Amber Travel
Cultural Tours • Bike Tours • Hiking & Camping Tours • Private Tours • Kayaking & Canoeing
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9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
We are a boutique tour operator, Turkish/UK owned. We have been in business for 25 years designing fine trekking, biking, cultural and rail-based tours in all parts of the country. From our base in Kas, we can provide bike hire and riding notes. Please get in contact with us if you would like private guided or self-guided trekking on the Lycian way, St. Paul Trail or Carian Way. Guided and self-guided bike tours are a pleasure in Turkey with quiet, scenic roads passing frequent remains of near-forgotten civilisations. We love train travel and arrange sleeper train tours across this huge country, linking the cultural highlights of Turkey together in a relaxing and rewarding travel experience.
Kas, Türkiye

Awards
Travellers' Choice
2022

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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions

5.0
138 reviews
Excellent
137
Very good
0
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0
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0
Terrible
1

Mike U
Hood River, OR14 contributions
Oct 2022
When our prior plans failed, we dropped a bomb on Paul and Amber Travel: put together a 15-day bike trip including airport transfers, bicycles, route, and lodging, oh and we need it in place the day after tomorrow!

After a short protest he went to work, and two days later we were greeted at the airport and shuttled to a beautiful winery for lodging with bikes and route ready. Each day we were treated to small, artistic, lodgings, on a very reasonable budget, as we toured some of Turkey's most amazing destinations.

We can't speak highly enough about Paul and Amber Travel.
Written 17 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Nev Chamberlain
12 contributions
Dec 2022 • Solo
I heard about Amber Travel on the recommendation of a friend.
I contacted them regarding booking train tickets and had a quick response both to my initial enquiries and then on the day that the tickets were actually on sale.
They will definitely be my first port of call if I need tickets or advice in the future
Written 13 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Many thanks for taking the time to review Amber Travel, We are alway happy to help travellers take advantage the lovely railways of Turkey. We hope to hear from you again next time you visit!
Written 22 December 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

humboldtraveler
Eureka, CA276 contributions
Nov 2022 • Solo
I think they could communicate better. They differently should be honest, which they are not. They should provide the service that they agreed to and not leave folks hanging out at the the airport. Overall a really poor experience.
Written 25 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Dear humboldtraveler, We are indeed sorry that you felt we were dishonest, as honesty and respect is very important to us and has been the foundation of our company for over 20 years. We take very seriously our duty to protect the travellers on our tours from abusive and disruptive behavior from other individuals, and have a zero-tolerance policy towards abuse of our valued, highly skilled, patient and considerate staff. All customers on our group tours have the expectation, and also the right, to enjoy our tours in the company of reasonable, personable and polite travelers who will add to the total positive experience of the whole tour. Our booking conditions are perfectly clear that we are not able to provide services to those who will cause detrimental effect on the experience of others, and we can make no apology for action taken to protect the mental well being of our employees, and to ensure the enjoyment of the other customers on the group. While not surprised, we were saddened that rather than reflect upon your own actions, you chose to retaliate with a bad review, but as a company we strive to make the correct, if sometimes tough, decisions in every situation, and are happy to bear the consequences. We hope the 100+ 5 star reviews we have received on Trip Advisor will guide people reading this in making their own judgement on your review.
Written 22 December 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Cathy F
Vashon, WA73 contributions
Nov 2022
I have conversations with foreign travelers here all the time about how almost impossible it is to get tickets on the TCDD (Turkish Railways) site.Yesim at Amber Travel has patiently and thoroughly explained all my options whenever I have contacted them for assistance with train tickets. Her responses and purchase of tickets are also prompt. I have referred many fellow travelers to Amber Travel when they have also been at wits end.
Written 24 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Thanks for taking the time to review us Cathy, we love train travel and realised the difficulty that travellers faced trying to get train tickets, so are very happy to be able to assist travellers who want to take the low carbon route around Turkey. We hope to hear from you again next time you visit.
Written 22 December 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

richardanddolly
Chilliwack, Canada54 contributions
Nov 2022 • Friends
Amber Travel customized a wonderful tour for our group of 10. Would definitely recommend Amber Travel to anyone visiting Turkey.
Written 21 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Hello Richard and Dolly. Thanks for taking the time to review us, we are so happy to see that your group enjoyed your time on your custom journey and trek on the Lycian Way. Turkey is a huge country and has so much to offer, so we would be delighted to help you explore further if you can come back again, the St Paul Trail and The Kackar mountains await you next time!
Written 22 December 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Kevin A
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada3 contributions
Sep 2022
I was part of a ten member group for whom Amber put together a stellar tour this past September. Our trip included guides for two portions and accommodation booking and luggage service for our independent hike of the Lycian Way. They also booked a Gulet cruise for us. Added to this, they were able to adapt when my wife and I detached from the tour for eight nights so I could go paragliding in Oludeniz. Everything was handled with consummate professionalism. The guided portions were beyond amazing. I highly recommend this company.
Written 9 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Hello Kevin. Thanks so much for your kind review. We were happy it all went well. There are so many things on a complex tour that can not work, we are always relieved to see when all the effort we put into the organisation pulls together and all works out well! We are also very proud of our guides who add so much to the experience of our guests. We hope to hear from you again if you are trekking in Turkey again one day, there is so much more to be discovered.
Written 22 December 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

MoD
1 contribution
Oct 2022
The journey from West to East of central Turkey, was very well planned by Amber travel. We were fortunate to have Yesim do all the planning and hard work behind the scenes. She responded promptly to all our queries and made useful suggestions to the itinerary. The details on the itinerary were well laid out with clear instructions.
All guides were on time, waiting for us. They were extremely knowledgable and were able to make changes to suit our requirements. They were all very pleasant and welcoming.

Overall, the entire travel and places visited was worth every moment of time.
We have confidence in Amber travel to arrange our next trip to Turkey and highly recommend them for a hassle-free explorative journey through Turkey.
Written 8 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Thanks Modada for the generous review. We are so happy that we were able to help you realize your dream trip across this ancient land, that our program was so appreciated and that our tour managers and guides were able to make you so happy. We would hope to hear back from you next time you visit this great land, and the lovely people here!
Written 22 December 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

TJim60
1,070 contributions
Sep 2022
Yesim arranged a superb 21 day tour for us of Turkiye's UNESCO World Heritage Sites from Istanbul to Kars. She patiently answered our questions, arranged transport and logistics, and secured our guides.

Turkiye is rich in historical sites and civilizations. We got a very good introduction to that richness and our appetites were whetted for future travel.

Our guides - Mr. Ozgur in the East, Mr. Necip in Central Turkiye, and Mr. Mahmut in the East - provided expert commentary on the sites. They also introduced us to regional cuisines. We ate at restaurants that locals patronized. Not touristy restaurants. Our guides were "boon companions" on the trip

Amber maximizes the use of local transport (trains, buses, etc) except in the East where a rental car was used.

This was exactly what we wanted. The opportunity to see and get a sense of the country and people at ground level.

Turkiye has a well developed modern transport sector so getting around was not a problem.

This is a budget tour. No Ritz Carlton's in the program.

No problem. Accommodations were uniformly clean.

Many were family run businesses.

Welcoming. Willing to take extra steps for accommodate requests for early breakfasts. We had more than one elaborate Turkish breakfast for an early departure.
Written 30 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Hello TJim60, Thank you so much for taking the time to review your UNESCO tour, very much our flagship culture tour. We are so glad you enjoyed the mix of sites and the guides who showed you the most fascinating aspects of the places visited. We love to put innovative tours together and using the transport available makes for a more colourful and immersive experience, cutting carbon and meeting local people as they go about their lives in the shadow of such a wealth of history. We hope to hear from you again if you ever passing through Turkey again, as while your tour was comprehensive over 3 weeks, there are so many other fascinating places still to be discovered in Turkey.
Written 22 December 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Michelle H
New York City, NY37 contributions
Oct 2022
Fabulous experience! I have used many agencies hiking throughout Europe and Amber Travel is at the top of the list. Yesim is absolutely the best - she was accessible and responsive for every question or need I had and the planning was well done. All the drivers were very courteous and punctual, all the accommodations were lovely and the itinerary was well documented and easy to understand. Aside from that, this part of Turkey is beautiful - a must see for travelers!

Expérience fabuleuse! J'ai utilisé de nombreuses agences de randonnée à travers l'Europe et Amber Travel est en tête de liste. Yesim est absolument la meilleure - elle était accessible et réactive pour chaque question ou besoin que j'avais et la planification était bien faite. Tous les chauffeurs étaient très courtois et ponctuels, tous les logements étaient charmants et l'itinéraire était bien documenté et facile à comprendre.
Written 26 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

M Q
1 contribution
Sep 2022
Dear Amber Travel Team: Yesim, Firat , Mahmut and Paul,
First and foremost, in a word, it was wonderful and exceeded our expectations!
The people of Turkiye are so friendly, kind, helpful and welcoming, as we had experienced before.
There is so much variety in terrain and history, we have only peeled back the first layer of the onion, but thank-you for making that layer as rich and deep as possible.

This fabulous sojourn all began when we decided we wanted to cover all the UNESCO WHS in Turkiye, especially delving into those in the East \Mesopotamia-proximal region and began searching for a tour group that would do such. While we usually travel on our own, we realized the infrastructure in the east was not as developed as the west and we should avail of experts in the area. We had visited Turkiye before [on our own] and had seen some of the more popular sites, which we preferred not to see again, but rather to focus on the remaining. We were delighted to learn that Amber Travel had a Complete UNESCO WHS tour. BUT even more importantly, were willing to customize our trip to not revisit those we had seen, but focus on the many remaining and add some nature sites as well. A quick perusal of reviews etc, indicated that this group was very well thought of and reliable. We are also interested in staying in locally interesting, small hotels/pensions [boutique hotels?] near the sites of interest and eating as the locals do, to savor the different styles and flavors of a place. Again, fortunately for us, Amber Travel subscribes to a similar style.

Yesim. After submitting a draft modified itinerary of our desired target sites/locations, we were so very fortunate to be assigned to Yesim as our tour operations manager to figure out the most efficient route, and all the logistics: including all the hotels; all the transportation and entrance tickets for this 24-day odyssey covering Turkiye. Yesim came up with a very efficient counter clockwise route, beginning and ending in Istanbul, into which we flew and departed. Then, with so much thought and amazing attention to detail, Yesim fleshed out ALL the details. She confirmed all the hotel reservations and obtained all the tickets for transportation and site entrances. We used many forms of transportation: buses, trains, taxis, rental car, even a boat. We very much enjoyed having the first row of seats on the buses: great views and ability to take photos. We appreciated using public transport as much as possible, but appreciated the rental car too, especially in eastern Turkiye, where it was less available. It was a VERY intensive program: every day a different place(s); starting out ~8- 9:00 AM and who knows what time we returned to the hotel/pension. Yesim most patiently answered all my enquiries [sorry about that] and suggested times and ways to further enhance our trip. This led to the very fortunate assignment of us to their bona-fide archaeologist Firat, as our continuous guide, since our primary focus was archaeology and history. Additionally, Yesim wondered if we could shift our starting date in order to be able to avail of their eastern-Turkey driving expert, Mahmut. This was a great recommendation and luckily we had the flexibility to do so. When all was confirmed, Yesim provided a daily summary [voucher] of the essential details, with contact information for emergencies, etc. Fortunately, we did not have to avail of this latter information! We are sad we did not get to meet Yesim and thank her in person.

Your advice for getting to Villa Siesta, near IST, was perfect!! It was very pleasant and relaxing.
Yotel was very appealing, being inside the airport. Too bad it is so costly.

Firat. What can we say! We were so very fortunate to be assigned to Firat. First, he is an archaeologist by education and training and has actually participated in digs. Perfect for our focus. He also has a great interest in architecture and its history and evolution, and has a degree in the subject, which comes in handy all over, since he points out styles and buildings of particular note as we stroll thru various towns. Firat is very enthusiastic and does not measure. He gives you all he has to give, without regard to time or effort. He is very patient and tried to answer all our incessant inquiries. But, he does not pretend to know it all, which no one can, of course, so he is honest. He indicates if he does not know some factoid or whether it is known. We really appreciate this. His knowledge and expertise at the archaeological sites were invaluable, of course. But also, when we were walking around a town, he would indicate things such as: this is the remains of a Roman wall, etc.: so great – we loved this. Also, in WHS focusing on architecture, such as Safranbolu, he knows all the special places to see and explains why they are special. In addition to his vast archaeological and architectural expertise, Firat, knows all the local specialties with respect to food and the best places to try them, often in little out-of-the way small eateries, one would never know about. We really experienced a large variety of food and local beverages, which is an important part of our experiencing another culture. Or sometimes, it was just an adorable place to enjoy Turkish coffee, in its formal presentation style. Seeing unique nooks and crannies of a place was an unexpected real treat that added another dimension to our trip. All the logistical details, Firat kept track of, making our complicated journey pretty seamless for us. We also engaged in many conversations, especially at meal times, when we exchanged cultural and social information. Firat’s English is excellent.

Mahmut. Thanks to Yesim’s insights, we were able to meet Mahmut, an amazing driver in a rather difficult and challenging environment in eastern Turkiye. Lots of hills/mountains with twists and turns and fog and small villages with NARROW, uphill, winding roads with people, carts, vehicles and animals. Mahmut navigated it all, with patience, skill and good humor. He is easy going and very personable, which really comes in handy when you need local assistance to make your way. Mahmut easily engages people and makes them feel at ease. He also has a good sense of humor. We had many interesting chats about all kinds of things.

We spent 12 full days together, the 4 of us: all different and yet we got along well together and had many a laugh and good time together.

Similarly, Firat, my husband, Sree, and I spent 24 long days together and we almost felt like family in the end. It was sad to say good-bye.

We also met Mahmut’s wife and family during a homestay. Fatima was very welcoming and gracious and provided a wonderful dinner and breakfast in her home. I hope it was not too stressful for her and her family, since we did not speak any Turkish.

Some things that might be useful to future travelers, especially if from outside Turkiye:
-Mostly we used cash to pay for meals etc. Only credit card was possible a couple of times. That being said, it may be helpful for people budgeting cash to know they will need to have sufficient cash to pay for meals for themselves and the guide and driver. ATMs were prevalent, which was good.
-Occasionally, hot water was not available for showering. This was really only an issue 2 times: when it was very cold and the water was cold.
-Females: Make sure you have a hat or scarf for visiting Mosques.
Written 22 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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Amber Travel (Kas) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go