Kibkom North Cyprus Forum

Want to 'do' Istanbul in August, usual suspects, Blue Mosque, Palace, Spice Market, Bosphorus boat trip,..

Any tips for 2/3 day trip from Ercan?

Sure lot's of you have done it, but what's best,... self booking, use a NC agent, package etc?

Any tips for decent hotels with views of Blue Mosque etc? Buses, Taxis,.. Costs? Best to take Lire or £?

All suggestions/experiences appreciated! How was it for you?

owl

Go on Booking.com web page lots of hotels on there, you can check availability on there too, they give you a price you don't pay until you are leaving. Best to take TL we had a fabulous stay in June but stayed with friends. Have a walk across Galata bridge to the Galata Tower wonderful views from up at the top, a lift takes you up. You can do a short Bospherous tour or a long one 10.30 am return at 4pm well worth spending the day on there. Pegasus have flights from Ercan quite cheap, some hotels will arrange the pick up and return journey. Enjoy.

We have been a couple of times before for 7 or 8 nights - you do need that to do it justice. Next month we are going for 3 days/2 nights. I always do all the travel arrangements myself - this time we are flying with Atlasjet 7am from Ercan returning 7pm from Ataturk. I'd recommend Ataturk airport as it is closer to the city centre. We always stay in Sultanahmet as it's close to Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Grand Bazaar, etc. I, also, use booking.com to book hotels - if you register with them they send you details of special deals. The public transport system is good and cheap - we've tried it all, trams, buses, train, boat & metro. We enjoyed Topkapi Palace, the Cistern, Blue Mosque, ferry to Princes Islands, Bosphurus trip - golden horn not so much. Just a word of warning, esp. in spice market, grand bazaar, trams - keep your wits about you as there are a lot of pickpockets/thieves. Don't leave valuables in your room. If you search the internet you should be able to find suggested itineraries for short trips. One more thing - if you have temporary residency here, take your blue/pink book and/or Turkish driving licence - we have been able to get discount on entry to blue mosque and cistern before on production of these - don't know if it still works but worth a try.

We stayed in Erboy Hotel which is central to most of the attractions and their restaurant serves Ottoman food which is so good. At least try their restaurant, even if you don't want to stay at the hotel. http://www.erboyhotel.com/

We stayed in the Blue House. (Mavi Ev) Sultanahamet! area, Walking distance from Blue Mosque etc. also near to tram stop. Just googled it and it is still getting good reviews on Trip Advisor. A trip to the Dolmabaci Palace a must, along with Topkapi, A lot of museums close on Mondays, so check.

We stayed in: http://www.hotelsapphire.com/

in Sultanahmet, close to all tourist things.

We go again in August and staying in Sisli : http://www.eskidjisuites.com/mobil/eng/

Enjoy your stay.

Wow!

Thanks Kibkomers one & all, some great advice & links there.

Maybe 2/3 days may not be enough!

Kibkom at it's best!

owl

There is some good advice on here..
http://matadornetwork.com/trips/what-no ... -istanbul/


DO take the bus tours..especially if you havent been before. Get on the inside Istanbul tour then after, cross the square and do the other one which travels out and over the bridge.
Amazing views from the top of the bus and then you can get back on and do the hop on, hop off at all the places you want to visit! The ticket covers you for both trips and lasts all day, or pay the extra and it covers you for 2 days!

Have fun!

excellent article Three lizards, well worth reading and informative. Owl give it a read!

If you dont want to flash the cash on your accommodation try these guys.

http://ilkayhotel.com/

Great value, smack bang in the middle of everything. Easy to jump on the trams from the hotel.
They pick you up from the airport free and if you book through the website and pay cash when you get there, they will give you a 7% discount on your stay.
The staff are great and there is a super bar next door (Red River) that does lovely grub, beer, wine and coffee.

A mini trip is well worth while but in reality you need quite a few mini trips as there is so much to see.

If this is your first trip then, as previously said, Sultanahmet is the place to say as you can walk to most of the main sites and if you have never been before then you will easily fill up 3 days and will want to go back for more.

I loved the link by threelizards, it is so very true however I would point out that there is an official Istanbul Ferry that treks up and down the Bosphoros and if you do fancy this then this is the one to go on at a fraction of the cost of the cruise ships. It does take all day which is quite a large chunk out of your 2/3days so maybe next time it would be worth a look at.

Have fun, you will not run out of things to see or do, it is a great city.

I've now got hand cramps and double vision from all the Googling!

Thanks again folks, excellent tips, hints and links. Followed them all.

Certainly seems 2/3 days will not be enough. 2nd mini trip looks likely!

owl

Beware taxi drivers, make sure you hold onto your money if change required. We gave 50tl, driver must have 5lt near him, he produced it and said that is all we had given him. The new 5tl notes are easier to identify with their purple blend.

If you are tempted with the lovely glass lampshades etc. in the Grand Bazaar, wait till you do your Bosphorus cruise. Less than 1/2 the price at the lunch stopover. if you are going into Sabiha Goken you can get an express bus to Kadikoy (about 1 hr) and take the ferry to the Sultanhamet interesting rides.

Kath

We are just back from our trip - stayed at the World Heritage Hotel, a couple of minutes walk from both the Blue Mosque and Sultanahmet tram stop. We bought an Istanbulkart at the airport metro station and used it for all our tram, metro and ferry journeys - each trip is discounted, e.g. normal tram fare 4TL, with the card 2.15TL. It costs 10TL to buy, 6TL for card (allegedly refundable but we will keep for next trip) and 4TL credit. You can then load the card up using any denomination of Lira note, there are lots of topup points. Would thoroughly recommend the hotel, we arrived to drop off our luggage at 9.30am and they offered us breakfast and had our room ready by 11. Every day they had tea/coffee and cakes available in reception - drinks in the room fridge were complimentary and the pressure for the shower was fantastic. The staff were lovely, nothing was too much trouble - we will stay there again.

Can you give prices for flights and hotel please?

Just checked for February 6 nights £345 including breakfast.

The hotel for 2 nights inc. breakfast was 207 Euro, flights were with Atlasjet 388TL for 2 of us return - booked in June.

Owl.

When planning the Bosphorus trip get a map of Istanbul and the Bosphorus, look for the last town on the right hand side, make a note of this then go to the Peir head?? were all the ferries stop, look on the board above the entrance to each ferry for the name of the town then book a ticket. This is far cheaper than a travel guide will offer, just sit in hearing distance of one and you will receive the full information.
A word of warning do not take the glass of fresh orange offered when you board the boat, after you set sail a waiter will come round and ask for 10 Euros we saw a few Germans ripped off this way.
At the top of the Bosphorus at the last stop there are some very good fish restaurants, you have about 2 hours before the return journey.

You want Sehir Hatlari Istanbuls official ferry company, sales office on the left docks in Eminonu. Anadulu Kavagi is the last harbour before the Black Sea you must get off the ferry here, take a walk up to the fortress for lovely views.

We stayed at Hotel Residence just off of Taxim Square. We went down and sorted the whole thing with the lovely lady in the travel agents at the top of main street in Kyrenia(next to newsagent and opp cafe). I would recommend using the metro and tram to get around, its cheap as chips.

Take some comfortable walking shoes as its very hilly and be prepared to be exhausted by the end of the day.

As per all the previous posts the mosque and bazar are well worth the visit. Be aware of the prices though, I wanted to buy a handbag inside the bazar but opted for buying one from the stall just outside and it was about 80tl cheaper!!!

Have a fab time

Has anyone used the airport shuttle service from Sabiha Gökcen Airport to Sulktanahmet?

Thanks for the tips, much appreciated.