Originally Posted by WhiskeyCavalier (Post 31539357)

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!!!!

Originally Posted by ISTFlyer (Post 31539395)

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

Originally Posted by WhiskeyCavalier (Post 31539588)

ISTFlyer,

Thanks for taking the time to respond, much appreciated.

Just wanted to clarify on the lounge. If I was transiting, I should just be able to go directly to the lounge, right?

I mean, early in the morning maybe it won’t be a big deal to clear security again.

How is are the lounges? Pretty nice?

Even if I am flying economy star gold will let me fast track through security. Cool!

I am thinking you are probably right about taking the tour, I could see more on my own probably.

Once again. Thanks so much!

Originally Posted by Snoozeboy (Post 31634643)

Hello all, I have an 8h40 layover at new IST, flying from NCE arriving at 1530 Wednesday and leaving to DXB at 0010 the same night. I'm a recently qualified TK Elite, flying TK economy (E/H).

I did this once before from the old airport and went for a nice dinner at Sunset Grill near Besiktas. I'd like to do something similar, go to a nice spot, either in Istanbul or nearby and have a nice dinner, then back to airport.

With the new airport being further away, I don't know if my idea is realistic. Any ideas? What are my options...
- Lounge it - will they put up with me for that long?
- Do I qualify for any sleeping room at a lounge as I'll be tired from visiting a conference?
Edit: I checked ISTFlyer's answer in another thread and I don't qualify as none of my flights are >8 hours.
- I looked at the airside Yotel but it's too expensive for an afternoon nap.
- Go for the dinner option - any suggestions of nice places? I'd like to find somewhere more rustic/local than the Sunset. It doesn't have to be glamorous.

Thanks in advance.

Originally Posted by ISTFlyer (Post 31634749)

- You could access the lounge 24 hours before departure until your flight.
- Thanks for answering the second question on your own :)
- It's too expensive. There are free nap areas at the airport but I assume that it would be difficult to find a free one.
- Are you looking for Turkish cuisine? Do you want to take public transport or a taxi would be fine? How much would you like to spend for dinner ( 50 TL pp - 100 TL pp - 200 TL pp? )

Originally Posted by Snoozeboy (Post 31634896)

taxi would be fine. Yes, would love Turkish cuisine. Happy to pay 200tl pp, but I'd prefer to go to a locals rather than tourists' place.

Thanks for the great advice.

Originally Posted by Snoozeboy (Post 31640987)

Paging ISTFlyer! 😉

Originally Posted by ahopkins767 (Post 31634811)

Wow. Great advice!

I am also contemplating a long stayover. I have a choice of either a BHX-IST-MNL leg with maybe 6 hours layover, or AMS-IST-MNL with a whopping 22 hour layover on the 4th Dec (arriving about 4am and leaving about 2am the next day as there is only one MNL flight a day). The cost is about the same (even with the BHX-AMS leg on KLM factored in and the transit visa) and I have FB Gold so there is minimal impact on luggage (I do max out the luggage allowance).

I am TK*G

My wife, incidentally, likes food so she will be suitably impressed if I should bring her back some Turkish delicacies...So with this in mind, what would you propose? Shorter journey OR a transit of Istanbul, and if so, what do you think would be a good way to go about it?

Looking forward to your suggestions ;)

Originally Posted by ISTFlyer (Post 31641451)

Would send you a PM today