Is it safe to travel to Istanbul?

[4774Papa]

We had wanted to take a cruise next year that started in Istanbul. Debating now due to the political climate...

Go to Istanbul. It is one of my favorite cities. You can do most of it on your own. Find a hotel near the Hippodrome (Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia).

We stayed at the Hotel Lausos.

http://www.hotellausos.com/

 

The city is safe, if you stay in the widely traveled areas. Prior to our cruise, there were demonstrations in the new part of the city, but they were peaceful.

 

Many people in Turkey don't like the current President's move toward creating an Islamic state, contrary to the secular tradition of Ataturk.

[dabear]

Agree with prior poster. We've been to Istanbul 2x and will be there again next fall. it's a great city with friendly people. I would suggest a last minute review of the situation & possibly stay away from Tasim Square. For our next Precruise we're staying at the Doubletree by Hilton in old town (using points), which also is near most of the famous sites.

[Granny DI]

Erdogan just arrested 27 editors and media members along with some police. Sorry to say we wouldn't visit Istanbul at this time and we were just there in October. Our guides around Turkey told us they feared a crackdown. Most of the protests have been aimed at Erdogan . Can only imagine what will happen now.

[hawkeyetlse]

I could understand choosing to boycott Turkey for political or ideological reasons, the same way some travelers might choose not to go to Russia, or China, or the United States. But frankly I don't see how any of the recent events indicate that tourists in Istanbul are less safe now than they were before.

[Granny DI]

The protests will get bigger and more frequent. The protests were on Saturdays when we were there in October. Can't remember where we were but guide pointed out they were getting ready to start so we left the area immediately. The younger generation does not like the loss of their freedom, ie the internet and social media.

Edited December 15, 2014 by Granny DI

[dsrdsrdsr]

Anyone who's been recently feel free to correct me, but is there any more reason to avoid Istanbul than there is to avoid St. Louis? It's a big place with plenty of room and they aren't protesting about Westerners.

[Shawnino]

Anyone who's been recently feel free to correct me, but is there any more reason to avoid Istanbul than there is to avoid St. Louis? It's a big place with plenty of room and they aren't protesting about Westerners.

 

This.

You've got thugs and hangers-on occasionally roaming the streets of St. Louis and Oakland looking for smash-and-grab electronics. On the first of May, no McDonalds shop-window is 100% safe anywhere in Europe. But life goes on and I wouldn't be deterred from visiting any of these places. I'll be in St. Louis next week.

 

Tour guides aren't going to want to get in the middle of a riot any more than we are. When things got bad in Tunisia, NCL (and I'm not sure who else) pulled out. No cruise company wants to be known for dropping customers into an angry mob either.

 

In terms of petty crime and real danger, I would venture that Istanbul is safer for tourists than Barcelona, and many ports in Mexico.

[hawkeyetlse]

When things got bad in Tunisia, NCL (and I'm not sure who else) pulled out.

No one besides NCL, not even Oceania (which is owned by Norwegian). And NCL's decision was political, not because of protests or any other risks to passengers going ashore.

 

But I agree with you about Istanbul.

[Granny DI]

We felt safe in Istanbul. We walked everywhere and took public transportation. Police are very visible and heavily armed at certain areas in the city. The problem now is the crack down on the media by the government. The riots last year were a result of the government cracking down on the internet. I can't remember the specific issue. The editor of the largest newspaper has just been jailed.

 

We loved Turkey. We are so glad we went in October as we wouldn't go now.

[hawkeyetlse]

The problem now is the crack down on the media by the government. The riots last year were a result of the government cracking down on the internet. I can't remember the specific issue.

There were unacceptable restrictions on the Internet and other media during last year's Gezi Park protests, but this is not what sparked the movement. In my opinion, the latest attack on the opposition media, as worrying as it is, will not provoke public protests on anywhere near the scale that we saw last year. Our opinions clearly differ on this point.

 

And looking back to last year, as far as I know, even during the worst of the unrest, no cruise lines cancelled port calls in Istanbul or elsewhere in Turkey, and the US State Department never advised citizens to avoid traveling to Istanbul, even when specifically anti-American demonstrations were announced. They always just said to avoid the protest areas, which is good common sense for visitors in any city.

[cruisemom42]

And looking back to last year, as far as I know, even during the worst of the unrest, no cruise lines cancelled port calls in Istanbul or elsewhere in Turkey, and the US State Department never advised citizens to avoid traveling to Istanbul, even when specifically anti-American demonstrations were announced. They always just said to avoid the protest areas, which is good common sense for visitors in any city.

 

I agree. And the bottom line is that cruise lines are notoriously risk averse (at least the ones that cater primarily to US passengers). Unfortunately they know bookings will suffer if too many folks get "nervous" about a particular destination. I've seen it happen many times with Israel. So if it really IS dangerous -- or even if people "perceive" it to be so -- your ship will likely change its itinerary (and you'll miss a fascinating place).

 

Interestingly, a couple of years ago some lines were avoiding Tunisia off and on -- this was the year AFTER the Arab Spring, I think. My parents were on a Holland America cruise at the same time I had booked with the smaller, British-based Voyages to Antiquity. Both lines had two scheduled stops in Tunisia. Holland canceled them both, while our ship made both calls. At the time there was no particular set of circumstances (e.g., demonstrations, strikes) that would seem to provide reason for cancellation.....

Edited December 17, 2014 by cruisemom42

[texancruzer]

Just fyi.

Have a Celebrity cruise booked out of Rome April 27th.

 

We WERE scheduled to dock in Istanbul on May 1st and leave on May 2nd.

Celebrity rescheduled and we now go to Kudadasi first and then to Istanbul putting us in May 2nd and leave May 3rd.

 

This is due to Labor Day protests (last year they were pretty bad) and while I am not a worry-wort I was concerned. I know that Celebrity will not dock here if and when the situation is not safe for us.

 

BTW - this will be our 3rd visit to Istanbul - one of our favorite cities. We found the people on the street to be friendly, helpful and genuinely happy to have us visit ….. of course, a smile is almost always met with another smile :)

[lanceholt]

The protests will get bigger and more frequent. The protests were on Saturdays when we were there in October. Can't remember where we were but guide pointed out they were getting ready to start so we left the area immediately. The younger generation does not like the loss of their freedom, ie the internet and social media.

 

What many Turkish people fear, especially those in Istanbul, is the valid concern that Erdogan is establishing a conservative Islamic state with the resultant loss of liberty and oppression of women. Our guide was with us for 2 days in April in Istanbul and we learned a lot about the fears that they have there for the future. It is not as simple as "young people" wanting their internet and facebook....it is a life and death situation and they at times respond to it as such. We avoided Taksim Square and had a private guide from Ekol, so were very comfortable there. On two trips to Turkey we felt welcome as Americans. We will be there in Oct. for a port stop, and will depend on NCL to judge the situation at that time. It's not that St. Louis or whatever is more dangerous etc, it is a political situation that can come to the boiling point....we look forward to our stop there again and to visiting Ephesus again in 2015, but what will be will be.

[Granny DI]

We had three guides in Turkey. A Turkish female, an Egyptian female and a kurdish male. The Turkish female was very concerned about Turkey adopting sharia law. The Kurdish guide had political concerns. The Egyptian female wanted to return to Egypt but things are a mess there. Our feeling was the locals biggest concern was the new government.

[hawkeyetlse]

Our feeling was the locals biggest concern was the new government.

I think they have good reason to be concerned, since the "new" government looks suspiciously similar to the old government… In other words, Erdoğan's dictatorial tendencies are not a recent development. But no one can impose sharia in a country where less than 12% of the population is in favor of such a thing (Pew).

 

I am not trying to dismiss these important issues. I just don't see how things have changed for tourists in Istanbul between October and now. I think it could be that your visit made you more attuned to what's happening in Turkey, but these things have been happening for a while now, and tourists have been safely visiting Istanbul the entire time.

[slimnshady]

A

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[hubofhockey]

I could understand choosing to boycott Turkey for political or ideological reasons, the same way some travelers might choose not to go to Russia, or China, or the United States. But frankly I don't see how any of the recent events indicate that tourists in Istanbul are less safe now than they were before.

 

Agree with this post. I suppose I have a bigger problem with Erdogan than I do with Putin, but we've visited both countries and I have no regrets.

[dhill]

No;)

[mickeysgal]

Has anyone visited during Ramadan? Will it be any less safe there at that time?

[cruisemom42]

Has anyone visited during Ramadan? Will it be any less safe there at that time?

 

I can't imagine it would be any less safe. I have read a number of reports from people who've visited Istanbul during Ramadan. No one encountered any problems. Istanbul is a large, cosmopolitan city more akin to a European city. There is not a strong fundamentalism religious majority there.

[Iluvcruising2]

We visited Istanbul in Dec 2014 on a cruise and it felt ok, safety-wise. Just take sensible precautions and be prepared for aggressive bargaining if you want to buy something. Also, if you enter a shop, be prepared for high pressure sales tactics, sometimes.

 

Once I've sorted out my videos, I'll post them.

[lanceholt]

Suicide bomb went off near the Cistern yesterday, a bit concerning....

[SwissDave]

Suicide bomb went off near the Cistern yesterday, a bit concerning....

 

 

Understandable, however it was directed at the police and if i read correctly on the news it was in a police station.

Doesnt mean the next one wont be, however in that situation what are the chances of someone visiting the city being in the exact same place at the same time it happens?

 

In any town or city regardless of country these days, everyone is at risk. I remember working in london in the mid/late 80's when the IRA were being active with places such as Harrods being targets but we just had to get on with life. We cant let these idiots rule our lives, otherwise they have won.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone. Please excuse tryping orrers.

[lanceholt]

We were in London many times during that period and were impressed with both the security and public awareness. It remains to be seen whether this incident and the one last week will usher in more troubles there. I do believe the cruise ships have a good handle on port safety and know when to avoid a port. We go back in Oct and hope to have a day in that beautiful city again, but it does bear watching.

[mickeysgal]

We were in London many times during that period and were impressed with both the security and public awareness. It remains to be seen whether this incident and the one last week will usher in more troubles there. I do believe the cruise ships have a good handle on port safety and know when to avoid a port. We go back in Oct and hope to have a day in that beautiful city again, but it does bear watching.

 

Avoiding a port is one thing but some itineraries start/end in Istanbul. Cruise insurance - does that help in a case like this?