Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some of the frequently asked questions we are asked about our cultural tours, gulet cruises, and historical holidays in Turkey, Greece, and Italy together with some answers. Do take a moment to read through these FAQ’s if you have any queries about our trips. If you can’t find a satisfactory answer to any questions you have, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We’ll be only too pleased to respond in person.

Our customers:

What sort of people go on your trips?
Our archaeological tours in Turkey, Greece, and Italy are very much self selecting. The people who come on our trips are usually well travelled, enthusiastic, and curious about exploring new countries and cultures. They come from an incredibly wide range of professional backgrounds. Some have never been on an archaeological tour before, others have explored ancient sites all over the world. On average about a quarter of the people on our trips are single travellers. About 40% of our guests come from the UK, 40% from the US, with the remaining 20% split between Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and beyond. Many of the people who travel with us first find out about Peter Sommer Travels through personal recommendations. Many clients travel with us again and again.

Age of travellers:

How old are the people that travel with you?
Our trips tend to appeal to quite a wide age range. Generally speaking, most are in the 40-70 age bracket. Our family tours have attracted parents with children aged between 6-17. We have mums and dads bringing their grown up children along in their 20’s or 30’s, and we are finding more and more people in their 30’s and 40’s coming on our trips - those who are no longer interested in basic beach holidays, but are wanting to explore and learn at the same time as having a relaxing time in a beautiful place with marvellous food. Our oldest client so far celebrated his 83rd birthday on board our gulet, the Almira, and as is often the way, he was invariably the first to the top of the ancient sites we visited. When he left us he was flying off to explore the Galapagos islands.

Sea sickness:

I am concerned about the possibility of feeling sea sick on a gulet trip. Does it get rough, how often do your passengers get sick, and what do you recommend to avoid mal de mer?
In terms of sea sickness, water conditions around the Turkish, Greek, and Italian/Sicilian coast, as opposed to the large oceans, are generally quite calm. The Mediterranean, being non-tidal, is a very different proposition to the great seas and oceans, but of course the weather can blow up at times. In the 13 years that Peter has been leading gulet trips he has seen only 7 people who have been sea sick, and then only once during their trip. The gulets we use are all broad and beamy and of a decent length so they offer a very comfortable ride. We watch the weather very closely and try to avoid rough seas. Invariably there are plenty of places around the coast of Turkey, Greece, and Italy to take shelter and hide from the elements if the wind does start to blow up. For the large part we cruise close to the coast and a wealth of coves and hidden bays.

In terms of prevention, we know some people who swear by travel sickness pills, others who swear by wrist bands that apply pressure on acupuncture points, some who recommend specialist patches applied to the skin, and we’ve had a number of ladies who insist that brandy helps! Most people tell us that being on deck in the sunny fresh air gazing at the ever changing horizon is more than enough to ward off any feelings of mal de mer. We hope this goes some way to relieving your anxiety and settling your stomach!

Airport transfers:

How do people get to the gulet, or the first hotel, at the start of a trip?
We meet guests at the local airport closest to the starting point of a tour, and then escort them to the local airport closest to the ending point of a holiday. These airport transfers are included in our tour prices.

Flights:

How do we know when to arrive and depart and what flights to take to join your trips in Turkey and Greece? Are flights included in the price of a tour? How do book our flights?
After a customer makes a booking we recommend times to arrive for the start of a tour, and what times fit best for departure at the end of a trip. Normally this involves domestic flights on Turkish Airlines within Turkey, or on Aegean or Olympic Airways within Greece, and so we suggest the specific internal scheduled flights that work best for the tour and for the customer’s personal schedule. International and domestic flights are not included in the price of a tour, and we don’t sell flights ourselves. We do work with flight specialists both in the UK, in the US, and in Turkey. We are more than happy to put customers in touch with our flight specialists if they so desire.

Travellers need to pay for their flight tickets themselves which they can do via our flight specialists, or through the internet - Turkish Airlines, Aegean Air, Olympic Airlines - or via an agent you already know. Occasionally there are charter flights that fit our tour schedule, but most charter flights operate at unsociable hours, so we recommend customers use scheduled flights.

Turkish Airlines flights all go via Istanbul, so many of our guests make a virtue of this by spending a few days in the city either before or after one of our tours. Turkish Airlines is the main flag carrier in Turkey, but there are a number of low cost airlines that now operate in Turkey such as Onur Air, Atlas Jet, Sun Express and Pegasus Airlines.

Istanbul hotels:

We’d like to stay in Istanbul for a few days either before or after our gulet cruise. Can you recommend any hotels and help us book rooms?
Many people make a virtue of changing flights in Istanbul by spending a few days in this marvellous city either before or after a trip. We are more than happy to recommend a small number of characterful hotels that we have personally visited, and to make bookings on behalf of our guests. You can book hotels yourself via the internet or over the phone, but we often get significantly cheaper rates by booking through our local agency in Turkey.

Single supplement:

As a single traveller, do I need to pay a single supplement, if I am willing to share a cabin or hotel room?
The majority of the time our single customers choose to splash out and book a cabin on a gulet, or a hotel room for themselves, but if you have a single travelling companion you are willing to share with, or there is another single traveller booked on a trip who is willing to share a twin bedded cabin or hotel room, we will be more than happy to waive the single supplements.

Sailing:

How often do your gulets sail?
We often get asked about sailing, so we thought we’d include an extra note so you’ll have a clearer idea of what you can expect. We usually cruise for about three to four hours a day, generally by motor to keep to schedule, so we can visit sites in the itinerary at the right time of day and with plenty of time to explore them thoroughly. The gulets we use on our scheduled tours all have sails, and are capable of sailing, but gulets are large and heavy (making them very stable), weighing in at over 100 tonnes. Unlike light fibreglass boats, they require a fair amount of wind to get them sailing, and we don’t sail in strong winds, as this would be uncomfortable for guests and would require a much larger crew. Weather and time permitting we hope you’ll have the opportunity to sail at least once in a one week trip.

Watersports:

What ‘toys’ are provided on the gulet? Is there anywhere to snorkel?
The gulet comes equipped with a windsurfer, a kayak, and a small selection of flippers, masks, and snorkels. The snorkelling equipment comes in a range of sizes from child’s to adult’s. If you do have your own flippers and snorkelling equipment we do recommend bringing them so that you know that they fit and also that you don’t have to wait for someone else to finish using a set. There are many wonderful coves and bays along the Turkish and Greek coast which are perfect for swimming, snorkelling, and windsurfing.

Bed linen & towels:

Are towels and bed linen provided on board?
All bed linen is provided on the gulet. Depending on the temperature and individual preference there is a choice of blankets and duvets to keep you warm at night. Each guest has two towels - one for the bathroom and one for swimming. All bed linen and towels are laundered once a week.

Air con:

How well does air conditioning work on gulets?
All the gulets we use for our scheduled tours are equipped with air conditioning. However, because of noise restrictions (the air conditioning requires power from the onboard generator) gulets are not permitted to run air conditioning in harbour, not are they permitted to run it throughout the night when moored out of harbour. In hot temperatures when moored out of a harbour, the Captain usually runs the air con in the evening to cool cabins before guests retire. Many guests make a virtue of the heat to sleep out on deck under the stars. To make cabins more comfortable in warm weather, the two principal gulets we use for our scheduled tours in Turkey and the Greek Islands, the Almira and Sultan A, have had fans installed in all the cabins, new for the 2011 season.

Electricity on gulet:

Are there electrical outlets on the gulet, and what adaptors do we need?
Electricity aboard is 220V and requires two pin (round) plugs. There is a plug in each cabin, in the bathroom, so people can use hair driers/shavers etc. and of course you can charge up phones/camera batteries there. The electricity runs off the generator, so there are occasional periods in a day when the electricity is not on, or is diverted to necessities - e.g. fridges, freezers etc. When we’re moored up in a designated harbour rather than out in a bay, we receive electricity directly from the mains.

Internet availability:

I need to check email occasionally during our gulet cruise. Is this at all possible?
When we’re in harbour, it’s perfectly feasible to pop into an internet cafe. They now exist in most harbour towns. If you’re bringing your own laptop, then WIFI is available in some cafes, bars, and harbours.

Is Turkey safe?

It is very hard to consider anywhere in the world completely safe. One only has to look at the terrible terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, London, Madrid, never mind Bali and Thailand in recent years etc. but of course these are isolated incidents and the chance of being involved in one is extremely slim. Any disturbances in Turkey have been tiny in comparison with these atrocities. When such incidents have occurred in Turkey, such as the explosive device detonated in Marmaris in recent years, they have been targeted at very busy locations. When there have been explosives placed on vehicles they have been targeted at public vehicles - i.e. town minibuses packed with people, whereas any transfers we arrange are on privately hired chauffeured minibuses.

On a gulet trip, we invariably steer clear of extremely busy places, and of course most of our time is spent on a boat at sea out of harms way. The vast majority of places we go and visit are small, rather remote, and unpopulated. The actual chance of being directly involved in any time of terrorist act, anywhere in the world, is tiny, far less than being knocked down by a car in your own street. Exploring the Turkish countryside, especially by boat is a very good and safe bet in our opinion.

In terms of general crime, levels are much lower in Turkey than in North America and the UK.

Are your boats safe?

The Almira, was made in 1997. Peter sailed on her inaugural voyage and has been sailing on her each year ever since. We have been working with the owner of the boat since 1996. Not only is his company, Almira Travel, a specialist in building gulets but they also organise all our logistics in Turkey. Needless to say we consider them to be extremely professional and efficient.

The gulets we use are carefully maintained throughout the year. In the winter the boats spend several months in dry dock, being cared for. The boats have to be fully certified every year to meet with Turkish maritime safety standards and to have their insurance renewed. Needless to say the captains and crews on board are all highly experienced.

Find out about our gulet cruises.
See our full schedule of escorted tours in Turkey, Greece and Italy.