The announcement last October that Etihad Airways will be starting direct flights from Luxembourg to Abu Dhabi in October this year, is excellent news. Whilst Luxair does offer some flights direct to the UAE, we have found that when we’ve looked to go to Asia (via the Middle Eastern transport hubs) from Luxembourg, it has been much more cost effective to go via another airport. These airports all require more time and expense to get there; such as several hours on the bus to Brussels, hours on the train to Paris, or, as we did when visiting Malaysia at Easter last year, driving for over two hours and then paying for long-term parking at Frankfurt. Despite the extra hassle and expense, these were often the best options, especially when you are restrained by a school calendar. So, hopefully this new route will open up more options for either exploring the region (something we are yet to do) or for carrying on to destinations further afield in Asia.
Not having an obvious route, however, did mean we explored our options in more detail when we planning our trip for last Easter. We were originally looking at Japan, but by the time we were ready to book there didn’t seem to be any great options that aligned with our dates and budget. However, when searching, Radka came across one different option, which was to Malaysia from Frankfurt, via Istanbul, with Turkish Airlines. The original flight she found was still quite expensive but when we delved deeper, we found that if we spent a night in Istanbul on both legs of our journey, it was significantly cheaper. Not only that, it led us to finding out about the stopover options that are provided by Turkish airways.
If you are flying with Turkish Airlines, arriving from a different country and transiting through Istanbul to another international destination, and your layover is at least six hours, you can access several perks. This includes a range of free city tours, ranging from a couple of hours to a full day. Different tours run on different days and at different times, so you would have to check your itinerary to see if any of the options fit your specific timings. They are also quite strict regarding the times you need to be there before the tour, and also the tour needs to be back at the airport at least an hour and a half before your next flight. You can supposedly book these tours in advance, but what we found was that we were unable to book them online and had to wait until we got there to sort it at the information desk in Istanbul Airport. We got there in plenty of time to make sure there were enough spots on the tour and we had no issues.
If your layover is at least 20 hours, you can also access the perk of getting a free night in a hotel. There are a few criteria you must meet (which can be found on the link) and this must be applied for in advance, but there are quite a few different options in different locations around the city depending on what sort of experience you are looking for.
Having never been to Istanbul (or to Turkey in general), we were very intrigued with this possibility and ended up booking the journey as described, and we’re so glad that we did. I really enjoyed Istanbul. It seemed such a vibrant city with lots of beautiful and interesting places to visit. I enjoyed it so much that I’d like to go back and see it properly, which I guess is the purpose of the offer from Turkish Airlines!
With our timings, we qualified for one night in a hotel and one city tour. After reviewing the options we decided on taking the city tour on the outward journey and the night in the hotel on the way back. On the way there, we arrived quite late, and thus we thought it was easiest and best to book a hotel near the airport (there are lots of cheap options), given that it is quite a long journey from the airport to the old town of Istanbul. Given that the tour also starts and finishes at the airport, it made no sense to have to go from the touristy area of Istanbul back to the airport to then just go back to the old town! It also meant that we didn’t have to pay for a taxi from the old town to the airport on this leg of the journey, as the tour drops you off there at the end. We also made sure that we packed just a small overnight bag as our hand luggage for the flight and then put our larger hold luggage straight from Luxembourg to Malaysia. This meant that we did not have to worry about having luggage during our time in Istanbul, which allowed us to be more flexible.
Another reason for booking the hotel ourselves and having the tour on the outwards journey was that we were hoping to get an overview of the attractions in Istanbul so that we could then focus in on how to spend our time during the return leg. This worked a treat. The tour itself was excellent. Despite it being advertised just as the ‘Half-day Tour’, it left the airport at 8:30am and didn’t return until 3pm. Whilst the bus journey back and forth to the old town was quite long, it provided interesting views and we still had plenty of time in the old town of Istanbul itself. The tour included a nice breakfast at a local restaurant, before going to the Blue Mosque (which we ended up preferring to the Ayasofya Mosque), walking through the Hippodrome to see its monuments, walking around the outside of the impressive Ayasofya Mosque (formerly known as the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque), and exploring the Topkapi Palace. We then ended with another tasty, substantial meal at another local restaurant before heading back to the airport. Everything was very punctual and the guide spoke very good English, although it was sometimes a bit hard to hear him. The attractions on the tour depends on the day, but we really enjoyed our particular itinerary. One thing to note is that the priority of the guide and bus driver is to get back in time so that people do not miss their flights. During the times when you are not being specifically guided, such as in the Topkapi Palace, they will not wait for you if you are late. I think this is reasonable, so you need to make sure you keep an eye on the time!
For the return journey, we had a range of hotels to book for our over-night stopover. We decided on one that was walking distance from some of the main attractions in the old town. The hotel was the Grand Yavuz Hotel and it was a good choice. The room itself was small and basic, but that was all we needed for a layover. The location was excellent, and the breakfast included was very nice and with very enthusiastic staff. The breakfast area also looks down on an ‘excavation site’ showing old stone tunnels from previous versions of the city. There was also a fancy bar / restaurant on the top floor with nice panoramic views. We went there briefly when we first arrived, but only for a quick drink. The views were lovely though. The staff were also helpful in booking transport back to the airport. The location then allowed us to use our free morning in Istanbul to explore the Ayasofya Mosque in more detail and go down into the Basilica Cistern.
One thing to note regarding the free night in a hotel offer, however, is that transport to and from the hotel is not included and you will have to sort this yourself. Upon arriving we had time, so we took the bus from the airport to the old town, and then a tram to get to the hotel. On the way back we were a bit more in a rush, so we did splash out on a taxi. They are expensive but it is a long drive, so it wasn’t too unreasonable compared to some airport taxi services I’ve seen.
All in all, we were very impressed with the options provided by Turkish Airlines and would certainly look to do something similar if we are ever again transiting through Istanbul. If you would like to read more about our time in Istanbul, then please click here.
Brit and Czech Abroad 