Car Rental Turkey
The savvy traveler should remember that when traveling into, in or around Turkey there are several holidays to keep in mind as they can cause delays in travel, traffic congestion, booked up accommodations and crowded venues. Banks, offices and businesses are closed during official holidays and traffic intensifies during all of the following holidays so do your research before you visit. Do not be put off by these holidays, it is not that difficult and often quite interesting to travel during Turkish holidays, simply plan ahead as much as possible.
Aegean and Mediterranean coastal areas enjoy the typical Mediterranean climate. There is hardly a drop of rain during the sunny and hot summer (May to October). Winters are mild and rainy in these regions, and it very rarely snows at coastal areas, with the exception of mountainous areas higher than 2000 metres of these regions, which are very snowy and are frequently not passable. The water temperature in the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas is warm during the long summer season (May to October) which constitutes the swimming season and fluctuates between 23C and 28C from north to south.
The region around the Sea of Marmara, including Istanbul, has a transitional climate between an oceanic climate and a semi-Mediterranean climate, but it does rain, albeit not a lot, during the very warm summer (as showers which tend to last for 15-30 minutes). Its winters are colder than those of the western and southern coasts. Snow is common at coastal areas, although it doesnt stay on the ground for long and is limited to only a few days every winter. The water temperature in the Sea of Marmara is also colder than the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas, with the water temperature reaching only between 20C and 24C during the summer (June, July and August) and the swimming season is restricted to those summer months.
The Black Sea region has an oceanic climate (thanks to the protective shield effect of Caucasus mountains) with the greatest amount of precipitation and is the only region of Turkey that receives high precipitation throughout the year. The eastern part of that coast averages 2,500 millimeters annually which is the highest precipitation in the country. Summers are warm and humid while the winters are cool and damp. Snow is common at coastal areas, although it doesnt stay on the ground for long and is limited to only a few days every winter, though mountains are very snowy as it is expected to be and are frequently not passable, there are glaciers around the year in the highest zones. The water temperature in the whole Turkish Black Sea coast is always cool and fluctuates between 10C and 20C throughout the year, and is even less suitable for swimming during the summer than in the Sea of Marmara.
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From Istanbul International airport, you can catch the light rail, which will take you directly to the Otogar (bus station) or to numerous stops within Istanbul (Aksaray is the last stop, near Sultanahmet where most of the famous tourist sites are). It is possible to be at the Otogar within less than one hour after landing. Another way of getting to downtown Istanbul is by bus, either on Havas coaches (special airport shuttle leaving every 30min; first bus 4am, last bus midnight) to Taksim, Etiler, Kozyatagi (Asian side) or on public buses (Line 96T) to Taksim. Public bus and the light rail costs 1.30 TL, Havas to/from Taksim is 10 TL (2010). Taxi is about 30-35 TL to Taksim (2010) and 25-30 TL to Sultanahmet (2010). Travel times depend a lot on traffic, and Istanbul is heavily congested! |