• A professional and qualified tour leader
• A single timed group transfer on arrival and departure
• All accommodation as described
• All meals
• All land transport
• Permit fee for Ararat climb
• A full service on trek including food and all equipment (excluding personal equipment)

• Travel insurance
• Airport transfers (other than the group transfers)
• Entrance fees to tourist sites and optional activities
• Tips for local staff
• Miscellaneous expenses - drinks and souvenirs etc.

The group will meet at the hotel in Van. A single timed transfer from Van Airport is provided in the early evening of Day 1 of the Land Only Itinerary.

On the last day of the Land Only itinerary, there will be a single timed transfer back to Van Airport. This transfer will be in the morning.
Anyone may join the group transfers by prior arrangement. Travelling as a group or on public transport saves energy. If this is not practical, we can provide private transfers at an additional cost. Taxis are also available.

Hotel contact details and an emergency number will be provided with your booking confirmation.

All meals are included in the holiday price.

It is not recommended to drink untreated water from the taps. If you are on a trekking or cycling holiday, water is supplied to fill up your individual bottles. This will be boiled, filtered or provided in large jerry cans or 5 litre bottles. Additionally you should take purification tablets or a filter bottle (such as a Water-To-Go bottle) to treat your water when in towns or where water is not supplied. We do not encourage the purchasing of single use plastic bottles.

On trek, breakfast options include cereals, fruits, fresh bread, preserves, eggs, salami, feta, olives, melon, breads, dried fruit and nuts, tea and coffee. After breakfast you will make up your own lunchboxes (provided) using fresh bread sticks and a variety of meats, cheeses, tomatoes, cucumber and olives. There will also be plenty of fruit, biscuits and cake. The evening meal is prepared by our cook and served at the camp table. This meal may be a barbecue or any of a number of excellent Turkish dishes.

Whilst we can cater for vegetarians, albeit sometimes with a more limited choice, we cannot always provide special diets.  Due to the nature of some of the trips that we operate and the countries in which we operate them, it can be very hard (and sometimes impossible) to cater for a wide range of dietary choices and you may have to supplement your diet with food/snacks from home.  If you have specific dietary requirements please do speak to our sales team and they will be able to advise you whether or not we will be able to offer your specific choice.  Please note that we are unable to provide separate menus and cannot accept liability for any problems arising from special dietary requirements or intolerances.

During this trip the group will spend 4 nights in comfortable hotel in the centre of Van and 1 night in a simple hotel in Dogubeyazit.

There will be 4 nights camping during the climb on Mount Ararat. This camping is fully supported with all baggage and equipment being carried by mules or horses. There will be a small team of staff to look after you including a cook. A mattress is provided, although some people like to bring their own thermarest as well.

All accommodation is twin-share. If you are travelling by yourself, you will be paired up with another single client of the same sex. Single rooms and tents are available for a supplementary cost. If you are planning on extending your holiday additional nights at the group hotel are available on request.

If you would like to break your journey home with a stopover in Istanbul, additional hotel nights and transfers can be booked through KE. Contact our Customer Sales and Support Team for more information.

The group will be accompanied by a professional English-speaking mountain guide and on trek will have the services of a trek crew including a cook and baggage animals and their handlers.

This holiday involves going to high altitude. During the course of your trip you will reach altitudes in excess of 3500 metres. This is not something that you should worry about; the human body is quite capable of adapting to a very wide range of altitudes, but it is important that we follow some simple rules in order to acclimatise successfully. Before coming on this holiday you should read the advice on trekking at high altitude. You can also talk to one of our trekking experts if you have any concerns about altitude.

The cost of the permit for climbing Mount Ararat is included in the holiday price. Arranging this permit is a reasonably complicated process and to do this we will need a copy of your passport a minimum of 5 weeks prior to departure.

Approximately £150 (or equivalent in US dollars, Euros etc.) should be allowed for miscellaneous expenses including tips to local staff. This is best carried in the form of cash. There are ATMs at the airport and a currency exchange in the centre of Van. Currency can also be purchased in advance.  If you are intending to buy expensive souvenirs you should budget accordingly (credit cards can be useful in this respect). 

Tips do not form part of the wages of local staff but they are very much appreciated. It is important to remember that tipping is voluntary and should be dependent on good service. It is best if tips are given at the end of the trek by the group as a whole. We recommend that each group member contributes around £30 – 40 to this pool, which can be distributed between the Tour Leader, drivers and support crew as the group feels is appropriate.

For this holiday you should take one piece of luggage, which should be a soft duffle bag, and a daypack.  During the trek your bags will be carried by pack animals. The maximum weight of your kit bag during this part of the trip is 15kg. It is possible to leave items that you do not require on the climb at the group hotel in Dogubeyazit. For international flights please check your baggage allowance with your airline.

For each holiday there is a minimum number of participants required to enable it to go ahead. Once the minimum number is reached, the trip status will change from 'Available' to 'Guaranteed to run'. You can check the trip status for each departure in ‘Dates and Prices’ table. Other than in exceptional circumstances, we will not cancel a trip once it has achieved this guaranteed to run status and so you are free to proceed with your international flight booking and other travel arrangements.