Questions and Answers

Today (as of 15 December 2020) the following rules apply in Turkey:

- Turkey does not require COVID-19 testing when entering the country

- There is also no obligation to quarantine after entering Turkey

- Land, sea and air borders are open

- When crossing the border, travelers are scanned by thermal imaging cameras.  People with a temperature above 38 degrees C and symptoms of infection have a coronavirus test (often at the airport, at medical points).

- On planes flying to Turkey, you need to fill in the location form (enter the address of your stay in Turkey, telephone number, health condition)

- There is a requirement to wear masks in public spaces throughout the country.

- Hotels, museums, tourist facilities are open, hand sanitizers are often set in front of the entrance.

- restaurants, cafes, bars are closed and are serving food only for takeout 

We are members of TURSAB - official Turkish Tour Operators’ Association. Upon that we are allowed to organize trips, excursions, transfers, tour guiding services everywhere in Turkey. We are obliged to have a valid insurance. All our tour vehicles are also insured. We are an independent travel agency, full of well experienced and passionate staff. We are focused on tourists who wish to discover the best side of Turkey, being serviced with an individual approach. We do not have to add any 3rd party commission to the prices of our excursions. Most of them is organized by our agency so that we can offer better prices to our customers. That is why we have fixed them. We don’t bargain. We will answer every question. In the office, as well as during the trip :) Some of other travel agencies offer excursions stuffed with shopping instead of sightseeing. Some of them don’t offer guided tours, just passing near the greatest sites and monuments, no entry tickets, etc. We do neither of it. We offer legal guided tours, entry tickets and lunch on almost every our trip :)

We are a small independent agency created by passionate people. We try to treat tourists individually, and we prepare our offer based on our many years of experience and taking into account your various needs and interests.

As an independent travel agency, we do not have to add additional commissions to our services. We organize most of them for you firsthand. For the same reason, we have standard prices: we treat you equally, we don't bargain.

We answer all questions, even the most complicated ones :) We care about our guests and our brand, that's why we don't hide anything! You can always contact the office staff or tour leaders on our trips and ask about the issues bothering you.

Unfortunately, despite the same name of the trip (eg Cappadocia, Pamukkale) their program is completely different. The most common differences are mixed international groups (not English), long stops in shops, thanks to which the office makes up for the low cost of the trip, no English guide, no Turkish guide with a license, meals and entry tickets not included in the price, etc. Many agencies also do not have such experienced staff and will not tell you directly what is extra paid, or you will not be able to withdraw the advance payment. You can do it with us without any problem.

                           

                          

There are several ways to book a tour:

• Online booking and payment by bank transfer / quick payments.

Book tours through our website by selecting them and adding them to your cart. Choose the form of payment by bank transfer in GBP. Confirmation with the account number and the amount of the advance payment will be sent by e-mail. After transferring the money, you will receive tickets and further instructions. Tickets do not need to be printed! In case of any problems with the reservation, please contact us - we will help! We offer a discount of up to 10% when paying online!

• Online booking and payment in Turkey (cash / card).

Book tours through our website by selecting them and adding them to your cart. Please select a cash payment method in GBP. You will receive a confirmation with your order number and all information by e-mail. If you prefer to pay in dollars or Turkish lira - no problem, let us know and we will recalculate the amount. You pay on the day of the trip, to the driver or guide, or in front of the hotel, after making an appointment with our employee.

• Booking by phone, via chat, skype, viber, whatsapp, etc.

To make a reservation, we need: name and surname, hotel, room number, mobile phone and preferred date of the tour. You can make phone calls or write from the UK, or do it from your hotel.

• Booking by SMS: Please send an SMS with the name, hotel, room number and hours when we can call you back to the hotel room. We will call you and arrange all the details.

 

It is best to book a minimum of a few days before the chosen date of the trip. In high season, there are problems with free places, especially on tours with a English guide, so we encourage you to book and pay for trips in advance to have confirmed seats on the bus!

The most favorably – from the UK, by bank transfer to an account in GBP. You will then receive a 10% discount on the basic tour price. After receiving the transfer, we issue tickets that can (but do not have to be) printed. You can simply have them on your phone / tablet. After arriving in Turkey, apart from sending us the room number, there are no formalities to deal with.

From hotel : either at our offices in Alanya (in cash, by card), or we arrange to hand over the tickets to you at the hotel and you can pay then - when picking up the ticket.

You can also pay directly on the tour, but we reserve that for some tours we will ask you to pay in advance to ensure that you will take part in the trip!

Our prices are given in euros, but you can also pay in dollars and Turkish lira, pounds. At your request, the office employee will convert it according to the current exchange rate.

We respect both our tourists and our work. We also do not want to lower our quality standards. Therefore, prices are fixed and non-negotiable. We invite you to take advantage of the discounts and promotions on our website. For very large groups or large tour packages it is possible to get an additional discount :)

We respect both our tourists and our work. We also do not want to lower our quality standards. Therefore, prices are fixed and non-negotiable. We invite you to take advantage of the discounts and promotions on our website. For very large groups or large tour packages it is possible to get an additional discount :)

The website is updated on a regular basis! However, it is worth remembering that the excursion programs, departure times, and included services may be slightly changed. If in doubt, please contact us.

As a standard, children up to 6 years of age in Turkey go on trips for free (but then they do not have a guaranteed separate seat on the bus or a separate meal; they can be purchased when booking).

Children 7-12 years old: 50% discount.

Children from 13 years: price as for an adult (according to the year of birth in the passport).

The above discounts do not apply to some tours, e.g. Dolphin Park (check the selected tour when booking, the price will appear automatically).

For the little ones: Children up to 6 years of age traveling for free on the trip are not guaranteed a place on the bus and sit on their parents' lap, nor do they have a separate meal.

For older children: In Turkey, in large venues and museums, there are no discounts for children, only free tickets up to 12 years old and fully paid tickets over 12 years old. We recommend that you take your child's passport between 11-12 years old for longer trips, in case the child's age is checked at the ticket office.

More than 24 hours before the agreed date, it is possible to change the date, trip, number of people, and resignation with a refund *. Less than 24 hours before the trip and directly before it, the amount paid cannot be refunded! The only exception is sudden illness confirmed by a medical document.

If you have ordered tours, but have not paid for them yet, and you want to cancel - please respect our work and inform us as soon as possible !! Perhaps others would like to use the available places.

Note: non-refundable cancellation does not apply to tours to Istanbul. Due to the fact that we buy air tickets here, it is not possible to get a refund of the advance payment.

* refund is made within 30 business days

We have the right to cancel the trip due to insufficient number of participants or other reasons at any time - we will then refund the entire amount paid * or offer to change to a different date / tour. Cancellation of the trip is always a last resort, so we ask you for understanding - it's not our whim! - sometimes the number of participants changes, or there are other important organizational issues. Sometimes we need a minimum number of tourist for tour to take place, for example, a balloon or Turkish night during the tour.

* refund is made within 30 business days

We reserve the right to change some points of the trip for organizational reasons. Always such changes are dictated by the concern for the satisfaction of tourists, they are never our whim.

In this case, we replace the canceled point with another of similar attractiveness (e.g. a different restaurant, a different viewpoint, a different waterfall). It may happen that we will inform about the change during the trip, when we were not able to predict the change earlier.

 

As Alanya Online stands for, we mainly serve the Turkish Riviera and Alanya region, because our office is located here and we are able to control the quality of our services. Our tours start from here. We also service:

East of Alanya: Oba, Tosmur, Kestel, Mahnutlar, Kargıcak

West of Alanya: Konaklı, Avsallar, Türkler, Payallar, Incekum, Okurcalar, Örenşehir, Kızılot, Kızılağaç

Side area: Kumköy, Side, Çolaklı, Gündoğdu, Evrenseki

Also: Belek , Antalya, Lara and Kemer

According to Turkish regulations, each cultural and historical trip must be accompanied by a Turkish guide, the so-called cocart. If the agency is sending the group without a "cocart", you will not be able to be guided tour at many venues, such as Hagia Sophia in Istanbul or the Goreme Museum in Cappadocia. The tour leader will only give you "free time" to explore on your own ... so you can learn and see much less.

The English professional guide is always on cultural and historical trips (Pamukkale, Cappadocia, K.A.S.) - where a lot of information is shared about Turkey and on several recreational trips (this is stated in the tour descriptions!). Our tour guides  have extensive experience in work and travel in Turkey. Recreational trips (e.g. rafting) take place in international groups in English, German or Russian.

Of course! There are no limits for us. We can prepare everything and create a VIP tour according to your wishes. Please contact us :)

As a Turkish category A travel agency, we have full travel insurance deposited with the Turkish Ministry of Tourism. The coaches and minibuses we use are also insured.

Absolutely not! Unfortunately, this is a myth told by unprofessional representatives of English tour operators. Tourists going abroad with any travel agency are insured for the entire stay, regardless of how they spend their time and whether they go on trips with the local agency or individually. It is worth reading the policy conditions! In addition, our sports trips (diving, rafting) include additional insurance. Remember, however, that no insurance covers accidents under the influence of alcohol! If someone suffers from chronic diseases, additional insurance should be purchased, otherwise he / she participates in the trip at his own risk.

We pick up all tourists from the hotel's main entrance, security booth or entrance gate. If not, we will inform you about a pick up place when booking. Sometimes we ask you to approach the main street / road.

The type of vehicle depends on the number of participants. Regardless of the size of the vehicles, they are new, with efficient air conditioning, comfortable seats and plenty of legroom, i.e. equipped with the so-called tourist package. These vehicles are adapted to travel by tourist groups for several hundred kilometers. We never use dolmush buses on long routes, because we care about the comfort and safety of tourists!

You will not find long stops for shopping  in our offer! However, if the trip program includes any shopping places, this information is included in its description. Usually, thematically they are adapted to the climate of the trip, and they are an attraction, not a torment ;)

In the description of each trip, we have listed the things that you should take with you. Passports are required for long trips, to book at a hotel during an overnight stay (Cappadocia) or simply as your identity document abroad. There is no need to take them on sports or recreational trips.

If the departure is early in the morning, you can order the so-called lunch-box or 'breakfast package'. Most hotels offer them free of charge at your request (orders are usually taken at the reception until dinner hours the day before the trip). The lunch box is issued when you do not have a chance to use the hotel breakfast due to early departure, so it will not be issued to you at a later time. Lunch-boxes are more a snack than real breakfast,  so you can have a Turkish breakfast instead at a stop when you go on a trip with us. On our excursions to Pamukkale and Cappadocia, breakfast is included in the price, so there is no need to order a lunch box!

 

We make every effort to ensure that your participation in the tours that we offer brings only positive experiences. That is why we are open to any suggestions and we care about the opinions of our guests. All comments and complaints should be directed to the Alanya Online office, preferably immediately after the trip.