Istanbul is probably the one city that was least what I expected it to be like but that’s not necessarily a good or bad thing. I just got back a week ago and went just before Chinese New Year for 6 days. Despite being peak season in most places, it was relatively quiet and not many tourists there. I saw a handful of honkies there the whole time I was there and not many tourists in general.

That was probably due to the fact it was around 5-10 degrees and felt like about 2 degrees when you were in the wind. Weather was a bit crap, we had about 2 days of nice weather (clear skies), the rest was overcast and the first day or two a bit of drizzle but nothing too bad. Think I’d rather put up with that than have to deal with thousands of tourists.

So back to the not what I expected it to be comment. I had thoughts of it being a lot more full on, busy and pretty hectic but apart from the traffic along the main roads, it wasn’t really like that at all. Don’t worry about safety, I felt as safe in Istanbul as any other city in the world I’ve been to and perhaps one of the best things about Istanbul was the people. They don’t walk around with smiles on their faces but they’re amongst the friendliest and most hospitable I’ve come across.

The mosques and the like were pretty good, I probably didn’t enjoy or appreciate them as much as somewhere like Rome, but you can find out more about all the things to do in Istanbul here. Although I’d say it’s not really a young kids city, if you’re thinking about taking them, you should have no problem. Again no issues with safety but the cobblestone streets might make it a bit difficult for rolling prams around.

Istanbul wouldn’t be my favourite city in the world, probably in the top 10 but not somewhere I’d race back to. Having said that, I’d gladly go back again if it was a stopover or any other reason that made me go back there. There’s some nice very nice areas around the Istanbul and getting around is quite easy with the tram and buses. I didn’t take a taxi because the traffic is rather chaotic going up and down one of the main roads so be aware of that. It’s really a walking city and you could spend days on end just walking around exploring different areas.

I flew Turkish Airlines direct to Ataturk Airport, you can read about that here, and probably the best place to start is our “You Should Know This” section. If you’re going there and are looking for Turkish Rugs or carpets, check this post out which tells you the best place to buy Turkish rugs and carpets in Istanbul.

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