Hi,

Next week I am working in Istanbul and would appreciate some travel advice from anyone who is familiar with the city.

I am flying in to Ataturk airport and our travel people have booked me in to the Holiday Inn Instanbul Airport which, as you can guess from the name, is close to the airport on the European side of the city.

My customer however is in the Mackolik Complex in Kadikoy which is on the other side of the Bosphorus.

Google maps shows a 25km route via road over a couple of bridges. Does anyone know if this is going to be practical/affordable via taxi or would it be better to take public transport?

Unfortunately the hotel has been paid for and is non-refundable – our travel team are not great at the best of times but booking a hotel on the wrong continent is a new low!

I don’t know it that well but you will be spending a LOT of time travelling. The routes across the river can be awful for traffic although they were building another option last time I was there.

Been to Istanbul a couple of times.

There isn’t a direct train in from Ataturk but you do have a combination of tube and overground tram.

We’ve stayed very close to the Topkapi Palace and IIRC the taxi from the airport along Kennedy Caddesi was about 45 mins. Hopefully that’ll give you a clue about the roads in Istanbul…………..

Hopefully someone with more experience will be along but I wouldn’t be surprised if this turns into a 60 min+ trip in rush hour.

Istanbul is a fab city if you like history

I did a week in Kadikoy a couple of years back for work.
I’d bin that hotel off and book something local – this one is walking distance from Kadikoy ferry terminal –

http://www.parkhousehotels.com/

You’ll spend most of your week sat in the back of a taxi otherwise – it is a good hour from the Airport to Kadikoy by car.
Driving over the main bridge is horrific 24 hours a day!
The better option, if you can get it to work might be a ferry – but I’m not sure if you can get one from where you are staying to Kadikoy.

http://www.ciya.com.tr was a reasonable café if you find yourself lost, alone and hungry in Kadikoy.

Went to Istanbul in Feb. We got around by tram/taxi. Taxi’s aren’t too expensive. There is a lot of traffic and horn beeping, so as said above, it will take longer than expected, though obviously that depends on the time of day.

I can’t remember which airport we arrived at, but our hotel was the other side of the Bosphorous, we got a Taxi to save time as they were just piled up outside waiting for customers. It took about 40 mins (maybe more) and cost just under £15. (40lira)
If you do your research and know there is a tram, they will generally be cheaper, but relatively speaking, taxis aren’t bad.

I go there for work now and again and have the same issues. You are looking at an hour absolutely min each way and prob about 40 euros worth off the top of my head. Even for a 2hour cab ride the price is nrver restrictive, more a question of time. I have stayed in the Green Park hôtel on the asian side which was very popular but quirky. On the Europe side Have stayedin the Hilton Park in Macka which is nothing Fancy and stuffily hot , the rooftop restaurant is very good though with great views. The Polat Renaissance near the hôtel is also ok but not worth it. Best option I found near the airport is actually the Novotel.

+1 to ferries. Any city that has ferries to get you around is somewhere worth looking at. – Sydney is another place that springs to mind.

Just had a look on Google maps and if your Holiday Grim is the one to the north of Ataturk, it is in the @rse end of nowhere (relatively speaking)

Can you realistically ‘do’ Instanbul in a weekend? (From Manchester).

Change your hotel!

Transport is a major issue in Istanbul. The last time I went there on a work trip road travel from the airport to an office on the same bank of the Bosphorous took 3 hours. This was an exception but it is always pretty bad. The Asian side is a cheaper place to stay and the airport zone is not great anyway.

Until the tunnel is complete across the river (2014) there is also no rapid public transport link and the queue for the bridges in peak hours is significant.

Here is a map of the cities public transport network, print before you go as I didn’t find one as good elsewhere.

You can see the disconnect that the river imposes. This is set to continue in the future too as one of the bridges needs long term maintenance that is set to require its closure and the city continues to grow rapidly.

Having said that there are some great examples of public transport in the city, the locals don’t seem keen but the Metrobus is an example of what can be done with buses and should be extended in an exclusive lane across the Bosphorus, it would move more people than the current traffic jam.

As someone else said an option may be to travel from the airport to the Golden Horn and get a ferry across but it really is quite a long way and you are going to be a sweaty mess by the time you get to work!

Oh I should also mention that the taxi experience is rarely great, out of eight taxi rides I got only one successfully took me to the right place despite written addresses. One of the taxi rides ended rather unpleasantly with a row as the driver tried to rip me off royally.

Enjoy your trip it is a interesting energetic place.

Can you realistically ‘do’ Instanbul in a weekend? (From Manchester).

No, but you can have a look around at a few key sights and enjoy yourself. It is a very large city indeed. My parents thought they had ‘done’ it in a four day trip, in reality they had barely left the Golden Horn area!

No, but you can have a look around at a few key sights and enjoy yourself. It is a very large city indeed. My parents thought they had ‘done’ it in a four day trip, in reality they had barely left the Golden Horn area!

Ta 🙂 I meant from a flying/travelling/transfers – time/hassle v time on the ground. i.e. Barcelona is definitely easy due to short flight/time transfer (of course). How long are the transfers from the airport to centre- an hour? Could possibly stretch to a 3 day weekend trip…

Wow – thanks for the great responses 🙂

Unfortunately the hotel has been booked on a non-refundable basis so I am stuck with it 🙁

Hopefully I should be able to get all the work done in one day and then have a couple of days sightseeing.

I’d cancel the hotel, get one in the city, and wee in the shoes of the muppet person who booked it!

As pointed out, the traffic is an utter nightmare. Also the driving standard’s make central Paris look like a sleepy Cotswold village. It’s bonkers!!!! And its bonkers 24/7. Spending a lot of time in taxi’s you’ll spend a large percentage of that time absolutely paralysed with fear! It’s quite possible you could finish your journey (if your lucky!) actually crying, and kissing the Tarmac like the pope getting off a plane

Istanbul is a great city – apart from the traffic !!
Taxis are cheap enough but will take ages to get anywhere ..
Best bet is the underground or hop on a ferry if it takes you anywhere near then dive into a taxi for the last bit , basically if you can avoid the bridges youll cut your travel time by 2/3rds.
Visit the underground cistern for a bizarre hour or so – early doors to avoid the inevitable tourists 8)

Istanbul is a wonderful city.We spent a week exploring it in 2011 and I’d go back in a heartbeat. http://flic.kr/s/aHsjwt4ycH

The traffic is an utter, utter nightmare, especially if any of the local football games are on.

Public transport is quite excellent we found, tram and ferries that is.

Metro to Zeytinburnu, tram to Sirkeci, ferry to Kadikoy.
With a travel team like that who needs extraordinary rendition flights?

Unfortunately the hotel has been paid for and is non-refundable

D’oh! I don’t suppose there’s any chance of asking Holiday Inn nicely to at least switch you to a branch which is at least closer to your destination?

Used to be a regular business journey for me. Take a taxi to Barkirkoy and then ferry to Kadikoy. Ferries are a nice way to get round and comfortable. Taxis cheap but as others have said don’t take the bridge.

Either ditch the hotel and pay out of your pocket for a cheap place near work then enjoy the hours you’ve saved, or have a friendly chat with the hotel manager who will certainly understand the problem and if (s)he’s half reasonable, will transfer you to a sister hotel on the other side. If reluctant, a small gift of a few dollars will often solve the problem. It could be the best few dollars you’ve ever spent.

wordnumb – Member

Metro to Zeytinburnu, tram to Sirkeci, ferry to Kadikoy.
With a travel team like that who needs extraordinary rendition flights?

Sounds like a plan but I’d avoid the tram if you have luggage and travel in peak times, as they can be very busy.

Hora

We’ve only been for long weekends but you can pack a lot in. The European side / Golden Horn is touristy because most of the key sites are there. It’s all very walkable but certainly not flat.

its a great city..! went there in 2010..

http://www.flickr.com/photos/spodhopper/sets/72157625094123528/

but as others have said.. traffic is a nightmare.. especially over the bridges and public transport is the way forward..

oh.. and get ready for the call to prayer first thing in a morning if you are anywhere near a mosque..!

And go and have a proper Turkish Bath. Until you’ve been roughed up, then manhandled and bent double by a nearly naked, fat, Freddie Mercury lookalike in a steam room, you really haven’t lived 😉