[luvurride]

Originally Posted by lejhoom

Enjoyed this sumptuous travelogue. Looks like Türkiye is a better option than Europe. Culture, food, and interesting places, Türkiye can fulfill most travel itch. Loved reading this and the accompanying photos are a treat.

I totally agree! Turkiye has the potential to give you a wholesome experience - mountains, beaches, history and hip destinations - a slice of life for everyone. What I found better than Europe was the road infrastructure. Simply brilliant! Probably because of the country being larger than the most in Europe, they have developed excellent roads, perfect for road trips with all wayside facilities neatly integrated.

[Gagan_DB]

Wow. Amazing write up . Yet to complete full article, will again read it. Pin to pin details mentioned and nice pics as well. Kudos to you and to the folks who joined with you.

[Janus]

Great Trip ! Can you provide a breakup of the expenses for the entire trip, if possible.

Also did the Niyo Global card work as expected ?

This series in Netflix can be a good preview to anyone planning a trip there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pr...kish_TV_series)

[ulhas.ahirrao]

Great writeup!

I did Turkey trip last year December. I found it to be a mixed bag. Cappadocia was great, very unique landscape. Ephasus was good too.

Istanbul was a disappointment though. The attractions are overhyped and expensive, we didn't feel it was worth the money.

The biggest disappointment though was general lack of honesty in the populous. Ice cream seller, cab driver, simit seller, grocery shop owner - literally everyone is trying to cheat.

[sukhbirST]

Lovely trip with great photos. Thanks for sharing.

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by Janus

Great Trip ! Can you provide a breakup of the expenses for the entire trip, if possible.

Also did the Niyo Global card work as expected ?

This series in Netflix can be a good preview to anyone planning a trip there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pr...kish_TV_series)

The Niyo Global card worked flawless in all PoS'. Most places accept cards, except the payments to local guide and street vendors. There were other couple of issues I faced though - Loading the card sometimes gives trouble. But if you plan ahead on your expenses, then this wouldn't be an issue. I was trying to go with the flow, so faced this issue. The other problem was the conversion rate in ATM withdrawals was way off compared to my friend's HDFC debit card.

Here is an approximation on the expenses per family -
Flights - 1.5L (I chose the cheapest of the lot, but it could go up to 2L)
Accommodation - 1L (Purely personal choice, you have a vast range to choose!)
Car Rental & Fuel - 75000 (This can come down based on the type of car you rent and it's fuel economy)
Food - 50000 (Generally cheap, unless you choose the upscale ones)
Ticketed Attractions - 1.5L (hot air balloon ride is the culprit here!)

Originally Posted by ulhas.ahirrao

Great writeup!

I did Turkey trip last year December. I found it to be a mixed bag. Cappadocia was great, very unique landscape. Ephasus was good too.

Istanbul was a disappointment though. The attractions are overhyped and expensive, we didn't feel it was worth the money.

The biggest disappointment though was general lack of honesty in the populous. Ice cream seller, cab driver, simit seller, grocery shop owner - literally everyone is trying to cheat.

Yes, I had also read/gone through some YouTube videos that talked about such inceidents. But fortunately, we did not face that issue. Probably because we had the guide with us when we did the local shopping and food. We went to standard restaurants and shops when we were by ourselves. This perspective was also part of the political view that our local guide in Istanbul spoke about - how the leadership has affected the economy and the changes this has brought about in the attitude of the working class, which wasn't there earlier.

[Sphere]

This is such an amazing travelogue!!

My family also had a 2 week trip planned to Turkey this Diwali (I would be doing the hot air balloon experience today) but it got cancelled due to personal reasons.
Although this post made me experience Turkey in the best way possible

Thank you for sharing this. It filled me with both happiness and a bit of sadness—happy because your detailed travelogue made me feel as if I were right there with you, experiencing each moment, yet sad because we had to miss out on what would have been an incredible journey.

Really waiting for Diwali 2025 or summer 2026 to go visit this masterpiece of culture.

[kkunal.shah]

Hi,

How much was the visa charge per person? I have seen various different charges.

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by kkunal.shah

Hi,

How much was the visa charge per person? I have seen various different charges.

Since we had valid US visa, we got an e-visa to Turkey which I did myself online from Turkish immigration website and it costed around 2000 per person.

My friend's family did the usual consular visa since they did not have US visa and I believe he paid around 20k per person including agent fees.

[Kkumar]

Vow, what a splendid travelogue. The photos were of good quality and gave a general idea of what one can expect there. Please convey my appreciation to your daughter for penning down her thoughts. Seems like you had a great time with your family and friends. What are the requirements for a driving license in Turkey, is an Indian driving license valid there? Eagerly waiting for your travelogue on Croatia and Hungry. Thank you for sharing and keep on munching miles.

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by Sphere

This is such an amazing travelogue!!

My family also had a 2 week trip planned to Turkey this Diwali (I would be doing the hot air balloon experience today) but it got cancelled due to personal reasons.

I can feel the pain. I had to postpone our trip to LA (That Travelog is also up in our forum) in Summer of 2018 as I had a ligament injury playing badminton a week before! Eventually did it in October 2018. Let the nature be on your side to take up your trip to Turkiye whenever you wish!

Originally Posted by Kkumar

What are the requirements for a driving license in Turkey, is an Indian driving license valid there?

As long as we have a valid license in English, the country of issue does not matter. So I just used my Indian driving license without any hassle. This is the case with most countries.