Sep 14, 2024
Highly recommend! - What a productive day!
With abit of doubt and anticipation I decided to book us all the Sapanca tour (adults and young children under 12).
We started off being picked up from taksim square a little Late .. about 10mins but that was because of traffic no problem. There was around 25 of us in a minibus.
The host was friendly and has great banter ;)
Very informative and clearly knows what he’s doing. He even pointed out a few historical buildings along the way as well as ensuring we beat the queues in a few places.
Then went to the zoo enjoyed it shame it was just for an hour would love to spend more time there, the organic shop where they sold honey, soaps, Turkish treats and perfumes etc (inc free samples) was a treat (or as some would say a tourist trap). After that we went to zip line which was amazing! Even my children were able to go on it (a clear highlight!) , next stop cable cars… the views were amazing! Followed by ATV quad bikes and upside down house, giant swings and lovely places to take pictures. Last stop was at Sapanca lake at the end which was relaxing, a nice pedal boat ride (if you want) but we were tired by this time so opted to sit in restaurant and have drinks instead (coffee and tea for adults and kids had milkshakes which we bought ourselves).
Pros: vibe, friendly host, very productive day
Enjoyed the zip wire and went to places we probably would have missed on our own as tourists
Lunch was included and was delicious!
Most places plenty of time to enjoy. Around 1 hour per stop (which is understandable given the itinerary)
Also although it may seem as a tourist trap there is no pressure to buy what they sell at the shops from tour guide or to enjoy any excursions… you can sit out and just enjoy drinks or view for that stop if you wanted
Cons: although we enjoyed the tour and seen more than what we could have on our own we found the extra costs on excursions more expensive now than previous years such as zoo.
I would say this tour is suitable for both adults and children. We all loved it.
Would I do the tour again? 100% yes! And definitely recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dec 4, 2023
Sapanca trip - The trip was excellent and the price compared to other other offices was very attractive. The guide had high morals and tourist information. In addition to that, our visit to the Viaport Tuzla complex was a wonderful and very special complex.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dec 4, 2023
Beautiful trip with good scenery - Very good trip. Kind and helpful guide which made the trip very remembrable.As a family we enjoyed everything included in the trip
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jul 31, 2023
Perfect day with Aljazeera Tour - The tour was perfect ! The program was nice and arranging. It can be suitable for diffrent age range. The guide was very kind, very patient and enthusiastic. He was careful with the clients, answered all the questions and was mainly giving a lot of interesting information. The driver was professional and nice.
I Will not hesitate to contact you for a visit next time i m in istanbul and i also recommanded your services to my friends insterested in visiting istanbul and surroundings ❤️❤️❤️
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dec 6, 2023
Beautiful trip and friendly tour guide - The trip was really nice and I enjoyed it so much .. we had a good meal in the forest and lovely experience
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oct 16, 2023
Authentic locals tourist experience - Unfortunately, the day of our tour ended up being quite cold and rainy, and as a result, we weren’t able to enjoy it nearly as much as we would had if the weather had been nice. Still, I enjoyed the day and what we saw, and it was worth the under $30 price.
I read previous reviews, and frankly, they don’t sound like the tour I was on. A couple examples: unlike the tour guide praises I read, our tour guide was nice, but had absolutely nothing to say about the area, history, etc. And, the lunch was not the great buffet I’d read about, but rather a salad and plate of almost cold food; adequate, but that’s all.
To me, it was a tourist tour mostly for locals, not foreigners, as we were the only ones I think from the West. But I liked that, as it felt authentic, and we got to see normal everyday type of stuff in the Asian part of Turkey.
The day consisted mostly of stopping at six local tourist spots: 1) a combination shopping mall/zoo/amusement park; 2) a Turkish Delight store; 3) a zip line spot; 4) a long ski-lift type ride; 5) an ATV rental business; and 6) a lakeside restaurant/resort with miscellaneous available activities.
The tour doesn’t include admission/tickets for any of these activities, and you can opt to participate, or sit and relax and have something to drink if not. But don’t expect a beer or glass of wine to be available though, as there was nary a drop of alcohol at any of the stops in these very Muslim places.
That might seem like a lot of negatives, but forewarned is forearmed. Just try to take the tour on a nice day!
Review provided by Viator
Nov 2, 2023
Tour - overall the day was fine. I feel like because there were many things part of the itinerary that everything was so supper rushed. I love thé transportation part and the ATV and everything just it was completely rushed. Also when we went to the Aquarium and the Lion den, there were many places the tour guide didn’t mention to us the we saw ourselves! There is just so much in the tour itinerary and So little time!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oct 25, 2023
The prices for extra tours are really missing and can only be paid in cash - Stops at commercial places are a lot of waste of time and they should inform the price of tickets for the attractions and I didn't see the glass walkway
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nov 26, 2023
Not a tour but a shuttle service - This is not a tour but merely a shuttle service. Our guide, Apo, did not take his time to explain the place, tell background stories or even interact with participants. He just mentioned his program for the day and it was up to the participants to partake in the program. Instead, he put loud Arabian music during the trip, despite of it being night time and there were toddlers around. I would not recommend this trip.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sep 20, 2023
000000 - We got sick and didn't want to reimburse us, everything was justified by scammers who don't understand humans apart from taking money and making humans die
Review provided by Tripadvisor