We're taking a quick break from our Dubai videos because we've gotten a lot of questions recently
about where to stay in Istanbul and in Turkey, now that Turkey is reopening after lockdown.
Since we stayed in Airbnbs and hotels all over Istanbul and Turkey, we want to outline pros and cons
of staying in both and also we'll talk about our favorite neighborhoods in Istanbul, and which one you should stay.
So the first time I brought my parents to Turkey back in 2017, we took them to
Istanbul and Antalya and I just knew they needed some amenities that an Airbnb couldn't provide.
Room service, cleaning rooms, the whole nine yards. They were on vacation and I just wanted them to
relax and enjoy and hotels of course weren't way they go. One thing that really surprised me about
hotels here in Turkey that's different than hotel stays in the United States is that they include
breakfast for free with the hotel price.
Almost 99 percent of the hotels that we stayed (in) around Turkey included breakfast.
Call it Turkish hospitality or whatever, but it's definitely very helpful to have Turkish breakfast ready for you in the morning.
Right, and it's not just simply a muffin like you
find at US hotels. It's a really big breakfast spread and it's usually pretty damn delicious.
And if you come to Istanbul and if you don't have a plan, at least the hotel staff will be helpful to
book your activities because they're also working with travel agencies.
Now, the next thing is kind of a personal preference, but we really do enjoy the big comfortable beds that you find at a lot of hotel rooms.
Of course, at the hotels it's more guaranteed to have big and comfortable basements
staying at Airbnbs and another thing that's not guaranteed when you're staying at (an) Airbnb is your host
may cancel on you last minute, then you have to look for a hotel and it can be much more expensive.
Right, it actually happened to us in Sydney, Australia, when the first time we
went to visit our hosts, no fault of their own, had to cancel on us so we had to scramble last
minute to book a hotel. One more positive about staying at hotels during Covid times, is the
fact that your hotel restaurants are not going to face any restrictions. Currently restaurants
are capacity restricted and have to close at 9pm here in Istanbul, but your hotel restaurant could
stay open later, so you could certainly eat there if you're staying at a hotel after 9pm.
Hopefully this information will be irrelevant very soon because we're hoping that the lockdown will be over. (Fingers crossed)
But of course, hotels are not always perfect either. There are downsides of
it too and the most obvious one is of course they are more expensive than Airbnbs.
Airbnbs could be had for as little as 20 to 30 US dollars per night, but of course the more fancy hotels especially are
going to be much more pricier than that
And also since you don't have a kitchen area, you have to
buy your food every day and that's another thing that's been added to your expense list.
But, if you're coming to Turkey for a short time period, we highly encourage you to try Turkish food
especially Turkish street food. Coincidentally we have a video on that somewhere around here (laughing).
Of course when we consider the benefits of Airbnb, in addition to them being more cost
efficient than the hotels, I think the most important part is having the local feeling,
staying in the neighborhood and having the actual Istanbul feels when you're staying in Istanbul.
And in addition to those local feels, this next one actually might be a benefit to some, the fact that
you can eat breakfast out and experience breakfast at different local restaurants here. You can get it
for as little as 30 to 40 liras per person and you'll have the whole giant Turkish breakfast
spread, which is so delicious! We actually have a video about that as well be sure to check out some
of the food you should try while you're here in Istanbul. Switching gears, another great thing about
Airbnb's that we've come to really appreciate, and you should too if you're gonna stay in Turkey for
a longer time period, is having a washer in your actual Airbnb. It is so helpful and will be much
more cost effective than doing your laundry at the expensive hotel places. Of course, there are
some downsides to an Airbnb as well. The first one that comes to our mind is the fact that
they're in a lot of older buildings, here in Istanbul and they won't have an elevator,
which could be a big deal for some people and sway you back towards a hotel.
It can be very difficult to carry your luggages, four floors up, after your long trip unless you love exercising
extra. So, that's something that you might want to keep in mind.
So, the last downside of Airbnbs,
is that they won't have the typical amenities that you will find in a hotel room, shampoos,
soaps, body lotions. So you definitely have to bring your own with you. But, even when we are staying at
hotels, we like to bring some of our own products with us because we aren't sure how the hotel brand
stuff is going to interact with our body, with our hair, what have you. Some of those products include
my personal skincare products from Geologie.
First one up, is here on the Asian side of Istanbul and that is Kadıköy (incorrect pronunciation).
Kadıköy (correcting Steve)
Yeah, almost (laughing).
I actually lived and studied in the European side of Istanbul, and I love (the) European side
but, Kadıköy on the Asian side has rapidly became my favorite neighborhood in Istanbul and there are
so many reasons of that. First and foremost, I love the local feeling and I think that more Istanbulites
people are still living in this part of the city. So it gives me more like a old Istanbul taste
that I love so much about.
But, you do have some of that modern mixed vibe as well with art shops,
as well as coffee shops and cafes, so it really has some of the best parts of Istanbul to offer
and it's actually on the more affordable side still. You could find apartments here on Airbnb
for as cheap as 15 to 20 US dollars per night, which is really amazing.
But, of course, there are downsides of staying here too. If you were staying close to the bar area it can be very loud
at nights. Currently we have a lockdown so after 9 00 pm the restaurants and cafes are not open.
But, if you're staying at normal times, then it can be very loud for families.
But, Moda area in Kadıköy is actually much more quieter and local. And another downside is, of course,
you are going to be far from the historical size of Istanbul. But, you can take a ferry to any parts
of European side and have a fantastic ride along the way. In fact, you can't even feed the seagulls! (laughing)
So, switching gears back towards that European side of Istanbul, one of the more popular spots
now for Airbnb's has become the Karakoy area, that's near the Galata tower.
Our friend Tah actually rented a very nice Airbnb in Karaköy, in a historical building and we really loved it.
And that neighborhood has been much more popular among Turkish people as well. But, I think the downside of
that neighborhood, for a stay, is since the streets are extremely narrow (and) the businesses are opening
very early and can be very loud even during the day.
And also the prices there are going to be a
little bit more expensive than Kadıköy. It's going to be about 30 to 40 US dollars per night for the
convenience of being closer to the Old Town, you're kind of paying for it, but you know weigh the pros
and the cons of course and decide what's best for you.
And last but not least, if you're going
to stay in Istanbul beyond the historical face of it, in Europe you can also consider staying around
Levent, Beşiktaş and Nişantaşı area, because most of the malls and shopping areas are located around
there and you will also see more modern face of Turkey as well. So, if you're staying more than two
to three days in Istanbul, after finishing up the historical side, we highly suggest you to get out
of Old Town and explore the other neighborhoods for a stay.
So, if you are looking for websites where
to book your hotels, obviously your Airbnb is going to be booked on Airbnb, but for hotels, Hotels.com
is actually very popular here in Turkey. There's also Expedia and there are a few Turkish websites
that we will link down in the description, but they're more geared towards local people. So,
be sure to price around your options. But, one thing that we did find that might be best is
to actually find the hotels and then call.
And this is a little trick for you to find the best hotel
option for your stay in Istanbul. After finding the best rated hotel for your own budget on Hotels.com,
you can always directly call the hotels and ask for a new price because sometimes they can give
the room to you much cheaper than Hotels.com. But, it can be the other way around as well because
they are paying the platform for the marketing purposes.
We've had that happen once or twice
before to be honest, but do we have a preference? For us it's really become more Airbnb's as of late
when we're staying in Istanbul, but we know the local side of it a lot better thanks to Gokce.
If it's your first time, it might make a lot more sense to stay at a hotel, have the benefits and the amenities and
also stay closer to the Old Town of Istanbul to see the historical sites, but of course the choice is yours.
It really depends on how you want to experience Istanbul and Turkey overall.
And if you have any questions please let us know comment below and please don't forget to subscribe
to our channel and like this video if you find it informational. We love making videos about
Turkey, my home, so we're going to continue doing that and we'll see you on the next one, Bye!