Why there are no prices on the website, the six variables that move a quote, the eight items that speed it up, what the agency receives and how soon, and the deposit, balance and cancellation terms that apply.
There are no prices on this website. That is not an omission: it is company policy, and this article explains why and what happens instead. A Turkey tour for twelve people in April with four-star hotels and a Spanish-speaking guide does not cost the same as the same programme for thirty-five people in November, and a “from” figure stuck on a product page only makes the first real quote look like a trick. What we do is quote every file with its own data, at net rates for agencies, within a published deadline. This is what lies behind it.
The quote form asks for few things, but each one moves the final number. With these eight the file is quoted at the first attempt; without them, the reply is a question.
The services of a tour fall into two families. Those paid per person (hotel, tickets, flights, meals) barely change with the size of the group. Those paid per day (vehicle with driver, guide, tolls, parking) cost the same for eight people as for twenty, and are shared. That is why the per-person price of the same programme drops very visibly in small groups and much less as the group grows: the vehicle is assigned to the confirmed passenger count, and each change of vehicle reorders the sharing.
Turkey has high season in April–May and September–October, a busy summer on the coast and an empty one inland, and a winter with low rates and short days. Hotels in Istanbul and Cappadocia publish different rates for each band, and the religious holidays — two bayrams a year, on moving dates — fill the domestic flights and push up the air fare. The operating calendar explains each band.
The difference between four and five stars in Istanbul is greater than in Cappadocia or Pamukkale, and within the same category there are old-town hotels and suburban hotels with very different prices. Specific hotels are proposed by name in the quotation and confirmed at booking.
A tour of more than a week usually carries one or two flight legs. Fares are dynamic: the same Istanbul–Kayseri rises sharply in a bayram week, and large groups need seats blocked in advance. That is why the flight part of a quote carries a date, and why it pays to close the group early. Routes and baggage are covered in the article on domestic flights.
Breakfast comes with the hotel. Every lunch or dinner added is a service contracted at a specific restaurant, with a group menu and price. A tour on half board throughout can cost considerably more than the same one with breakfast only, and it is not always better: in Istanbul or İzmir, eating where you choose is part of the trip.
The availability of a guide in the language requested can determine the group’s date in high season. Booking the guide several months ahead for April or October is not excessive caution.
A “from” price usually corresponds to the largest group, in the lowest season, with the cheapest hotel in the category and no meals. Any real file moves away from that point on at least two of the six variables. The figure is not misleading in itself; the comparison between a “from” and a complete quote is. Always quoting with real data avoids that comparison.
For a fair comparison between DMCs you need to know what each one carries inside. Our base includes entrance tickets to the monuments, museums and sites in the itinerary; domestic flights in economy class; the licensed Spanish- or English-speaking guide; transfers and the vehicle with driver; daily breakfast; and the meals the programme marks day by day. It does not include travel insurance, which we recommend and which the agency arranges at home; tips; or optional activities, which are listed by name and without price on each page. The two columns are on every programme, for example Istanbul and Cappadocia in 7 days with domestic flights or the 15-day grand journey.
The single room supplement is stated in each offer and depends on the hotel: it is not a fixed percentage. Prices for children follow each hotel’s policy according to age and bed, and are quoted with exact ages. If an agency escort travels with the group, state it in the request: the offer covers the escort’s services and the terms that apply to them.
We quote agencies at net rates: the price they receive is what they pay us, and the margin is set by the agency. The payment terms published in the trade area are these: payment is made by bank transfer or credit card, and card payments carry a 3% surcharge; charges applied by the issuing bank are borne by the client. A deposit of 30% of the total is paid when the booking is confirmed; the remaining 70% no later than 31 days before departure. For bookings made 30 days or less before departure, the full amount is paid at confirmation.
The cancellation scale runs in bands of days before departure. More than 90 days out, only the handling fee is charged, plus penalties on services already issued (domestic flights, for example). Between 89 and 61 days, 25%. Between 60 and 31 days, 50%. At 30 days or less, and in case of no-show, 100%. Reductions in places follow the same scale, applied to the places reduced. Refunds are made within 10 to 14 business days of written cancellation.
The response time is the published one: 24 business hours for individual travellers and private tours, 72 business hours for groups and MICE; how a group is built and operated, service by service, is set out on the group tours in Turkey page. The offer is a document with the day-by-day programme, the two columns of what is included and what is not, the hotels proposed by name and category with alternatives, the planned flight legs, the net price per person in the room distribution requested, the single supplement and the payment and cancellation terms. The same person who quotes follows the file through to operation on the ground.
With that data, a programme such as the Anatolia food route in 6 days or any tour passing through Cappadocia is quoted within the published deadline and without back-and-forth. The right length for each format is compared in how many days a Turkey tour needs.
Because a real price depends on six variables that change with every file, and a “from” figure without those variables gives no information: it only makes the first complete quote look more expensive than it is. Every request is quoted with its own data, at net rates for agencies and within the published deadline.
24 business hours for individual travellers and private tours; 72 business hours for groups and MICE. If any of the eight items on the form is missing, the clock starts when it arrives.
Agencies are quoted net. The agency decides its margin on the net price it receives.
30% of the total when the booking is confirmed and the remaining 70% no later than 31 days before departure. At 30 days or less before departure, the full amount at confirmation. By bank transfer or credit card, with a 3% surcharge on card payments.
Reductions in places follow the same scale as cancellations, applied to the places reduced. If the reduction changes the vehicle size or the sharing of the fixed costs, the per-person price for the rest of the group is recalculated and communicated before it is applied.
Yes. Our base includes them because we control timings and connections together with the programme, but if the agency prefers to issue them itself the land programme is quoted and the legs to be covered are listed.
