Istanbul?

callum9999

PompeyPete wrote: »

Be careful, as there's two airports in Istanbul.

If your flight to and from UK is Ataturk [IST] Airport, then with only a total of 4 days available there'll be a lot of time wasted if you have to cross to and from the Asian side of Istanbul for flights from/to Sabiha Gökçen [SAW] Airport.

There'll also be quite a bit of hanging around airports, making the 4 day break not much more than seeing the inside of airports.

Yeah, I specifically checked IST because of that. If they're flying into SAW then they'd have even more options at cheaper prices. Some flights are quite frequent, it won't necessarily add on that much travel time (especially considering the time it takes to get from SAW to their hotel!

Chlorine7 wrote: »

It's the dealbreaker. I saw my friend last night and told her we would still go if no more bombs went off between now and then. Then this happened. I'm contacting the airline to see if they can do anything flight.

Good luck with that. Who is the airline? You may just have to hope the FCO update their travel advice and recommend you don't visit Istanbul - though I don't know how willing they'd be to annoy Turkey right now with the EU migrant negotiations.

PompeyPete

Chlorine. You'll see lots of photos or footage on the telly, at where the bombing this morning happened. Running down the middle of the street [Istikal Caddesi] you'll see a set of parallel lines which are tram tracks for a nostalgic touristy tram that runs up and down the street all day.

This is what it normally looks like...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k-G3rHxNmo

It's a lovely vibrant part of Istanbul.

PompeyPete

callum9999 wrote: »

Yeah, I specifically checked IST because of that. If they're flying into SAW then they'd have even more options at cheaper prices. Some flights are quite frequent, it won't necessarily add on that much travel time (especially considering the time it takes to get from SAW to their hotel!

First time we flew into SAW we got the Havas bus to Sultanahmet. It took an hour+ with drop-offs @ €10 each [I think].

But on subsequent visits we've scrubbed round the Havas Bus, and done it this way...

- Public bus from outside of SAW Arrivals to the Public Ferry pier at Kadikoy. [Kadikoy is on the Asian side and a great place to visit to get away from all the tourists].

- Public Ferry from Kadikoy to the Public Ferry pier at Eminonu [near Galata Bridge].

- Right outside of the ferry is the tram line that goes up the hill to Sultanahmet.

...takes about 90 minutes, but it's a great introduction to Istanbul, especially the ferry where you pass several famous Istanbul sights, to Eminonu, and costs less than 10 Lira.

Chlorine7

Good luck with that. Who is the airline?

BA. It will cost £60 each plus any difference in fare to change. I need to work out where is worth going now. She wants to go to Bulgaria or Greece in Sept.

There is no way I'm going to Bulgaria (as I'm pretty sure it's Sunny Beach she has in mind) and I've agreed to Greece but I don't think she has realised what the price difference will be.

Alan_Bowen

Luckily BA do not fly to the Bulgarian coast, only Sofia, so you can safely avoid going there. They now fly to many of the Greek islands and September is a good time to go.

For those still contemplating Istanbul, the Netherlands closed its consulate today 23rd March for the foreseeable future and have advised their citizens to keep away from the centre. Last week the Germans correctly identified the risk the Turkish authorities did not, whether the Dutch are right this week, no one knows but if you are still travelling, take extreme care

Chlorine7

Hi, I just wanted to post that I did end up going to Istanbul and I don't regret it at all. I had to work a little to change my friend's mind but she did.

The buildings are amazing, the food is great, the people - well, they're hard work but I'm glad we decided to go.

There are police everywhere, you have to go through security scanners in all the main tourist attractions and shopping malls.

There were two protests while we were there, one a massive anti-Israeli one but no trouble. A lot of riot police and the main shopping street closed for a short time but we never felt unsafe. The only truly hard part of the trip was seeing Syrian refugees on the streets and waiting outside embassies. It's heartbreaking.

maman

So pleased you enjoyed yourself. I love Turkey including Istanbul.


I'm going to Turkey on holiday in 10 days time and really looking forward to it. I love the food and the people (not sure why you found them hard work). By my reckoning I might be safer in Turkey than in Paris but it's a risk I'm prepared to take.

Chlorine7

maman wrote: »

I love the food and the people (not sure why you found them hard work). .

I don't like to be pestered walking down every street and followed by men asking to take pictures with me every day. They would also try to convince me certain things weren't open, when they clearly were.

Andypandyboy

Glad you enjoyed it, we also enjoyed the sights but hated the pestering. For that reason we would not go back.

PompeyPete

Best way to avoid the hassle is to avoid the places that you're likely to encounter it. That might take a bit of pre-trip homework but it's worth it.

Kadikoy on the Asian side is a great place to visit. Easy to get to by frequent public ferry from the the ferry terminal at Eminonu [by Galata Bridge] Costs next to nowt for a ticket [jeton], takes 25 minutes, and passes some great sights on the way. Once you're there it's every bit as beautiful as any of the main sights.