Jan 7, 2025
Portal to Eastern Anatolia - Trabzon to Gaziantep - This is a well thought out and balanced itinerary to see stunning scenery, historical landmarks and local culture of Eastern Turkey. Due to the cancellation of the other participants, my tour became a private tour. Sabahattin, my guide was absolutely exceptional. Informative, kind and funny! I learned a lot about history, culture and current occurring of the area we visited. His restaurant choice was great as well so that I had the best local specialities. This was my second visit to Turkey - Hope to visit again soon to see the places I didn't visit this time with Sabahattin. Alkans tour was very generous they changed my hotel booking to better suit my needs and also refund me my unused domestic airfare. Lastly, thank you Nick for arranging this tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oct 30, 2024
Go to eastern Turkey, you won't regret it - Yeah, this trip is definitely worth investing in. Sabahettin was an amazing and very, very knowledgeable guide. He knew the area intimately, he tailored the trip to our needs perfectly, and he matched us with the food and the fun that we wanted. Weather was hot during the summer, especially around Diyarbakr, but he made the best of it. No question, one of the best tours I have ever had!
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May 3, 2024
A trip of a lifetime! - Returned from an amazing trip starting in Trabzon. Turned out we were the only two people on the tour so became a private tour! Our guide Adem Kocaman brought everything to life with his superb knowledge, enthusiasm (and humour!). Our driver Serhat was very skillful, negotiating some tricky roads at time. On the whole though the road network in Turkiye is excellent and the drives between places not too long with enough comfort breaks in between. There were some 'extras' which did not appear in the itinerary like a visit to a salt mine and an archeology site which was much appreciated.
The hotels were clean and comfortable with lots of character (unlike international chain hotels). Don't expect tissues in hotel rooms though!
If we had to make any negative comments, it would be the unvaried food of kebabs and yet more kebabs - but then eating food not normally featured in one's diet at home is kind of the point of travelling. (not sure what vegans would have eaten!)
Suberbly organised and a realisation of a life time dream to visit Ani, Mt Nemrut, Akdamar.
Tip for ladies - toilets in the first part of the tour are only of the Turkish variety (not the hotels rooms though!) but generally they were clean. Check all the cubicles though, sometimes there's a Western toilet there. Also use the disabled loo as an option if available
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nov 25, 2023
Private Itinerary based on 12-day tour - Very well organised and enjoyable private itinerary. Accommodation was good, the driver was kind, knowledgeable and helpful and all went smoothly. Drives not too long and roads generally fast and safe.
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Oct 9, 2023
Wonder- filled trip of south-east and central Turkey - I did an amazing private (2 people) 5 day tour of Sth East and Central Turkey with tour guide Hasan and driver Ermehr. Hasan was wonderful, taking us to awe inspiring sites and enriching our knowledge of these past ancient times. His knowledge of the history was immense, and I asked quite a lot of questions.😃The trip was extremely well planned, accomodation was a highlight too, character filled comfortable hotels. We drove a lot and I always felt totally safe with our very pleasant driver. Hasan was totally attentive to our needs , stopping whenever we wanted to photograph something etc. and I think went over and above to make sure we were cared for.I guess you can tell by now I can’t speak highly enough of Hasan and highly recommend his tours.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jun 18, 2023
Eastern Turkey Experiences brought by the team at Alkans - The team from Alkans Travel (Eastern
Turkey Travels) and our Guide, Sabahattin are one of the most professional, service oriented, and knowledgeable teams I've used for a tour to a remote region such as Eastern Turkey. The tour ran smoothly based on the itinerary provided and all of the sights were amazingly brought to life by Saba's overviews.
I personally appreciated the level of accommodation provided, the quality of the local cuisine, safety provided by the driver, and the stunning mix of history, art, and culture on this tour.
For anyone who is interested in exploring this unique region of the world, please consider the team at
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jun 15, 2023
Fantastic East - This was a wonderful trip made perfect by our guide Sabah, who showed a depth of knowledge and passion for his subject that inspired me. His patience with all of us and his organisational skill was exceptional. The driver was also terrific, handling the sometimes challenging mountain roads and crowded city streets with real skill. This trip was the culmination of a longstanding dream to see Gobleki Tepe. It was better than I imagined, as was the whole trip through the “real” Turkiye. I highly recommend Alkan Tours as a highly professional travel company, and this part of Türkiye as a must see.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
May 17, 2025
And a great time was had by all - I had been planning this trip to the Black Sea and Eastern Turkey for a year and it lived up to almost all my expectations. I have been to Turkey many times but never to this part of the country. The Black Sea highlight was of course the Sumela Monastery at Trabzon. But the ultimate goal was Mesopotamia, the cradle of civilization. Turkey is a country of myriad layers of civilization and history and we saw tons of it: prehistoric, Urathian, Roman ruins and mosAics, Syriac monasteries, Selcuk tombs, medieval bridges and current-day bazaars. But Turkey is also a gloriously beautiful country, hills, orchards (pistachios), fields and mountains, not least Mount Ararat and Mount Nemrud with the remarkable tomb of Antioch I. The tour was extremely well organized. Driver Orhan was a constant and reassuring presence and Ören, our young but extremely knowledgeable guide, was a great travel companion. There were a few hotel glitches but these paled in comparison with their general good and kindly management . I definitely recommend this trip but keep in mind that it requires a good deal of energy. As currently organized there are hotel changes every day but one so at the end I was quite tired.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sep 6, 2024
Awesome Turkey - This, the dream of a lifetime, was an astonishing tour, the guide, driver and company owner showing Turkey at its best. I'd give it 5 stars except for some untidy communication which slightly marred the experience. But thoroughly recommend to anyone curious about this very special region.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oct 22, 2024
Very poor experience - Even though I had paid the full amount for the trip, the company cancelled a couple of weeks before the beginning of the trip. No one from tripadvisor or Eastern Turkey tours contacted me. Thus these tour operators cannot be trusted, even though I was guaranteed a spot as soon as I paid.
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