Cruising the Dodecanese Traveller Reviews

It was all I hoped it would be - a lovely mix of history, culture, food, wine, sailing and swimming. What I hadn’t imagined was the added bonus of 2 excellent guides who also provided entertaining accounts of mythology, brilliant storytelling and lots of laughs.

Peter Sommer put together a great trip. The boat and Captain were great. The two guides, Maria and Heinrich, made it extraordinary. Maria, aside from her great knowledge of history, took great care of us and made sure we wanted for nothing. The meals she organized off the boat were wonderfully varied, delicious and plentiful. Her Mythological re-enactments are classic! Heinrich’s knowledge of history and archeology was presented in a wonderfully entertaining and accessible way. And his after dinner storytelling was brilliant!

Most enjoyable; visited beautiful locations, with great food and accomodation; a great group of fellow travellers

great personalised service superb, knowledgable guides excellent organisation

This was our first holiday with Peter Sommers Travels, I really enjoyed it a lot the weather was good the gulet was very spacious and the food varied and tasty. our guides Heindrich and Maria both enthusiastic and informative.perfect! We were very well looked after and had some great travel mates, Perfect !!

I found Peter Sommer Travel Well organised informative and extremely helpful

A 14-day tour of eight Dodecanese Greek Islands (Patmos, Leros, Kalymnos, Kos, Nisyros, Tilos, Chalki and Rhodes) and Samos, included three UNESCO World Heritage sites. The range of islands gave the opportunity of visiting locations of very different histories, culture, architecture and natural beauty. The itinerary included an extraordinary range of archaeological sites and architectural styles covering an extended period from the Greeks to post-Second World War, that is 1000s of years BC to the near present. Travel between the islands was aboard a 70m gullet, the ‘Aegean Clipper’. The vessel was very comfortable and provided numerous places to relax in all weather conditions. The accommodation was first class and the crew were eager to assist. We were exceptionally looked after by the tour coordinators prior to and post cruise and by the professional guides and ship’s captain and crew during the voyage. The two outstanding aspects of the cruise were the food and the quality of the professional guides. Half the dinners were onshore and especially selected by the guides in family tavernas to represent local cuisine. Onboard meals comprised a comprehensive assortment of salads, vegetables, meats and a range of cheeses, which were also selected by the guides to reflect the delicacy of each island. The proficiency of the professional guides was outstanding, probably the best I have experienced. Each guide had a different specialty – one was an expert in mythology and the other in classical history. They used these two skills to ’bounce-off’ each other in a most delightfully humorous and intellectual manner. Their presentation skills were very impressive and both had a deep understanding of their subject matter both having post-graduate qualifications. Overall, the quality of the tour was excellent and most enjoyable.

The tour operator had to make late changes to our boarding and disembarking arrangements which entailed several ferry and bus transfers. This reorganization was undertaken seamlessly and paid for by the operator. Also, during the voyage realtime alterations to the ships track had to be made urgently due to weather conditions. Again, this was affected smoothly and efficiently. The operator’s choice of island in our travel plan was superb and it allowed for us to take in an incredible range of cultures and archaeological sites, including Carians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians, Crusaders, Ottomans to Italian. This period covered the period 1000s of years BC to after the Second World War.

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Cruising the Dodecanese 22nd September, 2018 – 6th October, 2018 This 14-day tour took in eight Dodecanese Greek Islands (Patmos, Leros, Kalymnos, Kos, Nisyros, Tilos, Chalki and Rhodes), as well as Samos to the north. The islands were well chosen to represent different geography settings and histories, and being close to one another, steaming times were short. Three of the islands are UNESCO World Heritage sites – The careful choice of these islands gave us an appreciation of the different architecture, natural beauty, local culture and cuisines which we were able to enjoy at a leisurely pace making for a comprehensive understanding of the similarities and differences which made each island special The tour coordinators displayed excellent flexibility when the tour required schedule changes before and during the trip. Shortly before the cruise commenced it became necessary to board the gullet in Turkey instead of one of the islands. Peter Summer Travels re-arrange the schedule to suit the new venues, even personally escorting us by ferry to the Turkey starting point and back from Turkey to our original Greek Island discharge location (at no cost). And during the voyage an unprecedented cyclone entered our cruise space and the on-board guides and captain made immediate plans and re-routed the course without any interruption to the program. The ‘Aegean Clipper’ was a 70m gullet with boundless space in different parts of the boat to lie and read or chat in different weather conditions. The crew were courteous and always helpful. The vessel was stable and the cabins were bright, large and luxurious. The food was simply outstanding. Onboard breakfast was a salad, various cheeses, yoghurt, fruit, eggs in a variety of forms, tea/coffee. Lunch was a display of salads, cheeses, hot and cold vegetable dishes and the pie˴ce de resistance was a ‘spoon sweets’, especially chosen by one of the guides to represent the delicacy of each island that we had just visited. Dinner was something special. Half the evenings we ate ashore in a specially selected out-of-the-way family tavernas, which served home-made dishes typical of the island. The meal always comprised four starting plates and four main dishes, all exquisitely prepared and served. Visits to the nine islands represented a full range of cultures and histories from Carians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians, Crusaders, Ottomans to the Italians covering the period 1000s of years BC to after the Second World War. The itinerary included extraordinary archaeological sites and examples of a range of architectural styles. The most impressive aspect of the cruise was proficiency of the professional guides. Our two guides had very different knowledge bases and skills, yet they complimented each other in a most harmonious manner producing a very professional, delightfully humorous and intellectual narrative. Both had a deep understanding of their subjects (mythology, ancient history and archaeology) and conveyed this knowledge most professionally. They were fluent in several languages, had field excavation experience and were trained academics with Masters and Doctorate qualifications from renowned universities and they were authors of books on local ancient history. Their presentation skills were truly impressive. These guides were by far the most proficient and delightful of my experience.

The islands chosen by the operator represented different geographic settings and histories, and were close to one another, shortening steaming times and maximizing sightseeing and island walks. Three of the islands are UNESCO World Heritage sites – The careful choice allowed a deep appreciation of different architectures, natural beauty, local culture and cuisines. The tour coordinator displayed excellent flexibility when the tour required re-scheduling before and during the trip. Shortly before the cruise commenced it became necessary to board the gullet in Turkey instead of one of the Greek islands. Peter Summer Travels re-arrange the schedule, even personally escorting us by ferry to the Turkey starting point and back from Turkey to our original Greek Island discharge location at no cost. And during the voyage an unprecedented cyclone forced immediate alteration to plans without any interruption to the program. The choice by the operator of a 70m-long stable gullet with boundless space, bright, large and luxurious cabins with a courteous and always helpful crew was greatly appreciated.

The holiday was a conducted cruise on a gulet, our two ‘experts’ were both outstanding in every respect and wore their knowledge lightly but clearly had a deep knowledge of the whole area, its history, its place in Greek myth and not least its cuisine. The gulet was very well run with an outstanding master and a very willing, well trained friendly crew. Nothing was too much trouble for anyone and the catering on board very good as well. In sum we cannot rate the whole experience highly enough in every respect - we are going again next season to a different area!

Peter Sommer runs a very efficient, very friendly, very knowleable and very helpful Team. Their pre-cruise brief was also outstanding - very helpful, full of interesting hints and advice and clearly written by those who run the cruises and not some PR rubbish! In our view they provide a unique experience and the cruise was excellent value for money.

This was our second trip with Peter Sommer and was every bit as wonderful as our first. Led by our dynamic expert archaeologist, Heinrich Hall, and our local guide and mythology maven, Maria Girtzi, we examined the marvelous ruins and dined on the beautiful foods of the Dodecanese Islands in Greece. Our boat, the Aegean Clipper was spacious, comfortable and proved itself sea worthy in what was supposed to be a hurricane and cyclone. Our fellow travelers hailed from the UK, Australia and the US and were all well-travelled, engaging, intelligent and fun. As in our first trip with Peter Sommer, we all meshed beautifully, in large measure due to the humor and kindness of our guides. We are already planning our next Peter Sommer adventure.

Peter Sommer Travels is a first-class, hands on, helpful and supportive group of people. We have traveled twice with them, once to Turkey and once to the Dodecanese Islands of Greece and in both instances have experienced the very best travel has to offer. Our guides are educated in more than just what we are seeing, the local food is amazing and opportunities to learn about it are always available. The Turking gulets are comfortable, spacious, elegant to be on and to look at from afar. We have not a single word of complaint about Peter Sommer.

Avoiding high winds from unexpected storms, we sailed to nine different Greek islands, learned about their historical and archaeological importance, sampled the best of their cuisine, and enjoyed visiting small towns, museums and castles.

The trip was well organized and flexible enough to keep us safe in sheltered harbors when high winds were forecast. The pre-trip advice and recommendations were useful. The buses and shuttles we used were punctual and comfortable. The guides were very knowledgeable, and worked hard to keep us happy and well-fed.

Our two week gulet cruise round the Dodecanese Islands with Peter Sommer Travel was a wonderful experience. Our boat was comfortable and well appointed, our guides were well informed and professional, the meals -- both on land an on the boat -- were excellent, the other guests were interesting and convivial. We visited 9 islands -- each unique and interestingly different. I would highly recommend this trip for anyone interested in a relaxing and educational introduction to the Dodecanese.

Peter Sommer Travels provided excellent service, with great attention to detail and quick response to questions. The two guides on our trip, who handled all the logistics, including changes to the schedule caused by bad weather, were excellent -- well informed, professional, hard-working.

The trip, Cruising the Dodecanese, was great--educational, fun, interesting people and great food. There was plenty of time to relax, learn about Greek archeological sites and enjoy sampling Greek foods at the many local restaurants throughout the islands . Most of all, our guides (Maria and Heinrich) were knowledgeable, fun to be be with and helpful at every turn, as were the captain of the gullet and crew. I would recommend this trip to anyone.

Peter Sommers Travels has its act together--its staff, guides and boat crew are perfect!