We are considering taking an Odyssey Trip to Turkey next year. This includes 5 days sailing the Turquoise coast. Has anyone ever traveled with Odyssey Tours? How is the food and water in Turkey? What kind of electrical current. Are credit cards accepted most places? Finally, (I think) did you purchase your visa upon entry to the country?

The last time I was in Turkey was almost 10 years ago and at that time, we were able to get our visas upon arrival but check before you assume anything. The water is not potable and you must brush your teeth with bottled water. No salads or uncooked vegetables and only fruit you peel yourself. I became very ill in Turkey because I stupidly ate a raw tomato, and needed to call a doctor in the middle of the night. The food is good but I did get a bit tired of it after a week or so.

Electrical current is 220v. Credit cards are accepted at most hotels and better restaurants and at many shops, even in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, though you may get a better price with cash.

I don't know anything about Odyssey Tours so I can't help you there.

Merhaba!

You might try posting this on the Europe Forum. That is where most people post questions about Turkey.

I was just in Turkey in May/June of this year.

The food is fantastic!

We drank only bottled water.

220 electrical

Visa is purchased right when you get off the plane. Make sure you go all the way to the far right and come in from that way. Many people were grouped up to the left of the window and then ended up at the back of the line.

Turkey is an amazing country and the people are extremely friendly. I recommend spending at least 4 full days in Istanbul.

Cheers!

Tamara

About the tour...I don't know...I don't do tours, but travel independently. I was in Turkey(Istanbul and surrounding areas only) in spring of 2000 and I drank bottled water, wasn't thrilled about the food, got my visa upon arrival at the airport,had a beyond great time, used my credit card to only pay the hotel bill although they were accepted at a lot of stores...but I preferred using cash...and wish I could find the time to go back again. It was a wonderful experience and although I didn't stay at the Four Seasons there...it's a great place to go and eat and just have a relaxing time having drinks.It has been voted number 1 in Europe a few times. It's beautiful...a converted prison.I stayed a block away at the Hotel Empress Zoe...which I really liked...a tiny place owned by a woman from San Francisco who was on the premises every day talking to guests and inviting them to the roof top bar...The whole area of Sultanahmet was wonderful. The FS is next to Aya Sofia.I would select a hotel in Sultanahmet area although the modern hotels(with the exception of the FS) are across town. But, you really feel like you are in Turkey when you stay in Sultanahmet area. The speaker attached to the mosque was directly across the street from my hotel room which was above a historical hamman(SP?).So, I would hear the call to prayer come loudly over the speaker....take earplugs if you can't sleep well. It was magical, though Happy Travels!

Correction...I paid my hotel bill in cash because there was a cash payment discount that was quite substantial. Happy Travels!

We were in Turkey Apr/May 2004. Drank the water in our hotels. Used the great bus system. Wished we'd avoided the shonky travel agent in the Side Hotel, near the Four Seasons who ripped us off on a tour! Decided then and there, never to use a travel agent. The food was great, the people seemed OK, the touts are worse than India. Cash is king in Turkey. Many shops want cash and wanted to charge us extra for using our cards. Taxis will try to rip you off as per all over the world. Ask your hotel what the fare should be. India is a delight compared to Turkey! My least favourite country! URK!

Water and in general food are OK in Turkey. Go and eat where the Turks eat, you'll be fine. Better drink water from bottles on a holiday, not only in Turkey. Visa card etc are accepted nearly everywhere but you also need cash for day to day transactions. Enjoy the trip, it's wonderful.

Gun Aydin: Wrong forum, but coincidentally I was in Istanbul last week, as I am for a few days each month on business. Also I used to live there for a couple of years in the early 90s. I can't help you with Odessey or any other tour outfit, but I can dispel a few myths about the cleanliness of the food, which, whilst I may have got fed-up with after a while in one location, has infinite regional variation and has never given me a stomach upset. I stay at the Conrad, or Swiss Hotel or Ritz Carlton and swig the tap water without hesitation when cleaning my teeth. Maybe I wouldn't if I stayed in a small hotel in Taksim or a boat off Bodrum. Bottled water is a better idea - almost everywhere. Salads are a staple of the Turks and me when I'm there. I can almost guarantee that you won't have a problem these days. Turkey is a global leisure destination and they wash their salads. A duff tomato 10 year's ago should not be used to condemn one of the world's great cuisines, a legacy throughout the Med and Middle East from the Ottoman's.

Visa on arrival. As someone else said, look for the visa office, adjacent to the immigration lines for foreign passport holders, before joining one of them. It can be on the left or right depending which gate you arrive at, but it's on the landward side (not airside)Costs GBP10 for Brits or $20 for Americans and is mult-entry for 3 months, so if you want to hop over to Greece or Bulgaria for the day... no reentry charge. Bargain.

Most tourist places will take credit cards and there are plenty of ATMs.

Choose taxi's whose metres are working, but get the Concierge to tell the driver where you are going and confirm the price. Not much use to you, but a few words of Turkish works wonders.

I feel like a reply to johnbey is in order. First, I was not condemning Turkish cusine, I happen to think it's very good and said so, I just got a bit tired of it after awhile. Second, while things may have changed, I know several people who went to Turkey a couple of years ago and got pretty sick. I have no doubt they wash their salads, it's the water they use to wash it with that concerns me. Different areas of the world have different bacteria in their water and if you aren't used to it, it can affect you in a most unpleasant way. Some peole will get sick, some will not. People who travel a lot (and I don't mean twice a year) will be less affected since they will have built up a tolerance to the types of bacteria being introduced into their bodies. I personally feel it is not worth taking the chance of becoming ill and spending time in a hotel room tied to a toilet when on a vacation. There is so much other wonderful food to enjoy in Turkey so why risk it?