Make Your Next Trip Extraordinary

Wonderful meals, locations, guide…
Bernardo Levy Nogueira | September 12, 2023

Karen’s was a great company to work with!
And we found about it by the advice of the great Wendy Perrin!
We had a two-day private tour of Istanbul with our 5-year-old Sophia and it was just G R E A T !
Wonderful meals, locations, guide….

We were surprised by the playfulness and welcome vibe of Istanbul…
Tina Hunt | July 21, 2023
Tina Hunt

Tina Hunt and family on the rooftop of Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar

If you like to travel and experience diverse culture, food, and history, and enjoy meeting welcoming people, then Turkey is not to be missed! We worked with Karen, and her wonderful boutique travel company focused on Turkey, to curate and customize our adventure. From the moment we landed in the beautiful and ultra-modern Istanbul International Airport until the 11 short days later when we departed for home, the drivers and guides made sure that we had a beautiful experience.

We started with a three-day Gulet voyage on the Prima Donna. We were welcomed aboard to a gorgeous Turkish spread of nuts, dried fruit, fresh fruit, and vegetables as a light afternoon snack. Captain Nihat and Deckhand Mesuit had us quickly underway for our first ever overnighting on a sailing vessel. Our chef, Zekai, was a wonder unto himself as he quietly turned out fantastic food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Just over-the-top fun. Every meal was a delicious surprise and felt extra-special with incorporation of local fresh items. Since it was May, the ocean was a bit chilly for swimming though sea kayaking was fun.

After the relaxing Gulet we did a whirlwind tour of Ephesus, which was not to be missed if you enjoy ancient history and beautiful ruins. Our guide, Guler, made it extra-special by bringing the past to life in a fun and playful way. The Terrace Houses were a delightful surprise with the color and some of their splendor showing through even to today. Plane-hopped to Cappadocia via Istanbul to enjoy four days of this magical land.

Cappadocia was a place of pure joy for us. The fairy landscape with the “mushroom” capped chimneys and cave churches and dwellings provided a much-needed bit of exercise with short hikes. Our guide, Faruk, was excellent at tweaking our daily events for our level of fitness and adapting to lesser traveled areas. Our sunrise balloon experience was pure early-morning magic. The 8-person gondola was piloted expertly over the otherworldly landscape. Even after seeing photos of how beautiful it could be, in-person was jaw-dropping. Floating among the 100 other balloons into the morning sky and across the landscape watching the YouTube and TickTock streamers set up on the ground was tons of fun. Photographer and videographer’s delight for sure.

Bouncing from the balloon ride to the underground city was a bit jarring. This was primarily because the underground city was wildly packed when we were there and felt unsafe with just one way to exit if something were to happen. We did an audible and diverted from the mass ahead and behind us to enjoy a respite in an offbeat section of the Kaymakli. The underground city is a maze that makes it easy to see why raiders would get lost and easily defeated within the crisscrossing tight tunnels that would suddenly open to larger areas. We toured the Kapadokya Ceramic shop and throughly enjoyed the experience of watching a master potter create a functional work of art before our very eyes. Then our 21-year-old son got to try his hand at the craft ;). We even ended up purchasing several pieces that were shipped home for us to enjoy. All too soon it was time to head back to Istanbul for our last three nights of our adventure.

We typically aren’t much for big cities and were surprised by the playfulness and welcome vibe of Istanbul. Our guide Cenk helped make this very memorable with his quick wit, fast pace, and love of the city that shined through his every story. Our foodie tour was a blast with a mix of local tasty bits, drinks, and followed up with some sweets from one of his favorite shops. The history just permeates the entire vibe of the city and feels vibrant and modern while mixing seamlessly into structures that are 1,000s of years old. The Hagia Sophia is a marvel to behold, along with the ancient Basilica Cistern. Our special WOW Moment was extra special—reminiscent of Skyfall on the roof of the Grand Bazaar. We found ourselves wishing for more time at almost every stop in Turkey and can’t wait to return!

Seamless airport transfers and excellent English-speaking guides in both cities
Shana Vaught | July 12, 2023

WOW—we just returned, and Wendy Perrin and her team of specialists didn’t disappoint. We were referred to Karen Fedorko to plan our trip to Turkey. Karen and her staff were super helpful, attentive to the details and made sure we were well attended to during our time in Turkey. I recommend Karen for sure. We had seamless airport transfers and excellent English-speaking guides in both cities, We loved Tuley, our guide for 3 days in Istanbul—she was fantastic. In Bodrum, Julie, a local with interesting stories, was really awesome as well. Thank you so much to Karen, our guides, drivers, and the entire team—and to Wendy Perrin for making our experience in Turkey a memorable one.

Our most memorable WOW Moment, being the first and only guests at a hotel just prior to the opening!
Vanessa Hulme | July 10, 2023
Vanessa Hulme

Vanessa and Colin Hulme enjoying their WOW Moment: A dinner in front of ruins in Datca.

Karen and her team planned an absolutely flawless vacation for my husband and me for 3 days in Istanbul and a 6-day cruise on a gulet along the Turkish coast. From our initial contact, they listened to our likes/dislikes and put together an itinerary that suited us perfectly.

Our incredible guide in Istanbul, Sinan, not only showed us the tourist highlights, but out-of-the ordinary places we would never have found on our own. He also introduced us to real Turkish food, even going so far as booking a dinner reservation and pre-ordering a menu that suited us perfectly. It was also very nice that Karen and her associates took time from their schedule to come speak with us personally.

From Istanbul, we flew to Bodrum and boarded our private gulet. We had never toured via a gulet, but it certainly exceeded our expectations. The crew was professional, accommodating, and went out of their way to make the trip special. The stops were beautiful and the food amazing. We also had the pleasure of our most memorable WOW Moment in Datca, being the first and only guests at a hotel just prior to the opening! We had the facility to ourselves, were served a gourmet dinner that was overseen by the General Manager and Food Service Manager, and offered a gorgeous suite for an overnight stay; to say this was very, very special is an understatement (thank you Wendy, Karen & Mustafa).

They even made our departure seamless, with assistance at the airport with check-in, security and ensuring we had access to the Club.

Karen and those that work with her obviously have an in-depth knowledge of Turkey. This certainly made our trip both exciting and relaxing, both of which we requested. We would absolutely give Karen our highest marks, and would definitely use her office again.

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