Istanbul layover

[Don Hinton]

Flying into Istanbul on business class on March 5. Have been told i will get hotel room for 11 hour layover. Have any of you done any tours? What is customs like? Would like to tour the city. Any suggestions on tours or tour guide’s? Any other suggestions?
thank you
don

 

[Tanks]

What time will it be locally and what day of the week? Customs is like everywhere else, you walk through nothing to declare line. THY does arrange for tours. I would rent a private boat ($100 or so) for a two hour cruise up and down the Bosporus if possible. You can see palaces, old mansions on both European and Asian side.

 

[MontanaPat]

It has been several years since I was there but I would suggest seeing the Hagia Sofia, Blue Mosque (from the outside) and /or the Turkish Bazaar.

 

[mdwest]

Bosporus cruise is excellent… or a 4 hour ferry/tour of the princes islands.. is a nice afternoon…

Both the old and the new palaces are worth seeing (can’t remember their names)…

The grand bazar is a very cool experience (and there is excellent street food in the area)…

The single best thing to do in Istanbul is to hit one of the historic Turkish baths.. incredible experience!

If you’re into pipes don’t bother with the cheap junk at any of the bazaars.. seek out a custom meerschaum shop… there are a few within walking distance of the old city… and pick up a hand carved pipe… the artisanship is incredible…

 

[wesheltonj]

If your going to leave the airport, get a visa in advance and not at the airport. (Special room and line) That will speed up your time to get out of the airport.

As you were inquiring about tours, I would skip those and get an Uber Sofia/Blue area. Everything you will want to see is walking or Uber distance from there. Give yourself lots of time to get back to the airport and clear security. Security is tight. First the car will have to go thru security, then for you to enter the terminal building, you clear security. Then after you check in you clear security again, then immigration. Then at your gate you clear security again.

There are two hotels in the airport, one before immigration and one behind immigration, both Yotels.

 

[Don Hinton]

I arrive at 4:15 pm on a Sunday and depart at 2:00am 10 hour layover
Coming back I arrive at 6 am on Friday and depart at 3:40pm 9 1/2 layover

 

[mdwest]

With a 415 arrival you wont be able to see much on Sunday... it takes a while to clear the airport.. and traffic in Istanbul is among the worst in the world.. before 7PM my guess is it will take you 90 minutes or more to get to the old city... and hold onto your seat while your driver gets you there (lane markers, turn signals, speed limits, etc are mere recommendations in Turkey.. Im not sure anyone gives more than 1/12th of a damn about "safe driving" lol... its going to be a wild ride.. leaving the airport after 7PM youre still looking at 45 minutes to an hour to get to the old city..

I'd still recommend doing it.. there are some really great restaurants where you can get some wonderful turkish food, and just walking around the old city you can see some really nice sites..

6AM arrival on the following friday also sets you up for bad traffic.. but.. nothing really opens in the old city until 830-9AM.. so while you'll have to deal with morning traffic.. youre not going to be able to find much to do before 9AM anyway..

Im not sure how things will be in 3 weeks.. Im unaware of how impacted Istanbul is from the earthquake.. while the quake happened a long distance away.. with more than 30K dead in the area, I am sure the entire country is a little crazy right now..

 

[Don Hinton]

Thanks to all of you for the advice
Don

 

[Tanks]

I arrive at 4:15 pm on a Sunday and depart at 2:00am 10 hour layover
Coming back I arrive at 6 am on Friday and depart at 3:40pm 9 1/2 layover

Get a hotel room at the airport transit area for your 4:15PM arrival. You can get out and wonder around if you have a guide or know your way around the nightlife in Istanbul, heading back to the airport around 11PM.

Return trip schedule gives you more daylight life and plenty of things to do. The new airport is huge by the way, and you will enjoy the multitude of cuisine choices at the business lounge.

BTW, Uber is banned in Turkey and one has to use local taxis. Also, same scam that is in NYC etc. exists at that airport as well and avoid the "private cars" that will charge you 500 Euro for the trip to the city.

 

[Don Hinton]

Thanks all for the advice. Just got my e visa. Any recommendation on which airport hotel to book. Have any of you had the airline provide the hotel room due to amount of layover time?
Don

 

[Tanks]

Here you go. Book quick as the rooms get scarce, the price goes up.

YOTELAIR Istanbul Airport (Airside)

Rest-up day or night in the middle of duty free

www.yotel.com

 

[jeffpg]

I did a 2 day tour at the end of a bezoar ibex hunt a few years ago and it was pretty amazing. The history is quite impressive. I saw a bit of everything I believe, but I can't remember the tour company that I used. As stated above, with your short stay the more you have plans lined up the better. Enjoy!

 

[wesheltonj]

Uber is available in Istanbul (at least it was July 2022) on both the Europe and Asia side, but you will have to pay extra for the toll tunnel - cash, but much reason to go to that side. The main sites are on the Europe side.

For an evening meal, I would suggest Arch Bistro https://www.archbistro.com/ Great food, just small portions.

Thanks all for the advice. Just got my e visa. Any recommendation on which airport hotel to book. Have any of you had the airline provide the hotel room due to amount of layover time?
Don

There are two hotel at the airport, both Yotels, One airside and one landside. make sure you book the right one. I have not had the airline booked hotel, but stayed at Yotel Airside.

 

[JimP]

It's just me but the way that airports are anymore I think that I would just find a lounge and relax.

If you want to do a sightseeing trip then plan the trip for sightseeing.

Have you ever seen the tourist that are running down a pier trying to catch their cruise ship as it is pulling away from the dock? I consider airports and security the same thing.

 

[Scott CWO]

The airport and the business class lounge are very nice if you don’t do a tour, especially on Sunday. I recommend taking a shower, a good meal and relax on Sunday. The lounge has nice clean showers if you don’t get a hotel room.

 

[rgsiii]

I have been to Istanbul about 8 times, though not to the new airport. It is a fascinating huge city, think more than the population of Georgia. You will be spending very little time there. I would probably just snooze in the hotel. If I was determined to go into the city, I would hire an English speaking guide. If you contact me, I could give you a name for a guide, she could probably let you know if it worth the effort. Time will not be your friend.

 

[Switup]

I wonder how they food situation looks like there, any good ?

 

[mdwest]

I wonder how they food situation looks like there, any good ?

In the airport? Or the city?

I haven’t eaten in the airport.. but it is very nice… there’s an excellent cigar shop in duty free, some high end retail shopping options, etc… I would imagine there are at least a few decent options for a meal as well…

In the old city there are dozens of excellent restaurants… Turkish food, pardon my pun, is delightful…

 

[Switup]

In the airport? Or the city?

I haven’t eaten in the airport.. but it is very nice… there’s an excellent cigar shop in duty free, some high end retail shopping options, etc… I would imagine there are at least a few decent options for a meal as well…

In the old city there are dozens of excellent restaurants… Turkish food, pardon my pun, is delightful…

Airport restaurants can be quite expensive but yeah I’ll dig in if that’s any good but majorly in the city.