Cruising to Ephesus Traveller Reviews

It was excellent! We spent a week sailing up and down the Turkish side of the Aegean Sea visiting various historical sites and ruins with our fabulous guides: Peter and Çem. Everything from the food to the lodging to the tours was perfectly crafted—I couldn’t have asked for a better holiday.

Peter and his team were incredibly friendly and capable. I had a blast traveling with them and getting to know them.

We really can’t say enough about Peter Sommer’s guided trip from Bodrum to Ephesus. Most importantly, Peter and his team are first-rate professionals who want you to have an educational and fun week. We brought our 23 and 18 year old sons and all of us consider this the best group trip we’ve ever taken. The other guests were lovely and the food was delicious every day. Peter has so much knowledge and passion regarding each of the archeological sites and he showed tremendous patience for every group member no matter their level of knowledge. We look forward to our next Peter Sommer trip.

Peter spends 8-12 hours with the guests and never hesitates to answer any question or resolve any issue. His operations are tight. Very impressive.

Cruising the Aegean coast of Turkey, visiting some astounding ancient sites en route to Ephesus. Some of the sites were deserted and it felt unreal to be standing almost alone among the ruins; such a privilege. Swimming and kayaking in hidden bays ; visits to little towns for lunch and shopping. Delicious meals on board with convivial fellow passengers. A fun and friendly family atmosphere on board; we had a beach clean up one morning, helped by the lovely crew. To cap it all off, we had a hammam in Bodrum before our farewell dinner. It was a wonderful trip, beautifully organised from start to finish and enhanced by our expert and our wonderful local guide. It will be with me for a very long time. Thank you Peter Sommer Travels.

Peter Sommer think of everything. From pick up at the airport to seamless transfers from gulet to sites, meals in restaurants on land and ice creams in the heat! It is such a treat to let someone else do all the planning and organising while we can sit back and enjoy the gulet, the sea, the food, the fellow passengers and the magnificent ancient sites.

A beautiful ship, carrying interesting and companionable passengers and a thoroughly professional and engaging crew, carried us to archaeological sites stuffed with glimpses into an ancient world via glittering seas and secluded harbours. What could be better.

Very knowledgeable, thoroughly well-organised, and an excellent guide through the ruins.

A superb cruise and tour, impeccably organised while retaining the personal touch. Stunning archeological sites, swimming and delicious Turkish meals on board

Experts in the field, and taking care of detail while making sure the overall experience is enjoyable.

This tour exceeded our expectations in every way. The guides and crew were excellent, the boat was beautiful, comfortable and a great way to travel, the food was to die for and the ancient sites that we visited and often had nearly to ourselves were fascinating. We will definitely go with Peter Sommer Travels again in the future.

From the moment I first contacted Peter Sommer travel to inquire about this tour, until they were dropping us off at the airport when it was over, they operated in a friendly and highly professional manner. They have thought of all of the details that make a trip like this that has numerous moving parts, seamless. This allowed us to relax and really enjoy ourselves. We understand now why Peter Sommer Travel is as highly rated as they are. They execute at a very high level, with enthusiasm and flexibility.

We enjoyed a Peter Sommers cruise on a gullett from Bodrum. It was an epic experience, where we cruised to different locations along the Aegean Sea and swam, visited ancient ruins, ate amazing food, and learned so much about Turkey and the history of the area.

The best of the best, seems to me. Peter Sommers and Cem and the whole crew of the boat, all were professional, kind, talented, skilled and tireless.

This was our second cruise with Peter Sommer Travels. We did the Carian Coast cruise last year and liked it so much we came back this fall for Cruising to Ephesus. I have a feeling we will be doing another cruise with Peter next year as well. The boat is fantastic, a lovely wooden sailboat with 8 to 12 other passengers makes for very comfortable accommodations . The food was great and the highlight each day was the interesting tours of ancient sites.

Transfers were smooth. The boat was ship-shape. The on-shore archaeological tours were well organized and timed to avoid any crowds so at most sites we had the place to ourselves. The food on-board was well made and the on-shore restaurant visits were authentic Turkish fare.

Cruising to Ephesus was our second trip with Peter Sommer Travels and we are planning a third trip in 2025. Fantastic would sum up the trip in one word. Starting your day on a beautiful, graceful gulet where you are served delicious food. The tours of the sites were spectacular. Peter Sommer is a brilliant guide. Peter is energetic and his love and enthusiasm for the history of the area was captivating. There was plenty of time, also, to swim in the Mediterranean or just relax on the boat as we cruised to the next fascinating site. Our cultural guide El Han was extremely knowledgeable about Turkish history and very personable. The crew on board the Sultan A were accommodating and friendly. We really enjoyed both of the trips were have taken and are looking forward to another trip next year.

Peter Sommer Travels creates fantastic tours. Peter Sommer Travels has everything very well planned and their staff ensures that transfers to and from the airport and the gulet go smoothly. Tickets or permits to museums and sites are taken care of and even the meals provided at restaurants were delicious and there was not waiting around. There was plenty of time to swim or relax on the boat. All has been well thought out and contingency plans when weather or other events might interfere with the schedule. We have taken two tours with Peter Sommer Travles, both on board beautiful wooden gulets. The tours are well organized, the accommodations on board are comfortable, the crews have been friendly and accommodating. The food has been delicious. Our guides were knowledgeable, personable, and considerate. We are planning another trip with Peter Sommer Travels in 2025.

Tour name was Cruising to Ephesus and went from Bodrum to Ephesus (and back) via a small Turkish gulet, accommodating 14 people max (10 on our tour) with 2 guides and a crew of 4 attending to our eating, drinking, swimming and boating needs. Many of the sites we visited were "off the beaten path" (Prienne, Miletus to name just two) so we had them mostly to ourselves. (Ephesus, the featured site, was visited later in day to minimize crowds but was definitely packed with other visitors.) Our main guide, Filip Budic, an archeologist with a PhD, did a terrific job introducing things and guiding us onsite--he was also a wonderfully entertaining host and presence throughout the trip--Filip really made the tour for me. All the travel arrangements were seamlessly managed by our second guide, Turkish travel manager İlhan Varlık, so all went perfectly on land. The gulet cruising experience was perfect. A great way to reach sites and an utterly enjoyable way to travel. Crew attended to all our (many) needs with friendliness and panache. The gulet aspect allowed time to anchor in little coves for the night and also anchor to swim, kayak, and boat. The gulet was very well-appointed with many places to sit, socialize, or read. Utterly unlike the usual large "cruise ship experience", all in ways we loved.

Peter Sommer office staff were extremely friendly and helpful in answering our pre-trip and pre-booking questions. All arrangements for the tour went off perfectly without a hitch. The guides were terrific, both in terms of knowledge and personalibility. I'd definitely recommend a Peter Sommer gulet tour, without hesitation or reservation, and look forward to taking another tour with this company