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Looking for a tour of Turkey,
you see two or three companies offering
similar itineraries...with suprisingly
different prices.
What's the difference? Which should
you choose?
A variety of factors affect the quality and price of tours. Here are some of
them:
Guaranteed Departure
Organizing a tour is risky: a company
makes all the hotel, meal, guide
and transport commitments, but will
enough travelers take the tour to
make it worthwhile? A guaranteed
departure means the tour will
go whether it's profitable or not. If
the company needs eight participants
to earn a profit, but only two people
take the tour, a guaranteed-departure
tour will still go. Those two people
will get
a private tour at the lower cost of a
group tour, the company will lose money
(this time), but will not disappoint
the travelers. So a guaranteed departure
is worth more than a tour that advertises
a minimum number of participants needed
for it to operate.
Season
Supply and demand: if lots of travelers
want to go where you want to go at
the same time, prices will be higher.
The busiest months for independent
cultural travel (ie, not just
a beach
vacation) are late April, May and early June, September and October.
(For beaches, it's June through September).
Group Size
I believe the most fun tours are small-group,
usually defined as around 10 to 12 travelers
maximum.
Optimal group size allows for pleasant
interaction, conversation, fun and sharing,
and doesn't require the heavier logistics of
organizing 40 people into and out of
hotels and sights, and onto and off of
a bus.
Itinerary
A tour that spends most of its time in
more-expensive Istanbul and western Turkey may cost more than
one that takes you to off-the-beaten-path
eastern
Turkey.
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D'you
wanna stay at Mom's
Hotel and
dine at the Merda Café? |
Hotels
More comfortable, well-located hotels cost
more than basic hotels away
from the action. You may save money
on a tour that stays at a simple,
modern high-rise hotel on the outskirts.
If you prefer an atmospheric boutique
hotel in the city center near museums,
shops, restaurants
and public transport, the tour may
cost more because these hotels are
more expensive.
Meals
Some companies include most meals,
some include only a few. You may
prefer them included, or you may prefer
to find restaurants on your own.
And
what about the meals that are included?
Can you choose whatever you want from
the menu in a good-quality restaurant,
or will you be offered a single plate, "the
chicken or the pasta,"
in a group dining room? Are beverages
included (often, they're not). Other
"extras"? Before you look
at a tour price, decide what
you want.
Transport
The better tour companies don't fill
the vehicle.
For a small group tour of 10 travelers,
the company may provide a 14-seat
midi-bus so there's room to change
seats, stretch out, pile day-packs,
etc. This costs more, but
is more enjoyable for the participants.
Shopping
Many tours in Turkey include
a "shopping
component," a stop
at one or more shops selling carpets,
ceramics, souvenirs, etc.
Often the shop is called a "Cultural
Center," "Traditional Crafts Center,"
"Art Exhibit," etc. to obscure
its economic function.
Shops or "Cultural Centers" visited
by tours usually pay a portion of revenues
from purchases by tour participants
to the tour company. For example, if
you buy a carpet for TL500
at a shop visited on a tour, the tour
company may receive
TL100
from the sale. This allows the tour
company to offer the tour at a lower
price. In effect, travelers who shop
at tour stops subsidize those
who do not.
But time spent
in a shop is time not spent
sightseeing or relaxing
at your hotel.
If you're not interested in shopping,
you may be bored as tour
shops tend to be in isolated locations,
away from other attractions. Also,
tour shops may have higher prices than
independent shops in city centers which
you can visit on your own.
I've seen 5-day tour itineraries that feature one
full day of frenetic sightseeing (with lots of drive-bys),
two days of free time, and two full days of shopping
in "captive" shops, for a low price. Is that what
you want? Or would you rather have four days of balanced,
guided sightseeing, one shopping stop of an hour
or two, and two afternoons
free?
Here's What to Do
—Determine if the tour is a guaranteed
departure.
—If you must travel in high
season,
expect to pay more.
—How large will the group be? Is that
size guaranteed?
—Get information on the tour hotels,
including the size (number of rooms),
character, services, room rates, and location.
(Hint: use Google maps and,
for Istanbul, review my descriptions
of hotel
districts.
More...)
—Count the number of meals included,
and ask the company about dining facilities
and policies (ie, can you order from
the menu? Are drinks included?)
—Ask about transport policies:
will every seat be filled? How big
is the vehicle?
—Ask how much time is spent at "Cultural
Centers" (shopping stops), on how many
days, and can you opt out (if that's
what you want)?
No matter which company you use, be certain to read
the company's Terms & Conditions carefully! They
may seem like "the small print,"
"boilerplate," and "legalese," but
the T&C are even more important than
the tour itinerary. They define the
legal contract between you and the
tour company. By not knowing what
you're agreeing to, you're setting
yourself up for disappointment.
Certainly, most travelers to Turkey
who take tours come away happy and
satisfied. Careful comparison of tours can help you get the one you want.
If you have bad luck with a tour, here's
how to file a complaint.
Recommended
Travel Agents & Tour Operators
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Guides
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to Check a Turkish Travel Agency
How
to File a Complaint
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