Our Team

Best Adventure Guides & Support Staff

Hike’n Sail Team

Hike’n Sail Team

Training never stops
Hike’n Sail Team

Hike’n Sail Team

Training never stops

Best Adventure Guides with Multi-skills

Our adventure guides are both highly skilled and experienced outdoor people and intellectual university graduates with extensive training and excellent language skills. They can lead hikes to out-of-the-way locations, communicate with local people, lecture knowledgeably at classical sites, discuss all aspects of Turkish culture, history, and politics, and arrange menus that showcase local specialties and suit the tastes of individual guests. Perhaps most important, they are also warm, dynamic people with good senses of humor.

Why is Hike’n Sail Staff Better?

We know that our service can only be as good as our staff. Efficient coordination and smooth operation are essential to ensure the pleasure and comfort of our guests. Our staff members are well known for their professionalism and good manners, as well as their ability to organize complex itineraries.

We Train Our Adventure Guides

All adventure guides who are acquainted with Hike’n Sail tours, participate in training programs provided by scientific institutions, NGOs, and Hike’n Sail Travel.

Every Member Of Our Team is Outstanding

Our support staff is equally well trained to fulfill the expectations of travelers. The crews of our gullets work quietly to stay on schedule and maintain spotless order while monitoring our guests’ safety and comfort. The cooks on board amaze our guests with the miracles they create in their tiny galleys. The drivers who take us from place to place conform to western standards of speed and safety.

Unlicensed Guides in Turkey are Illegal!!!

Please note that all Hike’n Sail guides are certified, official guides, and they are paid in full guiding fees to ensure your safety and a quality experience. Tourism is a leading industry in Turkey and in order to sustain the quality of services, tour guides in Turkey are certified by the government after they get their 4 years bachelor’s degree. Other means of tour guiding is illegal. Before you buy a tour, we recommend confirming that your guide is official.

 

Alper Ertübey

Founder Of Hike’n Sail, Certified Tour Guide

Founder Of Hike’n Sail, Certified Tour Guide I am the founder and the senior guide of Hike’n Sail Travel. I studied Industrial Engineering at Istanbul Technical University. I am conducting active trips to experience the natural & cultural heritage of Turkey since 1988. I have participated in 3 bio-diversity programs and developed a passion for wildflower photography and I share my photos at www.floraofturkey.com. When I design new itineraries for our clients, I prioritize to honor the principles of responsible/slow tourism in order to minimize our carbon footprint, our impact on natural and cultural environments and help the local communities. I consider myself a happy hiker and a green-activist and one of the most experienced adventure guides in Turkey. I like to hike, kayak, photography, food, cooking, history.

Ali Serkan Cömert

Partner Of Hike’n Sail. Operations Manager

Partner Of Hike’n Sail. Operations Manager I am the partner and the Operations Manager of Hike‘n Sail Turkey. I studied to be a tour operator at Istanbul University. I like to be known for my precision and hassle-free planning so that everyone’s vacation proceeds smoothly and easily and they enjoy their experience to the highest extend. I love nature and I live in nature. I spend a lot of time in my olive grove and a walnut grove in my spare time. One of my biggest missions in life to keep the bears away from my walnuts. No big success so far. I like to hike, bike my bicycle or my motorcycle, cook and drink rakı, breed dogs and raise birds and chickens in my yard and I am famous for reading your fortune from a cup of Turkish coffee with great precision.

 

Özlem Şimşek, Ph.D.

Adventure Guide

Certified Tour Guide
Özlem has graduated from Law school, completed a master’s degree a Ph.D. in Classical Archaeology. She participated in the excavations of the ancient Ionian site Klazomenai at her home town Urla.
Her special interests include Classical Choirs 20 years of participation as an alto: Boonville MO. Methodist Church Choir, Miami Bach Choir, Izmir French Cultural Association Choir, and Izmir Municipality choir, hiking, gardening, cooking, and sailing. Her vast experience, educational background, and charming personality make her an exceptional adventure guide.

Teoman Erdoğan

Adventure Guide

Certified Tour Guide
I was born in 1966. I completed my Agriculture Engineering degree at Aegean University in Izmir and my economy master’s at Istanbul University then moved to Bodrum. I ran 400 m in the Turkish National Team. I am a licensed sailor/instructor, advanced scuba diver, and wine and food, enthusiast. Books of Cevat Sakir Kabaagac (The Fisherman of Halicarnassus) is my inspiration to be a professional tour guide, the magic of Aegean and Mediterranean. I see myself as an ambassador of Turkey, a dedicated adventure guide and try to be accurate, update, efficient, and a good host to my guests so they remember Turkey and me with a smile.

Cemil Bezmen, Ph.D

Adventure Guide

Certified Tour Guide
Cemil has a background in physics at Bosphorus University and received his Ph.D. degree in Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge for his work on Cappadocia. He was active at the mountaineering club of the university and upon graduation became one of the first generation adventure guides in Turkey. He organized and guided mountaineering and trekking tours all over the country. Meanwhile worked as an archaeometry field assistant at some prehistoric excavations. He is one of the most experienced guides for ecotours, arts and history, and archaeology as well as active tours.

 

Feray Kalafatoğlu Çini

Adventure Guide

Certified Tour Guide
I have a 4 years degree from Erciyes University as a Professional Tour Guide. I had extra training at Hike’n Sail Travel to perform as an adventure guide.
I think the most important thing to make a trip special for a guest is to find something I have in common with them and find out their personal interests.
My favorite place is Cappadocia because everything is unique and exciting there. I especially love hiking the crazy valleys and showing my guests the hidden churches in the area.
Being a freelance guide enables me to take a variety of tours throughout Cappadocia. It is great when I get to take groups to a local house for a cooking class and share my local cuisine. I also enjoy the small villages and showing the groups how the ladies weave the carpets and make the dolls for younger children.

Hülya Özbek

Adventure Guide

Certified Tour Guide
Hülya had her degree in English Language and Literature in 1994 at Ankara University. She started working as a licensed tour guide in 1997, which was a childhood dream. She lived on the Mediterranean Coast of Turkey for long years and this gave her a great chance to do many outdoor sports such as hiking, rafting, rock climbing, diving, biking, and sailing. She loves nature and she counts it as the essence of life.
Her participation in the eco-tourism educational programs of Tubitak in the Kackar Mountain, Cappadocia, and Mediterranean parts of Turkey makes her a special adventure guide. She is also specialized in archeology, history, art history, and city sightseeing tours. She is married and has twins, a boy, and a girl. She is an amateur violin and guitar player. She has been living in İstanbul since 2009.