Hi Everyone, I've been reading several travel reports on Turkey and it has piqued my interest. I am in the basic stage, that is, thinking about a possible trip to Turkey next year, We will probably limit ourselves to Istanbul, perhaps a short side trip.

Some questions to put out there:

I prefer NOT to travel during July and August. Any suggestions for the best months to visit Istanbul. It looks like the winters are pretty cold there.

We're thinking 4-5 weeks and are more interested in an apt. rather than a hotel. Any suggestions on where to start a search? Anyone with good experiences that can recommend an agency they used?

Any other thoughts are gratefully appreciated.

ttt

Turkey Travel Planner is a great resource. Personally, I would not limit myself to Istanbul as the country is so diverse.
http://turkeytravelplanner.com/

Thank you, lucy_d. It is a great resource. It answered all my questions.

Keep us posted on what you decide. You will love Turkey.

I reviewed the website and at first glance I thought I had it all!! However, when I reviewed it the second time, I realized, I still needed more info re apartments. If anyone has had personal experience out there and would like to recommend an agency they used, give me some prices, etc., I would be very appreciative. Thanks. And Lucy, thanks for the good thoughts.

There are more and more apartments coming in the Istanbul lodging options. There are apartments ate different areas and all are different and offers different amenities, views etc.

Rates starting from 80-90 Euros to 300....for a night.

Since it will be next year, you can plan already where you will be visiting etc and than you can search in due time for apartments. A friend of mine who is also in travel business will open an apartment at Galata - Tunnel area, once I see it I can recommend one. My personal experiences are with hotels so far.

Happy travelling,
Murat

Thank you, Murat, but I was hoping to spend a bit less for an apartment, but thanks for the information.

http://www.galataresidence.com/eng/index.htm

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...-Istanbul.html

www.istanbulholidayapartments.com

www.istanbulsweethome.com

http://www.easyhomeistanbul.com/

http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/europe/turkey

and of course VRBO.com and Homelidays.com both have a few apartments in Istanbul

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...-Istanbul.html

http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/g...pts/index.html

You can also use Yahoo or google to search for "Istanbul apartment".

PS...I think as well you should try to visit more than just say Istanbul for a 4-5 week holiday in Turkey..there are so many other wonderful places not to be missed..

Hi Annetti,

We found this web site and will be renting pera!place when we visit. It looks lovely, and is located in a recently restored award winning building in Beyoglu. I believe it may also be in your price range. More recently the owners have bought another apartment and are renovating this one too. They have been great to work with so far.

http://www.istanbulapartment.co.uk/index.html

Hope this helps.

P.S. I agree that you should consider other areas of Turkey too. The more research I did the more I believe we won't have enough time ... we'll be there almost 3 weeks.

Brenda66 -- Thanks very much for all those websites. We will start exploring them. NLspirit-- your Istanbul apt. looks lovely, but a bit more expensive than I want to spend if we plan on staying 5 or even 6 weeks in Istanbul.

We are sloowww travelers, meaning we enjoy just doing one or two things a day or sometimes just wandering and nothing more, so an apartment and ample time to explore a place makes perfect sense to us. We try to forget that that there are tons more places to explore outside our immediate location and just concentrate on what is at hand. I know this isn't everyone's way of doing things, but it works for us. We can always add on an excursion if we choose, but we seldom do choose, usually finding ourselves content to take it easy and explore a small area. We get to see all the big sights in this one small area we have chosen and find some interesting small places, too, that are just as intriguing.

I tried some of the websites suggested above. Unfortunately, only one or two of the sites I tried post their prices. I wrote a couple of e-mails and am waiting for responses. I will try some tourist guides, too, even though they may be dated, it will give me a range of prices to go by. Thanks again.

Annetti. I appreciate and prefer slow travel too ... it's our usual ... and favourite ... travel mode, especially in Europe. We love to ease our way into each day ... slowly. It's a wonderful way to travel. This trip, not having been to Turkey before, we want to get a taste of different areas ... in case we want to come back. And I already think we will want to do just that. We'll divide our time between Istanbul, Cappadoccia and the Mediterranean coast. Good luck with finding an apartment ... perhaps you can negotiate a price for longer stays. Enjoy the planning ... it's great fun ... as I'm sure you already know!

Wow, there's SLOW and then there's S-L-O-W.... Good for you for knowing what you like and sticking to it!

Thank you, Hershey.