Here are the tools that I use when traveling to my own country.
Some of them are absolutely free, some of them are paid. I believe all of my recommendations will be helpful.
These are the time-tested tools by my own experience.
Flights
Turkish Airlines (THY) is a well-known Turkish airlines company and is competing with top brands in the industry.
Pegasus, Anadolu Jet, Onur Air, SunExpress are Turkish airline companies with budget prices. Corendon and Turkish Airlines provide the best service quality.
Turkish Airlines is a bit more expensive than others. Anadolu Jet is a subsidiary of Turkish Airlines with lower prices and service quality.
Expedia
I love Expedia when searching for plane tickets.
Expedia has small features which help you find the best and cheapest ticket.
Click to go to Expedia’s flight reservation page.
Cheapflights
With Cheapflights, you can compare all the offers from Priceline, Cheapair, Travelocity, Orbitz, eDreams, and Ladybug with one click.
Click to check Cheapflights’ search page.
Google Flights
Google Flights is another source to check for flights.
It is a new feature of Google that I find very helpful.
Airport Transfers
All airports have a bus shuttle system, but I have not used them for ages.
Most of the time, the local taxis in airports are a good way to reach your destination. Yet, taxis in airports can be greedy, especially in Istanbul.
Even I, as a Turkish local, use more dependable services when I travel with my family.
The airports with subway connections to the city are Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen (Code: SAW) and Izmir Airport (Code: ADB). The biggest Istanbul Airport (Code: IST) and other airports in Turkey, do not have a subway connection to the city center.
I would not recommend using the Istanbul subway, if you are a first-timer, because it can be confusing and crowded.
Izmir metro line is good, it travels to most areas of the city, yet most holiday destinations are not accessible by metro.
Suntransfers
Suntransfers operates in 500 airports worldwide. They also provide a reliable search engine for your travels in Turkey.
Click here to go to Suntransfers’ homepage.
Hostelworld Transfers
The second source that I use for airport transfers is Hostelworld.
They have a good search engine for airport transfers. This way I ensure that I get the best rate possible.
Click here to go to Hostelworld’s airport transfer page.
Rent a Car
I do not recommend renting a car if you are coming to spend your time in big cities like Istanbul and Ankara. These cities have a good public transport system with many options and driving can be stressful.
Yet, if you want to enjoy the countryside or coastal areas, renting a car will increase your freedom and help you to discover more places.
When possible, I always rent a car on my travels. I like escaping the crowded city centers, exploring secluded beaches, authentic villages, and going into the less beaten paths. Turkey is an excellent country for trips.
Discover Cars
Discovercars is an excellent search engine for car hire and my personal favorite.
Discovercars shows the best options from many Turkish and international car rental companies
Click to go to Discovercars’s homepage.
Rental Cars
I generally check the prices of different brands using Rentalcars.com.
You can compare the prices of the biggest international rental car companies on this website.
Click here to go to Rentalcars’ homepage.
Where to stay
Turkey hosts more than 50 million tourists every year. For this reason, you will have no trouble finding hotels, holiday villages, and similar accommodation in Turkey.
I like to rent vacation homes when I am traveling. Especially when traveling with a group of friends or family, vacation homes can be much cheaper than hotels.
My other favorite option is all-inclusive hotels. I love them because once you pay, everything is free. All I care about is which activity to spend my time on.
Hotels usually charge per person. Private houses have fixed rental prices and do not charge per person basis.
Hostels are also an excellent option for young people who do not mind shared rooms. The best part of staying at a hostel is, there will be many people eager to explore the city with you.
Booking
Booking is one of the world’s leading online travel agencies.
Booking’s primary service is to provide a platform for booking hotels, but it has expanded to include a range of other accommodations like apartments, guest houses, and more.
Booking is by far my favorite website for organizing my stays.
Click to check Booking.com.
Expedia
Expedia is another search engine that is very popular in the USA and North America.
Because it is not possible to book with booking.com inside Turkey.
Expedia is my second favorite website for booking my stays.
Click to check Expedia.
Vrbo
Vrbo represents over 2 million vacation rentals in 190 countries.
Vrbo is my latest favorite. Vrbo is also the biggest competitor of Airbnb.
Sometimes I even browse Vrbo just to amaze myself with different vacation rentals all around the globe.
Click to check Vrbo’s website.
Hostelworld
Hostels are usually cheap hotels with dorms and shared facilities instead of private rooms and private facilities.
IIf you are looking for the cheapest accommodation with value, hostels may be the best option.
You can search 30,000 hostels in over 180 countries with Hostelworld.
Other Recommendations
NordVPN
TwittTwitter, Youtube, and Wikipedia were banned in Turkey in the past.
Today some major websites are still blocked in Turkey as well.
For this reason, I recommend a VPN app in Turkey to access all your favorite sites without restriction.
NordVPN is a leading VPN provider. NordVPN also gives you military-grade protection online.
Click to go to NordVPN’s homepage. (If you can’t access the link above, the link is not broken. NordVPN’s website is also blocked in Turkey.)
Google Translate
Check my article to learn about clever hacks on how to use google translate in your travels.