Treasures of Travel in Turkey or Treasuresofttravel.com

Message Submitted by mwkirson on Thu, 04/21/2011 - 14:09

<p>Has anyone used this travel company or know anyone who has used them. If yes , I would like your opinions. Thanks<br /> Mary </p>

Reply Submitted by Stan on Thu, 04/21/2011 - 15:07

When I asked the same question several years ago, I heard only good things about Umit and his tours. So I signed up twice for his eastern Turkey and Black Sea coast tour, but both were cancelled when I was the only prospective participant. Umit seems like a fine man and I don't question his good intentions; I'm sorry it didn't work out.
My advice is (1) to check and re-check if the tour departure is guaranteed, (2) not to buy non-refundable plane tickets until it is guaranteed, and (3) have a Plan B in your back pocket--a plan that you can implement on fairly short notice--just in case.
I leave for eastern Turkey with Pacha Tours (my Plan B) in about two weeks.

Reply Submitted by Marian on Thu, 04/21/2011 - 22:26

My husband and I are on a private tour in Damascus, Syria as I write this and all of our arrangements were made by Treasures of Travel. I recommend Treasures of Travel wholeheartedly. We had a separate travel agency in Beirut and Umit had coordinated the hand-off to the Syrian agency perfectly. The itinerary for both Lebanon and Syria was very complete.
We had been corresponding via e-mail with him during the first of the Syrian protests and he even called us from Turkey (where he was leading a tour) to discuss any concerns we might have. By the way, in the three days we've been in Damascus we have not seen any evidence of protests and our guide and driver assure us they will be able to avoid anything that might happen.
You might want to contact him personally and inquire as to which of his tours is most likely to be filled.

Reply Submitted by mwkirson on Fri, 04/22/2011 - 05:46

Thank you both for the information.
Stan, please let me know how the Pasha tour went.

Reply Submitted by Travelfish on Sat, 04/23/2011 - 17:20

Page 54 of the May 2011 issue of ITN that I just received in the mail today has a brief albeit positive review of Treasures of Travel's Eastern Turkey and Black Sea tour by someone who was on my group tour last spring. Unfortunately the tour has not operated since then, but perhaps the favorable publicity will cause enough people to book it for the fall departure.