Archaeological vacation in Italy

Archaeological vacation in Italy

Italy has a rich cultural heritage shaped over millennia by a host of incomers: Greeks, Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Spaniards and Austrians have all left their mark on the cuisine, architecture and language. Visit these glorious destinations with stunning monuments that this shared history has given Italy.
Cultural tours of Greece

Cultural tours of Greece

Cruise in style on incredible journeys of discovery that have to be experienced to be believed. If you’re looking for a truly relaxing and invigorating holiday, discovering the ancient sites, bays, coves and harbours of Greece, then one of our many gulet cruises will be perfect for you.
Escorted Gulet tours in Turkey

Escorted Gulet tours in Turkey

Steeped in history, Turkey holds of some of the very earliest cities, like Çatalhöyük, stretching back 10,000 years.  Travel with us and be astonished by layers upon layers of history, peoples and cultures, from Hittite fortifications to Byzantine churches. Find out about our Turkey tours.
Latest entries
A Note from the Greek Islands

A Note from the Greek Islands

This post was written two days ago. Since the remoter parts of the Aegean do not always provide internet access, it can only be posted today, while our cruise has continued onwards to Nisyros. The brilliant morning sunlight allows some scattered clouds to cast their shadows on a deeply blue Aegean sea. A light breeze...
Still smiling - The Sleeping Giants of Flerio

Still smiling – The Sleeping Giants of Flerio

An earlier version of this text first appeared in the now-defunct Athens News in August 2010. Amidst rocks and trees, two beautiful boys are lying on their backs, not far from each other, stark naked, their open eyes looking towards the sky above them. Their smiles seem unconcerned by the fact that they have been...
The Turkish Coast for all Five Senses

The Turkish Coast for all Five Senses

We’ve recently provided some content to the travel website (and mobile app) Tripwolf. You can see the original text at this link, but here’s an expanded version. The western and southern coasts of Turkey have become incredibly popular tourist destinations  in recent years, attracting literally millions of travellers. This is hardly surprising: the area enjoys...
The Tomb of Roxane?

The Tomb of Roxane?

Sensational news from Northern Greece! Last week, the 26th Annual Scientific Meeting on Archaeological Works in Macedonia and Thrace took place at Aristotle University in Thessaloniki. This is an important event, as it offers some preliminary access to very recent excavations and research, often years before formal publications become available. As always, many very interesting...
Reflections on Myndos

Reflections on Myndos

Cathie Draycott, one of our tour experts, brings us a description and her reflections on Myndos, a site we visit on some of our cruises in Caria and Ionia. Myndos is the first stop on the Cruising to Ephesus trip, which travels along the coast from Bodrum (ancient Halicarnassus, the capital of the famous Carian...
Just back from... the Amalfi Coast

Just back from… the Amalfi Coast

  Michael Metcalfe, a core member of the Peter Sommer Travels team, has recently written a guest post for the colleagues at two travel blog sites, Travelspinner and TravelDailyNews. It encapsulates his experience of preparing and guiding our Cruise along the Amalfi Coast around the Bay of Naples, Italy, and underlines why he loves the...
The Carian Trail

The Carian Trail

Excellent News: The Carian Trail (or Carian Way) was officially inaugurated on February 3rd. We’d been waiting for this. This brand new hiking trail, a staggering 800km (500 mi) long, is the latest addition to Turkey’s growing network of long-distance walking routes through areas of immense historical interest and extraordinary natural beauty. It all started...
Acropolis Museum: some photographs

Acropolis Museum: some photographs

We still call it the New Acropolis Museum. That is because it is still quite new and because its grandiose modernity is still striking, but eventually it will be known as what it is: simply the Acropolis Museum, the custom-built space displaying the extraordinarily rich array of finds from that site that not only dominates...
Stratonikeia

Stratonikeia

Have you ever heard of Stratonikeia? If your answer is yes, I can only assume that either you have travelled in southwestern Turkey, or you are an expert on ancient history with a special interest in Asia Minor. There would be a third explanation, but that’s even less likely… To most, the name should be...
News from the Antikythera Wreck

News from the Antikythera Wreck

Eight months ago, our blog promoted the Athens National Museum’s ongoing exhibition about the Antikythera Shipwreck and its cargo of statues and other valuables, one of the key finds in Greek underwater archaeology. This month, the wreck is in the news again. At the annual conference of the American Institute of Archaeology at Seattle, Brendan...
2013 World Guide Awards

2013 World Guide Awards

It’s that time of year again: Wanderlust Travel Magazine has opened nominations for the 2013 World Guide Awards. The 2012 ones went to a very interesting array of guides, active in various countries all over the world. At Peter Sommer Travels, we salute them for their achievement. We also commend Wanderlust and its sponsors for...
Herodotus

Herodotus

Have you ever read the Histories by Herodotus?  Here’s a text about why and how you should (and also about what I got for Christmas)… It’s off-season and  at Peter Sommer Travels we are busy with winter tasks: administration and planning, but also research for new tours or to update existing ones. Apart from the...