Istanbul, Turkey

[MrsKolca]

If you have kids, you might as well want to visit Vialand, Istanbul's version of Disneyland!

[blaire.witch]

10 days is Istanbul is more than enough, I think. Kung 10 days kayo doon, you can go to other places outside of Istanbul. I recommend you go to Cappadocia and stay at least one night there, then ride the hot air balloon. Or kahit hindi na magride, kahit manood lang, sulit na. It's such a wonderful view!

Prince's Islands is nice too, especially in the summer.

[mameejhy]

For Istanbul alone, 10days is enough. Try nyo magpa-hamam/turkish bath

I have suggested that to hubby, ayaw daw nya hahaha

If you have kids, you might as well want to visit Vialand, Istanbul's version of Disneyland!

Yes sis (1 day for that) and also Aquarium Istanbul @ Florya Mall We are gonna allot 1 day for Florya Mall hehe

@blaire.witch - Hindi na muna yun Cappodocia sis kasi parang mas ok kung 3 days dun para makapasyal hehe But, yes Prince's Island (1 day for that).

Then, 1 day for Bosphorus trip + Asian side also hehe

More or less, we have 5-6 days to explore Istanbul city kasi the others are 1 day trips na agad hehe

[myth]

planning a trip to Istanbul, kailangan ba bumili muna ng ticket before applying for a visa? or apply muna ng visa before bumili ng ticket? parang sayang kasi pag nadenied ka tapos may ticket. also yung friend ko naman yung gagastos nung ticket ko and sa kanila din ako magstay. mabilis kaya ma-approve yun?

[mameejhy]

@myth - Sis, pwede ka naman mag ask lang sa airline ng booking (hindi pa bayad) then yun ang isubmit mo sa Turkey embassy.

[myth]

^ thank you @mameejhy. Baka kasi i-denied yung visa.. kinakabahan lang ako.

[mameejhy]

We are back from from our Istanbul vacay! Super ganda dun! We enjoyed the historical places and our kids enjoyed the kiddie ones.

[aranses]

plan namin ni hubby at sister in law ko na mag-turkey next year. Istanbul, ephesus at cappadocia balak namin puntahan, kaya ba ng 7days? 

[mameejhy]

^Sis, yun 11 days namin ay kulang pa sa Istanbul! Cappadocia + Ephesus pwedeng 7 days pero Istanbul? Nope!

[shegie_285]

aranses - the problem with Turkey anlayo ng mga places. I've been to Ephesus because we went to Kusadasi (beach holiday) and Ephesus was only 15 minutes away. Ephesus can be seen in half a day - sobra sobra na ito. I think kakapagod ang 7 days but then if you really want to go to these places I'm sure it's doable if you join organised tours. I thought of going to Istanbul too during our holidays but ang layo.

[aranses]

@mameejhy & @shegie_285 thanks for the insights. Pag-aralan ko mabuti Turkey trip namin di kasi pede mawala matagal. 

[mameejhy]

@ sis mameejhy nakapunta kau sa vialand?

nag babalak sana kami this oct eid? and wala pako nasisimulan

ok kaya sa fly pegasus? mas ok ba guided tour?

Family of 3 kami, kid ko 4y/o pa lang mag eenjoy kaya sha?

Yes, pumunta kami sa Vialand! We were there from around noon to 10pm May reporting pa yun Fox news at nasa background (as in 1 foot behind lang) ng reporter yun 2 girls ko! Sabi nun eldest ko: Mommy, we're famous! Haha!

Saan kayo mag stay? May free shuttle services sila sa Sultanahmet at Taksim areas.

Sis, by now dapat asikasuhin mo na yun visa...

Pegasus is cheap but with out food; Turkish Airlines is inexpensive with food already - konti lang difference nila sa airfare. Qatar Airways is generally expensive but they had a promo during the time we traveled kaya dun kami sumakay...

Nope, we didn't book any guided tour. Madali lang naman ang DIY tour, mura lang museum passes + transportation passes. I just relied on my Lonely Planet guide book + Trip Advisor forum hehe Mas enjoy pa ang DIY lalo na kung may kids, kasi controlled nyo ang oras at pupuntahan nyo.

Family of 3 rin kami, 3yr old ang youngest. Naku, super enjoy ang mga kiddos, dun na lang daw kami mag stay hehe Try nyo bumili ng ice cream (they call it Dondurma), nakakatuwa kasi may "show" pa saka kakaiba yun consistency ng ice cream nila lol

Kids interests:

Vialand - allot 1 day (they have a free shuttle service)
Rahmi M Koc museum - we were there for 2-3 hours but, we weren't able to tour the whole area
Miniaturk - 1/2 day is manageable
Aquapark - allot 1 day (they have a free shuttle service)

[Noylabmay]

sis thank you for the info..

Yung visa ba online lang application?

Anung hotel kaya

iniisip ko sa Golden Horn Sultanahmet Hotel sa tripadvisor ko lang nabasa review

[mameejhy]

^Nope, I downloaded the form online and hubby went to the embassy to submit the forms. He collected the passports + visas after 2 days

Sis, ilan araw nga kayo ulit dun? If more than 5 days, I suggest you stay in an apartment. If you plan to visit the historical sites, I suggest you stay in Sultanahmet area - magkakatabi lang mga apartments/ hotels hehe We stayed in Topkapi Apartments which is around 5 minutes walking distance to the historical sites... 10mins kapag isasama mga photo ops along the way at paglalaro ng kids sa kalsada haha

[letters_to_cleo]

pwede na ng online application for turkey as long as you have a resident visa/work visa/residence card in an OECD country. 20$ yung visa then when you apply online and pay ipriprint mo lang your turkey visa :-) very convenient! will be in istanbul  nov 1-4. excited na ako, lalo sa food!

[shegie_285]

^ sis bago yan? Ako i needed to go pa din sa Turkish embassy (i applied last April) dahil Philippine passport. OECD country din ang Ireland and i have a resident visa. Si hubby online lang visa nya.

[letters_to_cleo]

^Shegie,  yep I think two weeks ago lang sya.  Nakaapply na ako ng visa ko.  Sinabi lang din hung friend ko na nasa NL, para daw makaapply na kami ng visa at bill ng ticket haha!  In five minutes nakapagonline visa applic na ako and online payment tapos nasend na sa akin yung visa (print mo lang). Here´s the link for the Turkey e-visa:  https://www.evisa.gov.tr/en/  :-)

[shegie_285]

^ ah thats good to know. Less hassle. Thanks sis!

[mameejhy]

Yey, magkwento kayo ng pinuntahan ha!

[projectgora]

mga sis I want you to see this video of Turkey. Grabe sobrang amazing! Gusto ko tuloy lumipad papunta dun haha! 

http://vimeo.com/108018156