Not sure I wish to stay in the old town when pre and post booking before and after the 13 day tour. In the old town we will be staying at the Acra Hotel (not impressed). This is my first tour ever as I have always traveled independently using Rick’s suggestions.
I am much more a village person vs a city person. Thinking maybe the Asian side or ? Any ideas.
I will be traveling alone and am a retired ( even though I still Work) female.
Thanks for everyone’s help.
Dot
Rick's guides are never comprehensive. He is all about convenience and speed.
I am afraid my only visit to Istanbul was 3 days, so I went with convenience and a great view - Nena Hotel.
I don't use TripAdvisor as often as I used to as they push selling rooms over reviewing them, but if you can get to the actual reviews, you can filter to reviews by solo travelers. Then look for reviews by people with numerous posts to try and weed out the fake reviews or 'one post wonders'. And double check reviews on the Booking dot com pages. Then consider using street view on google maps to check for environment. Finally book direct.
I think I have only used one recommended hotel by Rick - and that was only by chance, as it was also in every other guide book. I am Canadian, so now, his lodgings are all way over my pricing options...without being a bunk in a hostel.
All that being said, AshleyMIA - a poster here - has spent time in Istanbul area recently. She may have a recommendation. You can always send her a PM.
We stayed in the Sirecki district which is adjacent to the center. Istanbul has I believe 8M people cramped into the city and surrounding area, so there are people everywhere. I will let others answered about Kadikoy and the Asian side of the city. Hopefully you will enjoy the countryside. We stayed in a rather non-touristy part of Selchuk and saw the villagers daily life which was very different than Istanbul.
One of Rick’s guiding principles is to be in the center of the tourist area, not the fringe. Most of the notable sites in Istanbul are on the European side. Trying to reach them from the Asian side is less convenient and can be time consuming.
I wouldn’t stay over there on your first trip to Istanbul. We split our time in Istanbul between the Sultanahmet ( old town) area and area near Taksim Square and much preferred the Taksim area. Sultanamet was was so touristy.
Istanbul is considered one of the world's "megacities" with a population of over 15 million. You will not feel like you're in a viallge no matter where you stay within the city, although there are different neighborhoods that have a different feel to them (especially when it comes to being more or less conservative in terms of dress and other social variables). Rick Steves wants people who typically stay only 3 days to maximize their time at the major tourist sites, so he pays a lot of attention to proximity. Personally, I prefer not to stay in "tourist central" although my time in Istanbul was not limited to a short period - I stayed a full two weeks there. Kadikoy feels like a modern/ less conservative, cramped version of other parts of Istanbul.
If you want a more laid back feel, take a ferry to any of the Princes Islands to the south and stay at one of them overnight (Büyükada is a good one). They feel super blissful and relaxing compared to Istanbul.
I go to Istanbul quite a lot, and always stay in Kadıköy now. There are lots of small hotels and they are generally a bit cheaper than on the Asian side, but never listed in any of the guidebooks. Kadıköy doesn't have any major attractions, but I think it is a nice more relaxed area to stay than Sultanahmet or Beyoğlu. The area around the market (on a map, look for the streets around the Greek and Armenian churches) is probably the best place to stay, as there are many restaurants, bars and cafes, and quite a few old buıldings have been turned into hotels. On the other side of the main busy street, there are also a lot of hotels, but street noise can be a problem in some.
It is quite far to get to the old city and Beyoğlu/Taksim, but I can't think of a better way to start the day than taking a ferry across the Bosphorus. Ferries leave every 20 minutes or so over to Eminönü (for the old city), Karaköy (for Beyoğlu) and less regularly to Beşiktaş (for Dolmabahçe Palace), and there's also a metro station, taking you over to the European side with one change. Public transport runs until quite late (the ferries stop at around 10 or 11), so unless you plan on a late night on the other side, getting back to Kadıköy won't be too difficult - there are also minibuses called dolmuş which run from Taksim once the other options stop.
For the airport, there are regular buses direct to both the new İstanbul Airport on the European side and Sabiha Gökçen Airport on the Asian side.
I also recommend going to the Princes Islands (Adalar) for a day trip if you want a break from İstanbul's traffic. Again there are ferries from Kadıköy to all four main islands.
Wherever you stay in İstanbul, get an İstanbulkart from any bus, metro or ferry ticket office and often kiosks nearby, which can be used on most forms of transport.
Hope you enjoy İstanbul - it's one of my favourite cities!
Hi Dot,
I haven't been to Turkey but I'm in the midst of planning a solo trip and got a big recommendation from my friend who lived at the Hush Hostel in Kadikoy for over a month. They have a private room for 16euro but I opted for the female 4 bed dorm for 8euro so I could splurge in Cappadocia and elsewhere. I am 55, semi retired (I guess?) SWF and I like to spend money on experiences rather than expensive places to stay. That said, I am very particular about my accommodations and do a lot of research before booking.
https://hushhostels.com
