Istanbul Suggestions???

1. Sultenhamet (old town). 2. Depends on budget. 3. RS recommendations are great in this area. 4. Not sure what you need to see to make it "best" - it's a huge working city so every day is good. 5. See above. 6. Don't know. 7. Don't know. 8. Topkapi palace complex, Aya Sofya, Blue Mosque, Underground Cistern. 9. Don't go to a rug factory. 10. Ephesus if you can get there for a day trip, Gallipoli or Troy depending on historical interests.
11. For something different, Pamukkale (means "cotton castle") for the calcium deposits in thermal springs; ancient ruins of Hieropolis are at the same site.

Thank you Zoe. The question about good days vs poor days relates to experiences where certain days of the week everything is closed. For instance, if you can avoid most cities in Central Europe on a Monday its best because most of the museums are closed, etc. Special days? Like holidays or events or festivals or ?????? Hotel Budget? Really good 4 star or better. Say under $400 a night. Not on a bargan trip here and its only 3 or 4 nights. Possibly: Saturday. Depart the US Sunday. Arrive Budapest Monday. Budapest Tuesday. Budapest Wednesday Budapest Thursday. Depart Budapest, Arrive Istanbul about 2 pm Friday. Istanbul Saturday. Istanbul Sunday. Get our of the city for a day Monday. Depart for Budapest about 7 pm Tudesday. Budapest Thursday. Budapest Friday. Budapest
Saturday. Depart for the US

3.I had a terrific guide reserved by Valentina from Ekol Tours. Worth every penny and a sizeable tip;learned much more about the main sites, especially Topkapi, with the guide. 5. I was there last October and Topkapi was closed on Tuesdays, but YMMV. If you want to see the Harem, it's limited viewing, extra admission and you need to alert the guide in advance to plan the day.
9. Not too impressed with all items in the Grand Bazaar, but it's worth seeing if you have not been to another ancient souk. 9a: Bought a beautiful rug but if you don't need one, don't go. Shoulda bought two rugs.

Tom Brosnan, author of a best selling Turkey travelguide has a very in depth website: www.turkeytravelplanner.com

Do you have a RS Istanbul Guide Book yet? If so, great. If not, I would suggest you get one as it has lots of information to answer most of your questions. We used it extensively when we spent a total of 9 days there in 2010. I really enjoyed the city and would return there in a minute.

James, the flip side to the poster who didn't like Istanbul: I love it, can't wait to go back! One of the great cities of the world. Crowded, yes. I travel solo and have never experienced greater hospitality from local people than I did in Turkey - including Istanbul.

We have trouble making it to new places because there are a few places we just cannot get enough of. So I understand. I want to go back to Bulgaria so bad it hurts; but I'm saving it for good weather. So should I go to Istanbul in February or wait until at least April and go to Bulgaria instead? Too many decisions!!!

Matthew I understand completely. The same reason I dont care for Prague or Vienna. The same reason I do enjoy the offbeat like Romania and Bulgaria and Hungary. AND, probalby the main reason i havent been to Istanbul yet. You said sort of what i was expecting. But its one of those places that sooner or later i have to see. I'm still having trouble getting excited about it.

I love Istanbul. It's my favourite city in the world. I've been there twice, and to me, it's magical. But I understand why some people might not like it. I'd suggest reading some of the history (apologies if you already have). Apart from the usual sites- I'd suggest going to the bridge over the Bosphorous where all the ferries dock. There's some fantastic sights there and you meet the people of the city in a different way.
Oh, and have a Turkish bath while you're there! And as for everyone trying to sell you something- yes, they do- but they're fine about it if you say no and keep walking. Hotel Sumengen is a good bet and not too expensive. We stayed there on a RS tour.

The best thing we did last spring was to take the Istanbul Eats Old Town tour. We went where no tourists go and ate with the locals in all manner of shops and mom and pop cafes. We got our bearings and returned, shopped where the locals shop, and had a wonderful experience. We stayed at the Erboy Hotel, they have a website, and walked to everything. We were near the bustling harbor and took a ferry over to the Asian side. We were so enthralled with our 5 days in the Old Town we never did cross over the Galata Bridge to the newer parts of Istanbul. We did take a day trip up to the Black Sea.

My husband and I were in Istanbul a year ago. We were on a TAUCK tour of Greece and Turkey. We hated Istanbul. All they want to do is sell you rugs and junk at that Bazaar. I got so sick from all the smoke in the Bazaar. I was sick for two weeks. The smoking was overwhelming in Istanbul. We realy enjoyed the Ceylan Intercontinental Hotel though. It was beautiful. We also took a planned 2 night trip to the Cappodocia area of Turkey. We cancelled our tour after one night. We couldn't get out of the Cappadocia area fast enouigh. We lost a lot of money cancelling the tour. We did enjoy the hot air balloon ride though. The tour company, which Gray Line sub contracted us out to, was beyond terrible. We hated the Cappadocia area even more than Istanbul. The smoke there was disgusting. Even the driver who picked us up at the airprt, stunk from body odor. His van didn't even have air-conditioning. We were warned about the cheating taxis also. Five people from our tour of 24 people, were cheated. One couple got in a huge fight with the driver. The Ceylan Intercontinental Hotel concierges warned us to only get taxis in front of the hotel, not off the street. Two people got stiffed leaving the Grand Bazaar. When we came back from the Cappadocia area, (after giving up one night of our tour) we had to find a hotel for one night. We had a reservation at another hotel, for the following night. We were desperate to find a room on such short notice. I can't remember the name of the small hotel. It was outright weird though. In order to find a taxi, who wasn't going to cheat us, the hotel clerk got in an argument over what the driver was going to charge to go up the street to the second hotel. The hotel clerk helped us get our luggage out of the taxi, as the driver was insisting on charging us a huge toll.

Definitely stay in Old Town. We used tour guides recommended on Tom Brosnan website and they were all great. Best experiences were turkish bath (it's the one in Taken 2 recommended in Rick Steves book), and a cooking school called Cooking a la Turka - read my review on tripadvisor.com Go and enjoy, it's amazing! Would go again in a heartbeat!

Wow, Elaine, too bad you didn't enjoy Istanbul, one of the great cities of the world. I took the dolmus instead of taxis for the most part, everything was fine. By the way, if you go to a bazaar, expect people to try to sell you something.

I spent a week in Istanbul and although I generally don't care for large cities very much I did love it. I did have the advantage of meeting up with someone who lived there for two of the days so that was helpful. But, I felt very safe there (was with 11 year old grandson) and found it a charming and endearing culture. Yes, they did try to sell us stuff (but I have been to Tijuana and Morocco before) so I did not find it offensive. They were definitely not rude to us and just trying to make a living. I would be excited to return again. Loved Topkapi Palace, Blue Mosque, Cistern and there is a lovely park along the main drag (can't remember the name) where we spent a lot of time. Did a Bosphorous Cruise but don't think I would in winter. Also had fun at Grand Bazaar and wish I had bought more turkish cotton bath towels...love them!

I really enjoyed Istanbul, but as with all places, some will like it and some will not. I do want to respond, however, to Elaine's comments about finding so much smoking. I had read about this before the trip (my Lonely Planet guide said "Who smokes more than a Turk? Two Turks!") and was very worried, as I'm sensitive to excess smoke. But neither I nor my mother had problems with this. And we did not find the sellers on the street pushy; they responded well to a polite "no thank you." Yes, in the Spice Bazaar (we didn't go to the Grand Bazaar), they are a bit more "in your face"; as someone said above, that's what bazaars are about. To answer James's original questions, I agre with everyone above that the best neighborhood for a short visit is the Sultanahmet area. I don't know of a good hotel there (ours was a dud); the Four Seasons is supposed to be great, but it may be above your price range. My favorite thing to see was the Aya Sofya, and my mother's favorite was the Sulimanye Mosque; in a city with many wonderful places, these were the pinnacles for us. A lowlight was our full day Bosphorus Cruise, despite it having a high recommendation from Rick Steves. But we did enjoy our shorter, cheaper boat ride to Kadikoy, and I particularly recommend this if you are finding central Istanbul too "touristy." While you may want a guide, you won't need one. We found that Rick Steves Istanbul had everything we needed. As for day trips and overnights, I wouldn't take time out of a 3 day visit for these. We had more time, and saw Ankara, Selcuk and Ephesus, and Bursa. Bursa was not worth the time, but the other two were; if you have an interest, you could actually see these as day trips or overnights, by plane, from Istanbul.

Hi there
We were in Istanbul, Goreme (Cappodocia) and Ephesus last September. Istanbul is amazing! It's a large city, so be prepared for crowds. We did not have any issues with smoking, but we did find that our stomachs couldn't handle the tap water so I would recommend using bottled water. We did stay in the Old Town at the Sari Konak hotel perfect location a 5 min walk from the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque; also very quiet. I would recommend this hotel. As for a 'not to be missed' - I'd include the two mosques I just mentioned, and in addition to that, go see the Chora Church. Rick Steves' book has directions to it via public transportation (it's in the suburbs, but definitely worth the trip.) The Byzantine mosaics in this church were simply extraordinary. You can also see the old walls of the city if you go there. I personally wold skip the Topkapi palace, but others loved it, so I'm sure part of it is personal preference. Enjoy your trip - I loved my time there.

PS I neglected to add, regarding day trips, if you've never seen Roman ruins, Ephesus is a treat. Be sure ot pay extra inside to see the houses alongside the main marble street - the floors were incredible. If you have seen Roman ruins, I would recommend Goreme. you can get a cheap flight from Istanbul to Kayseri and go explore some very cool rock formations. WE took a hot air balloon over the formations and that was one of my most memorable travel experiences, ever. Again - roman ruins or "fairy chimney' rock formations> your personal choice. I would say that if you go to Goreme you can also see an underground city and a caravanseri (camel stop) along the Silk Road, where we saw a Whirling Dervish performance.

Although the Old town has its charms, given your budget, here is a hotel that is an AMAZING treat, the Sumahan on the Water: http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Hotel_Review-g293974-d671788-Reviews-Sumahan_on_the_Water-Istanbul.html
One of the detailed, glowing, "excellent" reviews was written by me! Although it is not exactly close, taxi drivers have no problems finding it and the boat launch service works very well. I so appreciated everything about the place, but especially the staff, the food, the hammam, the vibe of the Bosphorus, and the quiet retreat. I was so spoiled there!!

We loved Istanbul. I agree with most of what those who like Istanbul have said. If you want the name of a very good private guide PM me and I will give you his name. We found the people to be wonderful, did not have trouble in the grand bazaar. Yes we bought a rug but I like the rug and got a good deal! If you don't want a rug don't go in a rug place. Advantages of a guide are he can get you into the Topaki palace ahead of the crowds, then hit the blue mosque, but my favorite is the Hagia Sophia, built from the remnants of the old greek and roman temples to venus and mars etc. and fortunately the moslems plastered over the mosaics, perfectly preserving them for the present.