Me, my husband and our two little boys are planning a trip to Istanbul in May. Does any one know any good hotel close to the city center. Also we would land in Sabiha Gokcen Airport. How do we reach city center from there. Any tips will be most helpful
Hi,
Istanbul is like an arabic Los Angeles on steroids. Huge, sprawling, nightmare traffic. The only interesting part is the old-town area which is a small fraction of the modern 20-million inhabitant urban nightmare. If possible, try to get a hotel in the old city area known as Sultanahmet. You can cover that area easily on foot, and there are regular ferries to the other side of the bay for shopping tours. Do visit the Egyptian spice market. There is some good cheap shopping, and the place is a pretty moderate version of Islam, so very non-aggressive, the imposing Mosques don't even blast the call to prayer. This site looked good for hotels: http://www.splendia.com/en/istanbul-hotels.html
Getting there: just flag a taxi and hand him your hotel address.
It's like...you know...Turkish.
Arabic?
I'd recommend the Best Western Citadel just below the Sultanahmet Mosque (Blue Mosque) on Kennedy Caddesi. It's handy for the old town, some rooms have a nice view of the sea, others have a nice view of the mosque, and so long as you keep the windows shut, you won't be disturbed by the azan at teatime.
Travel by taxi (including from the airport) is relatively cheap, if a little hair raising.
Have fun!
Not a practical tip, but I highly highly recommend the mosque that used to be the Church of St.s Sergus and Bacchus, aka the little Hagia Sophia. This was the most beautiful place we visited on our trip and apart from some later arabic inscriptions and the Mihrab largely unchanged since it was built. It's pretty small and maybe the kids will run around a bit, but it was like stepping back in time and apart from us almost tourist free.
The metro is very efficient too - get a few tokens in advance though.
Our guidebook was 1 year out of date and a lot of the restaurants had changed hands/gone of of business already so ask your hotel for recommendations.
Have a great time
Edit: I see I was wrong about it not being modified since it was built - seems to have been modified a lot. Anyway, it's still beautiful and worth the trip, particularly as it's only 15 mins walk from the Sultanahmet.
I would miss the Dolmabahce - unless you're a fan of 19th century chintz.
And if you go to the Topkapı then don't miss the gardens at the back.
I can recommend the Hilton ParkSA if your budget isn't too much of a concern...amazing views from roof terrace, a short walk down to the sea front and more local restaurants, as well as a good starting point for a down hill walk through the town past the Galatta tower to the main tourist attractions just the other side of the Galatta bridge. You'll need a taxi back after that though, unless that is you've been fish-hooked by the armies of fishermen on the bridge
While I like the more hopping version of this song, the many discussions I've seen / heard from different sources lately have put this song (Ok, the They Might Be Giants version) in my mind.
I thought everyone might like this person's photos better than watching TMBG in concert though.
thanks a lot for great tips..Azan wont be a problem. would remind me of home ..But I have heard that taxis are a rip off and can be dangerous at times. is it true. with 2 small kids i need to be careful
I think you can best stay around Taksim Square. Plenty of big hotels around there and it is the most lively place in the city. You are close to Besiktas and Ortaköy (one of my favourite spots in Istanbul, from which you can also make a Bosporus tour), and you are also pretty close to Sultanahmet.
In my opinion staying in Sultanahmet is mostly interesting if you want to see tourists and love souvenirs...
Hi Fareeha (hope this is your name)
All taxis in Istanbul have meters. The only way they can rip you off is by taking a longer route. Sabiha Gokcen is at the edge of the Asian side. I guess it would cost you around 60-70 lira (40 franks) to take a taxi from there to the Sultanahmet area. There might be buses but considering you are 4 people, taxi will be good value and the only dangerous bit about taxis is the hectic traffic otherwise they are perfectly safe.
I agree that Sultanahmet area is a good base to stay as you will be in the heart of the city and there are trams, the subway and taxis to take you to most of the places you might want to visit.
Some people argue that the only interesting place is the small bit around Sultanahmet which I strongly disagree (I am from Istanbul). If you are interested I have a guide in PDF that I prepared for my friends who have visited Istanbul last year. PM me if you are interested and I'll send you the file.
If you want to enjoy Istanbul like locals do, do not stay in Sultanahmet: it is way too crowded and too touristic.
If you prefer to stay close to the city center -and honestly Istanbul has a handful of city centers- opt for Taksim. The Marmara Hotel should not be as expensive and Hilton/Swiss Hotel and it is in Taksim square. Check with your employers if they have deals with a particular hotel chain; if so, you can even afford to stay at Ciragan Hotel right at the Bosphorus if you book in advance.
Staying in Taksim (or Ciragan if you are lucky), you can endeavour into the tourist jungle of Sultanahmet to visit the museems/mosques/ex-churches other posters mentioned above during the day and visit the buzzing nightlife in Taksim.
You can, however, also travel to chique local popular areas of Bebek/Ortakoy/Arnavutkoy or less chique Sariyer along the Bosphorus Coast. There are a lot of sight-seeing places -or just places where you can enjoy the breeze and delight in the beautiful dark blue water. Across the straits, there are less chique but still popular areas to stroll around -ideally with a car.
As for food!.. let me know if you have decided on where to stay, and what your time span is, and I will spill out the list.
Hey that would be great thanks a lot. I am very interested to see the mosques and markets. I love street food and me and my husband can walk miles each holding a pram so would be going around mostly on foot. Is sultanahmet a good place to stay in then? Is May a good time to visit
Tell me more about food . I would like stay in a family budget hotel which is comfortable and would like to go around mostly on foot. I dont think we will be hiring a car for whole week. May be for a day or 2. Can we hire a car with Swiss Driving Lisence. Also it would be nice to visit the beach and my 2 boys who have never seen sea before can run around a bit.
If you stay around Sultanahmet or Taksim you won't need a car. Yes you can rent a hire on a Swiss licence but I wouldn't recommend it because of the traffic. You can go to most central places with public transport if you stay in one of the above areas.
May would be the perfect time to visit as it won't be scorching hot yet but I must tell you that in May the sea water won't be warm enough to swim (at least for Turkish people anyway) in Istanbul although I have heard of Irish people taking a dip in May.
You will find there is street food everywhere and restaurants are very cheap compared to Swiss ones.
Here is my guide:
QUOTE=fareehasharafat;682839]Tell me more about food . I would like stay in a family budget hotel which is comfortable and would like to go around mostly on foot. I dont think we will be hiring a car for whole week. May be for a day or 2. Can we hire a car with Swiss Driving Lisence. Also it would be nice to visit the beach and my 2 boys who have never seen sea before can run around a bit.[/QUOTE]
I used to work there and love the place still. Here are my insights:
Sultanahmet is the historical centre but not the only place of interest in Istanbul. For a first time visit, be a tourist like everyone else and base yourself there. Depending on your budget, I find this hotel very comfortable, affordable, clean and quiet - despite being slap bang between Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. Don't be afraid of asking for a reduction because you've been recommended the place. Start at "staying for five nights" then suggest they reduce the rate if you stayed for seven
Check out the roof terrace, it can't be beaten for views. Your kids will love eating breakfast on the roof watching the endless shipping up and down the Bosphorous. Night time is especially romantic. You'll grow to love the call to prayer at 5am; it's one of the best I've heard in an non-Arabic country.
Don't think about hiring a car. There's an excellent tram service linking you with all points to be visited on a week's holiday. The hotel will arrange a transfer from the airport for a moderate and fair charge. No taxi hassles.
Don't get excited about the food options in Sultanahmet: there are very few good places to eat. Good as in really good. It's tourist oriented. For good restaurants, head out beyond Taksim. Do some homework online before you go
Take the little ones out to the Prince's Islands. The tram will schlepp you to the ferry terminal. The boat is comfortable and there are snacks on board. You're likely to see Dolphins skirting around you on the 90 minute journey. Once at your island of choice, there are small beaches and plenty of restaurants etc to idle your time away from the madness of the city. Be adventurous and head into the island interior, up a pine hillside path and be wowed by the views: the city seems to dominate 180° of the distant landscape across the water.
The city always has some arts festival or somesuch occuring, you won't get bored. There's way too much to see and do for one week only.
May isn't hot hot hot and can be cool in the evenings. T-shirts and hats in the daytime, pullovers and coats at night. It can be windy.
Right hand on heart and an upwards tut of the eyebrows means "Seriously, dude, I'm not interested" and will be respected.
Have a great time, it's a funky town. Just expect a bit of madness...
Catch the E10 to the port Kadikov (costs abt 4 USD pp) , then take the ferry across, then the tram to the nearest stop to your hotel. Sounds a lot but it really is easy, was there just last month
Thanks a lot. I have just checked the hotel. Looks good.
I love the sound of Azan in the morning. I am a bit homsick i guess. And quite used to madness . I love going through the narrow bazars of Lahore..my fav town in the world.
The hotel is charging 85 EUR one way from Sabiha Gorkcen airport. is it normal?
The transfer seems a lot, but consider there are four of you and goodness knows when you arrive etc. There's advise on how to do it yourselves on a previous post. Personally I'd plum for it; you can decide if you want the same service on your return once you're there. It's not close to the hotel unlike the main airport, which has a freeway virtually door to door
Edit: Hotel transfer is €55 if you're staying more than four nights. Still not the cheapest option, but there'll be someone looking out for you at the airport and you'll be in a private minivan, rather than stowing kids' perambulators / suitcases / husbands on the roof rack...
Some of my favorite restaurants :
Karadeniz Pidecisi ; bit shabby, full of locals, excellent food for decent price. I am not sure there is an exact English word for it.. It s sort of pizza but rather oval-shaped. My favorite is pide with minced meat with two eggs (Büyük Karaman Cad. No:47 PK:34083, Fatih Merkez, Fatih, Istanbul, +90 212-5239795)
Beyti : beautiful kebab restaurant close to the main airport. superb service + food
Hamdi restaurant: kebab place with beautiful view of the Golden Horn. Insist to get a table on top floor.
Iskender Kebabcisi: close to Taksim on Istiklal caddesi.
Inci Patisserie : small shop with limited seats on Istiklal Caddesi. try Uludag (my favorite) or Profiterol. do not go when u had a large kebab session b4
Abdullah : traditional Turkish cousine.. on a side street to Istiklal caddesi.
Saray restaurant: on Istiklal Caddesi. Kebab / desert place.. go for Burma Kadayif (heavy desert with pisstachios)
Oh, I'm so glad to find this thread, since I'm heading to Istanbul with my friends in March.
Stupid question maybe; is there a tourist-friendly Mosque that allows women to look at them?