RSD Travel cheap coach tour to Turkey

Just got back yesterday from this week tour "In the Steps of Alexander the Great". Very exhausting programme with early starts, long coach journeys and late hotel arrivals. However, all hotels clean and reasonable quality; food a bit bland but plentiful; guide Cigil excellent; driver Hasan safe and highly recommended; chances to relax nil; sites visited and information/photo opportunities/frequent loo stops/ all top marks. Value for money definitely but you need strict Olympic training before you go to survive! Flight time out from Gatwick fine but return flight at 5.30am dreadful. Total cost around £429 all in with all food, entrance fees included, only half of this payable before you go, the remaining £200 payable when you arrive in Turkey. Only took £100 spending money to cover just drinks and a couple of souvenirs and could have brought change home. Will definitely try another tour with them while I have the energy. Recommended for the energetic and historically interested but not the faint hearted, decrepid or those wanting an easy week near a pool etc.:T

Comments

  • SallyD
    SallyD Posts: 1,009
    Uniform Washer
    Forumite
    So pleased you posted your findings, I am off next week on the same trip.
    SallyD
  • SallyD
    SallyD Posts: 1,009
    Uniform Washer
    Forumite
    I have posted a long thread on the main "holiday deals" thread.
    Our guide Hilmi was absolutely awful. His knowledge was very limited and he was so rude and clearly was not keen on his own country. Long days for sure. We arrived at hotel on first day 5am and had to be out by 8am. No sleep for 48 hours. Fine if you can sleep on planes and coaches......sadly, I just cant - I need a bed.
    Our flight back was in the afternoon which was good timing but we had to come back via Gatwick to Manchester. Met people on the way back that had fantastic guides, we drew the short straw. There are a couple of other trips I would like to do but only if I was guaranteed not to have Hilmi again. Yes, even after paying the extra money good value. Meals were mainly buffet, did not vary much in content from hotel to hotel but tasty and plentiful. I too took £100 in TL and came back with change.
    SallyD
  • We go on 10 March. Is it possible to opt out of some of the trips, we don't want to go on carpet, jewellery and leather trips. Done them before. Is there any chance to do your own thing?
  • We did the Alexander the Great tour last year from Stansted - didn't expect much, but it was great fun and really good value for money.

    Sandy, yes you can opt out of the trips. My OH is a committed lifelong vegetarian and didn't want to visit the leather factory.

    We had a fantastic guide and a coach full of really fun people. We keep in touch with a lot of them and meet some for dinner every few months.
  • I have been travelling for most of my life around the world in tours, holidays and solo.!

    I just came back from our trip and had a very bad experience travelling with RSD travel, the information given on the leaflet said that the trip will include the tour and guide and were surprised that when we arrived to Turkey they were charging us an extra £130 on top of what we already paid, they forced us to pay this, it was compulsory if not they have threatened us to leave us stranded. They also tried to sell us the Bosphorus tour for £90. We ended up having to pay.!


    Also all through the trip the tour guide lacked of customer service skills, she was very rude to us and other people on our bus saying that it doesn't matter what we have to say that is her bus and we would do whatever she wanted us to do, also did not want to provide us any basic information as per where to find cash points, local information, location or places to visit when not on the tour. we had a bad experience on our trip the same as most of the people in our tour as we have spoken to each other about it.


    If i was you I would never travel with this company, seems cheap at first glance but then with all the extra costs when you arrive, I prefer to travel with a more reputable company which will be keen on making us happy and giving us options and have good customer service skills.

    Is just not worth anyones money
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