Our group was connected to the Meza Travel tourism company upon our return from Cappadocia. This company helps you reserve daily private drivers, hotels, tables at restaurants, day trips, translated tours and more.

One of their agents/drivers, Ömer, was assigned to our group. Communicating with Ömer and the Meza team was very easy. Everyone we worked with happened to speak some English and/or Arabic and when needed, Google Translate was very helpful!

When we had questions about where to go and what to do, Meza Travel always had suggestions. When booking through Meza Travel, you are not only supporting a local Turkish business, but you’re also often getting a better rate than what you’ll find online. For example, our stay at CVK Bosphorus Hotel was 80 Euros LESS per night over what was available on Expedia or Booking.com.

And in case you were wondering…This is not a paid ad. This is not a sponsored blog post. Truly, I was so thrilled with the service that my group received and want to share this information with you as well.

Here are a few activities/accommodations that we booked with our agent Ömer’s help at Meza Travel:

General Istanbul Travel Tips

1. Make sure you’ve got internet on your phone. We used our phones for navigating and communication (shout out to WhatsApp!) constantly. If you’re staying for more than a few weeks it may be worth
2. Always anticipate that there’s going to be traffic. SO much Traffic!
3. When shopping in the malls, be sure to have your passport ready at the cashiers. They will give you Tax Refund paperwork that you can submit in the airport when departing from Istanbul.
4. Google Translate will be your best friend. Download the app! It’s got a great voice recording feature…we often used it when communicating with drivers and hotel staff.
5. Tipping…you are not required to tip. But our friends suggested that if you truly loved the service…it’s nice to tip your servers and waiters.
6. Your Taxi Driver must always use the meter. They start their meters at around 5.50 Turkish liras. If a taxi driver tries to give you a “quote” before you get into the car, wait for another taxi because you don’t want to pay extra for your ride.
7. Ubers are all yellow cabs..no private cars here! Again, make sure they use their meters. And be patient…I can’t tell you how many times Uber drivers would cancel on our group and we had to resubmit requests.

As of July 2021, before flying into Turkey a PCR test needed to be taken within 72 hours before departure. In addition to that, we needed to register your information here: https://register.health.gov.tr/ — The QR code that you are given after registering is needed when arrive at Istanbul Airport.

Heads up! One of my relatives was randomly selected to complete a PCR test in the Istanbul airport.

Van Kahvaltı Evi (Beyoğlu) – This was a traditional Turkish breakfast spot about a 20 minute walk away from CVK Bosphorus Hotel. The food was quite delicious and fresh. Be sure to ask them for their in-house fresh baked bread!

Ciya Sofrasi (Kadıköy)– This wonderful restaurant is located on the Asian side of Istanbul and is popular among the locals. It’s the perfect spot for a nice light lunch if you’re interested in trying a variety of traditional small plates and dips. They also bake a delicious fresh bread in-house.  And of course, if you want a traditional home-style Turkish meal, they’ve got that too. This restaurant was also featured on Netflix’s Chef’s Table…so you know it’s good. Check it out here.

Below is a photo of the lunch we had at Ciya…I know it doesn’t look fancy…but it was the best mezze we had in Istanbul, hands down!

Asuman (Kadıköy) – This became an absolute favorite spot for my friends and I for mid-day sweet treat. They’re iced chocolate mocha was by far the BEST mocha we all tried in Istanbul and their chocolatey treats were divine. Their most popular dessert, the “Asuman” (photo below)  was a jar filled with fresh strawberries, sweet crunchy wafers and their delicious melted chocolate. Be sure to take a box home of their pistachio chocolate bars as well!

Kronotrop (Beyoğlu/Karaköy)  – We spent many hours at this lovely coffee shop sitting underneath the shade. I loved their iced latte and also often enjoyed one of their refreshing iced teas.

ORİGAMİ (Şişli/Nişantaşı) – Stop by this shop for some fancy croissants! I’m more of a savory kind of gal so I definitely suggest you try their turkey and cheese croissant or one of their options!

Akinti Burnu Balik (Beşiktaş) – Talk about dinner with a beautiful view. We made a reservation at this restaurant with the help of Ömer at Meza Travel. We had the best table in the restaurant with beautiful views of the Bosphorus. We ordered a whole grilled sea bass for 4 of us and we LOVED it. It was the best fish, like ever.

#Saltbae Burger (Nişantaşı) – We all know of the Nusret restaurants for their infamous slices of steak and sprinkle of salt. This restaurant keeps it very simple: burgers, salads, and baklava. We found ourselves at #Saltbae a number of times on our trip. I always went for the Juicy Burger…and yes, it was quite juicy!

Kebapçı Mahmut (Fatih) – Check out this restaurant for traditional Turkish cuisine.  Heads up! I’ve found the red meat at most Turkish restaurants to have a stronger lamb/gamey flavor. When visiting traditional restaurants I usually go for the Shish Tawook or other Chicken plates.

Develi (Nişantaşı) – Here’s another traditional Turkish cuisine restaurant with solid kabobs and grilled chicken. The mezze plates and salads were also fresh and wonderful. What really stood out to me, however, was the dessert. Definitely order the baklava with ice cream.

Pera Thai (Beyoğlu) – After spending a couple weeks in Turkey, we were all craving something different. We were all super impressed with Pera Thai and loved their spicy crispy chicken, their coconut rice, and their spicy beef plate. The spring rolls were also great. Heads up! The plates here can be very spicy so definitely ask for mild spice if you can’t handle the heat! Ask for the hot tea at the end of your meal!

Nusret (Nişantaşı) – The food is great, the vibe is fun and the music is LOUD. Definitely ask to be seated outside for a much more exciting experience. And have your phones ready to record! There are a number of Nusret locations around the city …including in the Grand Bazaar!

Zucca Pizza (Şişli) – I was craving pizza and this restaurant did a truly solid job making Italian style pizzas in a wood fired oven.

CrossFingers (Şişli) – For days when you’re missing Popeye’s or Chick-Fil-A and want a fried chicken sandwich!

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Shopping

Grand Bazaar – This is absolutely worth visiting and great for souvenirs…you’ll definitely get a kick out of the overwhelming amount of designer inspired products! When shopping the grand bazaar, take the time to shop multiple stores. You’ll find that many places have the same product at different prices. For example, we almost purchased tea cups from a vendor …he claimed that he had the best prices in the bazaar. We kept walking only to find the same tea cups for a fraction of the cost!

Fatih Caddesi – I took my aunt to this street to shop for Modest Turkish branded Hijabi-friendly clothing. This street gave me Middle East vibes.

Istinye Park – This mall has all of the high end designers and a few fancy restaurants like Zuma. It’s also got a Shake Shack! It’s also got Zara and H&M…I’ve noticed that these stores have similar options to what is available in the states but also includes more modest options in their inventory.

Nisantasi – It’s an outdoor shopping area. There are a few luxury brands located here, in addition to shops like Zara. There was one shop in particular that I shopped a few times for beautiful linen Kaftans. It was called Rafine. I also LOVED browsing through a shop called Gizia.

Kanyon – This mall looks so unique as it has more of an outdoor setting. The bottom floor appeared to have lots of cafes and this mall also has a Petra Roasting Co.

Zorlu Center– Another mall with a luxury section and fancy restaurants. They also have a Beyman (department store) and if you’re shopping in the summertime, check out their shoe sale!

Mall of Istanbul – I didn’t have the opportunity to visit this particular mall, however, my relatives who visited it truly enjoyed it.

Florya Park – This mall appeared to have many popular Turkish brands including Gizia, Baqa and more. I picked up a few modest pieces for my mama here! This mall also blends shopping with entertainment as it has the world’s largest thematic aquarium.

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Our group ended up spending 2 nights/3 days in Cappadocia. I truly believe that this is enough time to visit the city and enjoy what it has to offer without feeling like you’ve been there for too long. Keep in mind that the airport in Kayseri is an hour drive away from Cappadocia/Goreme.

 

We booked our entire trip to Cappadocia 3 days before we took flight…which meant that we didn’t have many options for accommodations. We had definitely wished that we could have stayed at The Sultan Cave Suites because they’re the hotel with the most famous terrace for photos…but it’s all good, our hotel had a nice terrace with beautiful views as well! Most of the bedrooms in this hotel are built into the caves…it’s quite unique and made for a memorable stay! The Divan Cave House Hotel was an overall good stay and they offered good breakfast.

Another thing I should mention is that when we went up to the hotel’s terrace to take photos of the hot air balloons there was a fresh breakfast spread set up…but it was actually breakfast for other guests who had reserved it. This meant that the seating around it was specifically for them. The couple who reserved the table and area were so kind and allowed us to sit and take photos. …but not everyone may be that generous!

Places to eat in Cappadocia

I’ll be honest…we didn’t have much luck with food in Cappadocia and mostly survived on french fries. But there was ONE spot that we all loved. It’s a chicken sandwich wrap spot called Fat Boys! We all ordered wraps from the stand and then asked to sit at the Fat Boys restaurant where we ordered french fries and sodas.

We were all truly impressed with Royal Balloon’s service and the hot air balloon ride experience. When booking your hot air balloon ride, you’ll notice that there are two different flight times. One flight time is before sunrise…so you’ll watch the sun come up while in air. The second time begins right at sunrise. Because there was no availability, we took the 2nd flight time ride. Thankfully it was beautiful and we were not disappointed. If anything, you get to take plenty of photos and video from the ground as other balloons take off.

If you have a large enough group, I would definitely suggest taking the private hot air balloon ride option. We selected the “Royal King Flight” (8 People). Our pilot, Umit, was wonderful and got us up into the air and back safely on land! Definitely suggest him if you can.

NOTE: I’m someone who’s generally afraid of heights but I did alright on this ride! Maybe it’s because the basket was quite large and I never looked down! It’s a smooth ride and both take off and landing was comfortable.

Royal Balloon is an American Express preferred vendor and this company was really easy to communicate with via email and WhatsApp.

There are a few companies that offer horseback riding but we selected to go with Dalton Brothers. They offer a 1 hour and 2 hour ride. We chose the 2 hour ride, but we suggest you select the 1 hour ride if you’ve never been riding before. There were other riding groups led by different companies on the trail…but I noticed that none of the guests were wearing helmets (bad idea, omg so dangerous!).  Dalton supplies helmets …before handing them to us, they were wiping them down with what I hope was disinfecting wipes and they also had disposable mesh/fabric caps for us to wear under the helmet.

I connected with them via their Instagram page @daltonbrothershorseranch but you can also submit a request to reserve a ride through their website

While a few of us went to do Horseback Riding, part of our group drove another 2 hours out to visit Lake Tuz. You can walk through its shallow waters.  I personally didn’t go but heard it was absolutely gorgeous and so surreal. We also learned that the lake is most pink in color during the autumn months. So if you plan to visit Cappadocia in the fall, definitely make time for this surreal and serene lake.