Turkey travel tips

Hazy_Living@79 said:
Tickets are booked. Wife and I are going end of March for 11 days.

So far all that's confirmed is flying in and out of Istanbul, and we're set on seeing the hot air balloons in Cappadocia.

Toying with the idea of adding in a 3rd city instead of spending about 8 days in Istanbul, but not sure yet.
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Istanbul has a LOT to offer, and you can actually fill up 8 days. Another city is also a good idea though, like Antalya, or even Bodrum. The country is so damn big, traveling takes a lot of time haha
 
Hazy_Living@79 said:
Tickets are booked. Wife and I are going end of March for 11 days.

So far all that's confirmed is flying in and out of Istanbul, and we're set on seeing the hot air balloons in Cappadocia.

Toying with the idea of adding in a 3rd city instead of spending about 8 days in Istanbul, but not sure yet.
Click to expand...

I won't stay for 8 days in Istanbul, 4 days max in my opinion. Have a look at adding a coastal town like Bodrum or Antalya.
 
Bliksis said:
Istanbul has a LOT to offer, and you can actually fill up 8 days. Another city is also a good idea though, like Antalya, or even Bodrum. The country is so damn big, traveling takes a lot of time haha
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bokka1 said:
I won't stay for 8 days in Istanbul, 4 days max in my opinion. Have a look at adding a coastal town like Bodrum or Antalya.
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Bill Clitnon said:
Agree, 8 days is too much.
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Thanks for the comments gents. I hadn't considered a coastal visit due to the seasons. March/April has historical highs of around 15C, with lows around 6C-7C. But I do get that seeing one of the coastal towns, besides for the swimming part, would be worth it. Will do some research into Bodrum/Antalya.

Was considering doing a cruise to the Black Sea, or possibly setting aside one or two of the "Istanbul" days to do some sight seeing via trains/busses to the coast in the North/North East. Takes about 3 hours via public transport, and we'd get to choose where and how we want to spend that time.
 
Not interested in ancient Roman/Greek cities? This would be a good time to go as you don't have to endure the summer heat or crowds.
 
Bill Clitnon said:
Not interested in ancient Roman/Greek cities? This would be a good time to go as you don't have to endure the summer heat or crowds.
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I am, but didn't consider it too much for this trip, although rethinking it at the moment. Would 2 days/1 night be enough in Antalya?
 
Hazy_Living@79 said:
I am, but didn't consider it too much for this trip, although rethinking it at the moment. Would 2 days/1 night be enough in Antalya?
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2 full days should be okay to see some stuff. In the area you can see the ancient city of Side, Perge and Aspendos theatre (best-preserved theatre of antiquity) on a 1-day tour. Viator or GetYourGuide is your friend for these kinda tours. The one we did included a quick stop at Manavgat waterfalls.

The other day you can spend exploring the very pretty Antalya old town. There's also Termessos ruins up in the hills to the west of the city.
 
Thanks again for all the comments.

So we've decided on Istanbul / Goreme / Antalya.

We're in Turkey for a total of 11 days, so planning on doing:
Istanbul - 3 days
Antalya - 2 days
Goreme - 2 days
Istanbul - 4 days

Only problem now is trying to plan for the weather. Wanted to do Cappadocia over the weekend, but the weather doesn't look great for 1 of the days, and since we're basically only heading there for the balloons, it's making me a bit nervous.

Does anyone know whether the hot-air balloons operate daily i.e. Monday to Friday as well? If that's the case, then we can head to Antalya for the weekend, do Goreme after that, and then head back to Istanbul.

For Istanbul, I'm planning on splitting the two stays between the European and Asian side.
 
Hazy_Living@79 said:
Don't think it works like that. When they try and curb inflation, prices of things go up.
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Damn, thinks are now super expensive compared to 2019. Watch some videos by Bery Istanbul Tips. In the latest one, I saw that even the Hagia Sophia now as a 25 EUR entrance fee. Wtf.
 
Bliksis said:
Damn, thinks are now super expensive compared to 2019. Watch some videos by Bery Istanbul Tips. In the latest one, I saw that even the Hagia Sophia now as a 25 EUR entrance fee. Wtf.
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I saw those :( Been watching her videos. Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace and a few others now have entrance fees.

Removed them from our list (visiting all of them comes to around 100 Eur pp), I'd prefer to spend that money on a few rooftop dinner experiences with views of the mosques/palaces etc. Prices are continuously fluctuating, but I think all in all, its still relatively not too bad.
 
Hazy_Living@79 said:
I saw those :( Been watching her videos. Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace and a few others now have entrance fees.

Removed them from our list (visiting all of them comes to around 100 Eur pp), I'd prefer to spend that money on a few rooftop dinner experiences with views of the mosques/palaces etc. Prices are continuously fluctuating, but I think all in all, its still relatively not too bad.
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Istanbul is fantastic. Personally, I'd find smaller more local restaurants off the beaten path, but if you're not a seasoned or well researched traveler, that might also be a bit difficult.

Whatever you do, avoid the restaurant on top of the Galata tower. For some superb views, make your way to the Pierre Loti hill. It's a hit of a trek, but you get to use the cable car for more views. I'm not sure about the food, but it's worth while going to have tea or coffee.
 
Hazy_Living@79 said:
Thanks again for all the comments.

So we've decided on Istanbul / Goreme / Antalya.

We're in Turkey for a total of 11 days, so planning on doing:
Istanbul - 3 days
Antalya - 2 days
Goreme - 2 days
Istanbul - 4 days

Only problem now is trying to plan for the weather. Wanted to do Cappadocia over the weekend, but the weather doesn't look great for 1 of the days, and since we're basically only heading there for the balloons, it's making me a bit nervous.

Does anyone know whether the hot-air balloons operate daily i.e. Monday to Friday as well? If that's the case, then we can head to Antalya for the weekend, do Goreme after that, and then head back to Istanbul.

For Istanbul, I'm planning on splitting the two stays between the European and Asian side.
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Balloons operate every day and the biggest factor is the wind. They need clearance from the Turkish civil aviation authority every morning before they can take off.
 
Just over a month until we leave, and the excitement is starting to build. This is wifey and my 2nd time travelling together overseas, the first being to Mauritius on an all-inclusive honeymoon type vibe, so I'm expecting a very different experience.

Unfortunately not going to be making it to any of the coastal cities, both because of time and the weather.

Have planned:
Istanbul - Europe side for 3 days
Cappadocia - 3 and a bit days (hiring a car to do some exploring, keen for the hiking in the area and booked the hot air balloons)
Istanbul - Asia side for 4 days.

Bookings are mostly done, with the internal flights and the accommodation sorted, plus a few bookings of tickets for touristy things and the hot air balloons. Quite impressed with the total so far, but will update on how much we actually spent on the day to day after we get back. Not quite sure how to budget for it as the price of things seem to fluctuate almost on a daily basis.

Have been dealing with insane information overload for the last month and a bit, but have managed to start planning an itinerary, and quite happy with how it's looking so far.
 
Hazy_Living@79 said:
Just over a month until we leave, and the excitement is starting to build. This is wifey and my 2nd time travelling together overseas, the first being to Mauritius on an all-inclusive honeymoon type vibe, so I'm expecting a very different experience.

Unfortunately not going to be making it to any of the coastal cities, both because of time and the weather.

Have planned:
Istanbul - Europe side for 3 days
Cappadocia - 3 and a bit days (hiring a car to do some exploring, keen for the hiking in the area and booked the hot air balloons)
Istanbul - Asia side for 4 days.

Bookings are mostly done, with the internal flights and the accommodation sorted, plus a few bookings of tickets for touristy things and the hot air balloons. Quite impressed with the total so far, but will update on how much we actually spent on the day to day after we get back. Not quite sure how to budget for it as the price of things seem to fluctuate almost on a daily basis.

Have been dealing with insane information overload for the last month and a bit, but have managed to start planning an itinerary, and quite happy with how it's looking so far.
Click to expand...

In which area on the Europe side are you staying?
 
A car for Cappadocia is a good idea. While Göreme itself is fantastic, I wanted to explore Nevșehir as well. I missed out on kokoreç in Istanbul, thinking I could get it anywhere. I was wrong.
 
bokka1 said:
In which area on the Europe side are you staying?
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I booked in Beşiktaş for the first part. We're spending the first 3 and a bit days in Istanbul, so thought I'd book somewhere that'd be convenient to get from the airport, as well as a home base while we're doing most of the main touristy things in the old city. Still thinking through whether to book a shuttle service from the airport, or whether my wife and I would manage to make it using the public transport. I saw there's a new metro line that's meant to make it easier to travel from the airport to the city side.

Bliksis said:
A car for Cappadocia is a good idea. While Göreme itself is fantastic, I wanted to explore Nevșehir as well. I missed out on kokoreç in Istanbul, thinking I could get it anywhere. I was wrong.
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That's what we thought also. There's a few places we want to explore in Nevsehir, Goreme, Avanos.

Dude... Kokorec looks amazing. Can't wait to try it.
 
@Hazy_Living@79 not sure if I mentioned this before but be aware that the majority of merchants (restaurants, shops, markets, informal sellers) in Turkey prefer payment in cash. This is because of the high rate of inflation. By the time the credit card transaction has cleared, the inflation rate looks different.
 
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