tcreath

My husband and I are headed to Turkey in February. This is our first trip, and we have a short 7 nights. Our plan is to spend the first three nights in Istanbul, fly to Izmir to sightsee along the coast for three night, and then fly back from Izmir to Istanbul Ataturk airport for our final day/night in Turkey.

Our flight leaves Ataturk Airport at 5:50 am so we would like to stay near the airport if possible. I'm hoping to fly from Izmir to Istanbul, drop our luggage at a hotel nearby, and then head back into Istanbul for our last day and night in Turkey. Any suggestions for a nice, budget-friendly (under $150 USD per night) hotel?

Thanks!
Tracy

propertravel

ither one in Airport, Wow Hotels or Gunes Hotel are good options.

Happy travelling,
Murat

tcreath

Thanks Murat! I do have another question. I don't think that the Sultanhamet area is too far from the airport so we are thinking about just going back there for our final night. If we did this, and our flight leaves at 5:50, what time should a taxi pick us up and how long would it take to get to the airport?

thanks!
Tracy

Jeff801

Tracy,

I've had terrifying experiences with taxis in Istanbul and now will only use a car service going to and from the airport.

If you stay in Sultanahmet chances are you will be paying for an included breakfast you will not get to enjoy.

But, you need to know what time your airport desk will open. There is no point in getting to the airport a half an hour before you can get a boarding pass or check your luggage. After you exit the secured area on arrival, you should go up one flight to the departure level to find out what time your airline desks open up. Most do not operate 24 hours a day and, it has been my experience, some do not open until 45 minutes before their first departure.

tcreath

Jeff, thank you so much for your thoughts. I really appreciate it.
I will do exactly as you advise and find out what time the airport desk will open. We had a similar situation in Rome, where we arrived so early that the ticket desks weren't even open.

I think I'll contact the hotel that we are staying with (we have not narrowed that down yet; still in research phase) about a car service for arrival and departure.

Do you recall how long it took to get from the Sultanahmet area to the airport?

Thanks again!
Tracy

Jeff801

Tracy,

At that time of the morning, you are looking at no more than 35 minutes.

I agree with your thoughts about spending a night in the city rather than at an airport hotel. The only "airport hotel" that I thought had character and reflected the location rather than the airport is Langshott Manor near Gatwick. (I suspect it had something to do with having been built in the 16th century by the Boelyn family.) Of course, if truth be told, it is likely that I have not searched all that hard.

You can find several well regarded hotels in Sultanahmet on Trip Advisor.

propertravel

At that time of the morning you should be reaching airport in about half an hour. Instead of taxis you can also get a private transfer nearly same as taxis would charge and before 06:00 am taxis have 1,5 times tariff ( night tariff )so maybe taxi is even more expensive.

International flights require at least ! 2 hours advance check-in so bare in mind. If your departure coinsides to a Turkish Public Holiday better 3 hours in advance. I have missed flights just because I could not go through security even after checked in to the counter of the airline.

Happy travelling,
Murat

tcreath

Thank you both for your replies. We are departing February 22, so I guess I'll have to see if that is a holiday weekend. Hopefully not!

I think I may just inquire with the hotel I will be staying at to see if they can prearrange something for me. We would have to be picked up around 3:30 am (yikes!) and have a long day of flying that day...Istanbul to Frankfurt to Dallas to Charlotte...so at least I'll be tired enough from the early wakeup to catch some sleep!

Tracy