Travel in city Istanbul

At MarketHub 2024 in Istanbul, HBX Group’s CTOO Paula Felstead emphasizes the importance of augmented reality and cybersecurity in the travel industry.

Condé Nast Traveler readers named Istanbul Airport the best international airport for 2024, in no small part because of its reputation for world-class dining. Whether you’re transiting through or you’ve just left the shores of the Bosphorus and need one last kebab, this sprawling hub with its glitzy, mall-like atmosphere features well over 100 pit stops, most offering Turkish specialties. While the domestic gates are separated from the massive international section, everything here is in one large building, so you don’t have to worry about hopping on an air train or navigating between terminals—you just have to walk a lot, passing temptations galore as you go. Think of the hike as a way to work off that gözleme you couldn't resist.

This story ran as part of the 2024 Readers’ Choice Awards. To find out all the winning airports, read here.

Everyone wants to save money on vacation, but steep discounts are rare for most — unless you are a high-profile celebrity, influencer, or, it seems, the mayor of New York City.

Nowhere in the world embodies humanity’s living history quite like the Bosphorus Straight. Cutting 19 miles through Istanbul and northwest Türkiye, the straight is the only shipping channel connecting the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and, eventually, the Mediterranean. As such, it’s an imperative lifeblood for West Asia and the Caucasus, and throughout human history has carried, celebrated, and cursed some of the most powerful armies the world has ever seen. Indeed, if only these waters could talk.

Istanbul is undeniably the most well-know part of Türkiye, but it’s far from being the only one worth visiting. If you’re keen to explore the country further but want to keep your carbon footprint down, you can opt to travel by train. The rail network in Türkiye is relatively extensive, with high-speed trains linking Istanbul to Ankara, Konya, and Sivas, local trains, long-distance routes, sleeper trains, and even touristic trains covering large swathes of the country. The Mesopotamia Express, a sleeper train that travels 653 miles across Anatolia is Türkiye’s latest touristic, long-distance sleeper rail offering.

Ankara, the Turkish capital, has been wilting under days of intense heat. Our taxi driver lets us out at the station with a gift of a cool apple. The forecourt is a mess of commuters competing for taxis and minivans. Through its automatic doors, though, is a gleaming air-conditioned cathedral to Turkey’s high-speed rail. The relief is short-lived—a uniformed attendant at the information window soon informs us our train, the Doğu Ekspresi (translation: Eastern Express) actually departs from the old station next door.

Uniworld Boutique River Cruises is unveiling new offerings for 2025, including sailings aboard its new ship the S.S. Elisabeth.

When I was 38, an astrologer in New York City warned me about traveling around my 40th birthday. "Stay close to home," he said.

Turkish Airlines is doubling down its presence Down Under. In March, the carrier launched its first Australian service to Melbourne. Now, it’s confirmed Sydney will soon join the route map. 

The giant metropolis of Istanbul, with around 16 million inhabitants, has never stopped reinventing itself—whilst keeping one eye firmly on its historic roots. Just a few years ago, the Galataport project opened up three-quarters of a mile of coastline in harborside Karaköy to the public via a boardwalk lined with modern cafes, shops, restaurants, and museums. Most notably, there’s the famed architect Renzo Piano-designed Istanbul Modern and the new, ultra-luxurious Peninsula Istanbul made up of several 19th-century buildings on the Golden Horn waterway's European side.

Sep 4, 2024 • 7 min read

One might reasonably assume that the world’s best-connected airports would have been around for a while—long enough to test out new airline routes, apply those learnings, and figure out the smoothest way to introduce new carriers and destinations. Heathrow, for example, has long been hailed as one of the world’s best hubs, having opened nearly 80 years ago.

Sep 3, 2024 • 5 min read

Once rather unknown to travelers, the Urla district in Turkey’s seaside Izmir province has recently been propelled into the limelight. That's thanks to a string of newly minted Michelin-starred restaurants (three with the famed stars, and three with sustainability recognition)—and trail of inventive and boutique wine producers called the Urla Wine Route. The area is a year-round reprieve that has managed to preserve and capitalize on its natural beauty; olive groves, fruit orchards, and vineyards here have become ground zero for the reinvention of modern Aegean cuisine and wine, inspired and sustained by the region’s fruitful lands. Today, Urla beckons with culinary delights, cultural treasures, and design-first hotels—here's how to experience the new nucleus of Turkey's fine-dining scene.

On a damp morning in Istanbul, I pay a visit to Zeyrek Çinili Hamam, a recently unveiled museum in a 500-year-old public bathhouse that once echoed with the chatter of the Ottoman middle class. Getting there involves zigzagging through the winding cobbled streets of Zeyrek, one of four UNESCO World Heritage sites in Istanbul. It was a holy place 1,000 years ago, during the Byzantine Empire, but these days it's uncharted territory for most Istanbulites. Few people are out: only the odd chain-smoking vegetable vendor and some meandering octogenarians doing their grocery shopping. The fall air smells faintly of raw meat, thanks to the butchers who have long populated the neighborhood. Trying to make sense of Google Maps on my phone, I almost collide with several men haphazardly carrying a sheep carcass from a van. I am lost. Or at least I think I am, until I realize that I've passed the hammam four or five times without noticing its domed roof.

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When my husband and I got stranded in Paris during the global Crowdstrike meltdown last month, we decided to make it a lemonade out of lemons event. We were on our way home, flying with Delta Air Lines from Istanbul to Albuquerque, New Mexico, with a connection through Paris following a two-week Mediterranean cruise.

With summer coming to an end, make the best of it by embarking on a holiday in Türkiye. Perfect for solo travels and family trips, Türkiye offers the most varied experiences in the Mediterranean. From the vibrant cultural tapestry of İstanbul to the sun-kissed shores of the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts, each Turkish destination offers a journey filled with many unforgettable experiences, complemented by world-famous Turkish hospitality and cuisine.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Tuesday, August 20, 2024, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

It’s official. Global air traffic has not only reached pre-pandemic levels but is now tracking above 2019 figures. With more passengers flying, many airlines have restored their international route network to full strength. 

A Europe-based carrier, voted as the worst airline in 2024 by consumer group Which?, has announced it’s launching a subscription service offering unlimited flights to those who sign up.