7hour transit in istanbul, what should i do?
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: ZRH
Programs: LX M&M
Posts: 318
7hour transit in istanbul, what should i do?
hi all
im flying to bkk in abt 3 weeks, first time with TK!! unfortunatly there is only one flight from ZRH to IST on the day i have to travel, so im taking the afternoon flight. now i have to wait for my connection for a little more then 7h, but i dont know wheter i should stay at the airport or take a cab to the city. do u guys have any recommendations what i should do? im a food lover, so mostly looking for good local food.
is istanbul dangerous to travel alone? are taxis expensive and reliable?
thx for any advice
lx343
im flying to bkk in abt 3 weeks, first time with TK!! unfortunatly there is only one flight from ZRH to IST on the day i have to travel, so im taking the afternoon flight. now i have to wait for my connection for a little more then 7h, but i dont know wheter i should stay at the airport or take a cab to the city. do u guys have any recommendations what i should do? im a food lover, so mostly looking for good local food.
is istanbul dangerous to travel alone? are taxis expensive and reliable?
thx for any advice
lx343
#2
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: NYC, CDG, NCE
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 2,620
Istanbul is not dangerous.
I'd say it depends what times you are talking about, but in general I can't think why you shouldn't go visit the city.
In fact, ambitiously, you could see either the Hagia Sofia or Topkapi Palace AND pop your head into the Blue Mosque, have a bit to eat and get back to the airport.
Taxi to/from the airport should be around 30TL(15Euro) each way and take around half an hour as long as it's not rush hour.
My one serious warning is that the taxis that wait around the tourist attractions will VERY likely try to rip you off. Never take one that's just sitting around waiting. Look for one driving by or from a taxi stand...
Otherwise, have fun.
I'd say it depends what times you are talking about, but in general I can't think why you shouldn't go visit the city.
In fact, ambitiously, you could see either the Hagia Sofia or Topkapi Palace AND pop your head into the Blue Mosque, have a bit to eat and get back to the airport.
Taxi to/from the airport should be around 30TL(15Euro) each way and take around half an hour as long as it's not rush hour.
My one serious warning is that the taxis that wait around the tourist attractions will VERY likely try to rip you off. Never take one that's just sitting around waiting. Look for one driving by or from a taxi stand...
Otherwise, have fun.
hi all
im flying to bkk in abt 3 weeks, first time with TK!! unfortunatly there is only one flight from ZRH to IST on the day i have to travel, so im taking the afternoon flight. now i have to wait for my connection for a little more then 7h, but i dont know wheter i should stay at the airport or take a cab to the city. do u guys have any recommendations what i should do? im a food lover, so mostly looking for good local food.
is istanbul dangerous to travel alone? are taxis expensive and reliable?
thx for any advice
lx343
im flying to bkk in abt 3 weeks, first time with TK!! unfortunatly there is only one flight from ZRH to IST on the day i have to travel, so im taking the afternoon flight. now i have to wait for my connection for a little more then 7h, but i dont know wheter i should stay at the airport or take a cab to the city. do u guys have any recommendations what i should do? im a food lover, so mostly looking for good local food.
is istanbul dangerous to travel alone? are taxis expensive and reliable?
thx for any advice
lx343
#3
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 2,443
I agree with remyontheroad: Istanbul is a safe city. My recollection is that the taxi ride from Atatürk Airport might cost a bit more than 30TL, but it is not especially expensive. Taxis are yellow and have a meter in them; you can check that the meter is on if you wish to. Atatürk Airport (which I presume is your airport) is efficient, and any passport queue generally moves fairly fast. (The exception is if you get behind a flight from a country where a lot of the female passengers are veiled, since checking the passengers against their photos then seems to talke a while.) Some nationalities need to buy a visa on arrival before proceeding to passport control — $20, €15, £10, depending on your nationality, and you need to have the correct money since no change is given. You can check this on the website of the Turkish embassy in your country.
If I were you I'd head for the Sultanahmet region, which is where you'll find Santa Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Topkapi Palace (among many other sights worth seeing). Of these, I'd put Santa Sophia at the top of my list: one of the most fabulous buildings in the world. You can spend hours and hours in there, but you will get the essence of the place in half an hour. There is an entry charge (it is no longer a church or a mosque but a museum): I seem to recall that it is something like 10—15TL.
The Blue Mosque is extraordinarily beautiful and well worth looking inside, but it need not detain you for more than a few minutes, to be honest (breathtaking as it is). If you are a woman (and I don't know if you are or not!), you will need to cover your head, but shawls are provided. Whatever your sex, you will need to be dressed fairly (though not excessively) modestly — no bare shoulders, no shorts, for example. Plastic bags are provided so that you can carry your shoes rather than leaving them outside.
The Palace is also worth a visit, although you will be able to see only a small part of it in the time available: one could spend a day there quite easily. Again there is an entrance charge, and then a separate entrance charge to see the harem buildings. This is where the sultan's family lived (not just where women were kept for the sultan's pleasure, contrary to much Western mythology). If the queue for the harem is not long, it might be the thing to see, the extra charge notwithstanding, because the rooms are wonderful to behold. The Palace complex is large; to find the harem, veer diagonally left across the lawn after passing through the main entrance.
One of the beauties of these three sites is that they're all close together.
Another notable point of interest is the covered market (grand bazaar), although I would personally put that below the three things above (but the idea that something so large and so civilised could have been opened in the 1460s is quite extraordinary). It is not far away.
The spice market is also worth a look, but I don't think you'll have time. It is near Eminönu, where the ferry terminal is. A ferry trip on the Bosphorus is another possibility (Istanbul has a system of commuter ferries, rather like Sydney), but you need to be careful that you don't get a ferry that doesn't come straight back!
There are also some good restaurants near Eminönu, but there are lots of restaurants in the Sultanahmet area too. Some are very touristy, but not all, and some will serve you a good meal.
I agree with remyontheroad too about getting a taxi back to the airport. Your best bet is to hail one moving along the street (which you can do in Istanbul) rather than relying on one that is hovering around outside one of the main tourist sites. Bear in mind that traffic is significantly slower during rush hours, so you need to factor that in depending on the time of your trip back to the airport.
Clearing security and passport control at Atatürk seems to be pretty efficient, generally.
Enjoy your time in this most fascinating of cities!
If I were you I'd head for the Sultanahmet region, which is where you'll find Santa Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Topkapi Palace (among many other sights worth seeing). Of these, I'd put Santa Sophia at the top of my list: one of the most fabulous buildings in the world. You can spend hours and hours in there, but you will get the essence of the place in half an hour. There is an entry charge (it is no longer a church or a mosque but a museum): I seem to recall that it is something like 10—15TL.
The Blue Mosque is extraordinarily beautiful and well worth looking inside, but it need not detain you for more than a few minutes, to be honest (breathtaking as it is). If you are a woman (and I don't know if you are or not!), you will need to cover your head, but shawls are provided. Whatever your sex, you will need to be dressed fairly (though not excessively) modestly — no bare shoulders, no shorts, for example. Plastic bags are provided so that you can carry your shoes rather than leaving them outside.
The Palace is also worth a visit, although you will be able to see only a small part of it in the time available: one could spend a day there quite easily. Again there is an entrance charge, and then a separate entrance charge to see the harem buildings. This is where the sultan's family lived (not just where women were kept for the sultan's pleasure, contrary to much Western mythology). If the queue for the harem is not long, it might be the thing to see, the extra charge notwithstanding, because the rooms are wonderful to behold. The Palace complex is large; to find the harem, veer diagonally left across the lawn after passing through the main entrance.
One of the beauties of these three sites is that they're all close together.
Another notable point of interest is the covered market (grand bazaar), although I would personally put that below the three things above (but the idea that something so large and so civilised could have been opened in the 1460s is quite extraordinary). It is not far away.
The spice market is also worth a look, but I don't think you'll have time. It is near Eminönu, where the ferry terminal is. A ferry trip on the Bosphorus is another possibility (Istanbul has a system of commuter ferries, rather like Sydney), but you need to be careful that you don't get a ferry that doesn't come straight back!
There are also some good restaurants near Eminönu, but there are lots of restaurants in the Sultanahmet area too. Some are very touristy, but not all, and some will serve you a good meal.
I agree with remyontheroad too about getting a taxi back to the airport. Your best bet is to hail one moving along the street (which you can do in Istanbul) rather than relying on one that is hovering around outside one of the main tourist sites. Bear in mind that traffic is significantly slower during rush hours, so you need to factor that in depending on the time of your trip back to the airport.
Clearing security and passport control at Atatürk seems to be pretty efficient, generally.
Enjoy your time in this most fascinating of cities!