Seamus

Have FF ticket as far as Amsterdam, want to continue on to Istanbul on May 26, return to AMS 1 June. After some checking the fares look pretty steep. Anyone have suggestions?
Thanks!

Flyboy

Without looking at discount carriers, I see that KLM has something for $327 and Swiss International shows $264. Of those two, I would personally take KLM because it is a non-stop and because it would earn miles that are useful to me. From a U.S. perspective, these don't seem like horrible fares when you consider that the flight itself is similar to flying a Minneapolis to Seattle route in terms of time and distance. Perhaps others have some knowledge of European discount carriers that would have lower fares.

mrwunrfl

If you were to go to Istanbul on the FF award would one of the possible routes be via Amsterdam? If so, then you could look into changing your ticket to be a roundtrip to Istanbul with a stopover in Amsterdam. It would be free, except for the change fee. Also, you would be able to make only one stop at AMS that way.

Seamus

Thanks for the responses.
Flyboy, may I ask where you found the KLM $327 fare? That would be fine, but I wasn't able to find anything similar. Arriving AMS at 0815 I figure outbound to IST should be 1000 at the earliest, and the return out of AMS is at 1540 so I need to be there no later than about 1300.
mrwunrfl - tried the FF option, since IST is in the same reward zone, but there are no seats available for AMS-IST portion. I decided to hold on to the rez as far as AMS because it was due to pure luck (and platinum status) that I was able to get a first class itinerary at the lower standard reward level during the beginning of the high season.
Anyone else with suggestions, feel free to chime in!

Flyboy

The best way to meet that schedule on KLM comes out at $483. You could trim that by spending a night in Amsterdam on the way back. Although you wouldn't likely end up being a lot of money ahead by doing that when everything is tallied, it's not a bad thing to work into the trip.

Congrats on scoring the nice award tickets. As for AMS to IST, going FC on that leg isn't a great advantage, IMHO. I've taken that flight and the front section is still 3x3 seating.

Seamus

Thanks, Flyboy - it really was something of a FF coup, huh? Especially these days with all the packed flights. When I spoke with the CO Elite agent he said that it was due to my Platinum status. Good thing, because I was starting to get a bit hacked with CO over other things and this may help smooth those ruffled feathers.
I just checked and can get nonstop both ways on Turkish Airways for 519 RT on the dates/times I want, so when figuring in the extra hotel night in AMS (at least 2-3x the IST price!) and convenience of nonstop, looks like I am good to go.
Any tips on Istanbul? I will be solo (to my partner's chagrin) and open to any sugestions.

Flyboy

You'll love Istanbul. The people are friendly (although sometimes persistent about things like selling carpets...). Costs are low, there is tons of good food, street markets, historic sites and a lot of urban energy. Although it's a big city, many of the major sites are fairly concentrated.

We used the DK Books Eyewitness travel guide and never felt as if we needed a tour guide or anything. Particularly in the area of the Grand Bazaar, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, etc., it's a great place to walk around and take it all in; not so strange that a person feels lost, but quite exotic and filled with interesting, sometimes ancient things to see. As you've already discovered, it's also a tremendous value for the money.

Gardyloo

Walk directly to the visa kiosk (far left) upon arriving at Attaturk, where the non-smiling vopo will sell you a visa for the nationality-adjusted cost listed above - proper currency please. For the moment US passport holders are charged US$20, other passport holders less. Only then do you go through passport control.

For dollar users, Istanbul is cheaper than other European destinations, but it's not exactly like the old days. Most meals in sit-down non-fancy places will be $15-$20; the only major bargains are in the small hotels in the Sultanahmet, which you can get for something like €70 or so if you pay cash. I would also look for a hotel that will pick you up at the airport; it seems like a lot of flights from western Europe land at night and having to negotiate with an Istanbul cabbie at 11PM would not be a fun thing.

Use the tram - 1.10 new lira (ie 1,100,000 old lira per token, available at booths) to get around the old town - makes it easier on the old dogs if you get my meaning. Enjoy - great city.

PS - staying near the Blue Mosque means your alarm clock will be singing to you at around 5 AM. God is great; the muzzein's amplified voice, sadly, is not so hot.

Flyboy

Actually, you can do a lot better than 70 Euros for a hotel. If you want one that will pick you up at the airport and is fairly decent, you can pick up the Holiday Inn - Istanbul City for less than 50 Euros on a prepay rate for May 26-June 1:

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/1/en/hd/istmc?irs=y

It's right on the tram line, but if you don't mind a nice, relatively long walk, you can also just hoof it down to the Grand Bazaar and everything else. There are plenty of interesting things to pass along the way.

Seamus

LOL, Gardyloo - never having been known as a morning person, this may in fact play in to my hotel selection. Then again, it has been alleged that I could sleep through a major natural disaster, so perhaps not too heavily. Is it really that loud?
Flyboy - I am not at all averse to walking, in fact enjoy it in all but the nastiest of weather. I will check out the HI Istanbul (IIRC, we both enjoyed the HI Republique.)
Thanks again - feel free to add suggestions about how to spend my time in Istanbul, caveats, recommendations, etc. If you have anything you would rather send offline you can use email [email protected]
Cheers!

laurie_ann

Don't know if any available for this route but consider looking at www.whichbudget.com a site that helps you find budget carriers between two points. There are many new budget carriers in Europe like Southwest Airlines in the U.S.