We have traveled 12 countries as of today with one kid for the last 12 years except for the pandemic period. We are super excited now to travel to Turkey with 2 kids for the summer holidays and business exploration. It feels like a new travel experience after a long gap of almost 3 years or above. We have forgotten everything. However, I have read many travel blogs and seen vlogs for the last one and half months on how to travel in Turkey’s most touristic places with kids during summertime. For this long-awaited tour, I had to connect with the Cappadocian tour operator, http://www.rockcitytours.com/ whom I connected through my Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/destination_cappadocia/ since October 2020. To do so, I’m indebted to a few local and Turkish people. Now, we are all set to fly by Turkish Airlines on the early hour of 10 July with a pre-planned 1-week memorable trip to Turkey. To get real-time updates, please follow my Insta account https://www.instagram.com/sajjadtravelogue/

13 TIPS FOR TURKIYE, SUMMER HOLIDAY

1. STAY HYDRATED

It’s an 8.30 hours flight from Dhaka to Istanbul. I advised my family members to drink lots of water before the trip as it is the peak summertime. Long-haul international flights will dehydrate the traveler.

2. TAKE A DIRECT FLIGHT TO ISTANBUL

When our plan has locked that we’ll go to Turkey then I was exploring two travel routes to Turkey. One route was by Gulf Air which has a stopover in Bahrain and the other route was a direct flight to Istanbul from Dhaka by Turkish Airlines. There’s no big price difference. That’s why I have chosen a direct flight because the kids are with us. A direct flight will mean shorter travel time and less hassle for you to organize kids, carry-ons, and luggage multiple times to get to Turkiye.

“We love exploring Europe part of Istanbul”

Sajjad Travelogue

3. RELAXING ON THE FIRST DAY

On the first day in Turkey, everyone is will be tired from traveling. We need to give kids an easy day to explore around our accommodation area, will go to the park to play a bit (if I get across), or walk slowly to explore late afternoon in the European part of Turkiye. We’ll try to go to bed early because the next day we’ll travel to our next destination.

4. CATCHING A DOMESTIC FLIGHT TO CAPPADOCIA

A Turkish source, almost 30 million travelers will visit this summer in Turkiye. Flight booking, accommodation everything has a price on it if you don’t book in advance. Without having a second thought, I booked my flight to Cappadocia, Kayseri from Istanbul, Sabiha Gokcen. To get this support, I had to rely on a local tour operator, Rock City, whose credibility I checked back with local Turkish support. Thank you so much for co-operating with me unconditionally. As advised by the tour operator, we’ve to limit our luggage individually by 15kg. That’s pretty much okay. We have decided to have a half-day Cappadocia Tour on the second day. It will give a different perspective to our eyes. Uchisar Castle, Cavusin Village, Zelve Pasabag, and Rose Valley for an unforgettable sunset over Göreme would be simply outstanding.

5. LIMIT YOUR ACTIVITIES DURING SUMMER TIME

Moving around a lot is hard for kids especially in summer. I suggest picking 2 – 3 locations if you’re traveling in Turkey with kids for 10 days or less. A good general rule of thumb is for every 7 days, pick 2 to 3 locations max. to travel. Accordingly, make your travel plan to know the locals, and the culture in the area, relish new foods and explore the whereabouts.

6. OUR ACCOMMODATION IN TURKEY

We are 4 people in our family. It may not be that big of a deal with our junior kid like Ifraz, but it could get very cramped if you’re traveling in Turkey with a senior kid like Ibtihaj. Out of this thinking, I’ve booked my space well in advance. In fact, we booked a family suite to accommodate all of us in one space with room connectivity. That’s awesome. My tour operator did a good job here because they collected our family information in advance so that they could accommodate us comfortably.

7. KIDS’ ESSENTIAL

You must carry your kids’ essentials from your own country by knowing the length of your trip. Since it’s summertime, I don’t see to take warm clothes. I’m seriously thinking of taking care of 4.5 years older one as we may have to walk or ride uneven paths for hours and hours. Also, we suggest bringing medicine kits with us that include allergy, fever reducer, and cold medicine that we are familiar with for our kids.

8. TRAVEL GAMES

I’m taking toys for junior and game materials where a family can play when traveling between locations. In recent times, everyone is habituated with gadgets rather than playing with any other objects. However, our all-time family favorite games are Uno and Travel Scrabbles will be with us.

9. TURKISH FOODS FOR KIDS

You can find western food in metropolitan cities like Istanbul. If you have picky eaters, stop at a local market to buy some items you know they will love. I will try Pide & chicken shish for sure. Kids should be loving it. For more food tips, check out all our kids’ favorite dishes in Turkey. Due credit goes to the link creator of kids’ favorite dishes. Thank you.

10. COMFY SHOES

You will be walking a lot, so be sure to have good walking shoes or sandals that are suited for your trip to Turkiye with the kids. No matter their age, this is important for the whole family.

11. DRINK LOTS OF FLUID

Drink water, lots of it. If you’re traveling in Turkiye with kids during the summer months, the sun is bright, and it gets quite hot. We don’t recommend drinking the water from faucets, so you’ll need to plan on buying bottled water from the market. Fresh fruit juice is widely available in the streets of Istanbul. Stay hydrated and drink water and fruit juice throughout the day.

12. PLAN LAZY TIME FOR THE FAMILY

After those long days of walking around, be sure to plan for relaxing days in Istanbul. The kids will need time to recover after a few days of being out and about. It should be your top priority.

13. LET THE KIDS LEAD

To keep kids engaged in the trip to Turkey, sometimes it’s best to let them lead. What do they want to do today? As you’re exploring a site, let them decide what you all will look at next. Let them be a part of creating the experience and memories you’re having together as a family. I really want to explore this idea this time, let’s see how it turns out.

Happy traveling and exploring!!

Sajjad Travelogue II 9 July 2022 II Dhaka, Bangladesh