Viator Travel Blog

As a native of Turkey and Istanbul resident for more than nine years, Emre Ozkara is eager to share with you his love and knowledge of all things Turkish. Private individual and group tours to Istanbul’s most famous sights are Emre’s specialty, and his custom-made itineraries will ensure your experience will be as close to your expectations as possible.

Whether climbing Everest is at the top of your bucket list or you’d prefer a gentle hike through the British countryside, the world is full of jaw-dropping natural landscapes that beg to be discovered on foot. From Iceland’s otherworldly topography to unveiling the real Middle Earth in New Zealand, here are 10 of the best places to hike in the world.

Whether your layover is a quick break or an entire 24 hours, venturing outside the airport in one of these ten European multi-faceted cities will make your layover just as memorable as your final destination.

Here are our picks for the best European cities for layovers.

Meet Aykut Altinisik, one of Viator’s local experts in Antalya, Turkey, and a licensed private tour guide.

With nearly the entire world – almost 200 countries, hundreds of thousands of cities and towns, and countless rivers, mountains, beaches and deserts to explore – trying to narrow down a list of possible destinations to even a “Top 50” is tough. We know we won’t likely get to explore them all in a year, and it’s so hard to choose some places over other; it all depends on your particular travel style and interests. In the end, for this year’s Top 50 Travel Destinations we tried to offer Viator travelers a mix of popular destinations with compelling reasons to visit in 2013 plus some places you might not think of at first.

Nearly every visitor to Turkey spends time in the vibrant east-meets-west city of Istanbul. But Turkey spreads far beyond the banks of the Bosphorus, to ancient cities and provincial towns, small islands and massive mountains. Don’t miss Istanbul, but be sure to spend time exploring some of these other great destinations in Turkey.

Whether you choose to take a trip to the North Pole, ride in Santa’s sleigh or check out some of Santa’s most unique pastimes, here are 10 spectacular ways to discover Santa Claus around the world.

Meet Cem Balsun, one of Viator’s local experts in Istanbul, Turkey with a license to provide private tours to those interested in learning more about this fascinating region of the world.

The Black Sea’s moody waves lap against the shores of six different countries — Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and the Ukraine, and each of these countries has a long and distinct relationship with this historically extremely important but often under-appreciated body of water.

But where to go? What to do? The Black Sea is a fascinating but obscure travel destination, and its ancient shores do not find their way onto many travel itineraries — a shame, as it hosts some of the most intriguing cities in the region. Here’s a guide to get you started.

Meet Zafer Yazici, one of Viator’s local experts in Cappadocia, Turkey with a license to provide private tours.