Private journeys designed around you, one at a time, by people who live here. Since 2014.
The Bosphorus, first evening
Two parents and three children, travelling in May. Before we chose a single hotel, we wrote down what they told us, and what they didn’t.
What we heard
What we did
They asked for
Istanbul, without the queues.
A guide on the second morning only. Hagia Sophia at opening; the palace by the Harem door, before the groups.
Cappadocia, but not three early mornings in a row.
We kept one dawn, because the light is the reason to come. The other mornings begin when they wake.
A week by the water where nothing starts before ten.
Four nights above an east-facing bay. The boat waits until breakfast is over.
They didn’t have to say
The children fly in that morning.
So the first afternoon is left empty, and dinner comes to them, on the water.
The youngest gets seasick.
So we chose the calmer eastern bays, a steadier boat and a short crossing.
— E.K., travel designer
Every journey leaves here as a dossier: the days, the reasons, and the people who will be with you. This is theirs.
Sample
Private journey · Nº 0412
Eleven nights in Türkiye
Composed for the Marlowe family · May
For the Marlowes, with the second draft — E.K.
Second draft · 14 March · E.K. Mervin Travel · Istanbul
Two parents, three children: fourteen, eleven and seven. Twelve days in May. Their first time in Türkiye. They want the famous places without the famous queues, and they want the children to remember it as their own trip, not their parents’.
One of them is a little afraid of boats. One of them would happily never see another ruin.
Flight times first. They decide day one.
The Bosphorus, first evening. Dinner comes to them, on the water.
Nights one to four
Day 1
Met at arrivals by name; the car is at the kerb. The afternoon is empty on purpose. Dinner at eight, on the water.
They land that morning: nothing booked.
Day 2
The old city with a private guide: Hagia Sophia at opening, the cistern, then lunch where the guide eats.
Day 3
Free until noon. The hammam at four, for the family alone. The children choose dinner.
Day 4
Topkapı by the Harem door, before the groups. The Spice Market for the children’s list. A last evening on a roof in Galata.
Nights five to seven
Day 5
The 10:40 flight, not the 06:15. A house carved into the rock in Uçhisar; sunset from its terrace.
Day 6
The one early morning: a ridge above the valley at first light, breakfast back at the house, a valley walk at ten.
One dawn, not three. The light is the reason.
Day 7
Avanos, and a potter’s wheel for small hands. A long lunch in a village garden. Nothing after four.
Day 6, before anyone else was up.
The valley below the house at first light, on the one early morning.
Off the eastern bays at the end of a day. The boat waits until breakfast is over.
Nights eight to eleven
Day 8
Fly south. Four nights above a quiet bay; the first swim before unpacking.
Day 9
A boat for the day, with a captain who knows which coves are empty in May. Lunch on board.
Calmer bays, a short crossing: the youngest.
Day 10
Ephesus with a guide who lets the ruins speak. The Terrace Houses for her, an early exit for him, lunch by the sea for both.
She loves ruins. He doesn’t. Lunch by the sea.
Day 11
Nothing booked. A table held in the old town at eight, in case.
Day 12
Home. The car is ordered around the flight, not the other way round.
Second draft · 14 March
After our call on Tuesday. Nothing here is final until it feels like theirs. — E.K.
Yours would not look like it. It begins with a conversation.
A sample dossier, made to show how we work. The Marlowes are invented; the thinking is how every journey here begins.
Sample dossier. Real dossiers stay private to the people they were made for.
Design my journey
Most journeys here move between three worlds. How long you stay in each is the first thing we decide together.
Water on three sides, a thousand years of appetite, and the right rooftop at the right hour.
By boat when the roads are full. By the side door when the front one has a queue.
Journeys in Istanbul
Rock, silence and very old light. Best taken slowly, and never at the same hour as everyone else.
One dawn, chosen for the light. Then long breakfasts, a potter’s wheel in Avanos, and a valley walked after the others have left.
Journeys in Cappadocia
Boats, coves, long lunches. The part of the journey where the schedule disappears.
A week where nothing starts before ten, and the captain already knows which bay is empty.
Journeys in Bodrum
Elsewhere in Türkiye: Antalya and the Black Sea.
Nobody asks for these. We do them anyway.
Arrival · Istanbul
Welcome, Marlowe family.
Your driver is Kemal. He is at door B, beside the flower stall, holding this card.
The car is four minutes from the terminal. There is water, and a charger for each of you.
Your designer’s phone is on: +90 544 118 18 27.
Card 1 of 3 · the others wait in Cappadocia and Bodrum
Before you reach the door, you know who is waiting, and where.
Sample names; the driver is invented.
Even the first cup has been thought about.
Tea arrives before you ask, and nobody hurries you.
Not booked: held. Eight o’clock, by the water, in case you feel like it.
Marlowe
So each hotel knows your bags before it knows you.
Your designer writes your journey, changes it when you change your mind, and answers when you message from a jetty at nine at night to ask where to eat.
Behind them: drivers who know which road is quiet at five, and guides who were born in the valleys they walk you through.
The travel designers · Mervin Travel, Istanbul
Nº 0412 · the Marlowes
9 pm, from the jetty: where to eat. Answered. — E.K.
“Very professional and helpful throughout our excursions always there. Got done airport transfers and plenty of other activities like Bosphorus tour, city tour, scuba diving, rafting, hot air balloon, ride with good price…”
“Fantastic experience with Mervin Travel! They went above and beyond to arrange our hotel stays and activities. The attention to detail and personalized service were top-notch…”
“Just came back from my Istanbul trip and it was fantastic! All thanks to Mervin Travel, they helped us choose the perfect hotel, planned a bosphorus tour and several trips to the most wonderful museums…”
A travel designer reads every message and replies personally.