Originally Posted by
WhiskeyCavalier
I have a 15 hour layover in IST on a Saturday next month.
I’ll arrive in the morning.
I have a few questions. I am star gold if it matters at all.
1) what time does the lounge open?
2) are there lockers in the lounge? Like you see with Lufthansa in Munich? Im wondering if I can stash my backpack and also change clothes and then head into the city. I’m thinking I would dump everything out of my backpack and put it in a plastic bag and then use my backpack as a daypack. I don’t want to carry 8 kg on my back.
3) I read there is a courtesy tour which starts at 9 am and goes for like 6 hours, is it worth it?
4) I read there are sleeping rooms, is that only available for people staying overnight? Or could someone like me access it as well.
5) I don’t want to pull out too much cash, what’s a decent amount just to eat and see sights? I’m not gonna buy gifts.
6) How much time should I allocate to get back to the airport. My flight is around 2100. And worse case how much is a taxi from the center to the airport? Since I won’t have a SIM card, I won’t be able to use Uber (does it work ther) to order. Unless I can get some WiFi.
Sorry for so many questions. Just want to maximize the experience. First time there.
Thanks!!!!
1- It's open 7/24
2- Yes, there are lockers in the lounge; however, after your arrival to IST, you might need to reclear security to access the lounge and put your belongings into a locker.
3- It's a nice tour, but you could see much more during that period if you travel by your own.
4- Answered your question in the respective thread. Also, a suggestion to you would be to read the WIKI of that thread. Non-TK*G's traveling in Economy is not eligible for sleeping rooms at all.
5- If you're taking the tour, ₺100 would be enough. If you're going to sightseen by yourself ₺300 ( if you prefer to travel by bus ), ₺600 ( if you prefer to travel by taxi ).
6- Arriving at the airport at 19:30 would be fine as you would have fast-track access at both security and passport checkpoints. WCS, a taxi would cost around ₺125-200 depending on where you want to visit within the city center and the traffic at that moment. Uber works in Turkey but you could only order a yellow cab; no UberX, UberXL, UberBlack, etc... in Turkey