Istanbul - DIY or HAL Tours

[DoverHeights]

We will be in Istanbul 2nd/3rd Aug on Nieuw Amsterdam. I have been looking through the various threads and discovered the extensive info site, here (can't remember link) which has informed me about sites, hours , costs, timings, transport etc. I am ready to "dive" in to Istanbul, using trams, taxis, foot etc - noting the prices and the TLira exchange rate.

 

My wife has visted Egypt in the past with my then 20 year old daughter and because of their experience in the Cairo shuk, is "scared stiff" of venturing with me (we are in our 60s) into Istanbul. We have had some (other Australian) friends visit last year and they were uncomfortable when they were welcomed in the Bazaar with "Shalom"! We look much more "neutral" but are nervous considering Turkish politics.

 

So we've looked at the various HAL tours. For the 3rd - the full day (sailing at 5:00pm) we can see 3 relevant tours which all seem to follow the same track but vary in their lunch arrangements.

 

Essentially they visit the Hippodrome, the Blue Mosque, a very vague trip to Topkapi Palace - all before lunch - varying types of lunch from super duper to buy your own and then post lunch, a visit to Hag Sophia, ending with a short trip to the Grand Bazaar with an extremely grand carpet demo!

 

The costs per person are US$224 or $189 or $174 depending on luncheon luxury.

 

I've noticed that entry to monuments is between 20 and 30 T Lira where 1 Lira is today about 60c (AU) and a tram fare "jeton" is Lira 1.5 AND that the trams run well and total lack of Turkish is not a problem.

 

For me the answer is obvious but my wife needs much convincing. Can the list Istanbul experts help out please?

 

Michael from Sydney

[kazu]

First of all, I would post this on the 'ports' boards. There are a lot of knowledgeable people there who can help.

 

There is another alternative to a HAL tour - that is a private tour. If you have joined your roll call there may be others interested in doing this with you, or some who are looking.

 

We do a lot of private tours and diy. When it comes to Istanbul, I would be prone to do either a private or HAL. Just me though. Perhaps I am a nervous nilly. by all means go to the ports board and you will get some tremendous information.:)

[barante]

but I will do Istanbul on the Nieuw Amsterdam in October. And there is no way I will pay that kind money for a HAL day tour. From all I have read, the greatest hits of Istanbul are two streetcar stops away from the ship. So that's what we are going to do. I'll also do a Turkish bath the night before (my wife isn't interested).

Everyone's comfort level is different. Good luck.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We were fortunate -- our cruise on Princess started in Istanbul -- so we went over 4 days early and stayed at the Four Seasons which was right within walking distance of the Blue Mosque, etc. For other places we wanted to visit we had the hotel arrange a private car for us -- very nice.

 

But if your wife is afraid -- then take the HAL tours -- the one you mentioned -- pay the extra and eat a nice lunch -- not one where you are trying to pick up this and that and not certain of what you are eating.

[cruisemom42]

Istanbul is truly an international city; there are people walking through the bazaar from all countries and all ethnic groups. The merchants there are very good at (in fact, they make their living by) assessing where you are from and then greeting you in your native language. I've seen this happen over and over -- and most of the time they are correct.

 

But please realize this is commercially motivated, not politically motivated. They are interested mainly in coaxing you away from your money.

 

I've been to Istanbul 4 times now, and on all but one of those, I was a solo female. I never experienced any problems or uncomfortable moments. The merchants in the Grand Bazaar are a lot less aggressive (IMO) than the ones in Cairo --- or for that matter, in many places I've been in Mexico or the Caribbean.

 

Turkey prides itself on being a secular republic and Istanbul has for millenia been one of the crossroads of the world between Europe and Asia. I honestly feel you have nothing to fear.

 

As to DIY, I wouldn't do it any other way. The very first time I visited Istanbul was with my mother on a Princess cruise. I am a DIY kind of person, but since she was deathly afraid of being left by the ship, we booked all of our tours through Princess.

 

Our day in Istanbul was an exercise in futility for me. Traffic is terrible, so it takes those lumbering buses eons of time even to get to where your stops are. Lunch was a distance away from the rest of the main tourist sites and probably ate up 3 hours between getting there, eating, getting everyone back on the bus, and getting back to Sultanahmet. (At all costs do NOT pick any tour option that includes Kiragen Palace, unless you want to say you spent your day in Istanbul at a lovely hotel rather than seeing the incomparable history.......) Afternoon involved another lengthy stop at a carpet demonstration.

 

When all was said and done, at the end of the day our last stop was Haghia Sophia -- and we only had time for the briefest of stops there because we "had" to get back to the ship. I nearly cried tears of frustration as my mind flashed back to all the time we'd wasted at other (to me, totally worthless) stops that day.

 

To be honest, this was the day that really made me vow never to use a ship's excursion if I could possibly do something on my own.

 

Istanbul is very, very easy to DIY -- in fact, one of the easiest of the major cities of the Med. It's close to the port, the tram is foolproof, and the main sites are all grouped relatively close together.

 

I say a resounding GO FOR IT.

[RuthC]

Essentially they visit the Hippodrome, the Blue Mosque, a very vague trip to Topkapi Palace - all before lunch - varying types of lunch from super duper to buy your own and then post lunch, a visit to Hag Sophia, ending with a short trip to the Grand Bazaar with an extremely grand carpet demo!

My HAL tour included all of the above sites. It was excellent, and I would do it again, in spite of all the walking involved.

Understand that many of the sites are quite near each other, and you walk from one to the next. But it is a bit of a hike. If that's not a problem then perhaps you would be better off doing it yourself.

 

Let me reassure your wife about her safety.

I did skip a couple of the stops while the rest of the tour went on. As an older woman, sitting out alone, I was not only not afraid, I was looked after by the older men nearby. They gave up seats so I could sit, offered water, little things like that.

I've been in four different Turkish ports, and every time the men were quite solicitous of me.

[Aruba]

We stayed an extra 5 days/4 nights in Instanbul after our last eastern Med cruise and had a most unfortunate experience, one that makes me reluctant ever to return. Everywhere we went -- and I mean everywhere, 3 times at least along every block -- we were accosted by the most aggressive vendors I have ever experienced. We tried to say "no" politely, then we tried to ignore them but we were often followed down a street, screamed at, and numerous times had anti-semitic insults hurled at us. We're not jewish, not that it makes any difference, but I was appalled. This wasn't just one instance. It was all day, every day. I have never expereienced anything so continuously aggressive and threatening in my travels. The bazaars in Cairo and Marrakech were like church bake sales in comparison. I have never been so anxious to leave any city and come home as I was in Istanbul.

 

Our experience was so very different from what we have heard from other people, and for them I am happy. I hope our experience was an anomoly, even though it lasted for 5 days.

[KirkNC]

Istanbul is very easy to do on your own. The worst you might encounter is a pushy vendor. The trip you outlined can be done a ton cheaper on your own.

 

Kirk

[cruisemom42]

We stayed an extra 5 days/4 nights in Instanbul after our last eastern Med cruise and had a most unfortunate experience, one that makes me reluctant ever to return. Everywhere we went -- and I mean everywhere, 3 times at least along every block -- we were accosted by the most aggressive vendors I have ever experienced. We tried to say "no" politely, then we tried to ignore them but we were often followed down a street, screamed at, and numerous times had anti-semitic insults hurled at us. We're not jewish, not that it makes any difference, but I was appalled. This wasn't just one instance. It was all day, every day. I have never expereienced anything so continuously aggressive and threatening in my travels. The bazaars in Cairo and Marrakech were like church bake sales in comparison. I have never been so anxious to leave any city and come home as I was in Istanbul.

 

Our experience was so very different from what we have heard from other people, and for them I am happy. I hope our experience was an anomoly, even though it lasted for 5 days.

 

I am so sorry to hear of your experience, but I can assure you it was definitely not typical. I've never heard of anything like that happening to others visiting there. I've been reading and posting to the Istanbul forum here on CC for years and reading the one on Tripadvisor nearly as long.....I have not read of anything similar.

[FoxyTerrier]

We booked - http://www.tourguidesinturkey.com/ - while visiting Kusadas/Ephesus in 2006. Kegan can design a tour to fit all your needs. We found the prices to be much cheaper than doing a HAL tour (There were 5 of us and we even meet a couple on the Roll Call board who went with us to bring the price down even further). You might also want to visit the Ports board for more information.

 

We found Turkey to be delightful and I look forward to visiting Istanbul some day.

Good luck.

[Aruba]

I am so sorry to hear of your experience, but I can assure you it was definitely not typical. I've never heard of anything like that happening to others visiting there. I've been reading and posting to the Istanbul forum here on CC for years and reading the one on Tripadvisor nearly as long.....I have not read of anything similar.

I am glad to hear that our experience was far from typical. We stayed in a very nice boutique hotel near the Hagia Sophia, so it's not as if we were in a bad area. I should also say that these things did not happen to us when our guide was with us, only when we were out by ourselves in the late afternoons and evenings. But really, after you've been followed for blocks by people who tell us they have a cousin in whatever town I said I happened to be from, been yelled at and called by anti-semitic names -- REPEATEDLY over the course of 5 days! -- you can perhaps sympathize with my reluctance to return.

[catl331]

We booked - http://www.tourguidesinturkey.com/ - while visiting Kusadas/Ephesus in 2006. Kegan can design a tour to fit all your needs. We found the prices to be much cheaper than doing a HAL tour (There were 5 of us and we even meet a couple on the Roll Call board who went with us to bring the price down even further).

We had Kagan as our guide this past Sep 30, and I would highly recommend him. We saw Topkapi Palace, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, the Basilica Cistern, and the Grand Bazaar for 70 Euros (then about $91) per person (before tip), including all admission charges. Our group was 8 people (arranged by cc member 187harland whom we "met" on the Roll Call) so the price would be higher or lower with a different number of people.

 

We stopped at a nice restaurant for lunch (which he chose) but the cost of that was not included. The prices there were all in Euro, and we paid Kagan in Euro, and our limited shopping in the Bazaar was done in Euro or $US, so we had no need for any Turkish Lira.

 

Maybe the best part is that very little walking was required, as he had his van driver drop us and pick us up very near each of the stops ... and it was air conditioned!

 

If Kagan K is booked, I suggest you try http://www.ekoltravel.com/ which some friends liked very much.

[Pettifogger]

Over the years, my wife and I have spent about 18 months in Turkey, all on vacations.

If I were going to Istanbul for the first time, I'd plan a Bosporus cruise up to near the entrance to the Black Sea and back and then spend the rest of my time in and around the Grand Bazaar (Kapali Carsi) in Beyazit. It's short walking distance from the cruise dock to the Bosphorus cruise dock and from the Bosphorus cruise dock to Beyazit is an easy tram ride.

I remember once being pestered inordinately by a sock vendor on foot outside the Grand Bazaar even after I verbally abused him in my limited Turkish. It was unusual in our experience; the Turks are a proud people.

A private tour, two to four people with a Turkish driver, would be relatively inexpensive if you are willing to put in the necessary time on the internet to find the right one. Then you would meet at least one Turk up close and possibly some others closer than from a tour bus.

[Kween Karen]

Good information since I will be having a 3 day port stop on the Grand Med cruise next spring. Thanks.

[catl331]

If I were going to Istanbul for the first time, I'd plan a Bosporus cruise up to near the entrance to the Black Sea and back and then ...

We did a sundown cruise on a HAL excursion the first day in Istanbul, but we didn't go much above the Intercontinental Bridge. It was very enjoyable. :)

[RuthC]

...

Our experience was so very different from what we have heard from other people, and for them I am happy. I hope our experience was an anomoly, even though it lasted for 5 days.

I am so sorry to read of your experiences. That should not happen anywhere, to anybody, but especially to tourists in a cosmopolitan city.

Perhaps it's different how men and women are treated? I was sort of hissed at by some women outside the Blue Mosque. They were well-covered in long coats with high collars; I was in a below the knee dress with short sleeves. But all the men treated me nicely.

[ger_77]

We've been to Istanbul & Ephesus three times; the first two times we took HAL excursions, the last one we went with a private guide - Levent Solmaz. He was wonderful, picked us up at the ports, took us to see the sites we wanted, made sure all the tickets were paid for, and generally treated us like gold. Here's his website: http://leventsolmaz.com/discover-turkey/ The cost for our group was considerably less than what the cruise line was charging, and we had a small group of 16 on a beautiful air conditioned well equipped bus. I'm sure if you check your roll call, you will likely find enough extra people there to make the price very attractive for a small group tour.

 

 

When we decide to go back, we will certainly use his services again to see different areas than we have visited previously. His English is great, he will take you where you want to go, and also suggest sites you might not think of.

 

Smooth Sailing! :):):)

Gerry

[DoverHeights]

I want to thank all who have replied and further discussed. I'm still working on my wife....

 

I have looked again at the 3 HAL tours I mentioned.

 

The dearest $224 seems to visit the Harem at Topkapi Palace

 

"Nearby is the Topkapi Palace, the official residence of the Ottoman Sultans. The palace consists of courts, pavilions, mosques, fountains and a rich Treasury section. The Harem was the home of the sultan and is an exceptional insight into how the rulers lived. Enjoy some free time to browse on your own."

 

The cheaper 2, explicitly don't.

 

But to cover the Hippodrome, Blue Mosque, the Topkapi Palace AND the Harem before lunch, seems a lot for 3-4 hours.

 

 

Has anybody taken this $224 HAL - Istanbul Deluxe II tour?

 

I've worked out that I'd be pushing to spend $40 - including something to eat - instead of $224 if we DIY.

 

I've noted that to see the harem under your own steam, you have to be at the Palace gates before opening and then run to the harem booking office.

 

Do the grossly overpriced tours get you in without queueing (and include entrance)?

 

And of course the outlay would be $224 x 2 whereas DIY is < $40 x 2.

 

(In St Petersburg at the Hermitage, we found that the "tours" queue was many times faaster than that of the general public).

 

TIA Michael

[SwissMyst]

I spent a week in Istanbul on my own and loved every square inch of it .I think it was back then in the 1990's a very doable city on your own. Excellent food and good public transportation and people that would drop everything to help.

 

Only at night was the message it was not okay to be out alone as a female - and not dangerous, just a nuisance because by being out alone it was an unspoken invitation one was looking for "company". Not. Being in pairs or a MF couple would be just fine.

[luvcruisn']

I was in Istanbul in 2006 and four of us hired a taxi for about 4 hours. We went to the usual tourist sites, and then the other three wanted to return to the ship, so I left and went off on my own. I walked from the Hagia Sophia to the underground water caverns - amazing to see, and then walked to the Grand Bazaar. Most of the vendors that I spoke with spoke English. I had a great time, and no one bothered me.

 

There was a shuttle organized by HAL that left from the Grand Bazaar to return to the ship, at the time I think it was only about $4 US dollars.

[Modern_Viking]

In 2009, I had a one and a half day port stop in Istanbul on a HAL cruise. I (male) was traveling with one other person (female) and we pre-booked a private full day tour with Ekol. We saw the big sites in town and were very happy to have a private guide to add to our experience. We could have seen the same place on our own, but having someone to navigate for us, pre-purchase our admission tickets, and keep us from getting lost was worth the extra cost.

 

We booked in advance on the web but paid only after the completion of the tour. It was much cheaper than doing a bus tour marketed HAL. While paying via a credit card at the end of the tour was possible, cash (US dollars or Euros was much easier and faster). If you have a debit card linked to a checking account and on a major network, it was also possible to get cash (New Turkish Lira) from ATMs near the pier. ATM cards linked only to savings accounts did not work, and with cards linked to both a checking account and a savings account, only the checking account was actually possible to use.

 

To use public transit in Istanbul (boats or tram) you must pay in cash in New Turkish Lira, and while HAL was willing to trade US dollars for Euros on board, they did not sell Lira.

 

One warning about the Grand Bazaar: it is effectively, a tourist mall/trap. At least, that is the feel I got. The sellers were pushy because they knew we were all tourists and that if they didn't sell us something right away, we would soon be gone and would never buy anything. Now, I did buy a nice souvenir while I was there, and the people in the stall where I bought were mostly helpful, they were definitely slow and pushy in the hopes I would buy more. If you want a friendlier environment, don't shop in the Bazaar at all. In contrast to that experience, the previous half day in Istanbul, we traveled our own to the more residential (read occupied mostly by locals and not tourists) Asian side of the city. There, stores were much more geared to locals (groceries, hardware, school supplies, logo gear for the city's soccer (futbol) club, etc.). Whereas shopping in the Grand Bazaar seemed to match many stereotypes of no price tags, lots of pushy vendors, etc., the stores on the Asian side of the city were modern, friendly, used price tags, and far less stressful. Granted, in these stores, people spoke little or no English, but it all worked OK since they were in the business of selling to locals who might return there (or to a competitor) next week. In the Grand Bazaar, people speak more languages because they are in the business of selling to tourists who are here today and gone the next day. That said, the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul was still friendlier than the stores in Kusadasi and especially the stores immediately around the ship piers there. In Kusadasi, the quality of goods was low, prices high, and sales people rude and pushy. I made the mistake of looking to buy a leather jacket in Kusadasi and had a miserable time. When I got back to the USA I waited for a sale at a reputable chain store and then bought a better jacket for less money and from friendly, helpful sales people.

[Hawaiidan]

I am going to be on a 30 day cruise with Holland America in the fall and hitting a lot of ports which have a lot of neat stuff. However In reading and researching about Istanbul.. It just dosent lite my fire . Where as I am doing a number of private trips in other ports, I have the distinct feeling that I can see all of Istanbul that interests me from the ship.. and save for other more personaly interesting places to me.

 

The Bazar and the carpet makers to me are a big turn off.... and paying to visit a bunch of mosques would be a big turnoff to me...sorry..

 

So my answer is forget it.... have a relaxing day and enjoy the ship... and save for another less carnival port. Just because the ship stops there dosent mean you have to or will enjoy it

[Jolimont]

We did a private tour in Istambul a few years ago and it worked out great. I went into it with fears much like your wife, so we chose to have a group guide to take us around and tell us about what we were seeing. He was great with the traffic, but he was no historian, so I didn't learn much, but it was still worth it.

 

Having said that, Istambul didn't seem scary to me. Definitely high density, loud, different from American suburbia, but friendly, full of tourists. Very beautiful view of the bay from the ship, one of my fondest cruising memories.

 

I think when we go back may hire a local guide again because I wouldn't want to figure out public transportation. But not because we're afraid of the place, we know better now, it's a lovely place.

[DoverHeights]

Well my wife spoke to a friend who with her husband had spent a few days in Istanbul recently and convinced her that it was OK!

 

We are pre-visit researchers and have no problem in foreign lands if they are "normal" - well mostly normal. We will drive from Milan to Venice for 8 days, before the cruise and we know no Italian - agreed Italian is not like Turkish but we can read a sign and work out that 2 funny words which sound rather like archaeological museum actually mean that.

 

So, we should manage without guides, without tours, see exactly what we want - and save a fortune!

 

Thanks for the help - I will continue to scour these boards until we set out in July.

 

Michael in Sydney

[RuthC]

The dearest $224 seems to visit the Harem at Topkapi Palace

 

"Nearby is the Topkapi Palace, the official residence of the Ottoman Sultans. The palace consists of courts, pavilions, mosques, fountains and a rich Treasury section. The Harem was the home of the sultan and is an exceptional insight into how the rulers lived. Enjoy some free time to browse on your own."

 

 

But to cover the Hippodrome, Blue Mosque, the Topkapi Palace AND the Harem before lunch, seems a lot for 3-4 hours.

 

 

 

I've noted that to see the harem under your own steam, you have to be at the Palace gates before opening and then run to the harem booking office.

Don't look past the rest of Topkopi Palace while you concentrate on the harem. The remainder of the palace is enjoyable all on it's own.

Oh, and the jewels are spectacular. There's a gold bowl full of large emeralds that I would love to run my fingers through!

Any woman who doesn't want to spend time admiring them, well, ya gotta wonder....

And yes, it sure does seem a lot to cover in 3-4 hours. The HAL busses let you off quite a way from the entrance, then there's a long walk through the grounds before you actually reach the palace.

Private transportation lets you off much closer to the grounds.

 

Do the grossly overpriced tours get you in without queueing (and include entrance)?

Yes.

I took the HAL 2-day tour, and it was right for me. From what you're saying about yourselves, a private tour sounds better for you---but do consider using a guide, as opposed to just going off by yourselves. You will get much more out of the experience.

 

Personally, I think the Grand Bazzar is a site to behold all by itself! It's not only massive, it's exotic. And some of the jewelry in the windows is beyond anything I've ever imagined. Worth the tour all by itself!