Istanbul & Cappadocia Family Holiday

Both hotels were excellent. Sari Konak is in a superb location for visiting all the iconic sights. Our family suite was spacious, newly decorated and very clean. There was a separate room for our son and a kitchenette with ‘fridge and kettle. Good choice at breakfast and served on lovely roof terrace. Great views of Bosphorus. One evening, we caught the commuter ferry to Kadikoy for an evening meal. A great option if there isn’t time to fit in a Bosphorus cruise. Also recommend The Old House restaurant which is very close to the hotel. We were in Istanbul during Ramadan so there was a family atmosphere in the city late into the night.

Esbelli Evi was delightful; a huge cave suite, great character, two bathrooms, sitting room and kitchenette with a fridge well stocked with beers and soft drinks. Private, quiet courtyard with gate to communal areas. Breakfast choice was really good and plenty of outdoor seating. Easy walk into village. Favourite options for dinner were Ziggys (stylish outdoor roof terrace) and Urgup Pide (popular with locals).

Really must mention owner Suha Ersoz and his staff - all of whom are extremely kind and helpful.

All our transfers went smoothly. Our driver and guide (Gaia) in Cappadocia were excellent and our itinerary was fast paced and interesting. Lunch options were great, especially on the river at Ilhara. A highlight for me was spitting a wild tortoise!

Balloon flight with Kapadokya Balloons was well worth the money and well organised.

Tim S reviewing Istanbul & Cappadocia Family Holiday on 07 June 2019

Hi - now back.
In short it was a great holiday with very very little to fault. Location on Lopud was perfect for family and accommodation was exactly as you said ‘simple’ clean and comfortable hosted by a wonderful friendly local family ...all 1min walk from the front. Great breakfast that was straight from the garden in part and always abundant.
Our guide Nina was excellent always putting our safety first and adapting the itinerary to suit weather. She was a great host with the two families in our group and went out her way to keep us informed and even take photos to share when we were out on the water.
Transport arrangements were spot on - always there waiting at airport or ferry! Slight confusion that it wasn’t a TourDust sign but that was quickly solved.
Kayaking was a great adventure and a challenge some days but worth it for the stops on other islands and opportunities to swim, dive and explore caves. I suspect it could be a long day if your child is too young or not such a ‘water baby’ as once your in the kayak your in it! It is also a hefty bit of exercise on a two person kayak if the child in front isn’t up for paddling! I was fine except on one or two occasions where it was a bit of a struggle and I had to persuade him to do some more paddling for me.
Finally, your service has been great since we got in touch especially as it was a last minute decision for us to go. The speed in responding to queries on a personal basis and quickly was really great (very unusual these days!)
All in all a great holiday - my 11 year old had a great adventure he will talk about for years! So will I....
M. Cameron

murdoch C reviewing Family Sea Kayaking Holiday in Dubrovnik on 08 August 2019

We had a fabulous holiday thank you! Everything went very smoothly - accommodation was good, breakfast fantastic! The kayaking was great - really well thought out schedule with plenty of rests and time to relax. Lovely meals out.

Just wanted to add that our guide Nina was excellent. She worked really hard to ensure the whole trip went smoothly and that we were all happy with the pace, including giving the boys plenty of opportunities for jumping in off the cliffs!!

All in all a great trip! And all the admin side of things has been very efficient throughout.

Thank you so much!!

Kate T

Kate T reviewing Family Sea Kayaking Holiday in Dubrovnik on 05 August 2019

On the first week the guides and staff were really flexible on times to transfer to and from Lopud which was really helpful. We were due to leave Dubrovnik on the 6 pm ferry on the Sunday but as it was so hot we decided to take the earlier ferry as suggested by the Adria rep.

Accommodation in Dubrovnik was comfortable. We explored a little outside Dubrovnik city and wondered if it might have been nicer to stay nearer one of the little coves, five minutes from the city gates to get out the city.

The sea kayaking week was excellent. Great guides and good trips. The accommodation was really comfortable - lovely family and the air condition was rather essential! I think we had booked a family trip but the guides asked if we would like to join a larger group which we did and this worked really well. Kayak trips were superb - about the right length and a good mix of destinations including the botanical gardens and lots of time to swim and snorkel. It was surprisingly manageable despite the heat. At the end we wished we had booked the 5 day tour. The farm evening meal was great fun.

The two nights at Hotel More were a lovely bit of luxury. Really liked the hotel - quite small and slightly away from the main areas of activity in the bay. Again good advice on how to get around from staff.

The second week with Huck Finn was also excellent. A good mix of activities - the rafting day in Bosnia was particularly good as we got to see a different country - quite a contrast with Croatia. Guides were again really good - very well informed and all trips were well organised. All transfers good. We had breakfast and evening meals with a local family which were lovely - lots of traditional cooking and they catered really well for different dietary requirements. The accommodation was rather more basic. We had two rooms on an upper floor with a shared bathroom so not our own space. It seemed that the accommodation varied quite a lot with others having small apartments with kitchens and fridges, which would have been helpful. Weather had cooled a little by then which was good as we would have had no means to cool the rooms down at night. Having said that our owner was a lovely lady - made us cakes and apple strudel when we came home at the end of the day.

All in all an excellent trip!

David W reviewing Dubrovnik Kayaking Short Break on 25 August 2017

My kayak tour with Tour dust is an experience I will treasure forever. I believe Johnny is exactly the type of guide everyone hopes for on a trip like this. Upbeat, funny, enthusiastic, and an incredible level of skill in this sport. I have been kayaking for many years, but, being over 60 years old now, I certainly appreciated knowing we were in such very, very capable hands.
And the other people who took part in the trip? What a great bunch! It's hard to believe we were mostly complete strangers just one week ago. I will treasure those friendships forever as well.

Stephen M reviewing Dubrovnik Kayaking Short Break on 06 October 2014

On our final night now in Dubrovnik sadly.

Thoroughly enjoyed the first half Tourdust arranged with all the kayaking etc. our son was very sad to leave and preferred the earlier part of our trip to the second half chilling by the pool!

Accommodation was 'ok', activities were just enough, some people couldn't keep up with the amount of kayaking but for us it was just the right amount. Johnny and Mattie were superb, they went out of their way to ensure everyone was happy all the time (I hope Tourdust look after them as they are a great asset to the company!!).

They took us to some great restaurants, arranged all the transport and ensured everyone was safe during the activities.

5 out of 5 to you guys, we hope to be back!!

Richard J reviewing Family Sea Kayaking Holiday in Dubrovnik on 22 August 2014

A few comments on our recent trip
Organization Excellent including pick up and drop off
Our guide Amir was friendly, spoke good English, and competent as our instructor / guide, he went out of his way to give us a good holiday.
Accommodation , First island was fantastic with a friendly family, Breakfast was outstanding
second island was good although the breakfast wasn't up to the standard if the first.
Equipment was all of good quality and in good condition
overall the holiday was relaxing , enjoyable with sufficient paddling for two experienced paddlers,
the restaurants and bars produced food which was fresh, tasty and reasonably priced
we would highly recommend the holiday to friends and family
we will hopefully return again to do more in Croatia in the future

Andrew A reviewing Croatia Island Hopping Holiday on 08 July 2014

I had a great time on my kayaking trip. The transfers/transportation were right on time and well-organized, the accommodation was comfortable and the meals were just fine. Our guides, Amir and Ivan were amazing and should be recognized for their warmth, skill, flexibility and all around greatness. Our group had a nice mix of solo/couple/group travellers and we got on really well.

One thing to note is that the trip description says that no skill beyond reasonable fitness is required. I'm more than reasonably fit, but I found it quite difficult to cover the distances scheduled for each day in the conditions we encountered. So, you might consider making a note that beginners or people without significant upper body strength might find solo paddling to be quite challenging. That said, Ivan was so patient and supportive as I struggled my way through. I'd probably still be out there paddling if it wasn't for him!

I'd definitely recommend this to anyone interested in seeing a quieter side of the Croatian coast.

Andrea S reviewing Dubrovnik Kayaking Short Break on 07 July 2014

The trip was so well organised, and all the staff were great. The kayak equipment provided was fine for both beginners and the more experienced in the group, and both our guides were brilliant. Accommodation was good, and it was lovely to stay with a local family. We all loved the pancakes for breakfast served with lemons from the garden! All the group felt that we had experienced a very real side of Croatia and there was an excellent balance of guided and independent time.

Julie B reviewing Dubrovnik Kayaking Short Break on 30 June 2014

My first time to Croatia, very impressed with the organisation from Tourdust, from booking, suggestions and assistance, to airport pickup and transfer.

Each day was planned by the guides and very well arranged. We'd meet for breakfast and discuss the itinerary. Nothing was set it stone, as such, and our feedback was welcomed.

The guides knowledge on history was amazing. Very thorough, and faultless English. Felt very comfortable asking questions of all kinds. We visited where "Game of Thrones" was filmed (tv programme) and also a botanic garden.

The kayaking was fun, we stopped for swims every now and again, and to visit caves. The ocean was pretty flat / calm most the time, which was nice.

The food was lovely and we ate in a variety of restaurants, which had been carefully chosen by the guides. All types of fish were served. And... If you ask to see the fish... Don't be surprised when it turns on with their heads on!!! (which I found out the hard way).

The Accommodation was very comfortable, especially on nights 1-4 in Lopud, with air-con, bathroom and balcony.

Very enjoyable trip, thank you Tourdust

Name W reviewing Croatia Island Hopping Holiday on 18 June 2014