Peter Sommer Travels Traveller Reviews

One week in Rome, exploring ancient sites and more modern ones. We were accompanied by excellent guides, one from the operator and one local.

All of the arrangements were flawless. Excellent guides, accommodations, meals and transport. The design and execution of the tour were first rate

We visited numerous complex sites which were presented with a sense of continuity and relationship to each other and to the present day. I appreciated the focus on classical Roman history and as the tour proceeded also appreciated that our guide showed how this history led to the renaissance and beyond. Visited several sites which we had never seen on previous visits. Extremely pleased.

Excellent knowledge of history, sense of humor, and curiosity. He answered every question while making interesting comparisons and connections. Also showed us so much...kept us very busy and engaged.

We had a wonderful adventure exploring the islands and coast of Croatia from the comfort of a beautiful gulet ship. Our room was comfortable, the food was superb, and the crew of our ship (My Croatia) were professional and friendly. We couldn't have asked for a more knowledgable, accommodating, enjoyable guide than Helena Thomas. Her enthusiasm for Croatia and history made this trip exceptional. We were also fortunate to find ourselves with a delightful group of co-travelers to share this experience.

Peter Sommer tours are very carefully planned and all details are taken care of. From the travelers perspective, there are no worries or concerns. The hikes led by an entertaining and knowledgable archeologist, the lunches at small family wineries, picnics, and local guides with intimate knowledge of the area all combined to make the experience a relaxing, unique, memorable way to explore Croatia.

A combination of glorious scenery, a wonderful gulet and a superb guide made for an unforgettable trip

He pays constant attention to every detail of the operation, even phoning our guide to ensure that we had all enjoyed our twice daily swims

Our Peter Sommers gullet cruise on the Dalmatian Coast with the wonderful and knowledgable guide Helena, our amazing crew on board Perla, new friends from around the world, and spectacular scenery, was the most relaxing holiday we have had. Add to this a journey into the fascinating and complex history of Croatia and the Adriatic, it was a holiday we will not forget. We will be back for another Peter Sommers adventure! Tim and Ann, Australia

Incredibly well organised and thought out tour by Peter Sommer Travels. The Peter Sommer team is great to deal with and they really care about their tours. The trip was amazing, with every detail taken into consideration. It ran like clockwork - you could tell so much preparation had gone into ensuring the adventure was perfect.

My wife and I recently enjoyed a week-long excursion along the Croatian coast, booking "Walking and Cruising the Coast of Dalmatia" through Peter Sommer Travels. Our trip included cruising along the Croatian coast and islands in the gulet "Croatia" with Captain Vladimir and his highly professional and attentive crew of Josef, Marino and Ure, and hiking in the Croatian islands and mainland with our guide, Dr. Helena Tomas, a professor of Archaeology at the University of Zagreb. Captain Vlad and his crew performed flawlessly and proved to be extremely accomplished at operating the Croatia and its Zodiac boat, in attending to the cabins, and in preparing and serving excellent meals and snacks. The crew was attentive to all details, from modifying the menu to accommodate their guests to finding the perfect bays to drop anchor for a quick swim in the Adriatic. Certainly much of the credit for our outstanding experience goes to our guide, Helena, whose knowledge of the incredible and extensive history of this region is only matched by her passion for this work. Helena also teamed us with other local guides who were able to provide their unique perspectives on the culture and history of the region, and we visited villages and enjoyed meals and wine with local families that really enriched our understanding of the local culture. The entire experience was absolutely delightful, and we would certainly book another trip with Peter Sommers. I have already recommended this particular trip to colleagues at work, knowing they will not be disappointed with this adventure!

Peter Sommers knows how to do things the right way...he teams an outstanding, knowledgeable guide with expert seamen and provides personal specific attention to each trip to make sure everything goes flawlessly. All connections and contacts occurred right on time and were highly professional, and there were no surprises or mistakes along the way. Excellent job.

The holiday was a conducted cruise on a gulet, our two ‘experts’ were both outstanding in every respect and wore their knowledge lightly but clearly had a deep knowledge of the whole area, its history, its place in Greek myth and not least its cuisine. The gulet was very well run with an outstanding master and a very willing, well trained friendly crew. Nothing was too much trouble for anyone and the catering on board very good as well. In sum we cannot rate the whole experience highly enough in every respect - we are going again next season to a different area!

Peter Sommer runs a very efficient, very friendly, very knowleable and very helpful Team. Their pre-cruise brief was also outstanding - very helpful, full of interesting hints and advice and clearly written by those who run the cruises and not some PR rubbish! In our view they provide a unique experience and the cruise was excellent value for money.

This was our second trip with Peter Sommer and was every bit as wonderful as our first. Led by our dynamic expert archaeologist, Heinrich Hall, and our local guide and mythology maven, Maria Girtzi, we examined the marvelous ruins and dined on the beautiful foods of the Dodecanese Islands in Greece. Our boat, the Aegean Clipper was spacious, comfortable and proved itself sea worthy in what was supposed to be a hurricane and cyclone. Our fellow travelers hailed from the UK, Australia and the US and were all well-travelled, engaging, intelligent and fun. As in our first trip with Peter Sommer, we all meshed beautifully, in large measure due to the humor and kindness of our guides. We are already planning our next Peter Sommer adventure.

Peter Sommer Travels is a first-class, hands on, helpful and supportive group of people. We have traveled twice with them, once to Turkey and once to the Dodecanese Islands of Greece and in both instances have experienced the very best travel has to offer. Our guides are educated in more than just what we are seeing, the local food is amazing and opportunities to learn about it are always available. The Turking gulets are comfortable, spacious, elegant to be on and to look at from afar. We have not a single word of complaint about Peter Sommer.

I was drawn into and explored (on wheels and on foot) a wonderful landscape I’d seen only in books and my imagination. In reality the landscape told many tales, signs of which are widespread but whose significance would have remained hidden had our guide, Paul Beston, not pointed out so much detail, explained it, put it in its local historical context and then into the broader context of the Roman and, later, Medieval world. The experience was delightfully enlightening and considerably deepened my word view.

Peter Sommer was the finest of hosts. He welcomed his guests, thoughtfully anticipated individual needs and abilities and made contingency plans to accomodate them, and he was interested in guests’ perspectives and feedback. The tour ran very smoothly because of his earlier research and because of his thoughtful anticipation of guests’ needs and wants. Peter also chose an excellent guide, Paul Beston, with whom he worked to ensure a great experience for guests.

Cruising the Aeolian Islands SAT JUN 24 – SAT JUL 1, 2017 We embarked on the Gulet “Derya Deniz” at the port of Milazzo on the North-East coast of Sicily, 1 hour and 40 miN from Catania airport. During the evening landing at Catania airport we had stunning views of Mount Etna. Spending 2 days in Catania proved well worth while; the sea food restaurants were excellent, the huge variety of buildings starting with Roman remains through baroque to modern, and the tour of Mount Etna provided an excellent introduction to Sicily. Milazzo is dominated by industrial sites, refineries and a power station. The marina is very large and stretches for some miles along the coast. The distance from the bus to the gulet was substantial however the the crew swiftly moved the luggage from the bus to the Gulet. The cabin was as expected, with two beds with space between. The on-suite was more than adequate. Great dinner with, of course spaghetti with clams, traditional salad, fresh fruit and finally lashings of white wine from the Etna region. The enjoyment of the cruise was greatly enhanced by the courtesy and helpfulness of the boat crew, the two ladies who did the cooking and the two guides, Michael and Julia. Each day we visited a different island and somehow managed to fit in a daily swim and events ashore including visits to restaurants, museums, vineyards and castles. One restaurant specialised in grilling a huge variety of meats another the best of modern fine dining accompanied by local wines. In the same way the two vineyards were opposites one old and making classical wines of the island’s the other very new and state of the art using eco-friendly methods to cool the cellars etc. The local museums were stunning, highly focused on the history of the islands. Amphorae salvaged from wrecks on the seabed highlighted the island’s fame for wine in Roman times. Silks and dyes were also sent along over the empire. Constantly on the horizon was the cone shaped island of Stromboli and we were disappointed when the weather suddenly changed and we could not land. However the trip back towards Lipari and Salina in a breeze showed of the captain and the Gulet capabilities in heavier weather. On a reach with a single sail the Gulet is very impressive. We have always found Gulet trips an ideal location for family celebrations with our mature family. Importantly there were a myriad of chances for informal chats not only with the family but with the crew and ever attentive guides not to mention the other guests from all round the world.

Very attentive and anxious to please