Beylerbeyi Palace

The former official residence of the sultans can be found on the European shore of the Bosphorus, and on the Asian side lays their summer residence, the Beylerbeyi Palace.

It is not as large or luxuriant as the Dolmabahce Palace, but its gardens, filled with different kinds of trees are truly conducive for the warm Istanbul summer. It also has kiosks and a pool where the sultans used to lounge to soak up the sun and admire the wonderful views of the sea and the ships.

The structure of the Beylerbeyi Palace and its adornments are largely European, with Bohemian crystal chandeliers, intricately designed furniture, French clocks, and vases that were imported from China, Japan, and France and all over Turkey. The palace is open to the public, but photography and filming are not allowed.

EXCELLENT rating
Based on 206 reviews

Our Turkey experience We all totally enjoyed our time in Turkey. What a fantastic experience. The hotels were fabulous, and the guides extremely knowledgeable. The country itself is wonderful and we found the Turkish people to be warm, friendly and welcoming. Having never visited Turkey before, we did not know what to expect. If we knew what we know now we would have put in a couple of extra days of free time to explore on own at a couple of destinations (Istanbul and Kusadasi) to also allow a bit of down time as we did feel quite exhausted and that would have slowed the pace a bit for us. However the tour exceeded our expectations, with every detail taken care of, from transfers to tour guides and hotels to meals. A very professionally prepared package. We would certainly recommend the Turkey Travel Centre to others.

Sandy N

18/09/2024

Perfect Türkiye tour My daughter and I had a 16-day tour organised by Turkey Travel Centre and it was a fantastic time! The tour was extremely well organised, and it was very easy day-to-day as everything was planned perfectly for you. The guides and the drivers used by the company are fantastic and all very helpful. Each day we had a different driver or tour, but it was never difficult to work out what was happening. If there was an issue, which was very rare, it was simple to work it out and there was always someone at the end of a phone ready to help. The hotels used were all beautiful – we had no complaints at all about the rooms or the locations. Most hotels were a little out of town, so they were very relaxing and quiet. It was still easy to walk to town from the hotel too. The people at the hotels were all very welcoming as well, which was nice. When we requested an itinerary at the start of the tour, we were blown away at the plan provided to us. We really enjoyed every place we went to, and the itinerary was put together perfectly. I’d recommend adding an extra day to some of the places if you have time, just so you can soak it in, but otherwise, it was fantastic. It was very easy to adjust the itinerary as needed too. I can’t recommend this company enough. It was a simple process to organise, as everything is done behind the scenes, leaving you with more time to enjoy your trip. Meeting other people on the tours, it was clear that we were lucky enough to have the most organised and well-thought-out itinerary, which we were very grateful for. If you’re looking for a tour on your trip to Turkey, definitely look no further. This was a trip to remember!

sarah o

03/08/2024

Brilliant Türkiye A wonderful 14 days covering Istanbul to Antalya. Our thanks to Makbule and Michael for organising an excellent itinerary, superb guides, excellent accommodation and activities. Our visit to Gallipoli was very moving and our guide extremely knowledgeable about the WW1 battlegrounds.

OzTravelersfromSydney

14/07/2024

Family trip to Türkiye. My family and I just returned from an unforgettable 22-day Türkiye trip which was absolutely AMAZING! WOW!!! I take great pleasure in commending Makbule and Micheal from Turkey Travel Centre on their outstanding customer service experience 10/10. My family and I have been dreaming to visit Türkiye for ages and from the first communication email to TTC, they guided us all the way. During the planning of our itinerary, Makbule took onboard what our desired cities/ destinations were, our accommodation needs which included her expertise feedback. With the professional help by Makbule, we managed to customise our trip to visit Istanbul, Kusadasi, Pamukkale, Antalya, Cappadocia and come back to Istanbul by way of interstate flights and minibus transportation. Our trip included tour guides and free days. The whole trip was so well organised with punctual drivers, selection of central hotels, informative tour guides and interstate flights, it was seamless which made the trip to Türkiye extra memorable. I have no hesitation in recommending Turkey Travel Centre, they are absolutely incredible and super friendly and have a clear understanding what "CUSTOMER SERVICE" is all about. We look forward to dealing with you again, Kindest Regards, Hussam & Family

Paradise52028526857

12/07/2024

Excellent tour The team worked well with us to initially plan the trip & adapted very well to our requests The accommodation, transport and guides were all excellent. The guides showed excellent knowledge, professionalism and desire to help us at every turn

rayt12018

03/07/2024

Amazing Greece and Turkey Having recently returned from a tour of both Greece and Turkey, l found from initial airport pick up to my final airport transfer, the entire tour was very well organised and ran so smoothly. Being a solo traveler, l found this wonderful, l worried not. I was away for a month. The logistics of the organisation of this type of “hop on/hop off” tour must be huge, but Makbule handled it all so amazingly, well done. Tour guides were so well informed and very professional, with an added dash of good humour. The country side and visited sites were spectacular, l was not expecting so much amazement and beauty. Definitely a wow! Hotels at least 4 star and all different and very comfortable and obliging. All in all I would and do recommend a tour done and organised with TTC. I sorted mine through Michael in Melbourne, VIC, who did a marvellous job of getting me to were l wanted to go and see. Such a magnificent country and so diverse, please go there and let Michael and his team take you on a journey you won’t forget.

Chrissy

26/06/2024

First class, well supported Turkiye tour From the itinerary put together by Michael in Melbourne, to the professional, personalised, nothing-is-too-much-trouble, always there to immediately support when needed, make sure every day's pickups, hotels and flights went like clockwork, amazing Makbule in Turkiye, to the delivery of daily tours by local providers our trip was wonderful. Layer after layer of history from across millennia, empires and religions were opened up for us to see. From staying in an actual cave room and a magical hot air balloon ride over the incredible landscape at Cappadocia to the eternal old Istanbul we enjoyed it all. A bit less on the factory tours each day would have been nice - especially the hard sell where you weren't left alone to shop, or when there were repeat experiences. Overall a most memorable and enjoyable holiday.

AJ T

25/06/2024

Turkey was a delight The transfers, accommodation and tours were generally very good quality. The tour operators always turned up on time, were very professional, and the tours were interesting. Perhaps the tour operators shouldn't take us to a factory for rug, pottery, jewellery purchase, etc at the end of each tour The accommodations were located close to restaurants and entertainment, and the breakfasts were great. Your support throughout the tour was fantastic. We received an update each night that confirmed our arrangements for the next day and you were quick to fix the one time a driver took us to the wrong hotel.

Melinda H

17/06/2024

Wonderful trip that exceeded expectations. A truly memorable trip. What a rich history, particularly for an Australian - 1500-year old mosques in Istanbul remarkably well preserved, the best preserved Roman city in the world in Ephesus, where you could imagine life 2000 years ago and the remarkable underground city in Cappadocia, not to mention the balloon flight. These were the highlights of my 11-day tour. Full marks for organisation: the accommodation was excellent,everything worked like clockwork, the guides were very professional and knowledgeable. Particular thanks to Makbule, who made contact every day with the following day's arrangements. Mike, Goulburn, NSW, Australia.

MIKE S

17/06/2024

Amazing holiday that went like clockwork Treasures of Turkey Tour 13th May - 26th May 24 My wife and our close friends went on the Treasures of Turkey tour organised through Turkey Travel Centre. Micheal took our booking and was very helpful and well organised. Everything went as planned with some minor changes of the itinerary which didn’t detract from the overall holiday. The accommodation was central and of a high standard. The tour was very high paced at the start but slowed towards the second half to an easy pace. All the tour guides were great their knowledge of the historical sights we visited was incredible. Makbule kept us informed every day letting us know timings for the following day. Makbule did an incredible job and even went the extra mile when one of our party needed to seek medical help. The highlight of the holiday was definitely the balloon flight at Cappadocia, what an amazing experience. Gallipoli was another highlight and the tour guides knowledge was incredible. The food, the people and the culture were incredible. My only regret is that we didn’t spend an extra night at Çanakkale and Kusadasi which were both amazing hotels and places visit. My wife and I would highly recommend Turkey travel centre to anyone considering a holiday to turkey. A truly amazing holiday organised by very professional people. Paul and Elaine/ NSW Australia

paul

16/06/2024

EXCELLENT rating
Based on 23 reviews

We all totally enjoyed our time in Turkey. What a fantastic experience. The hotels were fabulous, and the guides extremely knowledgeable. The country itself is wonderful and we found the Turkish people to be warm, friendly and welcoming. Having never visited Turkey before, we did not know what to expect. If we knew what we know now we would have put in a couple of extra days of free time to explore on own at a couple of destinations (Istanbul and Kusadasi) to also allow a bit of down time as we did feel quite exhausted and that would have slowed the pace a bit for us. However the tour exceeded our expectations, with every detail taken care of, from transfers to tour guides and hotels to meals. A very professionally prepared package. We would certainly recommend the Turkey Travel Centre to others.

Sandy Neale

18/09/2024

Highly recommend TTC for excellent itineraries, planning, arrangements, accommodation, guides and making our tour of Turkey a wonderful experience. Thank you!

Katherine Eastman

15/07/2024

My family and I just returned from an unforgettable 22-day Türkiye trip which was absolutely AMAZING! WOW!!! I take great pleasure in commending Makbule and Micheal from Turkey Travel Centre on their outstanding customer service experience 10/10. My family and I have been dreaming to visit Türkiye for ages and from the first communication email to TTC, they guided us all the way. During the planning of our itinerary, Makbule took onboard what our desired cities/ destinations were, our accommodation needs which included her expertise feedback. With the professional help by Makbule, we managed to customise our trip to visit Istanbul, Kusadasi, Pamukkale, Antalya, Cappadocia and come back to Istanbul by way of interstate flights and minibus transportation. Our trip included tour guides and free days. The whole trip was so well organised with punctual drivers, selection of central hotels, informative tour guides and interstate flights, it was seamless which made the trip to Türkiye extra memorable. I have no hesitation in recommending Turkey Travel Centre, they are absolutely incredible and super friendly and a clear understanding what "CUSTOMER SERVICE" is all about. We look forward to dealing with you again, Kindest Regards, Hussam & Family

Sam S

12/07/2024

A truly memorable trip. What a rich history, particularly for an Australian - 1500-year old mosques in Istanbul remarkably well preserved, the best preserved Roman city in the world in Ephesus, where you could imagine life 2000 years ago and the remarkable underground city in Cappadocia, not to mention the balloon flight. These were the highlights of my 11-day tour. Full marks for organisation: the accommodation was excellent,everything worked like clockwork, the guides were very professional and knowledgeable. Particular thanks to Makbule, who made contact every day with the following day's arrangements. Mike, Goulburn, NSW, Australia.

MIKE STEKETEE

17/06/2024

From the initial contact with Michael to sort out sites, sights, days and dates, the reassuring every day contact with Makbule through to the final trip to Istanbul airport our holiday in Turkiye was amazing. Overall we loved the flexibility of being able to add days and travel fairly independently with day tours vs being on a tour with the same people the whole time. A great feature. We were well prepared by Makbule’s initial contact before the holiday. Our arrival to the Istanbul hotel of Dosso Dossi was seamless. Highlights of Istanbul were the Rustem Pasha mosque and the Basillica Cistern. Both guides were fabulous, very informative and weaving their way through the crowds to get to the right places to shortcut to the major attractions of mosques, palace and bazaars. Of course the Blue Mosque, Haig Sophia and the Topkapi palace were stunning as well. Off to the next highlight, Gallipoli. Great guides with lots of knowledge and respect and stories of grandchildren of soldiers and their relationships with the ‘enemy’. Whilst we visited many memorable places with excellent guides in each one, the next highlight was Ephesus. The beauty and how much was intact was fabulous. I wished we’d stayed one more day in Kas, it was a great opportunity to slow down the pace. The final highlight was the spectacular Cappadocia. We were fortunate to be able to ascend in a balloon, see the underground city and the open air caves museum. Fabulous. Makbule, your constant communication and quick responses were wonderful. We spoke to other people who were not clear about pickups the following day, until late in the afternoon. We always knew by lunchtime. All tiny hiccups were fixed in minutes. Fabulous service! Our best meals were away from the tourist areas, where pointing and laughing got what we needed. The tours that included leather and carpet shops were a little tiresome but I guess some people want to buy from them. Hotel choices were fabulous. The breakfast at Kas! The view from Pamukkale! The cave house at Cappadocia as be the women making fresh gozleme were highlights. Dossi Dossi is a little tired compared to the other magnificent hotels we stayed at and the staff not particularly friendly but I understand options would be limited in the old city. As we drove from Istanbul airport at 10:00 pm to Dosso Dossi only to be picked up at 6:00am to fly out again, it occurred to me an airport hotel would have been better. To have had that option would have given us an extra few hours sleep. I have told everyone I meet of your wonderful service and recommend your company highly. A great way to travel in an amazing country. Thank you Makbule and Michael

Kathy Kershaw

16/06/2024

We did the Best of Turkey tour and were very impressed! The organisation by Makbule was perfect and she communicated by WhatsApp every day to keep us informed about the following day’s schedule. Most of the travel was by plane, enabling us to visit several parts of Turkey in a relatively short time. The hotels were of a high standard. Having a daily departure feature means this tour is very flexible. Sometimes it was just us two and a guide, while at other times we were in a group of 4-9 people. The guides were generally good, with special mentions to Suleiman and Songul in Istanbul and Gurkan in Cappadocia. We would not hesitate to recommend this tour and this company to anyone wanting to visit Turkey,

Paul Galea

08/06/2024

We travelled in Türkiye on tour arranged and coordinated by the Turkish Travel Centre. The trip was fantastic and without a single problem. The accommodation was of a very high standard and each hotel well situated for safety and site seeing in the city or town, the food provided was just superb. Each component of the trip was expertly coordinated by Makbule, who made contact every day to update and advise the details of the coming day and travel arrangements, we had complete trust in her to get us around safely. The drivers were excellent hospitable and friendly, vehicles were modern and of high standard. The road, marine and air travel was seamlessly integrated and every transfer was on time and as described and planned. The day tours were managed and led by expert guides who made the experiences so memorable and enjoyable. A wonderful holiday in a land of intrigue and beautiful people. Thoroughly recommend the Turkish Travel Centre to coordinate and arrange your trip to Türkiye and thanks Makbule for our great trip.

David Quirk

01/12/2023

My husband and I recently had the pleasure of booking a trip with Turkey Travel Centre. The guidance provided for our tour was excellent and I highly recommend our tour coordinator Makbule. From the time we landed in Istanbul until the end of our tour every detail was meticulously planned which made our trip seamless. All drivers and guides met us on time at each leg of our tour. All hotels met our expectations and were in good locations. They were comfortable, clean and the staff were all very friendly and helpful. Breakfasts and meals included were good. We enjoyed all the tours which gave enough time at each location and the guides were friendly and informative. We especially enjoyed the ballooning in Cappadocia and the gulet cruise from Marmaris to Fethiye, both experiences not to be missed. As Australians we also felt privileged to visit the Gallipoli site, a moving experience and a highlight. The vehicles for transfers were all very comfortable with seat belts and drivers provided water for longer trips. The drivers were friendly and spoke English well enough for effective communication. My only criticism of the drivers is that most drove very fast which made us a little nervous. Thank you to TTC for creating a memorable travel experience for us.

Wendy Jackson

27/10/2023

Just returned from the Grand Tour of Turkey (19 days) booked through TTC. I wasn't sure what to expect in Turkey but to say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement. Turkey was fantastic so many wonderful sights, so much history and extremely friendly people. Some of the many highlights include, Istanbul, Gallipoli, Ephesus, 3 day night Gulet cruise and Cappadocia. If there is one thing you must do it is a Ballon flight over Cappadocia. Thanks to Michael Altan and to Makbule in Turkey for her communication and organisation.

David Duff

10/10/2023

BEST company to look after all the mental planning of travel. Gulet boat is very basic ours was over crowded and little privacy but a must to do. Autumn was unbearably hot. Go in Turkey's spring.

Marie Honer

07/10/2023