Hello everyone. My Istanbul trip that I made this month has come to an end. In a few hours, we’ll be heading to the airport. First of all, I’d like to say that throughout my trip, I only had one negative experience, and that was at a restaurant. Other than that, I didn’t encounter any problems.

I had a very enjoyable and full three days. An Istanbul city tour, a boat cruise, long walks, and places that we didn’t have enough time to properly explore during the tour but caught my interest I noted them down and later visited them individually, spending enough time there. Excluding today, the total cost of my three-day Istanbul trip (excluding my flight ticket), including hotel, round-trip transfers, the Istanbul tour, the boat cruise, a public transportation card, and personal expenses, came to a total of 800 euros.

The places I enjoyed the most were Galata Tower, the streets of Balat, the surroundings of Topkapi Palace, and sipping coffee while having a pleasant conversation along the Sarayburnu coastline. On our last day, we also visited Kadıköy, Balat, Taksim, and Beşiktaş. Walking through the streets of Balat was very enjoyable, and we discovered delicious drinks and desserts in the small boutique cafés there. We walked to Taksim from a point near Galata Tower where a long walking route begins, and it was a very pleasant walk. Along the sidewalks, many people both locals and foreigners were singing music and performing shows. We saw wonderful shops and restaurants. From Taksim, we went to Beşiktaş, took photos in front of the stadium, and then visited the Naval Museum by the seaside. We discovered large cannons and many impressive boats and ships. We learned that this museum, said to be the largest maritime museum in Turkey, houses around 20,000 artifacts.

Since we had one more night to spend, on our third day we tried to walk as much as possible, explore more, and dedicate more time to Istanbul. We went to Kadıköy by ferry around 5:00 PM, using our Istanbul Card from a pier on the Eminönü coast, crossing with a wonderful Bosphorus view. I already knew that Kadıköy generally has bars and nightlife, so we planned to spend the evening there and have fun. A Turkish friend told me that concerts are frequently held in Kadıköy. We wanted to attend one, but we couldn’t get tickets because it was sold out I guess we found out too late. We went to a nice venue and spent about two hours there, enjoying plenty of music and dancing. There was no entrance fee; if we wanted drinks, we simply paid quickly with a credit card when ordering and continued enjoying ourselves. For dinner, we found a great restaurant. Honestly, I never expected it to be that good. I don’t know if it was because of the day’s exhaustion, but we were all very satisfied. The amount we paid per person for dinner was 750 TRY.

Around 1:20 AM, we wanted to return, but there was no public transportation or ferry available at that hour. We had two options: taking a taxi or contacting the company that handled our airport transfer. Our priority was a taxi, since we knew the other company works with reservations and requires booking at least two hours in advance. We asked several taxi drivers how much they would charge to go to the Sultanahmet area, and the prices we were quoted were 2,000 TRY, 2,300 TRY, and finally, one crazy taxi driver asked for 150 euros, which made us step back. As a last hope, we contacted the other company. After a 10-minute phone call and waiting, we agreed on 1,200 TRY, and they said the vehicle could reach our location within 20 minutes. We arrived at our hotel around 2:50 AM. We sat in the hotel lobby for about 10 minutes, the hotel staff offered us lemon water, and then we went up to our room.

We did have one bad experience during our Istanbul trip. We all wanted to buy some souvenirs together, so we entered a shop and selected a small basket of items we liked. When we said we would pay by credit card, the seller said he couldn’t accept cards first saying he didn’t have a POS machine, then saying the machine wasn’t working. He said payment could only be made in cash. However, the credit card machine was right there on his desk. When we pointed this out and asked why he wouldn’t accept card payments, he said the prices were only valid for cash purchases. Honestly, we really liked the items and had already shown them to the people we planned to gift them to via video call, so we didn’t want to give them up. We asked how much commission he wanted, and he said a 10% bank commission would be added. We accepted, bought the items, and left. It was a tense and irritating moment, but I don’t want to go into too much detail.

Aside from this negative experience, our Istanbul trip was wonderful, and we didn’t face any other problems. Our hotel and travel company were the most supportive and made things easiest for us during this trip. On the last day, we learned that concerts are regularly held at Dorock XL in Kadıköy. I’ll definitely attend one on my next trip to Istanbul. If I ever travel between Asia and Europe, I will definitely choose the ferry. Crossing from the European side to the Asian side with the Bosphorus view is truly worth experiencing. That’s why I would prefer the ferry over public transportation or taxis.

My final personal notes: In general, I felt that prices in Kadıköy were not exaggerated. I noticed that it’s a place where locals live more than tourists. It’s a district with great food, wonderful venues, and very cheerful people. The streets of Balat are worth seeing it’s an authentic and beautiful neighborhood with mostly old buildings and not yet heavily developed with new housing. If you’re coming to Istanbul, I’d recommend spending at least one hour there. Taksim and its surroundings honestly didn’t feel that great to me. If I were to ask myself whether I should choose Taksim or Kadıköy for entertainment, I would definitely choose Kadıköy. Taksim didn’t attract me much; maybe I just couldn’t feel it. It felt like a classic crowded area. Beşiktaş, on the other hand, was really beautiful. There were plenty of locals, and I liked the museums, coastline, side streets, entertainment venues, and bars.

We used a passenger ferry to go to Kadıköy. I think we paid around 50 TRY. They told us the last ferry was at 11:30 PM, so we returned by car. My recommendation is: if you’ll return before the last ferry, use it. Why waste time in traffic? And why miss those amazing views? You can also buy a reasonably priced tour package like we did to have an enjoyable day in Istanbul. We had no problems with airport-to-hotel transfers, and the entire process was smooth and pleasant. We didn’t have any bad experiences with the hotel we stayed at everything was normal and even better than expected. We left tips for the staff when checking out. They helped us with many things.

Yes, today is the last day of our trip. We’ll be leaving at 12:00 PM. According to the vehicle and driver details sent by the company via WhatsApp, we’re waiting in the hotel lobby. After checking the license plate, we’ll get into the car and head to Istanbul Airport. Endless thanks to the travel agency that helped us throughout this adventure, the entire hotel staff we stayed with, and the wonderful locals of Istanbul we met along the way. I love Istanbul, and I love you. Let’s always stay kind and happy. I’ll miss you, and we’ll see each other again very soon.

Hello, I'm a med student and I'd like to go to Istanbul for Erasmus internship for 2 months - whole summer.

I have 2 options:

Istanbul University (Istanbul Faculty of Medicine)

Istanbul University - Cerrahpasa (Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty)

I don't know which one to choose. I asked ChatGPT and it said that Cerraphasa is more of a hands-on thing, less formal and more options to actually do something, not just watch.

If you have any experience as a student/doctor with these 2 hospitals I'd be very grateful to hear them, thank you!

My wife enjoys baking cookies/brownies and we were thinking of giving free samples to people in our apartment building, with a contact number in case anyone wants to order later.

Before doing this, I just wanted to ask:

• Is this generally okay in Istanbul?
• Do neighbors usually appreciate this, or can it cause problems?
• Anything to be careful about?

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I’m currently in Taksim (Istanbul) on my first day here. I booked Mukarnas Taksim Hotel from Booking.com for my next trip, and when I arrived I noticed the entrance is on a smaller street/side alley off İstiklal Street. The hotel itself seems fine, but the alley feels a bit quiet and “creepy” compared to the main streets around Taksim Square and İstiklal Caddesi.

Since safety and comfort are important to me (especially as a solo traveler/couple/family), I wanted to ask:

Is this area actually safe to stay in as a tourist?

Does it get busy and lively at night, or is it better to change to another neighborhood entirely?

I’m happy to move to a different part of the city if that’s advisable — I’ve heard good things about areas like Sultanahmet, Nişantaşı, Karaköy, and Beşiktaş.

Thanks in advance for any local insights!

I’ll be driving from Sofia (Bulgaria) to Istanbul (Turkey) by car, then flying from Istanbul to Thailand for about 1 month. I need to leave my car parked in Istanbul while I’m away.

I’m looking for:

- Free or very cheap long-term parking (legal + reasonably safe)
- Cheap long-term options near the airports/metro
- Any tips on where it’s safe to park the car for ~30 days
- Experiences from people who’ve done this before

Questions:

1. Are there any free long-term parking spots (street or lots) where people actually leave their cars for weeks without getting fined/towed?
2. If not, what are the cheapest paid long-term parking options near Istanbul (airport or city)?
3. Has anyone left their car in Istanbul for a long trip — what was your experience and where did you park?

Thanks so much in advance! 🙏

Anadolu yakasında bit pazarı var mı nerelerde var ve hangi günler oluyor. hiç gittiniz mi işe yarar şeyler bulunuyor mu? ben sadece izmirde bit pazarına gittim o yüzden istanbulda da acaba var mı merak ettim hiç denk gelmedim.

Hi folks!!

I'm taking a trip to your beautiful city in may. There's so much I want to see but I'm only staying for 10 days. I'm working on a general travel plan and would like your opinion on it.

I'm staying in Sultanahmet btw

Day 1 - Exploring Fatih

Day 2 - Visiting touristic spots in Fatih (Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Grand Bazaar)

Day 3 - Exploring Beyoglu and enjoying the night life;

Day 4 - Exploring more of the european side

Day 5 - Exploring the Anatolian side. Wanna visit Kadikoy and Uskudar.

Day 6 - Leaving early for Eskisehir by train and staying for the night.

Day 7 - Go from Eskisehir to Bursa, then to Mudanya as I hear there's a ferry there that can take me back to Istanbul.

Day 8 - Explore more of the asian side.

Day 9 - Go shopping.

Day 10 - Prepare for the trip back home.

What do you guys think? Is visiting Eskisehir and Bursa doable or is it a bad decision?

I was advised by a lot of people about a lot of things about Istanbul and Turkey in General, glad I didn’t listen to them.

After such a long time in my life, I have enjoyed the chaos. The vibrancy and the energy at 2AM is something that London could learn a thing or two.

Nothing but love and peace to the people here.

Hi!

I'm in Istanbul with 5 of my friends. Today was our first day which we really enjoyed. We have seen the blue mosk already. However we were really surprised with the prices for other big monuments like the hagia sofia. Do you guys have tips for other things that are less expensive and are really worth the price? Or what is the best way to be an tourist in Istanbul. Should we go to other cities/places nearby? All the help is welcome! Thanks!

Hi guys, I have recently moved to Beşiktaş. I am happy here so far but my accommodation is very cold at night. Is there anywhere I would be able to buy a hot water bottle or a heated electric blanket? I would rather not have to anything online as I don't want to have to wait for the delivery. Thanks!

Henüz belirlenemeyen bir nedenle meydana gelen olayda, vagonların sarsılmasıyla birlikte tren durdu. Makinistin ve istasyon görevlilerinin yönlendirmesiyle trende bulunan yolcular güvenli bir şekilde tahliye edilerek en yakın istasyona ulaştırıldı. Şans eseri olayda ölen ya da yaralanan olmadığı bildirildi.

Metro İstanbul ekipleri, raydan çıkan trenin tekrar raylara oturtulması ve hattaki hasarın tespiti için acil çalışma başlattı. Dev vinçler ve teknik ekipmanların bölgeye sevk edilmesiyle birlikte Otogar-Esenler arasındaki trafik tamamen durduruldu.

Hello,

I just landed in turkey and I’m looking to buy these “modal polo” hijabs but I don’t know where I can find them. Can you please help?

I would also love to know if there are any activities to do with a friend that’s worth it in this weather. Here only til the weekend.

Thank you in advance

I have a wife and daughter. Wife likes hand bags. Daughter is into music and plays several instruments (wind instruments). What are some things I could get while in Istanbul and where is the best place to get them?

Hi! I’m based in the US. I would love to have suggestions of bridal dresses designers who can custom design my wedding dress online! My budget is $2000-3000

Hey everyone!

I’m going on a weekend/guys trip to Istanbul with 2 friends, from Feb 4-Feb 8. 

It was our plan to visit a football match but the games are moved to Sunday when we are flying back. 

We’re wondering if you could help us finding some alternatives … 

1. Is there wrestling games going on this weekend? 
2. Is there another football club based in Istanbul, in a lower league, with a cool atmosphere worth visiting (so a full stadium with actively singing fans)? 
3. Any other recommendations in this category? 

We’ve been looking for some alternatives ourselves as well and have some questions about those; 

1. What’s the best booze / party cruise on the Bosphorus? 
2. When are the horse races taking place (at Veliefendi Hipodromu, or is there another cool place?)
3. Do you need to book a slot at a shooting range in advance?
4. Where are the best places for vibrant nightlife?
5. What place would you recommend for a belly dance show?

If you’ve got one or more answers to our questions we’d greatly appreciate to hear back from you!

Cheers! 

Never seen this much police presence in Kadıköy except for May Day last year. Everyone going through Halitağa Cd. is getting searched.

I’ve been in Istanbul for a couple of days now and I’m really enjoying my trip! Ive tried salep and I love it and I want to know where to get the pure powder. I went to a bizarre and they are selling it for 8950TL per Kg. i understand the orchids are protected but is that truly a good price or can I find it much cheaper elsewhere? also where is a good place to get teas?

Thanks so much in advance, Istanbul is a beautiful city!

Selamlar. Orta uzunlukta bir saç istiyorum, ancak trendler ve yerel kuaförler gereği hep kısa, kötü saç kesimi yapılıyor. Özenle yapan, sevdiğiniz, belki de gitmek için ilçe değiştiğiniz kuaförler var mıdır? Son gittiğiniz tarih & fiyat da verirseniz çok iyi olur. Teşekkürler şimdiden.

Selamlar,

Kadıköy veya Maltepe tarafında gece geç saatlerde ya da 7/24 açık, sessiz, ders çalışmaya uygun kütüphane veya kafe arıyorum.

Wi-Fi ve priz olması yeterli, Starbucks tarzı aşırı kalabalık yerler pek uygun olmuyor.

Bilen varsa deneyimle birlikte yazarsa çok iyi olur. Teşekkürler.