Ekol Kusadasi -looking for full payment upfront?!

[OnlyMe]

We just got a quote from Ekol in Kusadasi for a half day tour to take us to Ephesus and the Terraced houses .. they are quoting $48pp + $15each for the Terraced Houses entry for 3 adults (we will also have a child and an infant with us which they don't charge for).

I just got an email back from them that they require full payment now in order to book the tour as this is a "special rate of half price" ... I am hesitant about it tbh - our cruise is not until May and while I don't mind paying a deposit I am wary of paying the full amount up front.

From what I see of a couple other tour COs in Kusadasi the rates for basically the same tour is the same so its not a special rate as they are saying ... but maybe I'm missing something???

 

Any advice / input would be very welcome.

tia

[paul929207]

We took what sounds like the same tour with Ekol in November. We did not pay anything in advance and the price was $48 including the Terrace Houses. We also went to the Temple of Artemis and Mary's home. There were 8 in our group

[Hlitner]

You have this on the wrong board...but here is our advice. We give a strong positive recommendations to Ekol ( in Kusadasi) based on personal experience. In the past they have sometimes offered big discounts for per payment...and we have taken advantage of their offer with no problems. Ekol does tend to be more expensive then some other tour operators.....but we trust this company to provide an excellent vehicle, driver and guide. There are some other companies that also get good reviews here on CC.

 

Hank

[eclue]

Last year, we used Ekol from Kusadasi.......we paid nothing up front...Paid the tour guide in cash after the tour...they were fantastic, esp Terrace Houses..do not skip that part.

Maybe policy are changing with cruisers not showing up????

I think a deposit would be sufficient.

eclue;)

[PCWalton1]

We used Ekol back in May and had a great time (you can see the review in my signature). We paid 25% up front. I would email them and ask why the change and also ask if they will take the 25% deposit.

 

Bill

[OnlyMe]

Thank you for all your replies and apologies for posting on the wrong board - that's what I get for having too many sections open at once ..

 

It looks like everyone has had good experiences with them ... I might email them back and see if they will accept a deposit at this stage.

[zqvol]

We just got a quote from Ekol in Kusadasi for a half day tour to take us to Ephesus and the Terraced houses .. they are quoting $48pp + $15each for the Terraced Houses entry for 3 adults (we will also have a child and an infant with us which they don't charge for).

I just got an email back from them that they require full payment now in order to book the tour as this is a "special rate of half price" ... I am hesitant about it tbh - our cruise is not until May and while I don't mind paying a deposit I am wary of paying the full amount up front.

From what I see of a couple other tour COs in Kusadasi the rates for basically the same tour is the same so its not a special rate as they are saying ... but maybe I'm missing something???

 

Any advice / input would be very welcome.

tia

 

 

Go back to their web site and look at this again. If you are taking the tour I think, (only Ephes including the Terrace houses) it is only $31 pp plus the Terrace house costs.

 

Reserve online and that should be the price you get.

 

http://www.ekoltravel.com/en/kusadasi-port_r/kus-tour-1_j/

 

EKOL's policy is that no deposit it required, they simply ask you to cancel ASAP if you decide to cancel.

[OnlyMe]

Go back to their web site and look at this again. If you are taking the tour I think, (only Ephes including the Terrace houses) it is only $31 pp plus the Terrace house costs.

 

Reserve online and that should be the price you get.

 

http://www.ekoltravel.com/en/kusadasi-port_r/kus-tour-1_j/

 

EKOL's policy is that no deposit it required, they simply ask you to cancel ASAP if you decide to cancel.

 

I should have said the tour is the one including the Temple of Artemis so is Tour 2 .... the rates shown are Pax 1-2 $48 and Pax 4-5 $33

I asked them to quote for that tour including the Terraced Houses for 3 adults + 1 child and 1infant. He came back saying that the children arent charged for and the total per adult is $63 each. I emailed back questioning the $63 and noted the rates on the website and he replied saying that it is $48 per person + $15 per person admission into the Terraced Houses and that payment is required in full now.

I haven't emailed him back yet. .... the price for 3 pax is not shown on the website but I imagined it would between $48 and $33 but I suppose with taking 2 children also they are using the higher rate which we would probably be prepared to pay but not with the payment up front.

 

I just looked on their website again and had only seen their booking / cancellation policy on the T&C page and it mentioned both a 25% deposit and also full payment:confused: ... When I looked just now at the FAQ it says this:

CANCELLATION POLICY FOR THE SHORE PRIVATE EXCURSIONS IN TURKEY

Cancellations will only be charged if you fail to cancel your reservation within 24 hours before your booked service(s). After this day, we have the right to debit payment as a “no show fee”.

 

:confused::confused:

[zqvol]

I should have said the tour is the one including the Temple of Artemis so is Tour 2 .... the rates shown are Pax 1-2 $48 and Pax 4-5 $33

I asked them to quote for that tour including the Terraced Houses for 3 adults + 1 child and 1infant. He came back saying that the children arent charged for and the total per adult is $63 each. I emailed back questioning the $63 and noted the rates on the website and he replied saying that it is $48 per person + $15 per person admission into the Terraced Houses and that payment is required in full now.

I haven't emailed him back yet. .... the price for 3 pax is not shown on the website but I imagined it would between $48 and $33 but I suppose with taking 2 children also they are using the higher rate which we would probably be prepared to pay but not with the payment up front.

 

I just looked on their website again and had only seen their booking / cancellation policy on the T&C page and it mentioned both a 25% deposit and also full payment:confused: ... When I looked just now at the FAQ it says this:

CANCELLATION POLICY FOR THE SHORE PRIVATE EXCURSIONS IN TURKEY

Cancellations will only be charged if you fail to cancel your reservation within 24 hours before your booked service(s). After this day, we have the right to debit payment as a “no show fee”.

 

:confused::confused:

 

I'm not sure I would pay for the Temple of Artemis. The picture below shows all that is left of it.

 

 

[cruisemom42]

I'm not sure I would pay for the Temple of Artemis. The picture below shows all that is left of it.

 

 

 

It all depends on your point of view. I hugely enjoyed seeing where the Temple of Artemis was, even if it is no longer there. I can say that I visited the remains of one of the Wonders of the Ancient World. :D

 

(Plus, our guide pointed out two buildings in the distance that had reused much of the stone from the pagan Temple. One was a church and one was a mosque. How's that for metaphor? Can't beat it.)

[Hlitner]

Some of you are missing the point of the OP. EKOL does not require full payment in advance...but will sometimes offer big discounts (up to half off) for those that do pay in advance. If one chooses not to take advantage they will cheerfully accept your higher payment when you get off the ship.

 

Hank

[OnlyMe]

zqvol, thank you for posting that - I didn't realise there's so little of the Temple left tbh, but at the same time it is one of the 7 wonders as cruisemom said so will have a think about it .....

 

Hiltner, yes they are saying that it is 50% off but I can't see how that could be really as there isn't really much difference between their price and others doing tours - plus they are charging the highest rate - $48 per adult for 3 but if we paid for 4 ($33 per person) it would actually work out cheaper ($144 vs $132) which in my mind makes no sense at all - esp as the listed rates are Pax 1-2 $48 and Pax 4-5 $33. Its all a bit off putting tbh

[fabnfortysomething]

there is no admission charge for the temple of Artemis-our tour guide added it on as an extra after House of Mary and Ephesus

 

there are however plenty of gypsies patrolling the site aggressively hawking guide books and other souvenirs-our tour guides advice was to avoid eye contact if not interested in purchasing

 

we used KSG tours and no deposit/payment was required up front

[hfitzger]

We just got a quote from Ekol in Kusadasi for a half day tour to take us to Ephesus and the Terraced houses .. they are quoting $48pp + $15each for the Terraced Houses entry for 3 adults (we will also have a child and an infant with us which they don't charge for).

I just got an email back from them that they require full payment now in order to book the tour as this is a "special rate of half price" ... I am hesitant about it tbh - our cruise is not until May and while I don't mind paying a deposit I am wary of paying the full amount up front.

From what I see of a couple other tour COs in Kusadasi the rates for basically the same tour is the same so its not a special rate as they are saying ... but maybe I'm missing something???

 

Any advice / input would be very welcome.

tia

 

I have set up a roll call tour under Ekol's 50% off promotion (6-hr Ephesus tour from Izmir for $49.50 6-10 pax, $46 for 11+ pax) I have also been told to pay upfront as well... I did email asking how we would be refunded if the ship was unable to make port (as stated in their policies as not requiring payment for no-show due to ship) and I was told it would be refunded back to my credit card that I pre-paid months earlier.

 

This worries me that it would not be refunded if the situation should arise... Also, since the tour must be prepaid in order to take advantage of the 50% off rate, I have to pay for the others in the group and trust that they will send me their portion of the payment (and not a bounced check). I don't think that the fellow passengers that we are joining together for this group would deliberately "stiff" me, but it does complicate matters for those who plan excursions with fellow roll-callers that they do not know when payment must be made in advance instead of at the time of service.

 

By chance did you ask Ekol about this change in policy for the purposes of getting a special deal?

[Alberta Quilter]

I have set up a roll call tour under Ekol's 50% off promotion (6-hr Ephesus tour from Izmir for $49.50 6-10 pax, $46 for 11+ pax) I have also been told to pay upfront as well... I did email asking how we would be refunded if the ship was unable to make port (as stated in their policies as not requiring payment for no-show due to ship) and I was told it would be refunded back to my credit card that I pre-paid months earlier.

 

This worries me that it would not be refunded if the situation should arise... Also, since the tour must be prepaid in order to take advantage of the 50% off rate, I have to pay for the others in the group and trust that they will send me their portion of the payment (and not a bounced check). I don't think that the fellow passengers that we are joining together for this group would deliberately "stiff" me, but it does complicate matters for those who plan excursions with fellow roll-callers that they do not know when payment must be made in advance instead of at the time of service.

 

By chance did you ask Ekol about this change in policy for the purposes of getting a special deal?

 

I'm also in the process of setting up a tour with Ekol and have been advised to prepay. However, I am only prepaying my portion of the tour, not for anyone else. I was advised to forward the form that Ekol sent to me to the other participants. They can forward their own information to Ekol to be registered in the tour. As a participant of other tours, I would never expect the organizer to take on that expense of others in the group. As far as I'm concerned, one is not officially part of the tour until the tour company has received their information.

 

As for the change in policy, it was explained to me in the emails that it is purely because of the 50% off rate. Frankly, I never looked at any other company because Ekol received such good reviews here on CC. I think we have some added security in that if any of us get "stiffed" by Ekol, we'll report it here and their reputation will suffer. Yes, we'll still be out some money, but they will suffer more in the long run. So, it's in their best interest to make sure they deliver what they promise.

[hfitzger]

I'm also in the process of setting up a tour with Ekol and have been advised to prepay. However, I am only prepaying my portion of the tour, not for anyone else. I was advised to forward the form that Ekol sent to me to the other participants. They can forward their own information to Ekol to be registered in the tour. As a participant of other tours, I would never expect the organizer to take on that expense of others in the group. As far as I'm concerned, one is not officially part of the tour until the tour company has received their information.

 

As for the change in policy, it was explained to me in the emails that it is purely because of the 50% off rate. Frankly, I never looked at any other company because Ekol received such good reviews here on CC. I think we have some added security in that if any of us get "stiffed" by Ekol, we'll report it here and their reputation will suffer. Yes, we'll still be out some money, but they will suffer more in the long run. So, it's in their best interest to make sure they deliver what they promise.

 

 

I feel somewhat better that others are being told to prepay, even though they do not require it for their full-price offerings. Did Ekol tell you that they were OK with everyone paying separately up front? I will contact Valentina about this... Thanks for your insights!

[Alberta Quilter]

I feel somewhat better that others are being told to prepay, even though they do not require it for their full-price offerings. Did Ekol tell you that they were OK with everyone paying separately up front? I will contact Valentina about this... Thanks for your insights!

 

Yes, I've been communicating with Valentina as well. The following is a direct quote from her email: Each couple/person can make the tour’s payment individually by filling out the Mail Order Form. At the section TOUR NAME/TOUR CODE they have to mention as well “part of _______'s tour”.

[travelnnana]

We just got a quote from Ekol in Kusadasi for a half day tour to take us to Ephesus and the Terraced houses .. they are quoting $48pp + $15each for the Terraced Houses entry for 3 adults (we will also have a child and an infant with us which they don't charge for).

I just got an email back from them that they require full payment now in order to book the tour as this is a "special rate of half price" ... I am hesitant about it tbh - our cruise is not until May and while I don't mind paying a deposit I am wary of paying the full amount up front.

From what I see of a couple other tour COs in Kusadasi the rates for basically the same tour is the same so its not a special rate as they are saying ... but maybe I'm missing something???

 

Any advice / input would be very welcome.

tia

 

Are you dealing with Valentina - we used Ekol travel last October - we did not pay anything up front - they were good - but there are other companies

[cruisemom42]

In addition to the apparently new requirement to pre-pay for tours (something I wouldn't be willing to do in most cases), there has been some equally revealing discussion about Ekol recently trying to make their customers believe it is "required" to stop at a rug demo or other thinly-disguised shopping/kickback opportunity.

 

Read here for more details, including actual text from Ekol's emails to customers: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1780454

 

 

I find this really sneaky and underhanded. For the record, I have previously used Ekol for two private tours and I have recommended them in the past as I was happy with them. However, I will no longer recommend them with this kind of goings on. :mad:

 

It is one thing to ask people if they want to stop; it is quite another to suggest it is mandatory (it is not).

[1josh777]

I requested a quote from Ekol just yesterday for 4 people and the information they sent includes two payment options: the (a) options requires full payment, however (b) requires only 25% upfront.

 

Payment available for reservations based on the INCREDIBLE PROMOTION – 40 % DISCOUNT

a) Full Prepayment: 224 USD (or 284 USD incl the Terrace Houses section)

b) 25 % Deposit of total: 56 USD ( 71 USD incl the Terrace Houses section) The balance amount will be handled in cash or credit card at the time of the tour.

They also included their Cancellation policy:

Any kind of cancellation received within 24 hours before your booked service(s) receives full refund! After this day, we have the right to charge as a “no show fee”. Charges only apply for cancellations given no less than 24 hours notice.

[teenywahine]

Any CC members pay the full payment on these "promotional" priced tours? no problems?

[Deb0702]

Last year I booked Ekol's TOUR 2 for our cruise in Sept 2013. At the time I booked there were no promotions and the pp for 3 pax for TOUR 2 was $90 + $15 for the terrace houses. No prepayment required. An OPTIONAL visit to handicraft center w/ lunch is included. If we decide not to go to the handicraft center, the lunch offer is withdrawn.

 

Recently I saw some comments here on CC about visits to the handicraft center being mandatory and I emailed EKOL to double check. Paraphrasing, I was told that if you take advantage of the special 2013 promotion price for a full day tour, the handicraft center is required. The special price is actually designed to promote visits to the handicraft center. So if you refuse to go there, the promotion price dose not apply to you.

[Deb0702]

Also one thing I noted when comparing different companies touring out of Kusadasi port, some companies quote in Euros and others in USD. Ekol is in US dollars.