From August 21, 2019, the Turkish airline Turkish Airlines begins flying to Mexico, to Cancun and the capital Mexico City. All routes starting outside of Turkey will have a connection in Istanbul. Docking — Great opportunity to visit this beautiful city!
Free tour of Istanbul
If your connection in Istanbul is extendedmore than 6 hours, you can book a bus or walking tour of Istanbul absolutely free of charge, with a tour of the main attractions of the city or an evening boat trip along the Bosphorus. To do this, after arriving in Istanbul and completing immigration formalities, go to the Tour Istanbul counter, show your tickets and sign up for a tour.
You do not need to pick up your checked baggage, since on connecting flights with a connection duration of less than 24 hours, its transit through Istanbul Airport is provided by the airline.
Excursions — of varying lengths and start at 8:00, 8:30, 12:00, 16:00 and 18:00. The schedule and program of excursions can be viewedHere. All excursions include museum entrance fees. During the excursion, Turkish Airlines will also offer free breakfast or dinner. The tour guide will pick you up from the Tour Istanbul counter 30 minutes before the start of the tour.
To visit Istanbul (exit into the city) you must have a Turkish visa. For citizens of Ukraine, Russia and a number of other countries, entry into Turkey is visa-free, and to enter the city it will be enough to show a passport and a flight ticket from Turkey. In other cases, you have the right to request an e-visa for Turkey usinglink.
Free overnight stay at a hotel in Istanbul
If your connection in Istanbul is extendedmore than 20 hours, you have the right to request a free hotel from the airline.
Previously, the airline provided a hotel and transfer to it without payment for connections lasting more than 10 hours, but only if there were no options with shorter connections when purchasing tickets. Now, to purchase a hotel in Istanbul without payment, other requirements apply:
- The free hotel is open only for passengers who have purchasedsingle ticketon Turkish Airlines in both directions (RT), and only once — either on the way «there, or on the way «back». The country of departure must be the same as the country of return.
Most often, a long connection in Istanbul is only in one direction, and buying a one-way ticket on Turkish Airlines — just wasteful.
- Your route should be indicated intable, posted on the Turkish Airlines website.
At the time of writing, this table does not list Mexico as a destination for any originating country. We are confident that this misunderstanding will be corrected when flights begin, and Mexico will be on the list along with all the airline's other destinations in Latin America.
- Economy class passengers have the right to qualify for a 4* hotel, business class passengers — for a 5* hotel. In most cases, you do not have the right to choose a specific hotel, however, if you need it, you have the right to book another hotel at special Turkish Airlines rates.
All hotels of the affiliate program «Stopover in Istanbul» Turkish Airlines are located near Teksim Square (the formal center of Istanbul) or in the historical part of the city (Sultanahmet). Breakfast included.
Turkish Airlines no longer provides free overnight stays at Istanbul Airport hotels.
- If you are staying in Istanbul for more than 24 hours, you must collect your checked baggage and when boarding your next flight — hand it over again.
- You will have to pay for your own transfer to the hotel and back.
You can get from the airport to the city very inexpensively by metro + tram or by Havataş shared buses (from Ataturk Airport).
How to get a free hotel in Istanbul
After purchasing tickets, send copies and the following materials by emailororor:
- names of passengers
- reservation number
- accommodation requests (single, double room, etc.)
- your phone number and email address
This must be done no later thanin 72 hoursbefore your flight to Istanbul. In response you will receivevoucher for accommodationto a specific hotel, which must be printed or saved on your smartphone.
When checking into the hotel you must present:
- voucher received from Turkish Airlines
- boarding passon the next flight that you received when checking in for your flight to Istanbul.
During a «forced stop» more than 12 hours due to Turkish Airlines flight delays, you can also get a free hotel. In this case, after arriving in Istanbul, find an airline representative.
Please note that you cannot get a hotel or a free tour of Istanbul without paying. Either one or the other.