Turkey travel tips

SYNERGY said:
Also be on the lookout for scam artists and swindlers.
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There are many, it seems it's a Eroupean thing. But it's easy to avoid. Majority of people don't get scammed.

Except for taxis. It seems every taxi will try to scam everyone, even locals.
 
Hazy_Living@79 said:
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.


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.
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Get the kokoreç in Istanbul or other large city. Outside of those cities, it doesn't seem to be easily available.

We did do a bus trip to Derinkuyu and saw so many awesome sights, I wished I'd rather driven a car. But now I know.
 
Hazy_Living@79 said:
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.


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.
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Get a shuttle service, you don't want to get into a new city that is extremely busy and then have to go into the roads with luggage.

You are not far from Istiklal Street, there are nice cheap restaurants in the side streets. The restaurants in the old city near the sights are much more expensive.

For a hectic experience go to Nevizade Street, there are VERY lively places with street musicians walking down the narrow lanes with their loud instruments. https://maps.app.goo.gl/4QcuWupdiATs3Y1MA Go to streetview to get an idea of the lane.
 
bokka1 said:
Get a shuttle service, you don't want to get into a new city that is extremely busy and then have to go into the roads with luggage.

You are not far from Istiklal Street, there are nice cheap restaurants in the side streets. The restaurants in the old city near the sights are much more expensive.

For a hectic experience go to Nevizade Street, there are VERY lively places with street musicians walking down the narrow lanes with their loud instruments. https://maps.app.goo.gl/4QcuWupdiATs3Y1MA Go to streetview to get an idea of the lane.
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That is awrsome, I agree. I also recommend going to Kadiköy on the Asian side. I was there for drinks and some partying and I so regretted not staying on that side for at least a night or two.

We got there with the Marmaray Sircesi Metro train under the water to Uskudar, and walked from there. The sunset over Marmaray is something to behold.
 
Hi All, anyone rented a car recently in Antalya?

Our flights are booked for September, two days in Istanbul. We are then flying to Antalya and will rent a car and drive that down the coast all the way to Izmir over two weeks. Pricing not looking great, its either between 12k - 16k I do know because of the different drop off places that add some extra cost. Should we use the well known brands like Europcar and Avis or is there any other brands we can trust. How does insurance work and needing to fill up the tank before giving it back, really don't want a surprise on my credit card when I arrive back in South Africa.

Thanks in advance.
 
Privateuser456 said:
Hi All, anyone rented a car recently in Antalya?

Our flights are booked for September, two days in Istanbul. We are then flying to Antalya and will rent a car and drive that down the coast all the way to Izmir over two weeks. Pricing not looking great, its either between 12k - 16k I do know because of the different drop off places that add some extra cost. Should we use the well known brands like Europcar and Avis or is there any other brands we can trust. How does insurance work and needing to fill up the tank before giving it back, really don't want a surprise on my credit card when I arrive back in South Africa.

Thanks in advance.
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We book abroad often not Turkey though stick to the well known names also get topped up insurance from your international travel insurance provider. There is a massive hold on your CC I think serbia was 30-50k zar took 3 weeks afterwards to release. Some countries I would avoid driving if possible. We avoided it in France and Hong Kong used trains all over the country but did take uber/rental in serbia and Portugal. Driving overseas can be one hella experience if you dont know what to expect.
 
Privateuser456 said:
Hi All, anyone rented a car recently in Antalya?

Our flights are booked for September, two days in Istanbul. We are then flying to Antalya and will rent a car and drive that down the coast all the way to Izmir over two weeks. Pricing not looking great, its either between 12k - 16k I do know because of the different drop off places that add some extra cost. Should we use the well known brands like Europcar and Avis or is there any other brands we can trust. How does insurance work and needing to fill up the tank before giving it back, really don't want a surprise on my credit card when I arrive back in South Africa.

Thanks in advance.
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these might be helpful havent watched

 
Privateuser456 said:
Thanks so much for sharing will definitely take a look.

This will be my first time renting a car overseas and with my own money.
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There is a channel on YouTube which I found quite informative.

youtube.com

Bery Istanbul Tips

Do you plan to travel to Türkiye? Here I show you the best of ð¹ð·.
youtube.com youtube.com
 
The public transport on the Southern Coast from Antalya to Bodrum is not great, however the roads are excellent and it is a very scenic drive.

I had to go from Bodrum to Kas and ended up renting a Merc Vito Private transfer for R5000.
 
I found no problem with the long distance buses when we were there. Numerous companies/bus times available. Obviously much cheaper than renting a car. Went from Selçuk > Denizli > Fethiye > Antalya without any problems.
 
Bill Clitnon said:
I found no problem with the long distance buses when we were there. Numerous companies/bus times available. Obviously much cheaper than renting a car. Went from Selçuk > Denizli > Fethiye > Antalya without any problems.
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Our problem was that there was no direct bus between Bodrum and Kas, you had to do a few transfers and I was not lus for that.
 
Anyone going to Turkey nowadays might be in for a shock (like me) at the prices. I'm here again after less than 2 years and prices have risen by an insane amount - much higher than their inflation rate.

1₺ = R0.48 right now (20 March 2025), so divide the following prices by 2 to get Rand:

In Istanbul the cost of just buying an Istanbulkart is now 130₺, with a single bus or tram fare costing 27₺. A doner kebab is around 300₺.

Galata tower is now 1150₺ vs 350₺ only 20 months ago when I was here last time. Basilica Cistern is 1300₺ vs 350₺. Topkapi Palace is 2000₺ vs 750₺. Outside of Istanbul I see Ephesus is now 1600₺ vs 400₺ - a 300% increase in 20 months!

Pity as it was my fav country to visit, but not sure if I'll come back again. So if you wanna go to Turkey because you think it's cheap, well that ship has definitely sailed now.
 
Bill Clitnon said:
Anyone going to Turkey nowadays might be in for a shock (like me) at the prices. I'm here again after less than 2 years and prices have risen by an insane amount - much higher than their inflation rate.

1₺ = R0.48 right now (20 March 2025), so divide the following prices by 2 to get Rand:

In Istanbul the cost of just buying an Istanbulkart is now 130₺, with a single bus or tram fare costing 27₺. A doner kebab is around 300₺.

Galata tower is now 1150₺ vs 350₺ only 20 months ago when I was here last time. Basilica Cistern is 1300₺ vs 350₺. Topkapi Palace is 2000₺ vs 750₺. Outside of Istanbul I see Ephesus is now 1600₺ vs 400₺ - a 300% increase in 20 months!

Pity as it was my fav country to visit, but not sure if I'll come back again. So if you wanna go to Turkey because you think it's cheap, well that ship has definitely sailed now.
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Yep. I was there last June for the first time in 5 years and was shocked at how expensive it had become.
 
I was there in June 23 and I currently won't be able to afford the places I stayed at back then.
 
That's sad, was planning to visit there at some point in the near future...especially it just being a 4-5hr ish flight from the UK.
 
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