Turkey - airport transfers, car rentals, and misc.
Jul 4th, 2012, 07:37 PM
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Turkey - airport transfers, car rentals, and misc.
Family trip to Turkey is about a month away, so I am re-visiting my notes and itinerary from several months ago and realized I still need to book airport transfers and a car rental.
Any recommendations for an airport transfer agency that is reputable, reliable and on-time, but that will not gouge us? 5 people. Will need to book several transfers, as we are doing some internal flying and will begin and end our trip in Istanbul.
Also need to rent a car big enough for 5 people once we arrive at the Izmir airport. Are there car rental agencies at the airport that I can line up in advance? Recommendations, please!
How concerned should I be about dress and being covered? Are kids and young teenage girl okay in shorts in conservative, but touristy areas?
Any other last minute tips? Starting in Istanbul, flying to Izmir/Alacati, driving to Ephesus, flying to Cappadoccia. How is weather in August? Was in Turkey almost 20 years ago during the Fall and remember wearing a sweater!
Any recommendations for an airport transfer agency that is reputable, reliable and on-time, but that will not gouge us? 5 people. Will need to book several transfers, as we are doing some internal flying and will begin and end our trip in Istanbul.
Also need to rent a car big enough for 5 people once we arrive at the Izmir airport. Are there car rental agencies at the airport that I can line up in advance? Recommendations, please!
How concerned should I be about dress and being covered? Are kids and young teenage girl okay in shorts in conservative, but touristy areas?
Any other last minute tips? Starting in Istanbul, flying to Izmir/Alacati, driving to Ephesus, flying to Cappadoccia. How is weather in August? Was in Turkey almost 20 years ago during the Fall and remember wearing a sweater!
Jul 5th, 2012, 08:42 AM
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You will have to pay the per person visa fee in $$$ upon entry to the country. Cash only.
I would not worry about a dress code, but don't do the L.A. flip flop routine.
I worked for a company and spent 2 weeks in Istanbul. Dress nicely, but a Western style is fine.
If you are going to Istanbul, you will not need a car. In fact, I wouldn't drive in that city. You surely will get lost.
Many international companies have rental locations there. Hertz has numerous locations.
I would not worry about a dress code, but don't do the L.A. flip flop routine.
I worked for a company and spent 2 weeks in Istanbul. Dress nicely, but a Western style is fine.
If you are going to Istanbul, you will not need a car. In fact, I wouldn't drive in that city. You surely will get lost.
Many international companies have rental locations there. Hertz has numerous locations.
Jul 5th, 2012, 04:16 PM
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> I still need to book ... a car rental.
I make my car rental arrangements through gemut.com, and have always been satisfied with their service.
> How concerned should I be about dress and being covered? Are kids and young teenage girl okay in shorts in conservative, but touristy areas?
For the areas you are visiting, I don't think you'll need to worry. Hats and sunscreen will probably be of use.
I make my car rental arrangements through gemut.com, and have always been satisfied with their service.
> How concerned should I be about dress and being covered? Are kids and young teenage girl okay in shorts in conservative, but touristy areas?
For the areas you are visiting, I don't think you'll need to worry. Hats and sunscreen will probably be of use.
Jul 7th, 2012, 04:28 AM
#4
My wife uses the following :
http://www.securedrivetravel.com.tr/
and has no complaints.
We get free service from an annual subscription card called "backup" when we are together but I do not know if their services are available to non-subscription parties as well.
Also check Prime Club.
Make sure that any transfer service gives full price.
taxis are usually small and not recommended for more than three people and two medium and two small cases. Taxis cost less than 50TL to Sultanahmet area currently, including tip.
Recently DW and DD hired a VW Passat at Izmir airport through Economy Car rental but the cost went up because apparently the original price had not included insurance and additional driver. It came to about the same as the Avis price.
This week DD took a sea plane directly from the Golden Horn to Cesme, and said she enjoyed it. The flight cost was more than THY but she saved on the transfers and on time. I will find out more when she comes back Monday evening.
For 5 people you should either get a van or if none of you are my size, a VW passat or similar. Check if your in-bound carrier has a special with any rental car agencies. They usually do. And if you are using THY internally, they always have a deal with one.
Check to see if you can get the seaplane to cesme/Alacati area and rent your car there to return to Izmir airport on your departure to Cappadocia also.
exactly as other respondents have said, all touristy areas are used to seeing local and foreign women in minimum amounts of clothing. However, mosques, churches and synagogues should not be entered with shorts and halter tops. this goes for both men and women. It is also respectful to have some simple head covering for the ladies in a mosque.
Start taking some claritine a few days before your trip, against simple allergies of foods, sun and mosquito bites. It is also a good idea to take some vitamin B (possibly B12 but might as well get a B-complex) to keep the mosquitos away bcause they do not like the smell and will usually avoid people who have taken it.
Always carry some bottles of water against dehydration. Buying a small Turkish towel to wipe the sweat away is useful if you are going to visit Ephesus, Hieropolis, aphrodisias, etc., and of'course hats and sunscren as kja reminded you above. You will also use up more t-shirts than you planned but Turkey is t-shirt haven and you can pick up some good and cheap ones when you need them.
http://www.securedrivetravel.com.tr/
and has no complaints.
We get free service from an annual subscription card called "backup" when we are together but I do not know if their services are available to non-subscription parties as well.
Also check Prime Club.
Make sure that any transfer service gives full price.
taxis are usually small and not recommended for more than three people and two medium and two small cases. Taxis cost less than 50TL to Sultanahmet area currently, including tip.
Recently DW and DD hired a VW Passat at Izmir airport through Economy Car rental but the cost went up because apparently the original price had not included insurance and additional driver. It came to about the same as the Avis price.
This week DD took a sea plane directly from the Golden Horn to Cesme, and said she enjoyed it. The flight cost was more than THY but she saved on the transfers and on time. I will find out more when she comes back Monday evening.
For 5 people you should either get a van or if none of you are my size, a VW passat or similar. Check if your in-bound carrier has a special with any rental car agencies. They usually do. And if you are using THY internally, they always have a deal with one.
Check to see if you can get the seaplane to cesme/Alacati area and rent your car there to return to Izmir airport on your departure to Cappadocia also.
exactly as other respondents have said, all touristy areas are used to seeing local and foreign women in minimum amounts of clothing. However, mosques, churches and synagogues should not be entered with shorts and halter tops. this goes for both men and women. It is also respectful to have some simple head covering for the ladies in a mosque.
Start taking some claritine a few days before your trip, against simple allergies of foods, sun and mosquito bites. It is also a good idea to take some vitamin B (possibly B12 but might as well get a B-complex) to keep the mosquitos away bcause they do not like the smell and will usually avoid people who have taken it.
Always carry some bottles of water against dehydration. Buying a small Turkish towel to wipe the sweat away is useful if you are going to visit Ephesus, Hieropolis, aphrodisias, etc., and of'course hats and sunscren as kja reminded you above. You will also use up more t-shirts than you planned but Turkey is t-shirt haven and you can pick up some good and cheap ones when you need them.
Jul 10th, 2012, 08:52 AM
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I booked my car rental for pick up at Kayseri Airport for our visit to Cappadoccia last week with carrentals.com and through them, Avis had the best price. I have always had good luck with that booking engine domestically & internationally...very easy to price compare & select vehicle sizes, etc.
For airport transfers, we used: www.istanbulairportexpress.com
They dropped us off at SAW for a flight to Kayseri & were ontime at 3:30AM! Ouch! They also picked us up at SAW & were waiting, as agreed with our name on their sign. I did price compare & found them cheaper than a taxi & they transported us in a Mercedes van that had at least 8 or 9 seats even though there were only 3 of us and it was a private transfer.
Not sure about the August weather but last week, I was shocked at how chilly it became in the evenings! We were very HOT during the day but at night we often found ourselves dining on a rooftop & were glad that most of the restaurants offered a wrap...even the gentlemen were wearing them. We also found Cappadoccia particularly chilly...we wore all of our layers...even the daytime temps went from chilly to HOT; kept putting things on & off...I searched all over for a sweatshirt to buy & could not find one anywhere!
For airport transfers, we used: www.istanbulairportexpress.com
They dropped us off at SAW for a flight to Kayseri & were ontime at 3:30AM! Ouch! They also picked us up at SAW & were waiting, as agreed with our name on their sign. I did price compare & found them cheaper than a taxi & they transported us in a Mercedes van that had at least 8 or 9 seats even though there were only 3 of us and it was a private transfer.
Not sure about the August weather but last week, I was shocked at how chilly it became in the evenings! We were very HOT during the day but at night we often found ourselves dining on a rooftop & were glad that most of the restaurants offered a wrap...even the gentlemen were wearing them. We also found Cappadoccia particularly chilly...we wore all of our layers...even the daytime temps went from chilly to HOT; kept putting things on & off...I searched all over for a sweatshirt to buy & could not find one anywhere!
Jul 10th, 2012, 01:33 PM
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We used "backpackers travel" in Istanbul and they were great! Very reasonable and no surcharge for a ridiculously early morning pickup.
You could probably get away with wearing ANYTHING in Istanbul - we saw the Burkas right next to Turkish "hoochie-mamas"
. The more "popular" mosques in Istanbul will give you a skirt and a shawl if necessary.
As everyone else pointed out - the tourist areas are used to tourists and I never felt uncomfortable.
You could probably get away with wearing ANYTHING in Istanbul - we saw the Burkas right next to Turkish "hoochie-mamas"
. The more "popular" mosques in Istanbul will give you a skirt and a shawl if necessary. As everyone else pointed out - the tourist areas are used to tourists and I never felt uncomfortable.
Jul 12th, 2012, 11:57 AM
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I've used http://www.economycarrentals.com/ as a broker for rentals in Turkey, Sicily and Poland with no problems to report.
