Cab travel time in Istanbul

[Sarasota Guy]

My wife and I will be passengers on Oceania's from May 23 , 2014 sailing from istanbul and will be arriving in Istanbul on May 21.We are in the process of deciding whether to stay in the Sultanamet area (at the Amira Hotel) or in the Beyoglu district (at the Intercontinental Hotel ).Does anyone have any comments about either of these hotels ? Also, how long does it typically take to travel by cab from the center of the Beyoglu district to the Blue Mosque ?

[grmmybtty]

Traffic is pretty horrendous in Istanbul. Rather than looking at hotels first, decide where you will be spending most of your time. We were on a food tour with another couple staying in Beyoglu. They said that it took almost 45 minutes in a taxi to our meeting spot at the New Mosque in the outskirts of Sultanahmet. We stayed in the Sirceki area near the train station and Eminouou which was a short walk to all the sights of the old town and the excellent public transportation. A taxi to the cruise port was $10 and took less than 10 minutes over the Galata bridge.

[TERRIER1]

My wife and I will be passengers on Oceania's from May 23 , 2014 sailing from istanbul and will be arriving in Istanbul on May 21.We are in the process of deciding whether to stay in the Sultanamet area (at the Amira Hotel) or in the Beyoglu district (at the Intercontinental Hotel ).Does anyone have any comments about either of these hotels ? Also, how long does it typically take to travel by cab from the center of the Beyoglu district to the Blue Mosque ?

 

Their public transportation system is clean and efficient. You may want to explore that option before your travel by taxi between points of interest within the city itself.

[LEESRE]

The cost of the trams at present is 3 TL for a journey

[wripro]

If this is your first time in Istanbul stay i the Sultanahmet area. All the major sights are within walking distance/

[lovetravel63-65]

We were in Istanbul in September stayed at De Luxe Golden Horn Sultanhamet very near all main attractions. We cannot remember taxi cost but it was not a lot.You are very near Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar, spice market and palaces. The hop on hop off buses are within a couple of hundred yards. Many good reasonable restaurants are within very easy waking distance. An easy walk to the Bosphorus. We loved the area.

 

We arranged ourselves a long day trip to Ephesus at about a third of the cost quoted by the hotel.

 

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[wripro]

It

s not that taxis are that expensive (although do beware of drivers not turning on the meter and trying to charge you an outrageous fee upfront) it's that you will waste a lot of time sitting in traffic.

[ellasabe]

We stayed at the Radisson Blu in Ortakoy, across the river (NOT the Bosphorus) from Sultanhamet. Our fare from the airport to the RB along with water was 55TL. Our return to the airport was via the highway and it was during rush hour on a Monday...fare was 70TL.

 

Much cheaper than we thought and the meters are on the rear view mirrors. Drivers are very honest (Athens was another story).

 

Istanbul is wonderful. What is happening there now is similar to our Occupy Wall Street protest. The Turkish people don't like their Prime Minister backtracking on his promises. Their country is pretty progressive and they don't want to lose an inch of that progress.