Istanbul, Turkey

[mameejhy]

Hi!

Who's been to Istanbul, Turkey? When is the best time to go there? Is the place child-friendly?

Thanks.

[mama squeak!]

I haven't been to Istanbul yet but my sister-in-law and family travels there often because of my brother-in-law's work in a bank. According to her, Istanbul is very pretty. It's where East meets West. Good din daw the food and shopping. She always brings home nice stuff every time she comes home to Manila.

As to kid-friendly, well, her kids are teenagers and they enjoy the trips. Not sure lang if your kids will enjoy the place since it's not like HKG or SIN where you have theme parks.

[cind3r3lla]

^^people in Turkey are very nice. food is great, public transpo is efficient rin.
kid friendly? you mean kung mag-enjoy sila o hindi sila mahirapan sa pamamasyal? historical kasi yung place eh. hindi sila into themed-parks. siguro ang magiging appealing sa kids would be, yung bosphorus cruise, yung snow (kung winter ang travel time nyo), at yung place na greenish with matching boat ride papunta dun (kung spring time naman ang travel time nyo).... nalimutan ko na name nung place. hehe. pero as far as ease of travelling, no hassle at all.

as an adult, i love turkey kasi amazing yung mga mosques/churches.

[little_princess]

istanbul is very very beautiful, full of historical places pero i don't think kids would appreciate it because they would like theme parks and fast food better. i am not a fan of the food though.

safety wise, our tour guide would always say - "turkey is very safe, just don't go out of your hotel at night alone" hahaha

[southpaw]

Turkey is also on my bucket list -- but more than Istanbul, it is Cappadocia that has lured me to visiting the place.

Will 5 days suffice kaya for visiting Ephesus, Cappadocia and Istanbul if I opt to fly instead of taking the buses?

If anyone can share their sample itinerary and budget it would be highly appreciated. 

[mooncake and leaves]

^ I have the same idea. I'm thinking of including Turkey in our Euro trip sometime in 2014 or 15 but chances are, we'll skip Istanbul. Pamukkale and Antalya are on top of my list. I want Cappadocia too! But too far from Pamukkale.

[little_princess]

we spent about 7-8 days in turkey and went to the following places -
Istanbul
Cannakale
Kusadasi + Pamukkale
Cappadocia
Ankara

Cappadocia is my favorite especially if you are doing the hot air balloon ride plus the ruins of Kusadasi are really pretty.

[kyuting13]

One of the best places to visit... Just went there this eid with my hubby and 20-month old boy and we were fine. The locals are very polite and friendly and caring with kids. Not sure if its allowed by I highly recommend Maywood hotel... cute botique hotel, good staff and walking distance to all the touristic sites. Spent 4 days in Istanbul and 3 in Antalya. Just be armed with a stroller because it would really make your life easier getting around with your kids... and a helpful place to hang shopping purchases.

[cind3r3lla]

@little_princess... hehe. comment about food is subjective. hindi ako pihikan kaya i love even turkish food. pati yung tinitindang mussels na pipisitan lang ng lemon, sarap na sarap ako eh. 

[little_princess]

haha hindi naman ako pihikan with food but i don't know, hindi ko lang type.. even the smell. though i love turkish ice cream!

[MrsKolca]

Wife of a Turkish man here. Went to Turkey for the first time last year and stayed in Istanbul from March to May. I say Istanbul is a nice place to visit for traveling couples or group of friends. I don't recommend it to families with small kids cos as mentioned below, tourist spots are mostly historical (like mosques and museums) which I think most kids wouldn't really love to see.

When we were in TR, hubby and I took our (then 3 yo) daughter to a tourist spot just once. Sa MiniaTurk lang talaga sya naisama tapos nun sa Istanbul Forum na. Others places like Galata, Sultan Ahmet (Blue Mosque), Grand Brazaar, etc. kami lang ni hubby ang pumunta. Dahil pa sa late winter, medyo tinamad din kaming lumabas so next year uli pagbalik namin puntahan ang ibang places na na-miss. Hopefully, makapunta din kami sa ibang cities!

[melvel]

Gusto ko na pumunta dito after watching Taken 2!

[chicafabulosa]

planning to go here. but first we will have first Mediterranean tour first. Then if anong cities ang magustuhan namin we will go back there..

Turkey, Italy and Greece, these are the countries na naka plan namin visit

[MrsKolca]

^^Yeah, Taken 2 was shot in Istanbul.. also the new James Bond movie!

^Turkey and Greece are very similar. Religion lang ang pinag-iba nila.

[mameejhy]

Hi, I am bacckkk!!!

First - thanks sa replies, na excite naman ako bigla!

As to kid-friendly, well, her kids are teenagers and they enjoy the trips. Not sure lang if your kids will enjoy the place since it's not like HKG or SIN where you have theme parks.

Ok lang yun, sis kasi nag eenjoy din naman sila sa mga museums at old places (nagtatakutan sila )

cind3r3lla - mukhang mag eenjoy sila sa bhosporous cruise

Spent 4 days in Istanbul and 3 in Antalya. Just be armed with a stroller because it would really make your life easier getting around with your kids... and a helpful place to hang shopping purchases.

Did you ride the bus or train going to Antalya?

Second - We are a family of 2 adults and 3 kids under 8yrs. We like the outdoors/ nature and we have done camel rides, summer/ winter swimming (without snow), sand dune bashing (both by 4x4 suv & atv), summer/ winter camping (without snow); we've visited museums, among others.

Third - We would like to experience skiing (adults) and plainly playing with snow (kids) hence our tentative dates are 28 Feb - 17 Mar (winter pa ba ito?). Also, we would like to experience riding the trains with restaurants. The dates are flexible naman as long as 18 days kami dun.

Questions:

1. Saan area/s ang may snow ng 28 Feb - 17 Mar?
2. Saan maganda/ mura mag stay na ski resort, kahit 2-3 days lang?
3. Saan pa maganda pumunta, aside from Istanbul?
4. Please suggest an itinerary for 18 days, like Istanbul- Bursa- Cappadocia- Ankara (feasible ba itong iniisip ko? )?


Thanks ng super dami!

[adikako]

Been to Istanbul 2 times na.

You can also go to TAKSIM SQUARE and walk down to ISTIKLAL (parang medyo high ends shopping).
Dito meron OLD tram, sa bandang baba there you would find GALATA Tower. Where you can see 360 view of Istanbul. Di naman kataasan yung tower but the view is amazing.

We also made a sidetrip to TRUVA or historical TROY, ruins (helen and Paris and wooden Horse). Bus ride for 5 hours from Istanbul then 15 minutes ferry ride to reach the island. nag avail kami ng tour for Euro 70 kasi mahirap DIY. Kasama na lahat pick up and drop off, bus, ferry, entrance fee, lunch. Downside mahaba pa ang byahe kesa sa actual na ililibot sa site.
http://www.gallipoli-tour.com/troy-day-tours-from-istanbul.html

[berrycherry]

we are planning to go here this xmas.. i have 2 kids, 6&5yrs old.. what place in istanbul ang marerecommend nyo na sa tingin nyo mag eenjoy mga kids? thanks

[pampolinous]

We had our honeymoon in Istanbul on April 2012. Istanbul is very nice and really historical. Kesyo every turn there's a really old mosque, house, or church. I think it's more suitable for adults.

I suggest that don't be like us and go during early April, since the weather is still changing from winter to spring, tuloy one day it'll be 23 degrees Celsius, the next day 10 degrees nalang. Mahirap magdala ng damit. Conclusion is nagkasakit ako pagbalik ng HK.

Best daw to go on May-June and October, but don't go during peak tourist season (like July-September), medyo peak din nung pumunta kami since it was Easter. So all the lines for museums and churches were sooo long. They have a 72-hour museum pass that you can buy, saves you the time for falling in line just to get in.

Turkish food is good for me, but after a while, masasawa ka rin kasi puros roast meats. Also, as much as possible do not exchange your money in tourist-packed areas like near the Blue Mosque, mas mababa exchange rates dun.

We only went out of town for one day to a neighboring town called Bursa. We didn't fly to other destinations because we wanted to fully explore Istanbul on this trip. 

[MrsKolca]

I am happy to read na maraming sis ang nagustuhan ang Istanbul or Turkey for that matter. In my case kasi na naranasan kong tumira doon, medyo nanawa ako lalo na oily ang food, halos meat and grains lagi at hindi ako pinayagan lumabas mag-isa ng in-laws ko (baka daw ma-"Taken" ako. We are going back to TR next year though. Hope to explore some cities other than Istanbul. Yay, excited na'ko uli!

[blaire.witch]

hello mga sis. just have a few questions about turkey..

how do u travel from istanbul to capadoccia? and how many hours?

whats there to see in antalya? malayo din ba ito from istanbul?