Planning a trip to Turkey in September and usually book everything myself. Has anyone done a tour to Turkey - was looking at air canada and Alba - any comments /info would be appreciated.
Thanks.

I've traveled Asia with G Adventures. It was fantastic not having to research so much. I am from Turkey, I would recommend this itinerary https://www.gadventures.com/trips/absolute-turkey/ETAT/2015/
GADVENTURES.COM
Absolute Turkey

that itinerary seems to hit most of it; my only comment is that there doesn't seem to be enough time in istanbul, so plan your entries and exits accordingly

You can arrive a few days early or stay a few days after the tour, I would suggest afterwards so you would already be climatized and your guide can offer some tips. Istanbul has a lot to offer. September is a great time to go to Turkey, it's still hot, you can still swim in the sea, locals are back from holidays so not so crowded.

I booked with Road Runner in Istanbul. They were fantastic. Pm me for more details. I can share my 2 week itinerary if you are interested.

Can't offer much regarding the tours, but my experience with turkish airlines was much better than any of my AC flights.

I planned everything myself and saw Istanbul, Cappadocia, Antalya, Pamukkale, Selcuk in 2 weeks. A few notes:
+ I'd recommend doing the balloon ride in Cappadocia.
+ Try to book domestic flights between major cities in Turkey as much as you can. Long bus rides are brutal.
+ Turkish bath is awesome if you can find a relatively non-touristy/ancient place. I went to one in the old city of Istanbul for less that $20.
+ ATMs are plentiful in Istanbul so no need to fly in with lots of cash
+ Don't buy random pre-packaged Turkish delight, they give you a big box that is mostly just cardboard and very little actual Turkish delight (you won't be able to tell because it's sealed). Buy from a reputable Turkish delight store ie. Hafiz Mustafa
+ Don't join ISIS lol

G Adventure does a great trip through Turkey ....... I can also recommend turkish airlines .......their Premium Economy service is as good as air canada's Executive First and much cheaper ....

I must add that I had a terrible experience with G Adventures and would never use them again. The guide was awful and the itinerary very misleading. An "overnight" bus ride was actually 23 hours. All in our group were shocked.

I have taken three trips with G Adventures Japan, Greece and Turkey ....my son and I enjoyed all the trips .....if there was a problem or a concern, I found G Adventure resolved it or provided compensation promptly .... the Turkish itinerary included an overnight train ride in cabins with beds .....it wasn't posh but it was comfortable enough to sleep between Istanbul and Ankara .........

Charles, I contacted G upon my return and got the worst customer service.

Sorry to read that Leanne .......have you booked with Travel Centre?

I took an Insight tour with friends a few years ago and it was fabulous. Very posh, but really no more expensive than '

...Trafalgar and the like when you factor in tours that were optional on Trafalgar, etc., but included on Insight. Also they only have 40 seats on a bus that normally seats 56, so more leg room, fewer people. We were constantly being told by other tour guides that we were lucky as we had the best guide in Turkey!

G Adventures specializes in small groups. How are the Road Runner and Trafalgar I wonder? I don't like to be herded like cattle.

Road Runner customized a 7 day journey for just three of us. It included 3 nights on a gullet. $700 for almost everything.

wow! that's cheap for a gulet! or i'm over-paying for the one i'm about to take LOL

I backpacked Turkey with a girlfriend. We found the buses there were very comfortable and they all have free wifi. We took overnight buses 2 nights in a row to save money. We did join local excursions thru hostels, some places can only be reached by cars. The guides are kinda hit and miss tho, some of them have very strong accent, hard to understand. Overall, I loved it soso much, it's definitely one of my best trip!

Thanks to everyone for the tips and suggestions - now to pick one

I went on the Turkey Explorer trip w G Adventures last year and had a fantastic time. It was a bit more expensive, but worth it. We travelled only by plane or private coach and the tour had only 10 people. The guide was amazing, and taught us all phrases in Turkish and provided a lot of personal insight into Turkish history and politics.

I did Turkey with Intrepid last year - having the tour guide there to translate and provide history (especially on the buses enroute to the next city) was an experience in and of itself. Istanbul was an easy city to navigate and sightsee (I did that on my own separately once the tour was over) because English is fairly widespread, but If you're planning on going outside of Istanbul and exploring smaller towns I would recommend it.