Karen Lynn Posted September 16, 2012 #1 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Anyone have a reputable transportation company they have used in Istanbul? Looking at doing our own hotel a night post cruise and therefore cannot obtain Oceania transfers... Thanks!:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAG Posted September 16, 2012 #2 Share Posted September 16, 2012 We just had our hotel make the arrangements for a cab/van. There were 3 couples staying at the same hotel going on the same cruise. Cenia Sorry, just read your post again and saw you said post cruise. The taxis will be lined up when you get off the ship and most hotels are not that far from the port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benita Posted September 16, 2012 #3 Share Posted September 16, 2012 The pier is located very close to the center of everything, and there are loads of taxis. If you would like a tour and then a transfer to your hotel - a nice way of spending the day before hotel check in- a company we have used twice is Ekol travel - http://www.ekoltravel.com We used them to tour around Istanbul, as well as Ephesus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen Lynn Posted September 16, 2012 Author #4 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Thank you! Anyone have an idea of cost? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted September 16, 2012 #5 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Last October we took a taxi to the Nena leaving the ship and it was an absolute zoo. It took us a long time to get a cab and when we did he overcharged us. (Everyone says it should be 15TL but the drivers all wanted €20.) We used the hotel transport 2 weeks ago and while it still cost €20, the driver was waiting for us when we left the ship. He also knew where the hotel was ... our taxi driver (even when given the hotel's address) had to stop twice to ask directions. I priced some other outfits and the cheapest price I found (as I recall) was €15 from the port to Sultanahmet. Mura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy The Wanderer Posted September 16, 2012 #6 Share Posted September 16, 2012 We just took a cab from the pier, no problem. We had our hotel arrange a cab to the airport as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted September 16, 2012 #7 Share Posted September 16, 2012 I thought I would add that the time we took the cab and it was so difficult getting one -- we were on Marina. The hordes looked much smaller when we left Regatta on August 30th. Also, the Nena gives free transport TO the airport with a stay of 3 days or more. I'm sure they aren't the only hotel that does so. Mura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacheco18 Posted September 16, 2012 #8 Share Posted September 16, 2012 The hotel I am using gives a FREE transfer either to or from airport. Hotel Sultania -- highly rated and in the heart of the city. http://www.hotelsultania.com/en/homepage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted September 16, 2012 #9 Share Posted September 16, 2012 I checked out your hotel, Laraine, and it does look lovely. Prices are reasonable as well. But from checking out a number of Sultanahmet hotels in the past year I've come to the conclusion that most -- or at least MANY of them -- offer free transfers from the airport to hotel and/or vice versa. But when you are looking for an Istanbul hotel it is a good idea to check with the hotel about their policies. Another hotel might well have had a better deal for us than the Nena's cruise transfer at €20 and free transfer to the airport when we left, but we were happy with what we got. Off topic, we took the Context Travel "markets" tour this time -- very similar to the "food" tour we took in Athens last October with Athens Walking Tours. Both were superb and I highly recommend them. What was fun about the Istanbul tour was our guide first -- she trained as an architect but then switched careers and is now a noted food writer in Istanbul. So when we went into various stores in the Spice Market (we did the same on the Asian side) we had tastes of various things and were educated on lots of the spices. And you don't need to be a cook yourself to enjoy the experience! We ended with a fine lunch on the Asian side. If you have any interest in food and cooking, this is a great tour to take. And if you think you might want to stock up on spices to take home, the tour is a good preface for which stores you might want to return to! Also first time visits for us on this trip to Istanbul were the Modern Art Museum near the port, the Mosaic Museum (near the Blue Mosque) and the Military Museum near Taksim -- all are marvelous. Mura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacheco18 Posted September 16, 2012 #10 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Wow Mura -- the offerings from Context Travel look great. I had not heard of them. I might incorporate them into our plans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoHoHo Posted September 17, 2012 #11 Share Posted September 17, 2012 The pier is located very close to the center of everything, and there are loads of taxis. If you would like a tour and then a transfer to your hotel - a nice way of spending the day before hotel check in- a company we have used twice is Ekol travel - www.ekoltravel.com We used them to tour around Istanbul, as well as Ephesus. We did the same with the same tour company. Arranged by others on the Roll Call. It worked out well and incorporating a 1/2 day tour was much better than a taxi or transfer to the hotel and helped to get oriented a bit (we stayed for a couple of nights) Also no concern with early check-in or where to go / what to do next. Thank you! Anyone have an idea of cost? Sorry, I don't recall the breakdown for that half day as we actually used them for three tours in total. We were sharing the cost with others on the Roll Call and the driver just dropped us off (somewhat tired from another day of touring) at our respective hotels at the end. It was more expensive per person of course than just a taxi but thought it was good value over just transportation. Also sharing the cost with others from the Roll Call helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted September 17, 2012 #12 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Wow Mura -- the offerings from Context Travel look great. I had not heard of them. I might incorporate them into our plans. They were new to me as well, Laraine. I heard about them over at our roll call. In fact, I'm planning of doing a tour with them in November with Danish friends who will be visiting. Context has a tour of my very own neighborhood in Brooklyn. It starts out with our meeting on the Manhattan side of the Bridge, walking over and then going through our historic neighborhood. Since it starts out with a walk over the Bridge from Manhattan to Brooklyn, I guess we'll skip the walk over the Bridge to the meeting place! Mura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacheco18 Posted September 17, 2012 #13 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Wonderful information. I learn something new on CC all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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