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What was the highlight or most memorable moment of your tour?
Final day walking in the Besmark Range
How was your Explore Tour Leader?
Excellent - entertaining - informative - passionate about his country - aware of our safety
What tips would you give to someone else booking this tour?
Do need to be reasonably fit - quite a lot of up and down - and it can get hot
Do you have anything else to add?
Good variety - learnt much of the history and also about the flora and fauna
What was the highlight or most memorable moment of your tour?
Kantara Castle - and just being able to get out & walk! So nice after the winter. I also liked being based in one hotel, without having to bother packing & unpacking the whole time.
Read more
How was your Explore Tour Leader?
"Friendly - very informative when it came to the flowers etc. He also had a lot of information about the area's history & political situation; though as with anyone who's from the area, his views were clearly influenced by his own experiences.
Generally good at waiting for slower members of the group, but sometimes forgot that some of them were slow due to the heat etc., rather than due to taking lots of photos. "
What tips would you give to someone else booking this tour?
"You don't need that much in the way of Turkish Lira - sterling is accepted widely. Also, apparently (though I didn't test it out, nor did anyone in the group), you get a better exchange rate in Northern Cyprus than you do in UK (I'd also read that in a couple of other places after I'd changed mine).
The hotel, though very nice, is a long way from shops. So, useful to bring sweets/ dried fruit etc, with you, if you like to nibble when walking. "
Do you have anything else to add?
"Great lunches! They might have come from ""my brother, the baker"" but were much better than any hotel packed lunch i've ever had.
There was something arranged most evenings for dinner; he'd arranged a set price menu; most people joined, though some did walk into the local village (about 10 mins) & we went into town one night & had dinner/got a cab back (about £5 for the cab) "
What was the highlight or most memorable moment of your tour?
Walking strenuous enough without being too arduous; lovely remote castles; Salamis was atmospheric and much better than expected
How was your Explore Tour Leader?
Very knowledgeable but attempted to be too controlling which lead to people wanting to revolt; partly not his fault :the local tour company had restaraunts it wanted us to use which were often not the best in food quality
What tips would you give to someone else booking this tour?
I flew with Pegasus airlines, a low cost Turkish airline. The fare was much cheaper than Turkish airline and there was only a 40/50 minute wait at Istanbul while some passengers embarked and others disembarked. Flights ran on time and were perfectly adequate at the level of a no frills airline.Those who booked through Explore had very long waits at Istanbul airport.
Do you have anything else to add?
The holiday is quite good value for a short break and the scenery nice and varied. Food is not that great..but that maybe because we did not get to the nice places? The hotel, at Bellapais was fine and the staff were excellent but the food was quite poor.It is also not located in Bellapais, and there is nothing else around of interest, so to get to local restaurants you have a trek uphill or go into Kyrenia. It would be much nicer to be located in Kyrenia.
Our response
Thank you for your feedback. We will remind our tour leader that customers do not always have to eat with the group, and to give fuller advice on the local restaurants.
We use Turkish Airlines because they will guarantee allocation for our flights-inclusive customers. But if any customer would like us to source alternative flights, we are happy to do so. Transfers are not included when we do this, but customers have the same protection from us in the event of airport closures due to bad weather, strikes, and so on, as our customers on the group flight.
There is a compromise to be made between the facilities of the Bellapais hotel and the location of a Kyrenia one. We have feedback fairly evenly distributed between those who prefer location to facilities, and vice versa. We have offered both at various times, but on the whole the majority preference seems to be for the Bellapais Monastery.
What was the highlight or most memorable moment of your tour?
Visits to remote castles during the daily walks.
How was your Explore Tour Leader?
Very attentive and sympathetic to our needs, and always looking out for us on the more tricky parts of the walks.
What tips would you give to someone else booking this tour?
Be prepared for the many steps in our centre-based hotel. Be aware of the expensive refills of tea/coffee in the rooms.
Do you have anything else to add?
This trip was booked as a casual week away in a warmer climate, and was not expecting any (many) wow moments. Although it rained quite heavily overnight towards the end of the week, we remained mostly dry during the day.
“Not the best trip we've had with Explore.Hotel was changed without our knowledge-from Kyrenia centre to some 45 minutes walk away.Walks generally un-inspiring and fairly short.Many walks on wide broad vehicle tracks which became tedious.”
Our response
“We are sorry the hotel had to be changed at the last minute; this was in response to safety concerns, and we knew that previous groups had enjoyed staying at the Bellapais Monastery, and thought it to be a good choice for a late change.
Read moreWe are looking again at all the walks to ensure that all are providing the best experience”.
What was the highlight or most memorable moment of your tour?
The food and organisation was fine ONCE WE GOT THERE. But 18 hours of travel, lost and damaqed luggage and 4 days in what l travelled in took the shine off. but this is not unknown apparently with Turkish Airlines. A long stopver in Instambul is a special bonus
How was your Explore Tour Leader?
Good
What tips would you give to someone else booking this tour?
Yes book your own travel and go via the Greek side where there is a direct flight.
Do you have anything else to add?
Would not recommend it
Our response
We are very sorry your luggage was delayed; but this is an occasional hazard with many airlines. We find Turkish Airlines are generally a good carrier.
Read moreAs mentioned elsewhere on this website, we are always happy to book the flights and timings of our customers’ choosing. This may be more expensive than the group flights, as we cannot offer the group discount, but customers who book non-group flights through us have the same protection in the event of disruption to air travel (weather, volcanic ash, pilot strikes, etc) as those of our customers on the group flights.
