Travel to Turkey 2021
So this past June we decided to take a 6 week trip to turkey. yes, 6 weeks is a long time (which is why we shortened the trip by a week and half and came earlier). we travelled with our kids, of course, and my mother and father in law so we had 7 people. Initially, we were going to stay in the asian side, but the friday before the trip, my husband received a message that the turkish authorities had closed down the building (covid?)..odd…i know but things are bound to happen and you just have to run with it. Immediately my husband and i started looking for other places and we ended up in karakoy right near the galata tower.
While the cost was much higher than we wanted, we were able to secure a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, separate living room, full furnished kitchen +small kitchen right near galata tower and isthikal street. We were looking at other places like Bistikas and Sisli but after visiting those locations later, we realized the area we picked was great because it had a vibrant and live feel at any time of the day or night. Plus our airbnb had an amazing terrace with a 360 view of the bosphorus including many famous sites like the blue mosque and hagia sophia.
So how was it traveling with 7, including 3 small kids during covid? Planning ahead is the key.
There are lots of changes that you need to check with airlines (i.e. who needs a covid test, what type of covid test, when does the test need to be taken, etc). And the last thing you want is to be stuck in the airport because you didn’t get the test done. Is it more work? Yes, of course it is. Interesting that traveling to turkey you needed a vaccine record to show you received the vaccine or a covid test but coming back to the US they want a covid test for anyone 2 or older even if you have received the vaccine. Makes you think.
Watch our YouTube video below to see snippets of our Turkey travel!
While in turkey, we were hopeful to move around and travel other places. The last time my husband and i were there was 10 years ago for our honeymoon and we just stayed in sultanahmet so we were eager to travel to other places. While we did travel (we went to cappadocia), we didn’t travel to as many places as we wanted to for a lot of reasons. My husband’s really good friend, who had come to visit, had rented a car and traveled around turkey which is a good option but driving in istanbul is just filled with a beautiful level of chaos that many of us will not be able to handle (driving both ways in a one way alley….no thanks).
Our airbnb had air conditioning, which is a must in my opinion. One of the rooms, the one my father in law stayed in, did not have air conditioning so it would get hot a lot…poor guy didn’t complain but my husband checked and my father in law preferred a room without ac blasting. In any case, make sure you have air conditioning during the summer as it gets hot. While we were in a very touristy location, there were plenty of mosques near by. Actually right next door to our airbnb was a mosque so it was very convenient and you’ll hear the azan (call to prayer) wherever you go in turkey which was always beautiful and heart warming.
