First time in Istanbul-On our own or Guide?

[cruisinsusin]

We will begin our cruise on the Celebrity Constellation in Istanbul. We spend one and one half days there before the ship sails. We have done a number of European cities on our own on previous Baltic and Mediterranean cruises but Turkey is new to us. How available are the taxis or public transport from the port? Has anyone used a private guide whom they could recommend?

Thanks in advance for everyone's help :)

Susan

[cruisinsusin]

I had searched this board (since many of our cruise ports are Africa/Middle East)before posting but realize I should have been searching Istanbul on the Mediterranean boards:o

Susan

[Hydrokitty]

Susan: if you're still checking this board for info :D here's my opinion: take a guided tour of Istanbul, you'll never get to see the best on your own. Traffic is very heavy, especially around the Mosque and Museums. Lines can be outrageously long at the Topkapi and Hagie Sofia and these are the three top attractions in Istanbul and each is not to be missed.

[cruisinsusin]

Thanks Hydrokitty- I am following both boards;).

I have seen some recommendations for the use of a guide and others that feel it would be easy to DIY. It seems that Old Town is fairly accessible via the tram but crowds and traffic have to be considered- did you do a land tour or a shore excursion with a cruise? Which tour company did you use? Did they help you with some of the lines?

Thanks

[cruisemom42]

In contrast to the the previous poster, I found Istanbul so easy to do on your own -- and using the tram negates the problem of the insane traffic, making it much more likely that you can see/do more on your own than on a tour.

 

I have done it both ways and greatly prefer DIY. The main sites (Haghia Sophia, Topkapi, Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, Cistern) are all right next to each other and the Grand Bazaar is just a couple of tram stops farther down the line (or you can walk there, following the track). Easy!

 

Rick Steves has several excellent walking tours, including the "must sees" inside the top sites.

[texancruzer]

I also agree with DIY.

 

While we were there on a port stop, we did overnight. We used the tram both days.

 

Afterwards at dinner our tablemates all had their "horror" stories of being stuck in traffic (some in taxi - some on a bus) for way over an hour - while we hopped on the tram and were in the historic district in 8 minutes :eek: Yep - 8 minutes. We walked all over as it is all right there.

 

You will love Istanbul which ever way you decide to see it - it is a wonderful city to visit.

[Bowie MeMe]

It is possible to do it yourself but I HIGHLY recommend that you use an excellent guide -- they know how to get down a side street, how to get good service in a great little restaurant (and what to order:p), they can quickly do a change of plans if the line for the attraction is 2 hours long and they can read the signs in Turkish and they keep the very annoying vendors out of your hair (worth the guiding price right there). We had such an excellent time in Istanbul and the guide price was a very small part of the total cost. I think it thrifty to have a guide -- you paid thousands to get to Istanbul why not have someone explain it to you and present the city in it's very best manner. We used Lala Kagan -- she's fantastic.

[otogocruisin]

We were so pleased that we did this port on our own. It was so easy to do on the tram. People we met were so helpful. We took the tram on our way in and walked all the way back stopping to look at things as we wished. don't miss the spice market!

Pam

[cruisinsusin]

Thanks for everyone's responses!

[Hydrokitty]

It is possible to do it yourself but I HIGHLY recommend that you use an excellent guide -- they know how to get down a side street, how to get good service in a great little restaurant (and what to order:p), they can quickly do a change of plans if the line for the attraction is 2 hours long and they can read the signs in Turkish and they keep the very annoying vendors out of your hair (worth the guiding price right there). We had such an excellent time in Istanbul and the guide price was a very small part of the total cost. I think it thrifty to have a guide -- you paid thousands to get to Istanbul why not have someone explain it to you and present the city in it's very best manner. We used Lala Kagan -- she's fantastic.

 

I agree with Bowie completely. Guide will help with the lines because they will have purchased tickets ahead of time or have a working relationship with the ticket office. But most of all is the knowledge you will get from the guide that you absolutely cannot get on your own. I think Lala was our guide as well. We were on a ship and spent 2 nights in Istanbul. First night our tm took us to the bazaar and set us loose and the next day we had a local guide (Lala) take us around. We got to see both sides of the city, as well as the Hagia, blue Mosque and Topkapi and as Bowie pointed out, the guide knew when the lines were the best (and worst) and rearranged our schedule accordingly. It wasn't outrageously expensive and since you probably will only go to Istanbul once, why not get as much as you can out of your visit. It is a trade off, since you will lose the personal contact with the local population but you will also learn more about the area, so it boils down to what YOU want out of the visit.:)

[cruisemom42]

I agree with Bowie completely. Guide will help with the lines because they will have purchased tickets ahead of time or have a working relationship with the ticket office. But most of all is the knowledge you will get from the guide that you absolutely cannot get on your own. I think Lala was our guide as well. We were on a ship and spent 2 nights in Istanbul. First night our tm took us to the bazaar and set us loose and the next day we had a local guide (Lala) take us around. We got to see both sides of the city, as well as the Hagia, blue Mosque and Topkapi and as Bowie pointed out, the guide knew when the lines were the best (and worst) and rearranged our schedule accordingly. It wasn't outrageously expensive and since you probably will only go to Istanbul once, why not get as much as you can out of your visit. It is a trade off, since you will lose the personal contact with the local population but you will also learn more about the area, so it boils down to what YOU want out of the visit.:)

 

Hydrokitty, I understand what you are saying, but I don't think you can generalize like that. I have traveled all over and taken ship tours, private tours, and done things on my own. With the exception of 2 tours I've taken, I cannot think of a single guide who imparted more than a fact or two that I didn't already know from my own pre-travel research.

 

In fact, on several tours I have caught guides giving incorrect information, including some guides from well-regarded agencies frequently recommended on the Med boards.

 

And some guides have been so bad that I would've gotten no useful information from them at all had I not researched in advance. In this category I will put the last ship excursion I took (in Iskenderun Turkey) where the guide stated at the beginning of the tour that she wasn't going to give us a lot of facts because "you'll just forget them." Instead, she decided to regale us with questionable ethnic stereotypes and jokes about locals, or else shill for products we should purchase at the conveniently sponsored shopping stop. :rolleyes:

 

So, while some people may feel the way you do, I know there are a subset of travelers who are capable of reading good guidebooks and getting the same (and possibly better) information.

[ccos]

Any suggestions of a tour company to use while in Istanbul? We will be there for 4 days after departing the Amsterdam (HAL) in Athens in April.

We will be staying at the "W" hotel? Any recommendations would be appreciated.

[Bowie MeMe]

The Kosagan agency is excellent. Contact them at kosagan@yahoo.com. They are well worth their fee and you will enjoy Istanbul in a wonderful and educational way.

[wack001]

We will begin our cruise on the Celebrity Constellation in Istanbul. We spend one and one half days there before the ship sails. We have done a number of European cities on our own on previous Baltic and Mediterranean cruises but Turkey is new to us. How available are the taxis or public transport from the port? Has anyone used a private guide whom they could recommend?

Thanks in advance for everyone's help :)

Susan

 

Susan;

Go to my blog(http://www.cruisinbob.com) you will need to look at the right hand side, but I laid everything out on how to visit Istanbul on your own, very easy and where the ship docks it is simple.

bob

[cruisinsusin]

Thanks Bob!

[wack001]

here is the link;

 

http://www.cruisinbob.com/2009/11/istanbul-on-your-own-two-feet.html

 

enjoy great city and easy to do on your own,

[worries gone]

Neither I or my wife are shoppers so when we arranged a tour for us and two other couples shopping was not an consideration on our list. We though forgot that our brother in law loves to shop. He picked out some shops he wanted to visit and skipped part of the tour to do so. Our guide told him that the shops he wanted to visit were expensive and not the best, but he thought he knew best and went . He bought a rug. Our guide the next day showed him the store he recommended. Needles to say my brother in law saw a higher quality rug for less money than he bought. Now I would not pick a guide for the shopping, it is something to consider if you are into shopping. Just a thought.

[Behli]

Who is Lala Kagan and how do I get in touch with her. I will be in Istanbul on 9/19-20. Pl reply to me at behramshroff@hotmail.com. Thanks

[dln929]

We will begin our cruise on the Celebrity Constellation in Istanbul. We spend one and one half days there before the ship sails. We have done a number of European cities on our own on previous Baltic and Mediterranean cruises but Turkey is new to us. How available are the taxis or public transport from the port? Has anyone used a private guide whom they could recommend?

Thanks in advance for everyone's help :)

Susan

 

Susan, there are some cities in the world that you would have to find a guide for in order to maximize the short time you're going to be there, but I don't think Istanbul falls into that category. My 22 year old daughter took a job in Istanbul this summer and she's fallen in love with the city. Now mind you, this is a girl who for the most part can't find her way out of a paper bag. She has a terrible sense of direction! And yet on her free days/afternoons off, she goes exploring. She's an art major and as such wants to learn about what she's seeing as much as simply admire it. Thus far she's seen many of Istanbul's treasures--all by using public transportation and no guide service. Her opinion is that if you find a guide, that's wonderful (we are great fans in our family of having personalized tours as it adds so much depth to a trip) but if you don't, you will still come away from Istanbul enriched by the experience.

 

Before my daughter left home she found a few websites useful in her pre-planning. http://www.istanbultrails.com/ and http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/index.html, as well as the DVDs we checked out from the library, Rudy Maxa and Rick Steves in particular. Hope this helps a bit!

[cruisinsusin]

Thanks- we are looking forward to our time in Istanbul!

[cruising grandma]

We had two days in Istanbul in July and toured all over on our own, using public transportation and walking. We had read guidebooks(Rick Steves and Eyewitness travel) prior to our cruise. This was a VERY easy city to tour on our own. You do need Turkish Lira for tokens for the local transportation, and there are many money exchange places all around that do not charge a commission. We saw Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar, Spice Market, Cistern, Galata bridge(upper and lower), Sulemon Mosque, Hippodrome. We also ate lunch (didn't need a guide to tell us what to order), had beer at a cafe under the bridge and had an hour long Bosferous River cruise. We were on Mariner of the Seas, and it was an easy walk to/from the old town. We took the tram to and walked back the second day, so we could see more. I would not take a guided tour there...