Budget Travel: Visiting Turkey in 7 days

Turkey is a country, which has intrigued me for the past three years.   Growing up, I didn’t really paid attention to Turkey mostly because they were not in the news that much (I don’t think that’s a bad thing).  Then I came to know friends who visited Turkey and I came to know a Turkish friend.  What really drew me to Turkey to me is its people and its culture.  With their relatively fair skin compared to its neighbors and the European like features, Turkish people stand out from the rest of the middle east.  Turkey is a predominantly Muslim country.   However, compared to other neighboring countries, Turkish people seem to be more tolerant and less barbaric.  I, of course, realize that maybe not all Turkish people are like that.  There are different regions in Turkey where there may still be some groups which might not be in this as liberal as the ones I have came to know.

I was looking forward to visiting Turkey, especially Istanbul since early 2013.  I have heard from friends that Istanbul is very pretty and its food is awesome.  Due to the vacation constraint that me and my partner has, I was able to allocate only a week of Turkey.   Given that NYC is about ~10 hrs flight from Turkey, I had to simplify my itinerary a bit.

Generally, if you are traveling oversea, the majority of the trip budget is on the cost of the flight.  Turkish Airlines run direct flight between NYC and Istanbul and its tickets were about $900 - $1000 round trip per person.  I found cheaper flight tickets with Ukraine International, which is $714 per person, with a 2 hour transit at Kiev.  That is total saving of $300 for the trip, which can definitely be put into other costs.  (Our flights ticket price actually went down to $600 per person after I bought the tickets. ).

For accommodation, lots of my friends who have been there recommended Air BnB for apartments rental.  Our agenda was a little bit tight and we were arriving Istanbul outside of normal business hours.  So, I decided to just stay at hostels in Istanbul.   The best hotel during this trip would be the airport hotel near Istanbul SAW airport.  It was less than $100 per night but the room was very modern and nice. 

Istanbul, being the culture center, is a must on the list whenever you visit Turkey.  My ideal trip to Istanbul would have been to stay at an apartment with a view of the old town.   But staying within budget was my focus on this trip.  I also want to travel as a local, not as a tourist this time around.  I have been on so many trips where we spent so much money on doing things that you never really get a chance to do.   While it is a nice opportunity to be able to do so,  I ask myself sometimes if there’s a better way to spend the money.   So, during this trip, we decided that we actually wanted to minimize our spending.

Here’s the trip Agenda:

Day 1 & Day 2  –  Arrive in Istanbul. More >>

Day 3 – Day trip to Cappadocia.  More >>

Day 4 && Day 5-  Half Day trip to Pamukkale and Selcuk, Ephesus.  More >>

Day 6 & 7 -  Istanbul and fly back to NYC More >>

Last 2 days in Istanbul

If I have to pick a landmark for Istanbul, it'll be the Galata Tower.   The nine-story tall structure dominates much of Istanbul skyline.   For our last 2 night stay in Turkey, we chose World House hostel, which is in the Galata neighborhood, and 3 minutes walk from the Galata Tower.   

As much as I love the neighborhood due to its hippy environment and cute little stores, there was a lot of windy hills.  If you are traveling with elders and/or carrying heavy luggage, I would definitely recommend to choose a different location such as the old town.  Otherwise, Galata is the neighborhood to be.  

Galata Tower and Galata Bridge, which connects to Old Town

The hostel itself was average.  As commented by most travelers, it is a nice hostel for single travelers.  Their breakfast is decent and the downstairs hangout/lounge area is pretty nice.  One complaint I would have about the hostel is their wifi which does not work in our room.  Also, there is a seating area right outside the hostel, which is perfect for watching people IF there is no one around you smoking.  People smoke a lot in Istanbul, by smoking I don't mean Hookah.  It was actual cigarette smokes and that's the only thing I could not stand.  

You will see so many people fishing on Galata Bridge

I was so excited to visit the famous Grand Bazaar.  Even though I was not planning to buy anything, just wandering around the bazaar was exciting enough.  There are so many cute shops which sell colorful lanterns and potteries and I couldn't resist not buying some...

A store in Grand Bazaar

Thanks to my local friend who took us to this restaurant named Aslan in the grand bazaar, we were so happy that we even went there again on our second day.

Another must visit attraction in Istanbul is the Topkapi Palace, which has showcases for the Ottoman's empire wealth and relics.  I am not one who enjoy looking around the Sultan's magnificent jewelry collection nor Prophet Mohammad's beard hair (believe it or not, it was there).  I also do not think that the admission fees is worth it.  Nevertheless, the view of the Bosphorus from the Palace is nice and I definitely recommend sitting in the cafeteria and enjoying the view (even though the prices are expensive).

Inside the Topaki Palace 

View of the Bosphorus Straight - can you see the bridge which connects Europe and Asia?

During our final day, we decided to do the Bosphorus tour as recommended by most people.   We were looking at full 6 hours long Bosphorus tour but the tour was unavailable during the time that we were there.  So instead, we ended up joining the shorter Bosphorus tour.  We tried to get on the evening tour so that we can view the Istanbul in sunset.

Istanbul in Sunset

After getting off the ferry, we decided to walk back to our hostel from Eminonu port.  Instead of walking across the upper level of Galata bridge, we decided to walk across the lower, and it is then that we discovered the numerous restaurants underneath the bridge.  We picked a nice spot which overlooked the old town and ordered some anchovies and pipes.  Hookah was relatively strong compared to what I have tried in New York.  

September is perfect time to visit Istanbul as the weather was very pleasant.  Smoking Hookah and enjoying anchovies in a nice weather with the view of the old town, it was a nice way to end our vacation in Turkey.