Pre- & Post Best of Turkey Tour Questions

departure flight from ADB is 10:50am so I am not sure I can make it on the same day the trip is over
Our tour guide told us that she makes her 10am flights out of Izmir. We stayed overnight in Kusadasi anyway, to relax and unwind and enjoy the rooftop view and pool.

Is it easy to get to Izmir from Kudadasi on my own?
The tour hotel arranged a private driver for us, which was €60 for up to 4 people, as I recall, payable to the hotel.

How many days in advance should I arrive in Istanbul? Is one day too risky (in case of flight cancellation)?
We arrived a couple of days in advance to do some independent sightseeing. Whether one day is too risky probably depends on what time your flight arrives and whether it's in time for the first tour meeting.

I want to reserve the shuttle services which the hotel provides but I don't know if it's refundable if I cancel my hotel reservation.
I didn't have to prepay my hotel shuttle service, but your hotel may be different, so it's wise to ask them.

@CWsocial-
Thank you for your reply.
So you stayed overnight at Kusadasi and hired a taxi to ADB on the day of your flight. How long did it take to get to ADB from Kusadasi and how many hours before your flight did you arrive at the airport?
Yes I will ask the hotel if the shuttle reservation is refundable.

Yes overnight at the tour hotel in Kusadasi. It was a private van driver, not a taxi. It took about an hour. I don't recall exactly but we probably arrived 2 hours ahead at Izmir airport for our SunExpress flight to our connecting airport.

Compare prices between hotel shuttle service and welcome pickups before committing .

Come two days in advance and sign up for Yummy Istanbuls’s “taste of two continents food tour”. You won’t regret it.

There are plenty of sites in Istanbul the RS tour does not go to, like the Blue Mosque, Galata Tower, Basilica Cistern, Turkish baths, etc. We had two nights in Istanbul before the tour to get over jet lag and view sites on your own.

Hi Carol-
Thank you for your recommendations.

I learned "taste of two continents food tour” from your trip report and will definitely sign it up if I have enough time.
I was thinking of Welcome Pick up-I know you had very good experience with the company but I also read a couple of people complaining about their experience. Since i will be travel alone, I want to eliminate as many uncertainties as i can and that's why I am considering the hotel shuttle. I wish the public transportations were more convenient.

@leonard-
Thank you for the ideas. I believe I can do two extra days. Is that enough?

I see the Best of Turkey tour now spends 2-1/2 days in Istanbul and now includes the Blue Mosque. It was only 2 days in Istanbul when we did the tour in 2019. The Best of Istanbul is 7 days, so there is plenty more to see in Istanbul in just 4 days. You'll get a RS guide book prior to your tour to give you lots of ideas of what to do.

Hi,
We choose option #2 — we relaxed in Samos for three nights, explored Athens for two nights and then flew home. It worked well for us.
We arrived in Istanbul three nights in advance of the tour and had the hotel arrange a taxi for us. I like scheduling an early arrival in case there are flight cancellations and to help ensure I am relatively rested before the tour starts. There is no shortage of sights/activities in Istanbul — we enjoyed a fancy Hammam and a food tour with Culinary Backstreets.
Happy travels!

Hi Mary,
Thank you for sharing your experience.
I like what you did, a lot and wish I could do the same but I cannot get that many days off. I am leaning towards having more days in Istanbul and saving Samos and Athen for later.

Hi Leonard-
When I read your first reply I was wondering about the Blue Mosque.

I wish I could have the guidebook sooner and will borrow a copy from our library.

There are quite a few posts in the Turkey forum about the RS tour. You might take a glance through, especially CWSocial's extensive posts about her tour experience. Also, look at your tour documentation and see if SRM offers a pre-tour food tour - the info was kind of buried in the long list of tour information. SRM is the company that provides RS guides and at the time I took the tour they offered an optional food tour the day before the tour started. It was fantastic and worth every single penny - so much food and culture to help kick off a great tour. If that isn't offered, then follow the suggestions of other forum members who used other companies.

A few thoughts on your questions.

1. the tour bus will take people to the Izmir airport based on the flight schedules of tour members. Many people in my group made their flights with that time frame. I wasn't comfortable with that so I took a later flight (stayed overnight in Amsterdam on way home) and took a Welcome Pickups shuttle to the airport. Worked fine.

2. Several tour members took the ferry to Greece and spent time there. If you have time and want to go, do it. Make sure you get to the ferry well before your departure - several didn't make the window to board and had to take a later ferry which disrupted their plans.

3. I would arrive at least 2 days ahead. Even with the tour itinerary changes from when I went, you'll just want some time to adjust to jet lag, big city crowds, and see things that the tour doesn't cover. Plus if you have flight drama you have some flexibility. We had tour members arrive the same day as the tour started and they were literally toast.

4. You'll have to ask the hotel. I used Welcome Pickups. Many posts about this company in the forum, some people have had good luck (like me) and others not so much. If you are comfortable with the hotel's price after you research costs of alternatives then book it, just make sure you find out if you can be refunded if you cancel.

5. sorry, no experience with that airline.

I just did this tour in October, and had three days in Istanbul before the start of the tour, and wished I had more. So much to see in Istanbul, and it’s a big city. I used Welcome Pickups from the airport with a group of friends, and it worked great, and was cheap due to there being five of us.
At the end of the tour most of our group took the tour bus to the airport, and most of us had domestic flights back through Istanbul. Some had international flights that went through Munich. Nobody had any trouble making their flight. I was booked on a 1045 flight with Turkish Air, back through Istanbul. At first I was concerned about it, but after speaking to our tour guide I was confident it wouldn’t be a problem. Izmir airport is efficient, and you won’t have too far to walk.

I had never flown with Turkish Air before, and I would say that they are a bit better than Lufthansa, KLM, and definitely better than Air Canada. I was booked in economy, but I paid for an exit row seat as I am quite tall. I had originally been booked on Air Canada, but after they made several changes to my flight, my travel agent was able to get them to switch me to Turkish Air, as they are part of the Star Alliance group. My travel agent found Turkish Air quite frustrating to deal with, and slow to respond, but in the end got it all done without issue.

I believe I can do two extra days. Is that enough?

That seems like a good cushion for a flight delay or missed connection and to allow yourself to adjust and see a few extra sights.

We were on the 7 day Best of Istanbul tour immediately before our Best of Turkey tour. And still we arrived 2 days early and saw things that were not on either tour (Dohlmabaçe Palace springs to mind.) Since then I've been back and spent an additional 8 nights, duplicating very little.

There is always more to see in Istanbul!

One tip for your pre-tour days: mosques are open early and late. If you're awake early on your first mornings, you can check opening times (and avoid prayer times) and may be able to make use of those hours.

Also, the large plaza between the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque is lovely in the quiet hours of dawn, with the calls to prayer floating across the space. And it's lively with activity in the evenings, an interesting place to hang out and admire the architecture.

@CL-
Thank you so much for your detailed reply.
I am reading through the messages on the forum to learn and definitely will lookup CWSocial's trip reports-there were quite a few posts mentioned her name. Thank you for the recommendation.
One of the emails I got from RS' tour company mentioned SRM Tour but I didn't know who SRM is. Thank you for the information.
I am risk-aversing so probably will stay overnight after the tour. I wish I could extend my trip both before and after to explore Istanbul and also Greece- sounds like so much to see and enjoy but unfortunately I can't.
The hotel charges $50 for airport pickup. I think that's about the same price as Welcome Pickups. I was considering the hotel pick up because a few fellow travelers on this forum mentioned their bad experience with Welcome Pickups but i just read a post saying the hotel pickup was not any better. I wish there was a better option.

@Hi Anita,
Thank you very much for sharing your experience.
Nearly everybody who has been to Istanbul was saying there was so much to see-making me both excited and also disappointed that I don't have more time.
Quite a few people had good experience with Welcome Pickups so I probably should give it a try.
I want to fly with Turkish airline even though it's more expensive compared to other carriers such as Lufthansa, KLM or Air Canada, because it has direct flights so the durations of the flights are shorter. The other above-mentioned carriers don't have good reputations so I did hope Turkish Airline is better. I don't find it offer much flexibility in terms of flight changes though. I wonder what airlines other people from the US flew with to Turkey.

@CWSocial-
Wow-you spent so much time in Istanbul. No wonder people looked up to you for Turkey travel advice. I will search your trip reports and learn. Actually, just this morning I came across your messages about the online meetings. I glanced through the threads but didn't find your trip reports.
Thank you for the tip about the pre-trip days-I am a morning person so early mornings work for me if the mosques are open early. My trip is late March and early April. Does it make any difference in terms of opening hours?

didn't find your trip reports
I link all of my trip reports in my forum profile. Find any message with my forum name (CWsocial) and click on it to find my profile with trip reports. My Turkey tours were in 2022. Here are the links to make it easy for you:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/3-weeks-to-fall-in-love-with-turkey
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tours/so-you-re-going-on-the-best-of-turkey-or-best-of-istanbul-tour

Those reports are now 2.5 years out of date, and many things have changed, such as a VISA no longer being needed for US Citizens.

This is my trip report from this past summer, with some updates and plenty of ideas for a second or third visit:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/8-nights-in-istanbul-solo-this-time

Does it make any difference in terms of opening hours?
You can check the hours of each Mosque by finding it in Google Maps, or by looking at each mosque's website. I don't know if the opening hours vary during the year. The call to prayer times do vary, even from day to day, as determined by the sun. Some mosques are closed to visitors for certain hours during prayer times - the Blue Mosque is closed for an hour before each call to prayer (5 times per day) and 30 minutes after. Other mosques allow limited visitation, even during prayer times.

You can find the call to prayer times for every month and day:

https://www.edarabia.com/prayer-times-istanbul/

When you are checking open times and prayer times, be sure you are looking at the month and date of your visit. (Sometimes the website will show opening hours for today on the homepage, which may be very different than the date of your visit.)

@CWsocial-
I am reading your "So You're Going on the Best of Turkey or Best of Istanbul Tour"-so much useful information. It probably will take me days to read all the info including the linked sites. Thank you so much for putting them together. I will read your trip reports too.
Funny you mentioned about the eVisa-the first thing i saw on your page was the eVisa application-I had no idea I would need a visa to visit Turkey and I ignorantly reserved my tour! I immediately clinked on the link for application and started the application process. When I got the message-"you are exempted..." I was confused. It took me a few googling to believe that the Turkey government changed the country entry requirements in late 2022. Whew...But lesson learned-always check the entry requirements before visiting a foreign country.
Thank you for the tips about the opening and pray times. I will check for the mosques I am interested in visiting.

jeansn6, I'm glad you got confirmation about not needing a VISA and didn't accidentally run into a website that might have needlessly charged you. I wish there was a way that I could go back and notate my old trip report!

The Best of Turkey Tour is absolutely wonderful. Enjoy the planning and come back and ask questions any time. There are many forum members who love to talk about their excellent experiences in Turkey and on the tour!!

I have flown to Istanbul three times, most recently August 2024, first time with Turkish Airlines. We had good flights, no problems, both there and back. My son, who lives in Istanbul, always flies Turkish without problems.

But some people do have problems, especially with their customer service. I've read about it, but have not experienced it.
I can tell you that the website is not exactly like an American website in terms of its construction and relative ease of use.

Turkish Airlines does not seem to mess around with flight prices like many airlines as you conduct your search. In my experience the prices were stable.

Hi Jeannie-
Thank you for sharing your experience with Turkish Airline.
Most likely I will book my flights with Turkish Airline hoping I don't need its customer services.