Feedback & Notes

Dear Zekeriya, I just got back early this morning.  I bit jet lagged but the flight went well.The trip went very well. Everyone had a wonderful time, and several people showed interest in coming back to Turkey for another trip next year.I will keep you informed as it develops.Serhan did an excellent job guiding.  His expertise and explanations were top notch as well as his humorous personality.  He keep everyone well entertained...The driver was also very good, always very courteous and helpful with the group...I have to say all in all it was a great trip for everyone!Best Regards to all at Fest! more

16.09.2009  Mr. Dan Cook

I highly recommend FEST Travel as an outstanding travel agency for group educational travel. During the summer of2009, Mr. Zekeriya Şen, executive manager of FEST Travel, organized a customized tour to Turkey for our group of teachers. We found that the entire tour was extremely well organized, and the agency’s personnel were outstanding. The requirements for our tour were extremely complicated, yet Mr. Şen and the agency handled the arrangements perfectly. Our trip was a four-week Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad educational seminar for 12 teachers and 2 university trip leaders. Since our goal was to learn about the Ottoman Empire, we traveled to many different places in Western Turkey and also throughout the Balkans. Our itinerary required some complex arrangements as we spent the first 5 days in Istanbul, traveled for 8 days throughout Western Anatolia, returned to Istanbul for 3 more days, flew to Serbia where another agency handled our Balkan travel, and then met up ... more

12.08.2009  Lisa Adeli

Thank You

Dear Mr. Sen, Our party just got back to the USA yesterday from our trip to Turkey and Greece. Sorry I could not respond earlier, but I did not have my laptop computer with me. Let me say that our party of 13 people had a wonderful time in Istanbul and in Ephesus. The arrangements made for us by FEST were perfect. We saw all of the key features and everything went off like clockwork. I want to give a special complement to the two guides you provided to us, Mr. Serhan Gungor in Istanbul and Ms. Deniz Harput in Ephesus. Both were very professional, punctual and knowledgeable. We enjoyed their company and insights very much. A special recognition goes to Mr. Gungor for his willingness to take our party to the Asian side of the city for a night tour. Bravo!! The tour busses you provided were excellent, clean and comfortable for all of us. Lastly, I want to complement you on the choice of the restaurants. We enjoyed the meal and the views at  Zeyrekhane - what ... more

4.8.2009  Richard F. Paciaroni

We just returned from our vacation and I received your email.  I can only say the nicest things about Yigit and the job he did as our guide.  He was personable, incredibly knowledgeable, flexible, funny and caring.  We couldn't have been happier with any other guide.  We had a great time and learned so much from him.  He was very proud of everything related to Turkey from its history to the current culture and that pride came though so well.  It was a pleasure to meet him and we all hope that his path crosses ours again in the future.  We loved everything about Istanbul and Yigit made that city come to life for us.  Our time in Istanbul will remain one of the highlights of our lives.  Thanks for making that happen. more

20.07.2009  Dave Tuthill

Dear Mr. Sen,I apologize for taking so long to reply to your question about our trip.  In short, it was fabulous!  We thought all the arrangements made by Fest Travel were excellent.  Serhan was a really perfect guide, who not only knew almost everything about all the sites we visited, but also was a fine historian on the Ottoman Empire, and gave us wonderful lectures on modern Turkey, the geography, the politics, the challenges, etc.  The bus you provided was perfect, and the driver, Ilian (I have probably misspelled his name), was a master at getting us everywhere.  The hotels we stayed in were all nice.  We would love to visit Turkey again, and if we do, I am sure we would use Fest Travel.  We will also recommend you to any of our friends who travel to Turkey.  You have a very professional firm which gives excellent tours!  Thank you. more

19.06.2009  Bert and Sally Dane

Dear Mr. Sen,It was a pleasure to meet you at our farewell dinner. We have heard so many good things about you from Mimi Braverman. Thank you for organizing such a wonderful trip! For years I have been looking for a tour that includes all the places I am most interested in - the Neolithic site of Catal Huyuk, the great Bronze Age sites of Hattusa, Alaca, Kultepe, and Troy, and of course the spectacular Greek and Roman sites of the south and west coasts. Your itinerary was perfect, and Serhan was a masterful guide who made the most of visits that sometimes had to be brief. Even more remarkable than Serhan's knowledge and enthusiasm is his ability to bring both ancient and modern Turkey to life. Thank you, too, for our comfortable home on wheels and the superb driving skills of our driver Elias. Many of our days began at 9:30 and I would have preferred earlier starts to give us more time in places like Ephesus and Istanbul. I was lucky enough to extend my stay in ... more

29.05.2009  Larissa Hordynsky

It was a pleasure to meet you at our farewell dinner in Istanbul last week, I so appreciate you providing us an opportunity to "weigh in" with our impressions and thoughts about our extraordinary Turkey trip.  Superlatives abound regarding every aspect and every detail of our tour. The itinerary was very well balanced, it was both intellectually and aesthetically stimulating and rich with a sultan's banquet table of unexpected delights, historically, culturally, politically, socially and recreationally. The accommodations were delightful and well selected for each stop along the way, I especially liked our hotels in Bodrum and Istanbul. The food was consistently fresh, varied and delicious and always gave us a great sampling of Turkish cuisine. The bus, our deluxe "land yacht", was clean, comfortable and commodious. Our driver, Ilyus was amazing, successfully and safely navigating us through narrow streets ... more

28.05.2009  Lyell Franke

Dear Mr. Sen,You certaınly are prompt ın your correspondence.  We are stıll ın Istanbul waıtıng for the taxı so I thought I would respond to your questıon.  Fırst of all, thank you for comıng last nıght to our dınner.  That was thoughtful of you.  As you could tell we all had a marvelous tıme.  My husband had never taken a trıp lıke thıs before and he ıs now more anxıous to travel.  We partıcularly loved hearıng the hıstory of Turkey and gettıng a present day perspectıve of the government and news of Turkey that we had never known.  The bus was very comfortable and the drıver so skılled.  The ruıns were the best I had ever seen and we had an archeologıst wıth us and she was blown away....and that ıs hard to do.  You dıd an excellent job wıth everythıng...I ate too much, but can go home and fast for a month...thank you... more

22.05.2009  Mrs. Laura Beth Foster

Dear Mr. Zekeriya Sen,Our trip was fabulous; we couldn't have asked for more. I even worked up the courage to take the Cappadocia balloon ride, which was the highlight of the entire vacation. (You will recall that we spent a week in Israel after leaving Turkey, and thus I  am only now having an opportunity to reply to you.)Our guide, Ali, was enthusiastic and knowledgeable--and when he didn't know an answer, he looked it up on his computer! He was well matched to a couple like us, who were interested in antiquities. So were the other tourists on our bus--two Canadian couples and two Australian groups.I was worried that some of the travel plans wouldn't work, but everybody was prepared for us--even the driver who had to pick us up at 4:30 in the morning so that we could get to the Istanbul airport. The hotels were as advertised--clean and comfortable, but hardly luxurious. In short, just what we wanted.Thank you ever so much for helping to make possible one of our best ... more

18.05.2009  Joel Haveman

Mr. Sen, We just returned from Turkey last night and everything was wonderful. The accommodations you made for us were excellent. We enjoyed Mustafa very much as a guide. He was knowledgeable and sensitive to our interests. He was also flexible and had a good sense of humor. Also, our driver, Omar was excellent. We  were in very good hands and appreciate the professional service you provided. The balloon trip was one of the highlights of our trip. I will recommend you to our friends and colleagues. Sincerely, more

21.10.2008  Susan Leff