8 Day Istanbul Adventure for <$3000!
Türkiye; some quick facts
Timezone: GMT +3
Phone code: +90
For the purposes of this post, do note that the the trip was made in the summer period between May to August.
01 Istanbul, a brief introduction
The hottest was 28 degrees celsius, lowest was mornings at 16.
Locals say August is hottest and February is coldest down to negative temperature
Public Transport: Metros, Trams, Ferry,
Travel with Istanbulkart (red) around the city
Currencies accepted: lira, euros, USD
Domestic transfers to other cities: through buses / cars or flight. Pegasus (most common), others include Aegean Airlines and AnadoluJet
Largest note is 200 lira
Istanbul has 39 cities and it’s a megacity. For the purposes of this post, we have divided the areas we travelled into NEW Europe, OLD Europe and ASIA as we were taught by the locals.
We mostly travelled around these neighbourhoods:
Sultanahmet (new Europe)
Beyoğlu (new Europe)
Eminönü (old Europe)
Kadıköy (Asian side)
Moda (Asian side)
Where we didn’t have enough time to visit - Fener, Balat, Üsküdar, Kuzguncuk
02 Where we stayed and why
We stayed in Europe (old Europe) - then Asia - then back to Europe (new Europe). This was a very specific choice - we put the Asia stop into the itinerary because prior research made it clear that the Asia side was markedly different than the European side of the country and we wanted to give it a go. At the Asia side, we chose an airbnb that had laundry facilities so we could spend 1 day at the midpoint of the trip to reset. This turned out to be a great decision so we could keep luggage under 12kg per person. Asia turned out to be a lovely choice, and kept the costs down significantly. Below is the list of places we stayed in at each of the various stops.
Old Europe: Hotel Niles Istanbul
We chose a family-owned, quiet hotel to stay in at our first stop as we wanted to explore the attractions in the area. We stayed in the hotel nearest to Beyazit Tram station on the T1 line, as we thought that staying close enough to Sultanahmet but not directly in the heart of the area would offer a bit more quiet. The owners were extremely kind and the hotel was wonderfully maintained, though old. Our recommendation if you stay there is to try their tasting menu, though a bit pricey at 15 euros, we enjoyed it!
Advice: book directly from their website, there’s a 10% discount.
Cleanliness: 5/5
Location: 4/5
Service: 5/5
well cleaned and simple room at Hotel Niles Istanbul
Watch the full review here on Instagram.
New Europe: Hotel Barcelo
We stayed here because it was on promotion on Agoda (haha). That being said, it wasn’t too far from most areas we walked to in Beyoğlu. Service was fantastic and it was only 40 minutes from the airport on the West side (IST) so if you’re looking to have a shorter journey nearing your return flight that’s a great option. Breakfast was splendid!
Cleanliness: 5/5
Location: 3/5
Service: 4/5
Asia: an Airbnb in Kadıköy (link here)
Hande and Emre’s home was a lovely place to chill at and they provided us everything we needed, even helping us wash our clothes THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Everything was perfect, except that the location was right in the middle of the food and drinks zone, which can be a blessing or curse depending on how much of a night owl you are. We loved our time there but the Mrs. had some trouble sleeping and would advice you to bring earplugs. That being said, we would absolutely stay there once more as it was a pleasure to be hosted by them.
Cleanliness: 5/5
Location: 4/5 (would be 5/5 if not for the noise all night)
Service: 5/5
Emre and Hande’s homestay!
03 Old Europe
Taking the tram line T1 around the area should enable you to visit most of the sites that tourists commonly visit. We spent 3 days exploring most of these, paid for a full ticket to the Topkapı, took the Bosphorus Cruise and visited the Blue Mosque and 4 museums, the rest we viewed from the outside.
Some sites you can visit:
Topkapı Palace and Museum - spend at least half a day, if not most of your day. It’s worth to take the time to walk around the place. It is huge. (S$86/pax for a 3h guided tour)
Basilica Cistern
Istanbul Archaeological Museum - another location that history buffs will love! (15 Euros/pax)
Hagia Sophia - unfortunately too expensive and we didn’t do this
Sultanahmet area - Hippodrome, Obelisk of Theodosius
Blue Mosque - free to enter, bring head covering for ladies and dress modestly
Take the Bosphorus Cruise (S$11/pax)
Tip: When you drop at Eminonu don’t cross by the main road, cross using the underpass. For Taksim to Kabatas take F1 to cross
Egyptian Bazaar, Spice Bazaar, etc
one part of the very large Topkapı Palace
“TIL: the Topkapı Palace is not at the Topkapı tram stop.”
Where you can eat:
Old Ottoman Cafe and Restaurant - amazingly soft chicken, the Mrs.’ personal favourite chicken shish. Located near (enough) to the Topkapı Museum area at Gűlhane. - see picture below, left. Spent about 30 Euros
Pick up fish sandwiches (balık ekmek) from the boats along the Bosphorus cruise pier zone! They’re comparable. - see picture below, right
Elibol Börek - pizza here is small but quite nice!
Namlı Gurme - rather expensive and service was slow, but the meat pizza was good. Good location if you need a quick fix between sightseeing locations.
04 New Europe
Sites you can visit
Galata Tower - we didn’t go up.
Walk Taksim/Istiklal areas
Pera Museum - a personal favourite for us, political art, social and historical exhibitions on 5 different floors. (25 Euros/pax)
Ataturk Cultural Center
Where you can eat
Nizam Pide Taksim - simple, does the job
Saltbae - there’s quite a few places, we chose the Nisantasi branch and had burgers. Fantastic.
05 Asia
Sites you can visit
Tuesday and Friday Bazaar
Moda Seafront - walk around it
Food tours!! - we went for one, good idea indeed (S$44/pax)
Where you can eat
Pide Sun - meat and pastries, very gooooooood. (pic.1)
Korfmaz Büfe - eat that beef doner, it was wonderful. (pic. 2)
Tips from our local guide: Don’t eat chicken doner or mussels during summer because the meats may be left in the streets and we’re not sure when they prepared it. As there are poor food regulations, people can get food poisoning.
Semolina - risotto was amazing, burrata pizza was so huge we ate it for breakfast too the next day. (pic. 3 and 4)
Arda Bufe - eat the menemen and cheese toast, also one rare place that’s open early in the morning for breakfast. (pic. 5)
Çay Tarlasi - the cheese bowl was to die for. (pic. 6)
Say Cheese - quick and more afforable pasta, a bit too much parmesan though
06 Princess Islands
To head to the Princess Islands, head to the Kadıköy pier and look for the right most entrance - ‘Adala Islands’. Tickets cost around TL 83 for one person, one way.
Then take the ferry and stop at BURGAZ, not Kınalıada that’s the first one.
Take the path upwards to the right of the beach restaurants
Walk all the way through the houses until you see the beach clearing from up the hill then trek downwards. Thereafter you’ll see some beach chairs and a couple of people swimming!
It’s great for a short hike and escape away from the crowds in Istanbul. You can swim wherever you see beach chairs around.
In terms of food options, near the pier there are areas to pick up a quick bite or even a full meal. It’s not the best but it will do!
To return to mainland Istanbul, take the ferry on the RIGHT SIDE of the pier, facing the water, if you take the left side, you will head on to the third and fourth islands instead.
07 Tips and Tricks for your trip
Here’s a list of things that would make your life easier!
Buy an Istanbulkart, find a way to get it at the airport, before you come out there are some booths where you can buy the card and top it up too. It’s 27 TL PER TAP, and one card can be used for a few people, you just have to tap and wait a few seconds before the next tap.
Learn to say “hesap lütfen” which means ‘bill, please’
Many things are negotiable, our hotel check-in time for example, bargains at shops. THAT BEING SAID, a local guide told us that people in the Europe side of Istanbul are more open to bargains but those on the Asian side might be offended if you did so.
Carry cash, stores take card (debit and credit) but some are more hesitant to take card as there is a surcharge - both for you and them. They are more likely to give discounts in some places if you use cash.
The weather ranged from 16 degrees in the mornings to 28 degrees by late afternoon. Bring a range of clothing, and as it gets darker keep a sweater with you for the cooler winds.
There is a small exit to the Mamaray line, in case you need to change to that from the Sultanahmet area.
this is the exit / shortcut to the Marmaray Line
AIRPORT TRANSFER TO IST AND SAW
To get to the Istanbul (IST) airport using public transport: take HAVAIST if you’re flying to/from Istanbul airport (Istanbul Havalimanı), 275 lira per person.
To get to the Istanbul (SAW) airport using public transport: take HAVABUS if you’re flying to/from Sabiha Gökçen Airport. 275 lira per person.
ENSURE THAT YOU READ THE SIGNS ON THE BUS SO YOU DON’T END UP IN THE WRONG DIRECTION.
Trip Costs (all in SGD)
Flights were free - we redeemed our tickets on Krisflyer both ways! ($195 in airport fees and surcharge).
Accommodation: $1660
4D3N Hotel Niles: $900
3D2N Hotel Barcelo: $430
4D3N Airbnb at Kadıköy: $330
All other day tours, activities and attraction tickets: ~$645
Transportation $150
Miscellaneous $32
Shopping ~$100
Total ~$2700 for 8-9 days in Istanbul
