en route at a little roadside market. We visited a cemetery of a prophet, a very interesting mosque and also a very unique home. It was very sad to part and keep going on our tour. We felt very privileged to have been welcomed into the home of our village hosts. We covered a lot of ground and we were delighted with the whole tour planned by Istanbul Stopover Tours. Thanks Gaye , Erdal and Ceyhun.

Trish – Melbourne Australia – May 2013

“ We wanted a short tour of some specific sites in Turkey but not on an large organized bus trip. We came across this travel agency when booking accommodation at the Ayasofya Hotel in Istanbul. Gaye made suggestions and we ended up with a 6 day itinerary including Ephesus, Pamukkale, Cappadocia, Antalya, etc. We were a little apprehensive initially as travel between locations was on public transport (plane, bus) and prearranged contacts with mini tour guides had to occur. However everything ran like clockwork, hotels were perfect, tour groups were small and guides very knowledgeable, and the bus transport enjoyable. Erdal in Istanbul talked us through the itinerary before we started and gave us his 24 hour contact no in case of problems but it was not required.   All in all it was a fantastic way of visiting what we wanted to see without the hassle of large bus groups.

Tina – Elwood, Australia – December 2013

“ On our annual holiday together my friend and I included Turkey in our trip. No knowing much about this county we contacted Istanbul Stopover Tours to help us with suggestions, They put together a great plan for us not only in Istanbul but our days spent travelling around. Our tour included Cappadocia Ephesus and Pamukkale and it all worked seemlessly. They looked after us all the way around and organised great hotels not to mention our balloon flight which was a highlight. Highly recommended for those who need a personalised trip rather than joining a bigger tour, Thanks Gaye and Erdal for making our time in Turkey memorable.

Jean – Sydney – June 2013

“ I travelled with a group of 11 other women on a 14 day tour around the south western area of this wonderful country. Gaye from Ayasofya hotel had organised the tour exclusively for us. Our tour guide Huseyin Aydin accompanied us throughout the tour and was a wealth of information. Some places we visited were Ephesus, Pamukkale, Cappadocia among others. But It was the experiences such as a mud bath, hot air ballooning, sailing and swimming the Meditteranean, walking through ancient ruins that remain as memories to be cherished. The tour was extremely well organised thanks to a team of professional and experienced people who have the best interests of their clients at heart.

Helen and Neil – Canberra Australia – September 2014

“THANK YOU – we had a rich and memorable experience. Unexpectedly outstanding!”

Kate and Nyrie – Australia September 2014

“It was great!! Next time we would adjust our time frame a little so that were was more rest time at the end! Thanks so much for looking after us!”

Ben Coyle Melbourne Australia – August 2014

As a bloke travelling around on his own I found that tour joining with small groups was Excellent! Great way to meet people. Enjoyed the Gulet trip immensely and everything worked like clockwork.   A great tour – thanks to Gaye, Erdal and team for organizing it for me.