Peter Sommer Travels Traveller Reviews

Our guides, Nota and Michael, made ruins and artwork come to life with superb storytelling that placed events and people in context so we could imagine ourselves competing in the ancient Olympics, training for military duty in Sparta and living in medieval castles. They introduced us to gorgeous scenery, Greek wine and local food, including goat in parchment paper.

The deep experience of Peter Sommer Travels is evident in every tour detail, from choosing perfect restaurants and hotels, to timing our arrival at popular sites to avoid peak crowds and employing a skilled bus driver to navigate narrow roads. Our guides answered myriad questions with knowledge and patience. They cared about each traveler personally. I hope to be able to take another Peter Sommer tour soon.

The Macedonian tour explored a sweeping journey across the region, with visits to ancient archaeological sites, excellent museums, amazing tombs, a crusader castle, Byzantine churches, an island of interest and enchanting towns. Beginning and ending in Thessaloniki, this thriving city offered historic sites in its midst. The cultural expense and food provided an extra indulgence and were much appreciated by the guests.

Peter Sommers Travels offers small-group holidays of value. When you book a tour you know that you will receive excellent guides, a well-thought out and organised trip, very good accommodation and an outstanding insight into the past. It is a sheer pleasure to be associated with them and leaves you very much looking forward to another adventure.

This was our first trip with Peter Sommer Travel, and we are hooked. Everything topnotch. The itinerary was just right for the eight days of the tour...well planned and paced. Well organised -we began our days on time, knew what to expect in terms of walking and sites we were to visit. Paul, our guide, was super knowledgeable, very experienced and entirely engaging. He made the evolving world of Hadrian and successors come alive in all its diversity. I learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Alex, his assistant, was just as able and good natured in keeping us on time. Accommodation great -fine linen and good food. Now to look forward to our next adventure with Peter Sommer Travel.

Our experience with Peter Sommer Travel was first class start to finish. The people with whom we spoke and exchanged messages one booking the trip and then confirming details were professional, attentive, knowledgeable, a delight to deal with. The information we needed was clear, thorough and came on time. The team on the tour I have mentioned above...just great.

My husband & I recently returned from the Peter Sommer Macedonia Greece trip. Wow, what an amazing journey. Spectacular scenery, delicious food & stupendous history -- from Neolithic site dating back to 6500 BC, ancient tombs (including King Philip's tomb), King Philip's capital, Alexander the Great, Crusader castle, Byzantine Empire of the 4th Crusade. Such a breadth of history, all led by Maria Girtzi, our wonderful PhD archeologist leader.

Peter Sommer Travels is wonderful. Their trips are beautiful planned & organized

We had an exceptional trip exploring the history, the archeiology, the cultural dimension upon which the Romans built and maintained Hadrian’s Wall. Our guide, Paul, presented a lively, knowledge based narrative of the many sites we visited over the eight days of our trip. Our trip was exceptional.

Every detail of the trip was carefully planned and executed with precision. Our lodging, our site visitations and our transport from the beginning to the end consistently met all expectations. Each segment of the trip was carefully planned and executed. Our guide and his associate helped make each day exciting, interesting, and memorable.

The trip was for me a dream come true! Brought up on classical literature , I had always wanted to visit the storied cities I had read so much about. Peter Sommer's Tour "Exploring Macedonia" (travel start date June 17, 2024) allowed me to do just that and in the company of perhaps the best guide I have ever had on a tour. Her name is Maria Mirtzi . A trained archaeologist and University professor she regaled us with the history, geography, mythology, culture, and cuisine of each locality we visited. The places came alive under her dramatic retelling-Philippi, Amphipolis, Dion, Pella, Aigai, Stageira et countless others. We were treated to fresh food family- style at most of the places visited with wine at dinner. We all agreed that water was best during the midday meal with more hiking ahead of us! Our hotels were first-rate- even "boutique" wherever we stayed. Everything was taken care of and the comfort and safety of each member of our tour group was paramount. My experience will stay with me for years to come and the countless photos I took will be a reminder of the wonders of that particular area of Greece and of its people!

I think I already have ! Suffice to say that Maria Mirtzi was highly knowledgeable, professional, solicitous of our well-being, conscientious, accessible, and just plain very nice! Her enthusiasm for what we were seeing and what she related about what we saw was contagious and fired up our enthusiasm in turn. Her energy never flagged and neither did ours!

This was my 2nd gulet cruise with Peter Sommer Travels, since the first (in 2023) had been excellent; and now I very much want to take a third! That really says it all. On this Dodecanese cruise the gulet was splendid, the crew superb, the itinerary an excellent mix of major and more quiet minor islands and archaeological sites, the leaders/managers exceptionally knowledgeable and also very very good at bringing people happily together, the food and wine delicious. Everything was taken care of; participants could simply relax and enjoy themselves. On a Peter Sommer cruise (I judge from the two I have taken so far) the individual participants also tend to have a number of similar interests and so to be a great group to travel with; and together on this cruise we all talked a lot, learned a lot, and laughed a lot. I'm already happily anticipating that third cruise in 2025!

Professional, efficient, friendly, people-oriented, excellent at detail, no hassles, thoroughly knowledgeable. Group leaders/guides/managers are handpicked for knowledge and for professionalism without sacrificing the ability to mix well with everyone and to lead skillfully--and they all have a good sense of humour (probably essential when leading tours!). Everything is worked out in advance in detail; and when unpredictable problems occur (as, on this cruise, a sudden Greek government edict that we had to leave Greek waters immediately, with one third of the trip still to go), excellent solutions are speedily found and implemented. Truly impressive.

My 22 year old daughter and I joined the Peter Sommer June 9 - 23, 2024 Cruising the Dodecanese tour. I can't think of a better way to see and learn about this area of the world. We were with a small group of 12, pampered by 12 crew members and guides. With a small group, there was flexibility. For instance, during the days that were very hot, we cruised during the heat of the day, and moved the walking tours to earlier or later in the day. The food was absolutely delicious and healthy, with fresh produce, wines, and protein obtained from the local islands. There were a variety of ages on the trip, from 22 to 82, and all were well accommodated.

Peter Sommer Travels was very responsive via email, phone calls, and text. The guides were not only experts in their fields (PhDs) but superb storytellers. Impressively, most of the other passengers were repeat customers of Peter Sommer Travels. We are planning when we can take another Peter Sommer Travels tour.

This week sailing and waking was idyllic. The boat was elegant and we were spoiled by wonderful and friendly staff. The walks were meticulously planned with the history and archaeology brought to life along the way by Peter Sommer, our archaeologist. Our faithful tour manager Cem carried snacks and picnics, and shared local insider knowledge of the area. On a personal note, he also organised a safe and efficient reunion with my luggage which was mislaid by the airline - a problem totally unconnected with the tour! As a pair, Peter and Cem ensured every minute of the trip was professionally organised and smoothly run. They were both delightful leaders on a trip we could not fault: crystal waters, interesting walks, fascinating archaeology, stunning scenery and a lively and fun group of people with whom to share the whole experience.

Peter Sommer Travels were totally efficient. Emails were responded in a timely manner and communications regarding the trip was clear and thorough. The tour itself was run with professionalism and also, most importantly, with good cheer. Everything was planned and organised to an inch.

This was our group’s second Peter Sommer trip, the perfect balance of archeology and relaxation! Having Peter Sommer as our guide was amazing, his knowledge and narration made the holiday. The crew couldn’t have been more helpful and accommodating. A very special week and looking forward to planning our next Gulet adventure.

Couldn’t have asked for anything more.