Kalkan Turkey Forum - EnjoyKalkan.com
Kalkan Discussion => Places to Visit / Things to Do / Excursions => Topic started by: M n M on August 06, 2008, 12:27:54 PM
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Anyone interested in going on a four day tour to Cappadocia?
We are planning to go on this trip from Kalkan on the 10th November 2008, and wondered if anyone would like to join us.
The first day we would travel up to Konya, visiting the Dervish Museum and the Ottoman Camel Caravan site on the old silk road. Then on to Cappadocia, where we will spend three nights in a hotel (B and B basis), and visit several of the important historic sites.
Our bus driver would act as guide as he knows the area very well.
Price - 250YTL per person to include all travel and hotel costs, daily excursions (excluding any entrance fees)
Also there is a Turkish evening in a cave, cost is 15YTL per person which includes all local drinks and mezes.
M n M
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Now your making me sad again..... Just flew back last Sunday and am already missing things. No more hols to spare until New Year but would have loved it, always fancied that area. What a good deal as well.
Are you planning any more Lycian way walks this winter? Pete and I would love to come, especially if it''s over new year.
Cheers
BJ
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Would love to do that but we are in Kalkan in September so can''t do it. Have a great time.
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Hi MnM
Please book Lynn and Buster a slot will discuss payment next time we see you walking your dog on the goat track.
Kind Regards: Lynn
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Sorry you won''t be able to make the trip Bevjam, but hope we will meet you on walks in the New Year.
Glad you and Lynn can make it Buster, we are collecting money on a first come, first serve basis.
Looking at our Rough Guide, it says that the Dervish Museum in Konya isn''t open on a Monday.
Will check on that, but if it is right, we may have to alter the date to Tuesday 11th November.
Will let everyone know when we find out.
M n M
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Sorry you won''t be able to make it Brooksie. We always seem to miss you. Maybe we will see you in September at the Atlantis.
M n M
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We''ll be at the Atlantis so will get together at last.
Brooksie
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Sorry for going off the thread but what is Lycian Walk?
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Lougie,
If you look further down this section, you will see the thread titled "Walking on the Lycian Way" which will answer your question.
M and M
How are you getting on with the organising of the Trip?
It sounds great.
How many spare seats are there left and do people have to let you know by a certain date?
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I would love to do that trip, can''t make that date though, we''ll be there for a week in august then on the 29th December for another week.....I''ll keep a look out for any trips for then.... :)
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Hi Joan.
Yes, all going well with bookings for the trip.
Twelve people have booked so far, so trip definitely on.
We are still going on the 10th November, but we have extended it to five days, four nights, as the extra day only costs another 40YTL per person.
We have several options for transport, and can take up to 30 people.
Total cost now is 170YTL for all transport, and 120YTL for hotel per person.
There has been a lot of interest, not surprising with that price. Although we haven''t had many replies on the forum, we have had people telephoning from the UK and e-mails too.
Not really a time limit as such, but once people have paid for the transport, their place is definitely booked.
Thanks for your interest Joan.
M n M
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Hi MnM
Have just heard about your trip to Cappadocia and would love to join you. I have been given your mobile number, & will ring later to arrange getting the payment to you, if you still have places?
Sorry if this is not the way things are done, I''''m very new to this
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Hi MnM
Do you still have space on your trip for another 2 people? We stayed in Urgup last December for 4 nights but would love to go back and see more, the area is fascinating. I especially enjoyed the underground cities
of Derinkuyu and Kaymakli and just looking at the amazing landscape of the area. Sadly didn''t do any walking last time as didn''t have walking boots etc with us but it looked a wonderful hiking area.
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Hi Gladys and Mel
Yes, there is still room on the trip for three more.
We have quite a lot of names of interested people, but as we have said the people who pay for their seat on the bus will definitely be going.
Look forward to meeting you, will arrange the time and place.
There is an option to do a couple of valley walks in this area and they sound very picturesque. Just need adequate footwear.
M n M
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Hi everyone.
Having had such a lot of interest in this trip, we have now moved up to a 30 seater bus, so now we have more seats available.
Anyone else interested, please get in touch.
Look forward to hearing from you.
M n M
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Just a quick note to say that we are definitely going on the 10th November until the 14th November inc.
In accordance with Turkish law, everyone going on the trip will need to take their passports to book into the hotel.
All times and pick up points will be arranged nearer to the time.
M n M
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Hi.
Coming out on the 14th September. We can bring pictures of Cappodocia if you wish.
Kaya or Pub Swan....no prob.
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Thanks Layla, that would be great.
We are going to the meet-up at Atlantis on the 14th Sept, but can meet up in Kaya if you are not able to make it then.
M n M
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Just a little information for those people who have booked on the Cappadocia trip in November.
The Cappadocia Palace Hotel have confirmed the booking, but unfortunately the price is now 35ytl per person per night.(140ytl for the four nights).
You can view the hotel on Trip Advisor, Hotels in Cappadocia.
An itinery for the trip will soon be available.
M n M
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Thanks M n M, when do I need to pay you?
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Hi Hannah
The money for the hotel, will be collected during the trip or you can pay directly to the hotel when we get there.
Looking forward to the trip ourselves not too long now.
M n M
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Hi to everyone going on the trip.
We have had confirmation that we are all booked into the Cappadocia Palace Hotel.
They have asked for a 50ytl per person deposit.
We have paid this deposit for everyone, so would appreciate some reimbursement asap.
We have been negotiating a discount for the Hot Air Balloon Ride, so we need to know the exact number of people wanting to do this.
Thanks.
M n M
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Hi Malcolm
What''s the cost of this please?
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Hi M n M,
Very interested in the baloon trip, always wanted to do that! Just depends on the price!! How can I meet up with you for the deposit?
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Hi Kevincat & Hannah
Most of the balloon companies on the web are quoting 150euros, but we have found one company who will give us a discount if there are 15 or more people booking. That price is 115euros.
Will ask them for a price in lira.
Will also ask our driver if he can negotiate a better price.
We will be in the Kaya on Friday night if you are in town then.
If not don''t worry about it. Will collect it when we see you.
M n M
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Hi MnM - please be careful about which balloon company you book with. I did lots of research before doing this in the summer and decided to bite the bullet and go with Kapadokya balloons - one of the original people to set up there run by Lars and Kaili. Their prices are probably amongst the most expensive but you should consider the safety aspect here. The only other company recommended to me was Anatolian balloons - so unless you are thinking of going with either of those 2 companies - I would check them out carefully.
When we were out there - we spoke to numerous people who had also booked with Kapadokya after hearing the really bad experiences of friends who had ballooned with less reputable companies. VERY short trips - very scary experiences, near misses - over crowded balloons to name but a few. And although accidents are rare - they do happen and when you see how they skim the rooftops -you can see why and how.
At times we were literally 6 feet of the ground - skimming trees and other times with fairy chimneys welling up in front and above us and we just missed them - an enthralling ride - but NOT something to be taken with anybody.. .... Sorry to put a dampener on it - but you should be careful. :o :o We booked the exclusive ride (which was longer and less crowded in the basket) and it cost us 230 euros each...a helluva lot of money I know - but a once in a lifetime experience (our ride was about 50 minutes in the air too).
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Thanks Felicity for that information.
We haven''t booked anything yet, still waiting for the driver to come back with a price. He takes tours there on a regular basis, so we assume he will know a reputable company. Will see which company he comes up with.
Thanks again.
M n M
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Hi to everyone going to Cappadocia.
The best price we can get for the hot air balloon ride is 220ytl. With the current exchange rate it works out at about £85. The company is used by a well known travel company and we are assured that safety is not an issue.
Please let us know how many of you would like to take this trip.
M n M
PS Will telephone everyone with the early morning pick-up details for 10th November.
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Sorry M n M, have to pass on the baloon trip.
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A tip with the balloon trip is not to book on your last day as if weather conditions aren''t good they may cancel with you in the morning- we booked for one day but got a call to say the weather wasn''t good enough however the following day it was perfect. We went as high as 1500 metres and scooped down close enough to the trees to pick fruit-it is a truely amazing experience, especially in such a wonderful area.
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Thanks Mercimek
We have booked for the second day, but if that doesn''t happen we have two more mornings when we can do it. Fingers crossed we have good weather whilst we are there.
M n M
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Chinacat
I love your pictures of Cappadocia. I really wish we were join the group on their trip there.
I shall look forward to reading the reports and looking at their pictures when they get back.
Joan
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We now have an itinery for the trip.
10th Nov. Travel to Urgup setting off from Kalamar at 05.45 then picking up along the way. Will inform everyone of their pick-up time.
11th Nov. Leave hotel at 09.00. Visit Devrent, Pasabag, Pigeon Valley for lunch, Uchisar Castle, Goreme Valley view point then to Kaymakli underground city.
12th Nov. Early morning balloon trip (Weather permitting). Leave hotel at 09.00. 5km stroll through Rose Valley (easy walk no climbing involved), on to Avanos to have lunch, Goreme open-air museum, then on to Ortahisar Castle.
13th Nov. Leave hotel 09.00. Directly to Ihlara Valley for sightseeing and on to Selime Monastry, with a few photo stops in between. For people who want to walk, there is a selection of walks the longest being 16km.
14th Nov. Early morning departure 07.30. Drive to Sultanhani Kervansaray and then on to the Mevlana Museum in Konya. Lunch then back to Kalkan
Obviously this is not set in stone, as we have no control over the weather.
The balloon trip is confirmed at the price of 110euros per person. As the exchange rate is fluctuating so much, probably best to pay in euros as the company will charge a high exchange rate for lira.
A deposit has been paid of 50euros per person for the twenty people who want to do this trip. We would appreciate payment asap. We had to pay these deposits today to confirm our booking with this company, as some people went last week and missed out on the trip because they were booked up.
Anyone wishing to pay on the day for the balloon trip will have to pay a minimum of 10euros more.
Any questions, please get in touch.
M n M
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P.S Sorry the extra 10euros is if you are paying for the balloon trip by credit card.
M n M
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A huge thank you to M n M for organising such a fantastic trip.
I thoroughly enjoyed it all, even if the joints did ache a bit at times!
And also thanks to those who gave me a pull up or a hand down when I needed them most!
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Good to here you are all back safely and had a great time.
I do hope that we will get to read a more in depth report of your holiday and that you will post your pictures in the gallery for us all to enjoy
Joan
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hi great info on this trip but can anyone tell me the total cost including hotels etc cheers michael :)
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Hi All
Just posted a few pics of the Hot air balloon trip taken during our fantastic visit to Cappadocia organised by MnM.
Will post other photos of Rose Valley Etc when the winter rain starts 8) as it''''s glorious sunshine outside and I can''''t sit faffing with a computer when the sun shines.
All My Pics at: : http://picasaweb.google.com/barryjv
Regards: Buster
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Oh Buster - those pics are wonderful and brought back so many lovely memories for me in the summer - except that your photography skills are soooooo much better than mine..!! :D :D
I see that you went with Anatolian balloons - they were the other recommended company to the one we went with...weren''t you just AMAZED by the sights from the balloons - my kids and I were overwhelmed by the WOW factor....your photos are fab - thanks for sharing!!
Cheers!
X
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Fabulous pictures Buster, can''t wait to see the rest. Oh and I''m not at all jealous that you are out in the sunshine while I am indoors with the central heating on watching the rain :( ::)
P
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Thanks Buster for posting those wonderful pictures.
We have yet to sort ours out. Like everyone we have taken a lot.
It was a great trip, things ran smoothly and we couldn''t have had a nicer group of people to travel with.
We managed to cram a lot into our three days there. The weather was great and with our driver''s knowledge of the area, it enabled us to visit some areas that we would have been unable to do had we gone by car. (eg The walks in Rose Valley and Ihlara Valley)
Our friends Audrey and Mike have asked us to thank everyone for being so friendly and making them so welcome. He will be remembered for his belly dancing antics.
M n M
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Hi Pebble and Felicity
The photo’s I have taken of the Cappadocia hot air balloon ride can’t do justice to the magnificent scenery and as Felicity will know you have to be there to experience the sheer excitement of seeing all those balloons turn up in the half light of dawn and then slowly as one by one they are inflated; they rise up as the sun also rises above the surrounding mountain’s.
Absolutely magic!
Big thanks to:
Mnm for arranging the trip and the fantastic weather (Can we have a repeat of the weather for next weeks walk please)
Murate (I hope I have spelt that correctly) our fantastic chauffeur and guide his ability to ferry us effortlessly around Cappadocia and back to Kalkan without having to refer to a map amazed me.
And the entire crowd who went on the trip you helped increase our knowledge of Turkey and made us laugh in equal measure.
My snaps can be seen at: http://picasaweb.google.com/barryjv
Regards: Lynn & Buster