Trying to decide where and why to travel to a destination has gotten much trickier since having our tiny human in tow; just because there are so many variables to take into account now that we travel with Milo that we had never considered before. Istanbul can be a great place to visit for a family living in either the middle east or Europe because of the accessible flights (only 4 hours from Bahrain!) but an accessible great place doesn’t come without challenges. Here are a few pros and cons I have jotted down about Istanbul, Turkey that I hope guide us, if we ever have the chance to visit again.
Good:
- Tons of uniquely Istanbul things to do for a family.
- Kindness of people (especially towards children). I cannot say enough how comfortable the people were in this part of the world with Milo; It is magical to see how kindly random strangers will treat our child.
- So cheap! The U.S. dollar really goes so far in Istanbul allowing for all the best sweets, ice cream, and souvenirs to be bought making everyone very happy.
- The views. Istanbul is one of the most picturesque cities we have ever visited.
- The Food. So many juices, sweets, and foods that Milo loved here.
- Kindness towards animals is through the roof and wonderful!!
Bad:
- Crazy Traffic: It will often take a shorter amount of time to walk long distances in the city versus drive.
- Very Crowded: This was scary for us while still being mindful of COVID-19.
- Distance from Airport: Sultanahtmet, Istanbul itself is about an hour from both airports (this can be challenging when coming off of a long flight)
- Stressful Airport: I would say that Istanbul’s airport has been my most stressful airport experience thus far as there are extremely long lines and in many spaces there is no air conditioning.
- Very large city making it challenging to walk to everything one may want to experience.
Overall trip description: A sweet kind of chaos
Tiny Treks 