Newsletter July 2009

GREETINGS FROM SICILY
I’m currently out in Sicily to visit some of the best preserved Greek temples in the world, and to plan a couple of unique gulet cruise itineraries around this beautiful island (and around the Italian mainland). We have some very exciting plans afoot - no one else does anything like it. See below for more details.

You can expect another mouthwatering Turkish recipe in our next newsletter along with our full schedule of 2010 tours. We are just putting the finishing touches to next year’s programme. Coming soon!

We now have availability on just four of our 2009 Turkey tours, Greece tours, and Italy tours. If you are not already booked to travel with us I very much hope we can tempt you to join one of our trips this summer or autumn.

Cruising the Carian Coast family trip in Turkey - July 18 - July 25. Fun and culture for all the family. Gorgeous swimming along a stunning and undeveloped coastline, and visits to remote ancient sites as well as monumental Greek and Roman cities swathed in marble.
Sailing Western Lycia in Turkey - July 25 - Aug 1. A week sailing beside pine clad mountains, swimming in idyllic coves, and exploring a terrific array of temples, tombs, and theatres.
Halicarnassus to Didyma gulet cruise in Turkey - Oct 10 - 17. A chance to explore some of the biggest and best preserved sites on Turkey’s west coast, including the gargantuan temple of Apollo at Didyma.
The Bodrum Cup Regatta in Turkey - Oct 10 - 26. A unique opportunity to participate in Turkey’s celebrated wooden boat sailing regatta, visiting some great sites along the way, personally escorted by Peter.

Tours in Italy
This is one of the big things that we are working on right now. We are planning something extremely special - archaeological gulet cruises around its coast - the same wonderful mix of beautiful scenery, great food, superb cruising and swimming, and of course archaeological adventures as our tours in Turkey and tours in Greece. No one else offers anything like it. The boats we will be using are original Turkish gulets that are Italian owned and have been run by excellent local crews for many years.

Just as importantly the guide will be the best in the business - Dr. Michael Metcalfe. A British archaeologist, Michael was for many years a lecturer at The Mediterranean Center for Arts and Sciences in Sicily, and speaks fluent Italian.

Michael has led many tours for us previously, and received rapturous praise. Not only is he ‘enthusiastic, charming, and knowledgeable’, he is also a natural born organiser. He is so good that I asked him if he would consider leaving his academic post and join us full time, which I’m very pleased to say he did in January. Michael lives in Sicily, is married to a Sicilian lady, and knows the island like the back of his hand.

We are researching a number of possibilities for 1 and 2 week tours, either in May or September 2010. If you are interested, do let me know. We expect a great deal of interest when we announce these tours formally.

WEBSITE REDESIGN
We are in the process of giving our website a make over. It will be wider and easier on the eye, include more of our wonderful photos, and the information about our tours will be even richer and more accessible. We have been delighted with the feedback we have received for the look and content of our website over the years, but want to make it even more appealing and user friendly.

We are also looking into the possibility of allowing you to book our tours directly online. Is this a facility that you would like to be able to use? You can look forward to seeing our new improved site in the near future. If you have any suggestions on what you would like to see on our site or have any comments on how we can improve it. Please do let us know.
CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS
You will be pleased to know that from next week we will be able to accept credit card payments directly over the phone. Previously we processed credit cards via PayPal, provided you were a verified member of PayPal. We now have a merchant account with Barclaycard, making it quicker and easier for you to book our tours or make your balance payments. If you do wish to pay by credit card, simply give us a call or send us an email and we’ll be more than happy to call you and take your details.

Find out about all our gulet cruises.

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