Groups in Turkey: series and closed groups for travel agencies

Every group is built from the same blocks, and the quotation states which are in and which are out:

Not in the base: international flights, travel insurance (recommended), tips, drinks, personal expenses and optional activities such as the balloon flight in Cappadocia, which are quoted separately and without obligation.

A group quotation is sent net to the agency, with the day-by-day programme, the services included and not included, the net price per person in a double room, the single supplement and the payment and cancellation terms. The response time for groups is 72 business hours from the moment we have the complete details; for an individual traveller on the same programme, 24.

These details let us quote right the first time:

• Number of passengers, even if approximate, and whether an agency escort travels with them.
• Dates of arrival and departure or, if flexible, the month and the number of nights; for a series, the planned departure calendar.
• Rooms: how many doubles, how many singles and whether there are triples.
• Hotel category wanted, and the cities or regions the group wants to include.
• Guide language and meal plan.
• Airports of arrival and departure (in Istanbul, IST or SAW) and, if already known, the international flight times.

The net price of a group depends on the number of passengers, the season, the hotel category, the domestic flights and the meals included. That is why each quotation is prepared for your request and there is no fixed group tariff: two groups on the same programme with different sizes do not cost the same.

The quotation form has a block specific to groups (rooms and escort); you can also send the details by e-mail or WhatsApp.

Once the proposal is accepted in writing, the agency receives a confirmation of every booking and, before departure, the final programme and the vouchers with the confirmed services and the contacts on the ground. The same person on the reservations team follows the file from quotation to operation, and during the trip there is an emergency phone line answered around the clock.

Operating rules worth knowing when selling a group tour of Turkey:

• The order of visits may change because of opening hours, traffic or the day's operation; the content of the programme stays the same.
• Museums and sites have a weekly closing day and different summer and winter hours; the final itinerary is adjusted to the opening calendar of the departure dates.
• Working mosques close to visitors during prayer times, above all on Friday at midday, and require shoulders and knees to be covered. Hagia Sophia has its own visitor route through the upper galleries and its visiting rules may change without notice.
• During the religious holidays (Ramazan Bayramı and Kurban Bayramı, on moving dates) opening hours change, crowds grow and domestic flights and roads fill up: the dates of a series are best set with that calendar in view.
• Domestic flights are issued with full names exactly as they appear in the passport, which is why the final passenger list is requested before issue.
• The balloon flight in Cappadocia is optional, is confirmed in the early hours and is cancelled by the operator for wind or visibility. For a group it is booked for the first available sunrise, and the quotation states the real margin of each departure.

Every destination we operate takes groups, but not all of them at the same size or on the same dates. Istanbul, Cappadocia, Pamukkale and Ephesus and Kuşadası are the backbone of almost every series. The Turquoise Coast fits long road tours. In Southeast Turkey and Eastern Turkey the hotel supply is smaller and the days more demanding, so groups are quoted with particular attention to size and dates. Egypt, Jordan and the Greek islands are operated only as an extension of a Turkey tour.

The commercial terms are the ones published on the agents page; for a group, three points deserve attention:

• Deposit and balance. 30% of the total when the booking is confirmed and the remaining 70% no later than 31 days before departure. For bookings made 30 days or less before departure, the full amount at confirmation.
• Reductions in places. They follow the same scale as cancellations: more than 90 days before departure, handling fee only plus penalties on services already issued; 25% between 89 and 61 days; 50% between 60 and 31; 100% at 30 days or less and in case of no-show.
• Payment method. Bank transfer or credit card; card payments carry a 3% surcharge.

Any terms the agency needs in writing — quotation validity, booking deadline or the treatment of the escort — are stated in the request and recorded in the proposal.