Pre-preparation 1. visa
Online application, 60$ visa fee +0.7$ service fee, valid for 6 months, there are many tutorials online, you can refer to them yourself.
2. Round-trip air ticket 2038+23 16=4354 yuan.
On the way to Azerbaijan Airlines Beijing-Baku-Istanbul, the connecting flight stops for 3.5h
September 24th Beijing 01:15-05:15 Baku
Baku 08: 45-10: 50 Istanbul
Return flight from Astana to Istanbul-Almaty-Beijing 16h+
1October 6th Tabour 21:55-06: 05 (+1) Almaty
Almaty 22: 30-04: 55 (+1) Beijing (10.8)
3. Local transportation
September 24th Turkish Airlines Istanbul16: 00-17: 30 Kaiseli 1 15 lira per person.
10.3 Pegasus Airlines Izmir 14:40- 16:00 Istanbul 70 lira per person.
Air tickets in Turkey can be purchased directly in the airline official website, and the payment will be made by filling in the information. The email address will be sent to travel itinerary, which is very convenient. If the price is similar, it is recommended to buy Turkish Airlines. Don't ask me why, whoever sits will know.
PS: If you haven't received the ticket from travel itinerary after the purchase, and the telephone numbers of the Beijing and Shanghai offices of TUC cannot be reached, or people say that they haven't found the purchase information, don't panic. You can send an email to the Beijing office, just take care of the mailbox given by TUC official website to the Beijing office. If you receive the receipt that the mailbox of the other party is full, the staff of TUC will see it and reply, and travel itinerary will receive it soon.
4. Currency
Euro exchange: per person 150 for hot air balloon.
Turkey's local currency is lira, which cannot be exchanged at home. You need to prepare a bank card and withdraw money from the local ATM. It is recommended to bring a UnionPay card free of charge, such as Huaxia Bank. In addition, many places can also spend in euros. Hot air balloons must be paid in euros. On other occasions, the store will convert it into lira, which is equivalent to paying in lira. Moreover, the exchange rate exchanged by the store is slightly pitted, so it is not recommended to use euros in other places except hot air balloons. It is more convenient and cost-effective to take lira at ATM. The price of hot air balloon is about 80~ 130, so it is enough for everyone to prepare 150 euros.
5. Insurance
Taobao bought AIA's "Journey to the World" overseas travel guarantee, and 360 yuan's hot air balloon does not guarantee paragliding.
Turkey has no requirement for the amount of travel insurance, and can choose other types of insurance according to its own situation.
Step 6 stay
Book or agoda in advance, and detailed hotel information will be introduced in the travel notes.
7. Telephone cards and transportation cards
I bought a calling card from Taobao in advance, 120 pieces of 4GB.
Traffic, when you get off the plane, you can use the mobile phone directly when you turn it on. The network speed is average, and it will change to 3G, 2G or even no network signal, which is far less than my 4G network. Sit back and be prepared. Some friends bought a calling card with their passports at the airport after they arrived, but it seems that it takes several hours to activate, and the price is more expensive than Taobao. I haven't heard how fast the internet speed is, for reference only. As for transportation cards, they are sold in subway stations and other places, which can be used by many people, and there are discounts, which are very cost-effective and necessary for travel.
The unique geographical location and pleasant climatic conditions make Turkey a tourist attraction that tourists yearn for. The author shared his travel experience in Turkey and led us to appreciate the magical charm of this country.
First of all, is it with a group or free travel?
I am with the group, and the tour fee is 1 1000 for one person, 10 day.
The route is from Shanghai to Tehran, Iran-Ankara-Kappa-Antalya-Mianbaobao-kusadasi-canakkale-Istanbul, and finally fly from Istanbul to Tehran and transfer back to Shanghai.
Advantages of group tour: the hotel is all five-star, with comfortable rooms, swimming pool, gym, world buffet, local specialties in Turkey, MAN bus (more comfortable than Mercedes-Benz, and full wifi), and there are many scenic spots. There is no compulsory consumption and shopping visits, and the tour guide will appropriately increase interesting and cheap activities such as going to sea.
Disadvantages of joining the group: the degree of freedom is relatively weak. Although most of the scenic spots are free activities, you need to say hello to the tour leader if you want to leave the group and play by yourself. The tour guide leader may not agree. Istanbul's two-day trip is quite tight, and there is little time for the Grand Bazaar.
My opinion on free travel in Turkey: I wanted to travel freely, but I had my own opinion after my friend experienced free travel and compared the strategy of online free travel.
First of all, the cost of free travel is not cheaper than that of traveling with a group, and living is definitely not as good as traveling with a group. Turkey's small hotels often cost 50, 60 euros a night, and a small restaurant can eat dozens of lira for just two people. The tossing and turning between cities often meets the annoying experience of being left out of the car halfway.
Secondly, don't believe any free travel notes. I suspect that they are all written by gunmen, because my friend came back from Turkey and said that Turkey's free travel was self-abuse. The night bus is not as beautiful as others' travel notes. Sitting in the bus all night and stopping halfway, you can't sleep at all.
Third, the English of Turks can be said to be rotten to the extreme. Except for people in big scenic spots who can speak English, others basically rely on body language to figure out. Moreover, the Turks are blatantly asking high prices for tourists. If you make a counter-offer, he will play dumb in Turkish even if he understands it. People are not afraid of losing business.
In-depth tour of this remote Mediterranean town, you can only surf the Internet in the hotel, or take photos in the surrounding towns with your camera. The town is full of Turkish speakers, so you have to plan for half a day to buy an ice cream and black tea. Not to mention bargaining about buying olive oil or talking about history and football with local people over black tea.
Of course, free travel is still beneficial, such as Kappa's red and green grand slam, which is definitely impossible to achieve with the group. If Istanbul wants to have a comfortable time, it must travel freely and stay for at least 3 days. Other tours such as Crocus City Turkish Bath, fethiye paragliding, and Cotton Castle paragliding are also hard to enjoy. One of the biggest advantages of free travel is the convenience of shopping, because the fixed location of group tour is often relatively expensive in the surrounding shopping areas, and free travel can go to some small markets, hypermarkets and other cheap places to shop.
In a word, don't trust other people's free travel notes, save effort with the group, and you should play a lot, live well, sit in a good car, eat well, and the price is reasonable, but you always feel that there is not enough time. You have to spend time and thoughts on shopping to find small markets and hypermarkets in the town.
If you travel freely, you won't live well. If you eat, the price is not cheap. The night bus intercity buses are not as beautiful as described on the Internet, and they are often cheated by Turks. But free travel can play what you want and skip what you don't want to play.
The next step is to prepare for the trip.
You can take Huaxia Card to Garanti for free travel, but please note that there are no ATMs in kusadasi, and it is hard to find ATMs in Kappa. There is no Garanti in Ahmed and Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, so you should get enough cash in other places, such as Taksim Square, in advance. Only Antalya and Izmir can easily find Garanti's ATM.
If you join a group, bring US dollars, and change more when you get off at the airport, otherwise it is not cost-effective to settle shopping in US dollars. It is not recommended for the tour group to deposit UnionPay and ask Garanti for it. Basically, only one stop in Antalya will see two Garanti within reach, and there is no sign of Garanti within walking distance 1 hour in other places.
The next step is eating. Many people in Turkey are not used to eating. The reason is very simple. Their dishes lack the soul of cooking-salt.
Therefore, whether traveling freely or with a group, you usually pay more attention to taste when eating. It is recommended to bring some snacks or a bottle of sauce similar to Laoganma, which can help you when you are not used to it.
If you can eat fried rice with salt at home, you can eat it very well. If you can't stop eating several bowls like me, you can eat all over Turkey without doing any raiders!
There are many kinds of barbecue rolls in Turkey, such as chicken, beef, vegetables, and French fries. You can find your own strategy to do your homework if you are free to eat, but don't believe the price in any strategy, it is a lie. For your reference, in Bambi, a chain barbecue restaurant in Istanbul, a basic chicken kebab is 4.75 lira, and a big bread contains chicken and French fries. A girl with a small appetite can eat a snack for an afternoon, but one is definitely not enough for dinner. There is also a small beef burger with 3 lira. I have a look. If it is a dinner, I have to eat at least 12 to be full.
Pizza, Turkey's specialty is the pizza with mutton sprinkled on the cake, which is very thin and delicious, but because I ate it with a group meal, the price is not clear.
Cheese, cheese control the world, but there are several kinds of super salty cheese commonly known as European fermented bean curd, others are still very delicious, with free bread, you can eat very well in restaurants. I'm afraid there is no cheese meal for free travel.
Bread, European bread is really super delicious! Either way! However, unlike domestic bread, most of them are hard whole wheat bread, that is, what kind of bread is as hard as stone in the shell and inside. In Turkish restaurants, you can eat buns for free.
Starbucks in Turkey, latte 6.75 lira medium cup. Coke cans range from 1.25 lire to 6 lire, and most supermarkets and convenience stores charge 2.5 lire. As for the Istanbul City Cup, unlike the free travel, it can be bought almost by Starbucks, and Starbucks near Istanbul Grand Bazaar can also buy cups from other cities, so it is a good choice to give them away. Espresso's cup 15 lira. The big one is 45 lira.
Turks drink a small cup of black tea, the cheapest is 0.5 lira, most places are 1.5 to 2 lira, and the more expensive wine is not topped.
Pomegranate juice, drink it desperately in Dozias, Kappa. If you leave Kappa, you can only buy a glass of 10 lira in Istanbul. It is difficult to find pomegranate juice in other places.
Cherry, 5-6 lira can buy a kilogram, and even higher quality 15 lira can buy a kilogram.
Strawberries, only seen in supermarkets in Istanbul, are also very cheap.
Yogurt, add honey if you don't like it salty! Amitabha without honey, because every meal with a group tour has yogurt and honey.
Desserts, except rice pudding, are so sweet that it hurts. Try it, buy the smallest portion, and continue to buy it if you can eat it.
Eggplant, Turkish eggplant can be said to be a must, we must try different kinds of eggplant practices, which are completely different from those in China.
Shopping, first of all, is ceramics. Don't believe the ceramic shop in Mianbaobao town in the online free travel guide. Although the price is already cheap, it is still very expensive. Only two places are recommended for ceramics, the souvenir shop and the small shop at the entrance of Kappa Dozias Natural Museum. The smallest bowl is 5 lira in 3 lira, the larger one is 7 lira, and the larger one is 15 lira. The quality and workmanship of the souvenir shop are better, and the distinctive Turkish blue is slightly more expensive, but it is also the cheapest official souvenir shop in Turkey.
Followed by the Grand Bazaar, 1 the first shop selling porcelain, the small bowl is 2.5 lira, the medium bowl is 5 lira, and the big bowl is 7.5 lira.
These are the only two points for buying porcelain, and you don't have to look at other places.
Wool scarves are mostly made in Yiwu, but you should know that you can't buy them in Yiwu, because people don't retail them and only export them to the Middle East, so you can still start with beautiful patterns. 27 lira is the cheapest I have ever bought, and the Grand Bazaar's asking price is 40 lira, which is less than 30.
For sheepskin products, Kappa Dozias buys suitable products, and then the farther away from Kappa, the more expensive it is. A decent leather coat can be taken at a price of 3,000 to 5,000 RMB.
Wool carpets, handmade things, the price is not outrageous at all. Just look, unless you're in a ditch.
Olive products, olive oil, olive soap, etc. The oil in supermarkets is the cheapest in Turkey. It is packed in iron drums. Every time China's team leader comes to empty a box, he has to carry a few boxes of oil back. There is a chain supermarket in MMigros, which is cheaper than Carrefour. Olive soap is basically 2-3 lira, and the beautifully packaged one is a little more expensive, but I don't think it's very interesting to pack it well, so it's just as useful when unpacked.
If you want to travel freely, you can go to a small town called Ayvalik, where olives are abundant. There are many oil-squeezing workshops in the town, and they are sold in the store after being squeezed out and directly labeled. The price is cheap and the packaging is exquisite.
Other sugar and tea are bought in the supermarket.
Blue eyes, Kappa Dozias is the cheapest, so you can buy them as soon as you see them, especially those with exquisite knitting technology. Other pendants with a single blue eye can be bought directly in Taobao. . . . The small one is 1-2 lira, and the big one is hard to say, depending on the technology, material and size.
Delight, nuts and tea are the cheapest and most reliable in the supermarket.
Sepiolite products and the sepiolite pipe of Grand Bazaar are basically 400 Dorila, which is not much, but this thing is worth the price. There is also a sepiolite pipe in the souvenir shop of Antalya Museum, 380 lira. For your reference, you can check and ask more if you need it. Other scenic spots also have so-called sepiolite pipes, each with dozens of lira, all of which are fake and plastic.
Hot air balloons, whether with a group or free travel, can be booked online by themselves, but at least 3 days in advance, otherwise it will be a tragedy if they are not booked.
Recommend royal,butterfly,
Kappadocia, three big companies, can also find other small companies if they want to be cheap. There is not much difference, but the departure time and reception service are good or bad. Hot air balloon is cold in the morning, so wear enough clothes. If you travel with a group, you need to confirm your hotel in advance to make a reservation. The first group of people who take off will be able to return to the hotel after 7 o'clock, which will definitely catch up with the team breakfast and departure.
Going out to sea, Antalya going out to sea in the Mediterranean, I am a team charter, 2 hours, very fun, 45 dollars a person. Malakhei also went to sea to see two Eurasian continental bridges. Personally, it's not interesting, so you don't have to go. Bosrus Strait can be ferried, and it doesn't mean much.
The beaches, resorts in Antalya and the seaside in kusadasi must be visited. Remember to protect yourself from the sun.
Marshmallow, team tours are all from the top entrance, don't worry. The suggestion of free travel is to enter from the foot of the mountain, and then go back the same way after playing well. Don't try to climb from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain. It will take 4 hours this time, and you will be dried up. There is a platform on the top of the cotton fort, where there is a back garden, and there is a very clear and comfortable pool. There are almost no people, and there are benches by the pool. Sitting on it can just soak your feet. If you don't want to be crowded with Russians, you can consider going there to enjoy it. Antique in the cotton fort
Pool, no one is available before 9: 00 a.m., you can go in for a bubble, 32 lira tickets plus 5 lira safe deposit box. The environment is great. /kloc-after 0: 00, when the Russian army comes, it will be a bathhouse, so you don't need to go in and soak. There are also several water catchers in it. What comes from the pool is clean and pure natural soda water. Be sure to have a taste! Russians always pack a whole bottle and put it back to drink.
Sun protection, be sure to bring more! The Mediterranean sun is terrible!
Slippers, toothbrushes and towels are available. Free travel will definitely be used. If you join a group, your toothbrush will be used. Slippers can be used on the plane.
Istanbul, traffic jams can only be done by praying. There are many super-detailed online strategies in Istanbul, which have certain reference value. However, the prices and comments on food can be ignored, and it is very helpful to know the tour routes and attractions.
Roasted corn in the square in front of the Blue Mosque is a good food to satisfy hunger, 2 lira each, and it tastes good. Don't try Chinese restaurants easily. The taste is similar to that in China. It's not bad or delicious. But the price of a bowl of spaghetti with scallion oil is 50 lira, and you can't regret it when you sit in and order it.
Duty-free shops at airports are generally duty-free shops in Istanbul and Ankara, and cosmetics will be a little cheaper, especially perfumes. Others are not cheap. There are many kinds of cigarettes, especially cigars and cut tobacco. For those who play with hand rolls, GV is 7 lira 1 pack. For those who play fighting, the Dunhill series of fighting silk is also complete, and the price is also cheap.
Locals, a little overzealous, can't speak English and drag you to chat and take pictures. Pay attention to distinguish Turks, Syrian refugees and Gypsies. Most Turks are not bad. Let's have a chat and be polite to each other. You can also take a photo when the other party invites you to take a group photo. Gypsies are the type where everyone is my friend. There is a great chance of meeting a liar. Be careful.