Peter Sommer Travels

Peter Sommer is a tour operator specialising in trips on land and by sea to the great archaeological sites of Turkey and Greece. Peter is an archaeologist who has taught in Britain and in Turkey and is also a producer of TV documentaries for the BBC, PBS and CNN.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Peter's company has been in business since 1996 and takes small groups to visit the wonders of ancient Turkey and Greece. In the highly selected itineraries on offer you can expect to go to Istanbul, Bodrum, Ephesus, Aspendos, Didyma, Perge, the Dodecanese islands and many other lesser-known and more inaccessible places. Archaeological tours are led by specialist guides such as Dr. Nigel Spivey, lecturer in Classics and a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, Dr. Alan Greaves, lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Liverpool, and the Turkish archaeologst Serdar Akerdem.

TOURS 2009

There is much on offer this year. Sail to Ephesus, cruise the Northern and Southern Dodecanese, help to sail in the Bodrum Cup Regatta, sail the Lycian shore or the Carian coast. Some tours are just on land, others include staying on the Almira, a well-equipped traditional wooden sailing boat. There are also trips designed specifically for families. Next year, you can look forward to following in the footsteps of Alexander the Great and taking tours of Sicily, the Aegean islands and the Greek mainland.

THE WEBSITE

Each tour is described in detail and an excellent reading list is also provided, together with a map on which you can trace your journey. We particularly like the About Turkey and About Greece sections of the site, which explain what these fascinating countries have to offer. If your appetite is not whetted after reading about the destinations on offer you probably haven't got one.

There is good section on Peter Sommer's career, which includes details of his work for television and his travel articles. He has, among other things, walked 2000 miles across Turkey retracing the route of Alexander the Great.

The site has testimonials from many of Peter's satisfied customers, particularly from the USA and the UK. Booking is on a downloadable form and you can also request a brochure online.

New features on the site include tour videos, photo galleries, new itineraries and plenty of information about getting the most of a trip to Greece.