My long awaited trip to Turkey is in progress. I flew from Seattle to Istanbul nonstop on Turkish Airlines and had a positive experience. I flew in a day early and chose 1) not to buy a transfer from Gate 1 and 2) not to stay my extra night in the tour hotel. These two items are not bargains under the Gate 1 brand. Their transfer would have been double the cost of a private transfer. I stayed at the hotel next door for $100 less than Gate 1 wanted. It was very easy to wheel my luggage next door the day the tour started! I stayed at Nippon Hotel Taksim first night and moved to Taksim Point hotel for the tour. Both are fine hotels.
Pretour I did a day food tour through Yummy Istanbul, “A taste of two Continents” that was highly recommended by cwsocial. It more than lived up to its billing and was a great way to explore and learn.
There are 35 passengers on my tour and they a fairly diverse group of individuals. Our tour guide is a native of Turkey and does have years of experience. Our welcome meeting was a bit short on susbstance, but we did do introductions and get some general directions.
The first night dinner is where I noticed a difference between Gate 1 and RS tours. There was no explanation of what foods we were eating and the guide didn’t really move about or socialize. This may be more reflective of the guide vs the tour company.
Day 2: Gate 1 used a bus to move people across the city and then pick them up at the end of the day. I’m pretty sure on a RS tour we would have skipped the bus and had a lesson on public transport system instead. We visited Topaki Palace, Haggia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Hippodrome. I left the group at the end of the tour day because I still wanted to see the Basilica Cistern which was not an included item on this tour, but just a few blocks away from where they were going to catch the bus. I toured the Cistern for about 30 minutes and then caught a tram and funicular back to the hotel. Imagine my surprise that I had arrived right on the heels of those on the bus. Traffic is so bad that public transport was definitely a better choice.
A second clear difference is that porterage is included on Gate 1 and not on RS tours. I am not sure how I feel about this yet. We are to have our bags out in the hall by 7 am for a 7:40 am departure. Will this be a service I enjoy or a nuisance? Only time will tell….
I wasn’t sure how the dynamic would change with a group of 35 vs 26 and so far, it hasn’t seemed to make too big of an impact. Perhaps I will notice this more as time goes on.