Peter Sommer Travels: Expert-led cultural tours - Monmouth

Elaine Sullivan

Cruising to Ephesus was our second trip with Peter Sommer Travels and we are planning a third trip in 2025. Fantastic would sum up the trip in one word. Starting your day on a beautiful, graceful gulet where you are served delicious food. The tours of the sites were spectacular. Peter Sommer is a brilliant guide. Peter is energetic and his love and enthusiasm for the history of the area was captivating. There was plenty of time, also, to swim in the Mediterranean or just relax on the boat as we cruised to the next fascinating site. Our cultural guide El Han was extremely knowledgeable about Turkish history and very personable. The crew on board the Sultan A were accommodating and friendly. We really enjoyed both of the trips we have taken and are looking forward to another trip next year. Peter Sommer Travels creates fantastic tours. Peter Sommer Travels has everything very well planned and their staff ensures that transfers to and from the airport and the gulet go smoothly. Tickets or permits to museums and sites are taken care of and even the meals provided at restaurants were delicious and there was not waiting around. There was plenty of time to swim or relax on the boat. All has been well thought out and contingency plans when weather or other events might interfere with the schedule. We have taken two tours with Peter Sommer Travels, both on board beautiful wooden gulets. The tours are well organized, the accommodations on board are comfortable, the crews have been friendly and accommodating. The food has been delicious. Our guides were knowledgeable, personable, and considerate. We are planning another trip with Peter Sommer Travels in 2025.

Cynthia Seybolt

A glorious trip! This was our second Peter Sommer tour, and it was as satisfying as the first (to the Cyclades). Having Greek history and culture brought alive as we stood on seaside castle walls and among windswept hilltop ruins was truly memorable. The colorful, carefully selected accommodations and restaurants enhanced the trip, as did the amazing and varied landscape and lovely towns. Our guides were extremely knowledgeable and articulate. Peter Sommer Travels is superb. They are thoroughly professional, take care of every detail, respond to individual needs and preferences, and overall provide a superior travel experience.

Matt Sullivan

This was our second cruise with Peter Sommer Travels. We did the Carian Coast cruise last year and liked it so much we came back this fall for Cruising to Ephesus. I have a feeling we will be doing another cruise with Peter next year as well. The boat is fantastic, a lovely wooden sailboat with 8 to 12 other passengers makes for very comfortable accommodations . The food was great and the highlight each day was the interesting tours of ancient sites.

Dora Anne Mills

I can't think of a better way to tour Greece and Turkey. I took Peter Sommer Travels' Cruising the Dodecanese. We were on a gulet - a small (145 feet long) sailing/motor schooner - with a total of 12 passengers, each with roomy quarters, and 12 crew and guides. With a small group, the tour was flexible. With expert (PhD) guides who are fantastic storytellers, we learned and were entertained. With the crew bringing fresh produce, wine, and protein on board from the local islands, the food was delicious and healthy. With passengers ranging from ages 22 to 82 and from the UK, NZ, CA, and the US, we were a fairly diverse group who enjoyed each other. Most were repeat clients. I will be a repeat client as well!

Sue Rossiter

Absolutely superb. We cruised and walked Turkey’s Lycian Shore with Peter Sommer Travels. It was an extremely well organised tour, led by Peter Sommer whose knowledge of the region, its history and archaeology is absolutely superb. In addition, the gulet crew were great and the food was a real treat - including varied on-board fare and excellent lunches in small restaurants and with families on the walks, very special. Very well organised, fantastic subject-matter expertise, all-round great company. Everyone we met or interacted with was extremely helpful and professional, and great fun too.

J B

Terrific Greco-Roman sights via wonderful small Turkish gulet ship

I recently took Peter Sommer's 'Cruising to Ephesus' cruise, which went from Bodrum to Ephesus (and back again) via a small Turkish gulet, (about 100 ft long), accommodating 14 people max (10 on our tour) with 2 guides and a crew of 4 attending to our eating, drinking, swimming and boating needs. Many of the sites we visited were "off the beaten path" (Prienne, Miletus to name just two) so we had them mostly to ourselves. (Ephesus, the featured site, was visited later in day to minimize crowds but was definitely packed with other visitors, but incredible.) Our main guide, an archeologist with a PhD, did a terrific job introducing things and guiding us onsite--he was also a wonderfully entertaining host and presence throughout the trip. All the travel arrangements during tour were seamlessly managed by our Turkish travel manager, so all went perfectly on land. The gulet cruising experience was perfect. A great way to reach sites and an utterly enjoyable way to travel. Crew attended to all our (many) needs with great friendliness and panache.

The gulet aspect allowed time to anchor in little coves for the night and also anchor to swim, kayak, and boat. The gulet was very well-appointed with many places to sit, socialize, or read. Utterly unlike the usual large "cruise ship experience", all in ways we loved.

Would highly recommend this tour and Peter Sommer, in general, based on this experiece

Christie Bull

Our week in a gulet cruising the Carian coast of Turkey had everything. Captivating visits to ancient sites on land were a daily highlight. The history and culture of these often remote places were brought vividly to life by our expert historian guide, Peter Sommer. With him was Cem, our Turkish expert and tour manager who made everything work smoothly and was great company and fun. Peter and Cem made a great ‘combo’ which ensured our trip was such a pleasure.

Beautiful swimming in turquoise bays several times daily were a delightful part of gulet life, together with the fresh and healthy delicious meals cooked by our Turkish chef, Sharhan. Our captain was brilliant at finding the most exquisite places to moor for swimming and for the night and the crew were helpful and smiling.

With plenty of time to relax, read or chat and enjoy the company of our interesting and companionable fellow guests, the trip was perfectly balanced. We couldn’t fault it. We can’t wait to go again… year after year!

Thank you Peter Sommer Travel!

r f

Exploring the Peloponnese tour October 2023. What a fantastic trip! From the amazing knowledge of our 2 guides Michael and Nota to the small boutique hotels to the amazing foods and local wine , to the way the itinerary was arranged so we would not be bumping shoulders with larger groups at the more well known sites it was all marvelous. In addition to all this what also shone was the pride that Michael and Nota had in their profession not just in making sure we all understood the history of the places we were visiting but that each and everyone of us on the trip had our personal needs taken care of ,from taking excellent care of my special dietary needs , all the way down to what shoes to wear that day because of the terrain we may have to cover or how we’d like our coffee.