Istanbul via Ercan

[kansas]

We're thinking of taking a flight via Ercan to Istanbul sometime this year. We visit the North fairly often so the route to Ercan doesn't present a problem for us.

We're really looking for recommendations on 3 or 4 star hotels near the centre of Istanbul, and transfers from the airport to hotels. We don't want to hire a car as we have heard that the trams are extremely good.

Any advice and/or things to watch out for would be gratefully received.

Thanks in advance

[PhotoLady]

Never been to Istanbul, but it's on our list of places "to do" and we would have considered it this year as we were already earmarking Turkey as a destination for a special birthday destination.

But, Egypt has called us back instead

I did find this article which gives a varied price range of hotels in Istanbul from The Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/desti ... ul/hotels/

I also find the travel forums part of TripAdvisor more useful than the hotel reviews:
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowForum ... anbul.html

[PaphosAL]

Cannot believe that one of Jule's Telegraph links offers highly rated accommodation for £6 a night! Amazing...

AL

[Kili01]

We flew from Ercan to Istanbul a few years ago, with no problem. There are two airports serving Istanbul. Attaturk is the main one, but our flight with Pegasus Airways, came in to the other one (whose name currently escapes me!) which is further away from the city. In both cases airports are served by busses, which in Turkey are an important means of public transport and much( cheaper than taxis).

There are lots of cheaper hotels in Isanbul, have a look at tripadvisor, pick one near the centre to avoid a long walk. Within the city the tram service is both frequent and v cheap. But v crowded in the rush hour.

Dee

[Lofos-Jan]

I would recommend the Alilass Hotel. It's a small modern boutique hotel just a few hundred meters from Ayia Sophia/centre. They have a lovely breakfast room in the courtyard garden. A taxi from the airport is about 60-70 TL (€15). We did hail a taxi on the return and he quoted 180 TL! He said the traffic was bad and every taxi would charge the same. We declined and walked down to the nearest rank and paid 70 TL. Favourite things: a walk through Topkapi Park, Topkapi Palace, Blue Mosque, Ayia (Hagia) Sophia, getting lost in the Grand Bazaar.

Jeanne

[angieb]

I flew with Pegasus to Sabiha Gocken airport and got a shuttle bus from there. Stayed at the Sapphire Hotel in the Sultanahmet area of Istanbul. It was in a good location for walking about and getting the tram to other locations. Also took the ferry across to Asia, which was a nice wee crossing but I don’t remember there being much to see at the other side.
Any tavernas within a certain distance of a mosque don’t serve alcohol. I can’t remember what the distance is, but when you have been walking in the heat and stop for a cool beer, it’s quite disappointing.