Turkey travel tips

Snyper564

Snyper564

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So we off to Serbia for a week (wife's work) then off to Turkey for holiday early October. I see its coolish then should be a nice time of year, I think.

Doing the flight booking etc by Monday.

Tip form my side Travel by Investec can be 10-30% cheaper if you can use them to book.

Anyway I have a good idea of where we staying what we doing eating etc.

But any other tips welcome.

Esp around the currency situation. After travelling round Europe and Hong Kong it seems dirt cheap after they were hit with mega inflation earlier this year. I plan on using my global acc EUR FNB card for Serbia but what should I use here? Draw cash on arrival alternate with card? Maybe get capitec card as I think it will need to convert from EUR to Lira? Any advice?

Thanks!

Also super excited havent traveled abroad since our last trip to France in 2019, really looking forward to it!
 
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Flights booked.

Currency tips still welcome.

We are in Turkey for 8 days. Want to stay in Istanbul for atleast 4 days, but that does mean we can travel somewhere else if its worthwhile. Any tips? Capadocia seems just a little too much effort :)
 
Snyper564 said:
Flights booked.

Currency tips still welcome.

We are in Turkey for 8 days. Want to stay in Istanbul for atleast 4 days, but that does mean we can travel somewhere else if its worthwhile. Any tips? Capadocia seems just a little too much effort :)
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I did an 8 day Western Turkey tour starting in Istanbul, going through to Cappadocia and in to Izmir.

It was a trip well never forget.

We used a local travel guide and booked through trip adviser. I think it was called pomegranate tours and included one local flight and overnight bus, lunches and all accommodation.

That was in 2013. Two days in Istanbul is enough and we. Spent the last day in Istanbul and doing last minor gift shopping in the grand bazaar.

Izmir is a little beach town and we spent the day relaxing there before heading back to Istanbul.

Some pics of my trip to get you ready. 666763651.jpg1873242639.jpg543702188.jpg58749986.jpg6270926.jpg2102045530.jpg104305589.jpg
 
AchmatK said:
I did an 8 day Western Turkey tour starting in Istanbul, going through to Cappadocia and in to Izmir.

It was a trip well never forget.

We used a local travel guide and booked through trip adviser. I think it was called pomegranate tours and included one local flight and overnight bus, lunches and all accommodation.

That was in 2013. Two days in Istanbul is enough and we. Spent the last day in Istanbul and doing last minor gift shopping in the grand bazaar.

Izmir is a little beach town and we spent the day relaxing there before heading back to Istanbul.

Some pics of my trip to get you ready. View attachment 1339832View attachment 1339834View attachment 1339836View attachment 1339838View attachment 1339840View attachment 1339842View attachment 1339844
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Thanks for that we have the time to actually do something similar just need to see if thats a route we want to go.
 
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Snyper564 said:
Flights booked.

Currency tips still welcome.

We are in Turkey for 8 days. Want to stay in Istanbul for atleast 4 days, but that does mean we can travel somewhere else if its worthwhile. Any tips? Capadocia seems just a little too much effort :)
Click to expand...
I usually do work in Bursa - its a big textile hub east of Istanbul. Its quite a big city.
Have a machine in build at the moment, but the Turks are opting to meet in TN rather than Bursa (the US turns them on I guess :))

For cash, I exchange USD notes. There are little exchanges all over the show in the tourist areas.
Drawing cash is possible, but you may have to pay a charge for using that bank - the machine will ask if you accept the charge or not AFAIR.
90% of my spend is using my cards...... well - I usually hit the Turks up for the chow and raki :)

In Istanbul, the Blue Mosque is a must, the bazaar, try to do a night tour up the Bosphorus - its stunning - theres the Galata Tower with a virtual heli ride, the underground catacombs and the Dolmobache Palace - and of course, a small tea - they go crazy for it.

Driving in Istanbul is a challenge - but - if you are adventurous, you can drive through to Bursa across the new bridge then off to Hisarlik (Troy) for a day and back to Bursa, and then back to Istanbul via the ferry at Tavsanli rather than the bridge. Its something we dont experience in SA.
Pumakkale is in the opposite direction to Hisarlik.

Turkey is lekker, and the new airport is way better than the old one.
 
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TEXTILE GUY said:
I usually do work in Bursa - its a big textile hub east of Istanbul. Its quite a big city.
Have a machine in build at the moment, but the Turks are opting to meet in TN rather than Bursa (the US turns them on I guess :))

For cash, I exchange USD notes. There are little exchanges all over the show in the tourist areas.
Drawing cash is possible, but you may have to pay a charge for using that bank - the machine will ask if you accept the charge or not AFAIR.
90% of my spend is using my cards...... well - I usually hit the Turks up for the chow and raki :)

In Istanbul, the Blue Mosque is a must, the bazaar, try to do a night tour up the Bosphorus - its stunning - theres the Galata Tower with a virtual heli ride, the underground catacombs and the Dolmobache Palace - and of course, a small tea - they go crazy for it.

Driving in Istanbul is a challenge - but - if you are adventurous, you can drive through to Bursa across the new bridge then off to Hisarlik (Troy) for a day and back to Bursa, and then back to Istanbul via the ferry at Tavsanli rather than the bridge. Its something we dont experience in SA.
Pumakkale is in the opposite direction to Hisarlik.

Turkey is lekker, and the new airport is way better than the old one.
Click to expand...
Sweet thanks this is def most helpful and I will look into that! I want to avoid renting a car as far as possible.
 
Turkey is freakin awesome. I've only been to Istanbul, but geez there was a lot to see and do there! Would love to go back. And as you said, it's super cheap now. It was cheap when we went 5years(ish) ago.

If you're going to Istanbul, most of the old cool stuff are on the European side. We stayed near Taksim Square and traveled using their metro system. 1 card for the Trams, metro and buses. Very efficient. Also gives you access to the public toilets.
 
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TofuMofu said:
Turkey is freakin awesome. I've only been to Istanbul, but geez there was a lot to see and do there! Would love to go back. And as you said, it's super cheap now. It was cheap when we went 5years(ish) ago.

If you're going to Instanbul, most of the old cool stuff are on the European side. We stayed near Taksim Square and traveled using their metro system. 1 card for the Trams, metro and buses. Very efficient. Also gives you access to the public toilets.
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Im beyond excited the more I dig the more I see there is to see.

I plan on staying in these areas pref the Asia side we dont mind staying away from the tourists experiencing the more auth side and then traveling around as needed. Public transport seems to be great as well.

I have travelled around France Spain and Hong Kongs public transport systems so not to worried

1656916816181.png
 
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Snyper564 said:
Im beyond excited the more I dig the more I see there is to see.

I plan on staying in these areas pref the Asia side we dont mind staying away from the tourists experiencing the more auth side and then traveling around as needed. Public transport seems to be great as well.

I have travelled around France Spain and Hong Kongs public transport systems so not to worried

View attachment 1339896
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The top square is where we stayed, but as you said, the public transport goes everywhere so it should not be a problem. You're definitely going to love Istanbul!

Use Trip Advisor to look what touristy things are close. On that pointy bit on the map where it says Istanbul, that's where a lot of the old stuff are. Obelisks, Topkapi Palace, Mosques, Grand Bazaar, Basilica Cistern etc. Then there's the double decker bridge between that part and Karakoy, which has restaurants under it and people fishing from it and you can see Galata Tower on the other side, which is also something you need to see.
 
I did istanbul for 6 days 4 years back was awesome.
I want to go back in November when it's warmer but want something different.
Cappadocia looks great but too much effort to get there , I thought of antayla as I love beach rather than historical sights.
Covid gas freaked me out a bit especially after hearing 2 ppl returned from Turkey recently with covid.

I want to fly wirh rurkish but R15k from Durban then still get to antayla.
Emirates is cheaper but don't want extra flights.
 
Found the grand bazar and Blue Mosque over rated.

We did do a nice boat trip up the Bosphorus all the way up toward the Black Sea had a awesome lunch and then cruised back.

Ticket prices outside the blue mosque about triple the price as down by the boats and harbour.
 
I.am.Sam said:
things are dirt cheap there ....dont take too much luggage
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I must say for any international travellers this doesnt make sense esp after hitting France/Spain/Hong Kong. When I started looking at prices in Turkey it felt like looking at SA late 90s prices just insane!
 
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