thomson celebration 19th july Istanbul etc

[kruzseeka]

Back to Ships tours vs DIY - I'm sure I recall reading that you can take forever and a day to get through the traffic on a ship's coach as opposed to a 30 min stroll or a 10 min tram ride... just a thought !

 

You are so right, Jan. On the Istanbul trips we also heard a number of passengers complaining about how far they had to walk once off the bus to get to the 'sights'. I think there was a particular issue when we were there as there was a marathon and the trams were stopped and access a bit affected around the Hagia Sophia etc. but all the excursions which include the Topkapi/Blue Mosque/Bazaar are listed as 'Active' (even on non-marathon day) and one specifically states that there is a 1Km walk from the coach drop off point. Given that, you might be as well walk!!

 

It's also very true of Athens - the Metro beats taxis/coaches every time!!

[ekco]

You are so right, Jan. On the Istanbul trips we also heard a number of passengers complaining about how far they had to walk once off the bus to get to the 'sights'. I think there was a particular issue when we were there as there was a marathon and the trams were stopped and access a bit affected around the Hagia Sophia etc. but all the excursions which include the Topkapi/Blue Mosque/Bazaar are listed as 'Active' (even on non-marathon day) and one specifically states that there is a 1Km walk from the coach drop off point. Given that, you might be as well walk!!

 

It's also very true of Athens - the Metro beats taxis/coaches every time!!

 

Wow!! what's the point of going on the coach when you have to walk that far. I thought they would have stopped right outside one of the sights. Just checked the weather for Istanbul today, 30 degrees and 20 at night. In Southern Turkey it's 36 and 23 at night.:eek::eek: That's too hot!! Luckily it's forecast to go back down to 28 next week, I hope. Definitely an early start on Istanbul day then.:D

 

Jan

[FiggyWig]

I can't imagine where the coach would drop off. We got off the tram, walked across the road and we were at the Blue Mosque. Then I'm sure all other sites are easily just a five minute walk between. We trammed there and leisurely walked back... you can't take in the atmosphere of the bridge (or under it) from a coach. Imagine the traffic at picadilly circus, but on the water, then you've got something like the water traffic around the bridge... it's amazing - especially around 5pm time when commuters are going home. The cafes 'under' the bridge are nothing like as hectic, but a great place to take on a beer and literally watch the world go by.

[FiggyWig]

Leaving Istanbul behind now and on to Canakkale, we are at a loss to know what to do here. Wouldnt mind taking a look at Gallipoli, but dont fancy long coach rides. Can't get very excited about Troy either. So I'm hoping there might just be a tiny bit of interest in wandering around the town, seeing what's there, a spot of lunch then back to the ship for a bit of R & R. Doesanyone know for sure whether the ship docks at the town or some way off ??

[ekco]

Leaving Istanbul behind now and on to Canakkale, we are at a loss to know what to do here. Wouldnt mind taking a look at Gallipoli, but dont fancy long coach rides. Can't get very excited about Troy either. So I'm hoping there might just be a tiny bit of interest in wandering around the town, seeing what's there, a spot of lunch then back to the ship for a bit of R & R. Doesanyone know for sure whether the ship docks at the town or some way off ??

 

I'm the same, Troy doesn't look that interesting and it says that we would only be there for 30/45 minutes. Gallipoli is quite expensive at £53 for 5.5 hours with no lunch included that I can see. It looks like you go there on the ferry.:) Further investigations are needed.

 

Jan

[kruzseeka]

Leaving Istanbul behind now and on to Canakkale, we are at a loss to know what to do here. Wouldnt mind taking a look at Gallipoli, but dont fancy long coach rides. Can't get very excited about Troy either. So I'm hoping there might just be a tiny bit of interest in wandering around the town, seeing what's there, a spot of lunch then back to the ship for a bit of R & R. Doesanyone know for sure whether the ship docks at the town or some way off ??

 

We definitely had a shuttle bus into Canakkale - can't remember how long it took but didn't seem like it would have been easily walkable. (I've just had a look at the info from the cruise and it was £4 return for the shuttle.)

 

Although it didn't appear to be a particularly touristy place, there is a castle which houses a small but quite interesting museum with historical information/video of Gallipoli campaign. The grounds around the fort have cannons, some seating and model battleship or something of the sort. It was pretty cheap to get in - just a few TL and certainly worth a wander if you are thinking of just having a more leisurely day here. I just can't remember any cafes much - it wasn't a cafe culture type place but ok for a couple of hours to walk on the waterfront, see the horse from the film of Troy and a visit to the castle.

 

(I notice the ship's excursion into Canakkale includes the horse, castle, an archaeological museum and then gives you some free time for shopping - now that means I could have missed something as I didn't see a shopping area - so perhaps there is more to it than we discovered!!!!)

[ekco]

Found this on Trip Advisor. Have a look at the photos they give a bit more of an idea of the area.

 

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Tourism-g297979-Canakkale_Canakkale_Province_Turkish_Aegean_Coast-Vacations.html

 

Jan

[Scarey Mary]

We definitely had a shuttle bus into Canakkale - can't remember how long it took but didn't seem like it would have been easily walkable. (I've just had a look at the info from the cruise and it was £4 return for the shuttle.)

 

Although it didn't appear to be a particularly touristy place, there is a castle which houses a small but quite interesting museum with historical information/video of Gallipoli campaign. The grounds around the fort have cannons, some seating and model battleship or something of the sort. It was pretty cheap to get in - just a few TL and certainly worth a wander if you are thinking of just having a more leisurely day here. I just can't remember any cafes much - it wasn't a cafe culture type place but ok for a couple of hours to walk on the waterfront, see the horse from the film of Troy and a visit to the castle.

(I notice the ship's excursion into Canakkale includes the horse, castle, an archaeological museum and then gives you some free time for shopping - now that means I could have missed something as I didn't see a shopping area - so perhaps there is more to it than we discovered!!!!)

 

The shuttle bus is now £6 return and takes aprox 30 mins. We found the shopping area by accident as we went along the back streets from leaving the museum. Didn't really take much notice though as it was getting very hot.

 

Jan

Last week the temp was in the 30's and on the last day in Marmaris about 38 with the forcast to get hotter phew!!!! it was def. a scorcher for our 2 weeks. I had to buy some more sun cream as I had to use so much.

We walked along the deck at about 1.00am to look at the stars in the clear sky most nights. The temp was still warm with a warm breeze.

Our first sail away was delayed and didn't happen while 2pm loads of us were still on deck and it was still very warm.:)

 

Mary

[davecttr]

I've heard that too. Someone posted that it was only a quick 15 minute walk into Istanbul across the bridge. Depends how hot it is I think, if it's not humid we'll be OK..................

 

Jan

 

According to Boogle Dearth it is about 2 miles from the berths to the main sites and I could not do that in 15mins even when I was fit. It seems the tram might be the best option so now we need complete info on routes, prices, timetable etc.

[ekco]

Hi Mary, I'm going to have to pack more sunscreen!:eek: Hope the forecast is right and it cools off a bit next week, 35 is too hot. Packed a little colourful umbrella to use as a parasol, that worked really well when we were in Cyprus.:):)

 

You're right Dave, if it is 2 miles it's going to be too hot to walk that far then walk around the sights. Might do what Figgy said and leisurely walk back via a nice cold drink under the bridge.:):)

 

Could be worse though, have you seen the floods at Nice and Lyon. It's like Madeira all over again, :eek:.

 

Jan

[smiffy1951]

Hi there

 

We did the Galipolli trip when we visited the Black Sea on the Calypso a couple of years ago. Not sure how much we paid then, but it was worth every penny.

 

It is an absolutely amazing place and although I am not really into war type things, I'm so glad I went. It was one of the highlights of our cruise.

 

If I remember rightly you go a ferry from the ship to the mainland and then picked up our coaches there. We did have several stops whilst there to visit different monuments, Anzac Cove etc so you are not stuck on the coach all the time.

 

If you do decide to do it then I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

 

Janet:)

[ekco]

Hi there

 

We did the Galipolli trip when we visited the Black Sea on the Calypso a couple of years ago. Not sure how much we paid then, but it was worth every penny.

 

It is an absolutely amazing place and although I am not really into war type things, I'm so glad I went. It was one of the highlights of our cruise.

 

If I remember rightly you go a ferry from the ship to the mainland and then picked up our coaches there. We did have several stops whilst there to visit different monuments, Anzac Cove etc so you are not stuck on the coach all the time.

 

If you do decide to do it then I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

 

Janet:)

 

Thanks for that Janet.:) Everyone seems to like Galipolli.

 

Why is there so much work to do the week before you go away, shattered!!:eek::eek:

 

Jan

[Alsacienne]

Istanbul - make sure that you pay for your taxi to Hagia Sophia in TURKISH LIRE not euros as there is no parity between the two currencies and you will be relatively ripped off in Euros. And make sure you get a taxi from the proper rank outside the ferry terminal and not one just cruising hopefully. It should cost a MAX of 20 YTL to get there, but be aware that the driver will try his luck in getting you to book a full tour with him or say he can't get quite there and drop you off 'within walking distance'!

 

Once at Hagia Sophia, the Underground Cistern - very unusual - is literally across the road, Topkapi Palace round the corner, and the Blue Mosque just opposite when you cross the gardens; do try Gözleme pancakes and hot corn on the cob from the vendors if you can.

 

After visiting the Blue Mosque, you can head up hill - about 10-15 mins to the Covered Bazaar and then steeply downhill back to the waterfront and the Egyptian (spice) bazaar. Then it's just a case of crossing the bridge and heading back to the ship ... possibly further than you think because you'll be quite weary when you return after all that walking!!

 

Canakkale OK sea front with model of Trojan Horse ... good for photos, because Troy itself only has another model -not surprising!- and the remains are rather hard to imagine as a great city. You can get a boat to the Gallipoli peninsula easily - about 4O mins max crossing time to Eceabat, and there are local operators offering battle site tours which could work if you are there for the day. Check on the internet for operators before you leave, and book in advance.

 

There is a good historical museum, but it's probably too far away to walk in Canakkale.

 

Kusadasi is a town that loves tourism ... the seafront is full of bars/pubs/souvenir shops. There are some beaches but they aren't particularly central. Kusadasi is the jumping off point for various worthwhile visits - Ephesus, The Virgin Mary's House, the Asklepion and St John's Basilica in Selçuk (a 'real' town with a good market, real Turks and storks!). Further afield, there's the hill village of Sirince which makes good wine, and also a good living from the visitors as every house is a shop of some sort. I saw real genuine fake Rolex watches advertised as such when I visited!! Another, less obvious place to visit is the Railway Museum at Camlik, which has loads of steam locos that you can climb all over, Ataturk's personal carriage including his bathroom with bath and wc, a good restaurant and a traditional pottery. I think it's unlikely that a cruise line would offer an excursion here, but you could see if a local travel agency could do it, or even a local taxi. But you may not be the steam train enthusiast that I am, and if the weather is good, you might just enjoy some Efes beers and the beach!

 

I think that you could do most of the excursions from Kusadasi privately - there may be more information on the Cruise Critic forum, because American guests in particular like to get local agencies to take them around. Of course you will have to insist that you don't want to visit any carpet factories or leather goods stores unless you really want to buy something because this is where many guides make their money, and it eats up valuable time that you might prefer to use in seeing something else.

 

If you decide to visit Ephesus under your own steam - and it is wonderful - bring water and a hat because there's no shade, (and beware that the stones can be very slippery to walk on,) make sure you pay for the Terraced Houses with your entrance ticket or bring money to buy an entry ticket as you pass them, and ask to be dropped at the NORTH gate and be met at the SOUTH gate as this is the downhill route and far comfier because you are not trying to fight against the tide of tourists in this direction if you decide to walk in the other direction!

[kruzseeka]

Thanks Alsacienne for the informative post. :) We are looking at cruises for the future and most of the itineraries we're interested in will involve a second visit to the ports at Canakkale and Kusadasi so I'm especially interested in your insights into alternative trips from here. Having already 'done' the towns themselves (although perhaps a little superficially) and Ephesus too, we'll be looking for something 'new' at these ports.

 

I will copy your post and add it to my 'intelligence file' - I find it really useful when weighing what cruise to choose to gather info from other travellers and pop it into a Word file so it's all in one place when trying to make the final decisions.

 

When we've booked, I also do a copy and paste job on any useful posts on ports of call which comes in very useful to take with us. (I can delete repeat info and edit out what's less important before we go.)

 

I don't know whether other posters suffer from the same problem I have - I can remember something really interesting/useful being written about our destinations but simply can't remember the details, where I read it or find it again!!! :confused: So, going to copy now so I know I've got it!!!!;)

[ekco]

Ditto Kruzseeker, thanks for that Alacienne. I also copy and paste into Word as I've got a memory like a sieve.:):)

 

Jan

[staffordshire]

Hi Ekco,

 

I am also on this cruise with my teenage daughter, I've been following your replies with interest. I only booked on Wednesday so I haven't had time to do my usual investigations in to DYI v organised trips. Feeling v stressed at present may even have trouble remembering where this cruise is going!

[ekco]

Hi Ekco,

 

I am also on this cruise with my teenage daughter, I've been following your replies with interest. I only booked on Wednesday so I haven't had time to do my usual investigations in to DYI v organised trips. Feeling v stressed at present may even have trouble remembering where this cruise is going!

 

Hi Staffordshire, I know what you mean about feeling stressed, as if it's not bad enough packing the kitchen sink into the case my garden watering timer decided not to work and I've been running around everywhere trying to find another one before Monday. Can't wait to leave it all behind though even though it's going to be a busy week.:):) Which airport are you going from?

 

Jan

[staffordshire]

We are going from Birmingham, that's another thing never flown from there so I am also looking at the route on AA website and hoping I can find it OK. If anyone is flying from Birmingham, perhaps you could help me out? As I have booked so late I am picking tickets up at the airport, does anyone know which terminal the flight goes from?