Turkey travel tips

May I ask something else:

Is there more than one airport in Istanbul? A preferred one?
 
Candystore said:
May I ask something else:

Is there more than one airport in Istanbul? A preferred one?
Click to expand...
Yes there are a few but you want to fly into IST (Istanbul airport).

Its around 45 minutes from Istanbul central. There are busses leaving every so often or if you take a taxi will cost you around R400.
 
MaisonP said:
Yes there are a few but you want to fly into IST (Istanbul airport).

Its around 45 minutes from Istanbul central. There are busses leaving every so often or if you take a taxi will cost you around R400.
Click to expand...
But if you are going to travel internal or domestic inside Turkey usually you will use Sabiha Gokcen. Its also about 45 minutes from Istanbul central. Traffic is usually a pain so make sure you give it 1h15m to get there.
 
Candystore said:
May I ask something else:

Is there more than one airport in Istanbul? A preferred one?
Click to expand...

There are two main airports, the old and new one and they are not close together. It is not a problem if you don't have a connecting flight, but if you have a connecting flight check the airport as the budget airlines use the old airport.

Use Pegasus Air for your internal flights, they were brilliant and if you book early enough you can choose a seat with extra legroom, baggage and a snack for a few lira extra.
 
Snyper564 said:
only use this one

www.evisa.gov.tr

Electronic Visa Application System

Republic of Türkiye Electronic Visa Application System
www.evisa.gov.tr www.evisa.gov.tr

The rest are sites that make you pay for it, thats the official site I linked.
Should have it within 30 min, you can apply now already anyway
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Just curious - I used your site and even though I made no payment, it says something like "payment received" whereafter you can download the visa. Just a glitch?
 
Candystore said:
Just curious - I used your site and even though I made no payment, it says something like "payment received" whereafter you can download the visa. Just a glitch?
Click to expand...
Not my site this is the official evisa site for Turkey - but yes just a glitch

Visa Information For Foreigners / Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Foreign Affairs

www.mfa.gov.tr www.mfa.gov.tr

South Africa: Ordinary passport holders are required to have visa to enter Türkiye. They can obtain three-month period multiple entry visas from Turkish representations abroad or one month period single entry visas via the website www.evisa.gov.tr. Official passport holders are exempted from visa for their travels up to 30 days.
 
GrootBaas said:
Was in Istanbul a month ago. Did the evisa online and got it instantly. Maybe just an issue with the website.

My tip for Istanbul will be to install the Marti and/or BinBin apps and scooter your way around. It's cheap and saves a lot of time.

Also, you can get the Istanbul travel card and use the trains, ferries etc all for approx R7 a trip.

To and from the airport you can use the havaist busses, you can pay with you CC at the bus.

I got myself a turkcel sim card when I got there. Don't buy it at the airport though, you pay a premium. Got mine at a turkcel in Taksim Square for much cheaper.

Oh, and booking.com is blocked within Turkey. You can access it with a VPN though, or rather use hotels.com or Airbnb.

I also enjoyed the Asian side much more.

And get a translation app on your phone.
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If booking.com is blocked, I suppose you can still use the bookings you made using the site, though??

One just cannot access it while there, so must print out a booking confirmation, right?
 
Candystore said:
If booking.com is blocked, I suppose you can still use the bookings you made using the site, though??

One just cannot access it while there, so must print out a booking confirmation, right?
Click to expand...
Yes you can. Or just use a VPN for the time you are there and you will be able to access Booking or Agoda or etc.
 
All your bookings are valid and I had no problems.

I even had a place in Kas that advertised it has a pool and when we arrived there was no pool they cancelled via the booking.com message system.

Hotel.com also works there.

But a VPN like tunnelbear worked perfectly too to access Booking.com.
 
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bokka1 said:
All your bookings are valid and I had no problems.

I even had a place in Kas that advertised it has a pool and when we arrived there was no pool they cancelled via the booking.com message system.

Hotel.com also works there.

But a VPN like tunnelbear worked perfectly too to access Booking.com.
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Thanks very much.
 
I would appreciate it if @bokka1 or anyone else with firsthand knowledge can comment on a suggested itinerary.

We land in Istanbul on the evening of 25 Sept.

Booked a hotel in Istanbul for 4 nights - is this too long? Want to see the usual sites around the city.

After that, nothing confirmed yet!

We are planning to visit then (in this order) Kusadasi, Bodrum, Cappadocia, and back to Istanbul.

Flying out of Istanbul on the evening of 7 October.

A bit too much to fit in?
What would you leave out if you had to?
Are the domestic flights between the places mentioned above (Kusadasi, Bodrum, Cappadocia, and back to Istanbul) long flights?
Is Antalya a better option than Bodrum?
Are any of these trips worth taking by train to appreciate the scenery, or not really?


[The travelers are 2 adults and a 10 yr old].

Can you recommend a SA travel agent with a good knowledge of Turkey who can make internal travel bookings for me?

Thank you so much.
 
Last edited:
Candystore said:
I would appreciate it if @bokka1 or anyone else with firsthand knowledge can comment on a suggested itinerary.

We land in Istanbul on the evening of 25 Sept.

Booked a hotel in Istanbul for 4 nights - is this too long? Want to see the usual sites around the city.

After that, nothing confirmed yet!

We are planning to visit then (in this order) Kusadasi, Bodrum, Cappadocia, and back to Istanbul.

Flying out of Istanbul on the evening of 7 October.

A bit too much to fit in?
What would you leave out if you had to?
Are the domestic flights between the places mentioned above (Kusadasi, Bodrum, Cappadocia, and back to Istanbul) long flights?
Is Antalya a better option than Bodrum?
Are any of these trips worth taking by train to appreciate the scenery, or not really?


[The travelers are 2 adults and a 10 yr old].

Can you recommend a SA travel agent with a good knowledge of Turkey who can make internal travel bookings for me?

Thank you so much.
Click to expand...
its oldish (4yrs) but have a look at their video for ideas





 
What are the covid 19 requirements for entry? Just proof of vaccination. My 10 yrd old obvs has not had any vaccination.
 
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