Tempo Holidays steps up quality

Tempo Holidays has significantly upgraded its popular Greece Island Hopping packages, added 8-day cruises from Greece’s Thessaloniki to the Black, Aegean and Ionian seas and new tours to Eastern Turkey and introduced Bulgaria in its 2007 Greece & Turkey program released this week.

The brochure features cruising, extended tours, day tours, hotels, Anzac Day packages and Tempo’s hallmark “Taste of …” packages in Athens, Istanbul and Sofia.

The new Athens-Athens Island Hopping packages guarantee central accommodation, offer longer stays on Santorini and wherever possible use fast ferries on both tourist and superior itineraries. Prices begin from $1187 pp twin share for 10 days/ 9 nights Mykonos & Santorini package.

Product Manager, Nigel Loveday said in addition to an extra day on Santorini, the most popular island with Tempo clients, the wholesaler was offering a caldera view supplement for those who wanted the best views, an industry first.

“Quality is the key word when it comes to our island hopping programs, and I am confident that Tempo has the best quality packages in the market”.

New to the cruising program are economy-style cruises with Louis Cruise Lines from Thessaloniki to Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine. The 8-days Crimean Discovery cruise for example is priced from $1531 per person with opportunities to visit Gallipoli.

Choice of accommodation has been expanded on the major islands of Mykonos (two new 5 star hotels), Santorini, Crete and Paros.

Australians will appreciate the culture, rural scenery and cheaper tariffs offered by Tempo in Bulgaria, an emerging tourist destination, said Mr Loveday. Bulgaria shares borders and aspects of its history with Greece and Turkey, it also offers traditional villages and ornate historic Bulgarian monasteries and importantly, good hotels at reasonable rates.

Taste of Sofia packages are from $250 pp twin share and a 7-day coach tour (4 star hotels, Roman ruins, old Bulgarian monasteries, city tours of Plovdiv, historic Veliko Turnovo) is from $1,530 pp twin share with 3 meals a day, sightseeing and admissions.

For Turkey, all 23 Istanbul hotels in the program can now be linked to the Taste of Istanbul package, including the new 5 star old city World Park property (package from $340) which offers views to the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus, and also provides easy access to the New City via the Galata Bridge.

The standard of accommodation on all tours in Turkey has been upgraded where possible without additional cost.

New products on offer include tours to Eastern Turkey, a region which has links to ancient trade routes and features significant Byzantine and Roman sites. Domestic flights are included in these packages. The 6 nights Highlights of Eastern Turkey, for example, is from $1,983 which includes internal airfares, touring, accommodation, transfers and three meals a day. These new tours are being launched with an excellent Earlybird offer of a free 3 day Taste of Istanbul package based on 4 star hotels. The Earlybird offer applies to bookings made and fully paid before December 31.

For Anzac Day, Tempo Holidays has four packages – 5 day ANZAC Day & Troy, 4 day ANZAC Day & Troy (hostel accommodation), 7 day ANZAC Day & Ephesus, 15 day Turkish Delight – ANZAC Day Special Departure.

All include a guided tour of the Gallipoli battlefields before ANZAC Day, transfers to Gallipoli for the Dawn Service and accommodation in Canakkale, the closest settlement to Gallipoli. All tours start/finish in Istanbul.

The 5 day tour is priced from $766, the 7 day ANZAC Day & Ephesus tour (3 and 4 star hotels and flight Izmir to Istanbul) is priced from $1,441, the 4 day package with hostel accommodation is from $509 and the 15 day Turkish Delight ANZAC Day Special Departure is priced from $2,379. All rates are per person based on twin share.

Report by The Mole