Istanbul tips.
In this story, I will try to collect tips that may be useful to those who are going to Istanbul for the first time. In preparation for the trip, having shoveled a mountain of information on the Internet, I really missed such a generalized review, where practical advice for tourists would be collected. Therefore, I will try to collect some of my theoretical and practical developments in one place. For convenience, I will group them by topic.
TRANSFER, ATATURK AIRPORT
Even at home, we studied ways to get from / to Ataturk Airport. There are 4 ways:
- shuttle bass. Back in Kyiv, I was advised this site http://www. istanbulairportshuttle. com/. Here you can see the schedule of shuttles from the airport. Transfer to the Sultanahmet area costs 10 euros per person if booked online. Already being in Istanbul, we repeatedly saw an advertisement for this office, but already for 5 euros per person, they promised to pick it up directly from the hotel. But they only run on schedule. The schedule can be viewed on the website.
- book a private transfer in advance. The Internet is full of offers for a private transfer from / to the airport. On average, the fare for Sultanahmet-Ataturk is in the range of 20-30 euros. Also, hotels often send a letter with a transfer offer after booking a room. But hotels tend to be overpriced.
- taxi. There are taxi ranks near the airport. And when leaving the hotel, you can ask the receptionist to call you a taxi at the right time.
- underground. The most economical way, 1 token costs 3 lira. We chose this method when getting to our hotel, arriving on a morning flight. A metro line is connected directly to Ataturk Airport. After going through passport control and picking up your luggage, you can easily find the entrance to the metro by following the signs. Tokens are sold in vending machines. The machine only accepts cash.
IMPORTANT! The machine accepts banknotes up to 20 lira. We didn't know that.
After buying lire in the exchange office, the smallest denomination we had was 50 lire. We were advised to contact the subway employee. Look for a man in uniform standing near the turnstiles : ) He kindly exchanged lira for us, helped us buy tokens and gave us a metro map.
TO THE QUESTION ABOUT CHOOSING A HOTEL
The first question that arose for me: in which area to book a hotel? Thanks to all the members of the forum who responded and helped with advice. Now I can also say that for the first acquaintance with the city, the hotel must:
a) is located in the Sultanahmet area. This is the historical district of the city, in which the main attractions are located: Sofia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Archaeological Museum, Basilica Cistern, Hippodrome Square. If you look at the map of the area, you will see that everything is very close. Trust me, it's not just close, it's VERY close. You will not need to spend time and money on public transport.
By the way, traffic jams in Istanbul, in my opinion, are always and everywhere. Also from the Sultanahmet area on foot close to the Grand Bazaar, and you can walk to the sea on foot.
b) have a terrace restaurant overlooking the Bosphorus : )
The official currency in Turkey is the Turkish lira. In tourist areas, exchange offices and ATMs are on every corner. There are also exchange offices at Ataturk Airport. The rate is normal, but they take a commission. But I will say right away that we changed money only once - at the airport we changed $ 100 for travel and small expenses, then we paid by card everywhere. Credit cards are accepted almost everywhere, with the exception of street vendors, small souvenir shops and token machines in the subway. A couple of times I met a question on the forums: do exchangers accept Ukrainian hryvnias? So, I specifically looked - I have never seen it. Rubles are accepted, hryvnias are not.
THE LANGUAGE BARRIER
If you speak English, then you won't have any problems.
In tourist places, everyone speaks English. In restaurants, all menus are also duplicated in English. Russian-speaking sellers were met only in a few places.
CATERING IN ISTANBUL
It is difficult to stay hungry in Istanbul. Cafes and restaurants for every taste and budget. There are a lot of street food vendors: bagels, corn, chestnuts, watermelons, oriental sweets are sold literally at every step. Prices are mostly mid-Kiev : ) for those who get tired of Turkish cuisine in Sultanahmet there are 2 establishments well-known to tourists from all countries at once: McDonald's and Big Burger.
ADVICE. At the Galata Bridge, Istanbul "fish hot dogs" are sold, the cost is 6 lira. I advise you to try.
MUSEUM CARD
We bought a museum card. The cost and list of museums can be found on the website http://muze. gov. tr/tr.
The card can be bought both in museums, the entrance to which it covers, and in special vans (we bought in a van that was near Hagia Sophia), credit cards are accepted for payment in vans. Photos of the van can be seen in the photos to the review.
In addition to entering museums with a card, they also offer discounts in some museum shops for souvenirs, books, etc. , restaurants, as well as a 25% discount when buying tickets for a Bosphorus cruise (but this does not seem to be at all ticket offices, you need to clarify).
But most importantly, the card saves time - with it you go everywhere without a queue.
BUSES hop on off bus istanbul
These buses start from Sultanahmet Square. Programs with routes and prices can be taken at the barker's square. Buses are 2 companies.
One company has a ticket price of 20 euros, a ticket for 24 hours, 2 types of route.
At the second company, a ticket for 24 hours costs 30 euros, for 48 hours 35 euros. 3 different routes. Plus one night route.
Everyone seems to have interesting routes, but this time we decided not to ride them at all. A couple of times we saw how these bassists stood in traffic jams for quite a long time (I already wrote about Istanbul traffic jams).
BOAT TRIP ALONG THE BOSPORUS
A boat trip along the Bosphorus is one of the mandatory points of the program in Istanbul. I advise everyone not to neglect this type of excursion. But even here there are nuances. Offers for cruises on the Bosphorus in Istanbul sea. Barkers in Sultanahmet Square will find you and aggressively sell their cruises. The cost of such cruises depends on the duration of the walk (there is a 2-hour cruise, there is a 4-hour cruise). But still the price fluctuates between 20-40 euros. We, having walked to the Galata Bridge, saw ticket offices there in which tickets for a 2-hour cruise were sold for 10 liras (about 3 euros), and for owners of a museum card, a ticket will generally cost 7.5 liras.
So, for 5 euros for two, we enjoyed a boat trip and views of Istanbul for 2 hours. I highly recommend this walk.
In general, you can write a lot about Istanbul. This city is mesmerizing. If laziness does not overcome me, I will try to write a review about our trip and the main sights of the city. And I wish all forum users to definitely visit Istanbul and fall in love with this noisy, crowded, vibrant eastern city!
