P & O - Azura - 04/07/2013 Istanbul day trip

[oap22]

Hi - I'm a bit late for asking this: For the stop of 2 days in Istanbul I am looking to book a tour still. My Husband of 86 is getting a bit frail and we are hoping to find something that goes outside the City (we have stayed in the City before and seen all the usual things) that does not involve hours of walking and 100s of stairs!!! Seriously: 10/15 minutes of walking on fairly flat ground and a few steps is ok - Taxis for 2 are usually a bit expensive, but we have been very lucky in the past with mini-buses and small coaches.

Be glad to hear from anybody with any ideas

[cruiserking]

Hi - I'm a bit late for asking this: For the stop of 2 days in Istanbul I am looking to book a tour still. My Husband of 86 is getting a bit frail and we are hoping to find something that goes outside the City (we have stayed in the City before and seen all the usual things) that does not involve hours of walking and 100s of stairs!!! Seriously: 10/15 minutes of walking on fairly flat ground and a few steps is ok - Taxis for 2 are usually a bit expensive, but we have been very lucky in the past with mini-buses and small coaches.

Be glad to hear from anybody with any ideas

 

I'd say you are more than a bit late for the 4/7/13 or 7/4/13 visit. :eek: Perhaps you have listed the wrong date here, when exactly is your cruise?

 

You might also consider joining the roll call for your voyage. This is a chance to meet other passengers on your cruise. Perhaps one of them has booked a special excursion for the Instanbul port stop.

 

Here is a link for the P&O Azura Roll Calls. Just look for your specific cruise date and join the Roll Call.

 

Jonathan

[oap22]

:confused: Oh my, Do I need this holiday.

4th September, is the correct date.

I am a brand new member of the Cruise Critic "Family" and don't yet know my way about.

I have tried to join the Roll Call for this trip, but can't find anybody who wants a "lazy" excursion. So any advice is very welcome

[1025cruise]

You can look at the Ports of Call thread and see if there is a tour that would fit for you, but anything to do with looking for tourmates, etc, needs to go to your roll call.

[John Bull]

Sorry, can't offer much in the way of suggestions - hopefully others might.

You'll know how cheap & how easy it is for most folk to get around the city using the tram, but you'll also know how well you in particular can manage that.

 

But I do want to give you a warning about taxis at the cruise port. Taxi drivers in Istanbul are as trustworthy or untrustworthy as most cities in Europe. But those at the port pay heavily for the privilege and are a rip-off, plain & simple. They don't use their meters & will charge a heavy fixed-price for any trip, usually around double a metered fare. If you can walk out to the main road behind the quay (where the tram runs) you should be able to hail a passing taxi prepared to use the meter, but even that has an element of doubt because of the proximity of the port.

If you want a road tour outside the city, you really do need to fix something up in advance - but sorry, no suggestions from me.

 

Consider a ferry or tourboat up the Bosphorus. They run from berths at Eminonu, just the other side of Galata Bridge, tram stop is Eminonu & just a hundred yards from the ferry piers. You can probably see them, and the bridge, from your ship. Tour boats run every hour or so, but if you want to take a ferry you'll need to check times (and return times) to see if the timings are possible & where you need to turn back.

Or you can taxi one way & ferry the other. That's what we did, but with a taxi hired in the city.

 

Or a ferry, also from Eminonu, to the Prince Islands in the Sea of Marmaris. We've done this trip. Very relaxing, and silly-cheap.

 

Jonathan seems to have omitted the RollCall link in his post.

I think this is the one for your cruise, though it quotes 7th September

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1807801

 

JB :)