Washington DC - Istanbul $399 RT w Taxes on Turkish Airlines

How are the connections to Asia?

This is an awesomeeee deal!! I'm thinking of dropping my college course and going!

I covered the majority of the city in 4 days (3 days of exploring, 1 day on the prince's islands).

I would have liked an additional two or three days for sure, but I didn't feel like I "missed" anything.

Be prepared for a LOT of walking. There are buses everywhere, but when you get to the historic area, you'll want to walk.

Also make sure you visit Kadıköy on the Asian side.

Oh, and bring a pen and paper and write down where you need to go in case you get lost. English is a hit or miss --- mostly a miss. Luckily, I had my phone with me (on Airplane mode) so I could use my GPS most of the time.

The airport (IST) is crowded and a bit confusing. Take the bus (I think It's called Havannas?) from the airport to Taksim square. It's 10 TL each way (about 5 bucks) and is the easiest, least confusing way.

Here's pictures from my trip (I also had layovers in Munich and Zurich)

http://www.facebook.com/media/set...e314c28902

I just booked a trip to Germany for $698RT. That's a great price but seems a "ripoff" compared to the Turkish deals

A warning if you're going.

Be careful of scam artists, taxi drivers, and restaurants.

LOTS of scam artists around, trying to get you to go into their shops/restaurants/bars and then charge you exorbitant prices for them (mostly shops and bars).

Some taxi drivers have been known to "agree to" a certain deal before driving you, and then charge a different "agreed to" rate afterwards.

Tips on avoiding taxi scams [wittistanbul.com]

Most restaurants will charge you for bread that "comes with the" meal. It got so bad that at one of the last restaurants I ate at, I refused the bread, but they said specifically "free." Fortunately, they were honest with their words, but that just shows you how common the "comes with" bread scam is. Oh, and they'll still charge you even if you don't touch the bread.

Other than that, Istanbul is a beautiful city with great food and culture.

I mainly preferred the rest of Turkey, because I didn't feel that every third person was trying to separate me from my money....

Where did you get the $689 Germany ticket? I need a couple of those.

I love Istanbul. Izmir is very nice too. The ladies there are extraordinary.

damnit ... if only this were from ATL ... freekin $1925

Can't decide to book directly with Turkish Air or through United to get the miles....