Latest 2021 Turkey Travel Personal Practical Guide

2021 Epidemic Latest Travel Route Personal Practical Guide

——China TO Istanbul

Ø Posting purpose: Share experience, help more travelers avoid detours. All content is personal experience, absolutely useful information.

Ø Travel expenses: Since it's a business trip, besides personal food, clothing, and daily necessities which are self-paid, all other expenses are covered by the client.

Ø Target audience: Only for round-trip travelers temporarily departing from China.

Ø Travel time: April 2021~

Ø Pre-departure preparations:

Relevant documents: Must be prepared before departure, otherwise, if any condition is not met during check-in, you will not be allowed to board.

Validity must be at least 180 days.

It is said that passport applications cannot be processed during the epidemic.

A\\ Business/tourism e-visa valid for 30 days, results on the same day.

B\\ Work visa, results needed within about 30 days. Apply according to personal needs.

PCR nucleic acid test report: Must be able to reach the destination within 72 hours of testing. That is, arrival at the destination within 72 hours from the test time.

Need to provide valid round-trip electronic ticket. Must be ticketed information.

Hotel reservation information: All hotel booking information from arrival date to end of trip. Need valid booking information.

Overseas travel insurance, accident insurance, electronic insurance policy. No limit on amount, determined by personal actual needs.

Normally less than 25~30KG, depending on airline.

Guarantee at least 50 USD per day, total calculated by actual number of days.

Special notes: It is best to get both doses of COVID-19 vaccine before departure, and bring the vaccination record certificate, which will be relatively safer. If you have only had one dose, your IGG test will be positive, and when returning to China, you will need to have 4 PCR tests, 1 CT scan, plus 14 days of quarantine observation. Moreover, as foreigners, after the above tests and hotel quarantine costs, you will need at least 8,000 Lira more. Greater loss.

Ø Round-trip routes: You can refer to real-time information on major domestic booking platform apps.

I. Departure routes:

1.5~1.8W (ten thousand) Need to purchase one week in advance.

0.7~0.9W Need to purchase one week in advance.

0.3~0.5W Many conditions, must be fully prepared.

Departing from Hong Kong is the cheapest route, but also has the most and strictest conditions. Please read the following explanation carefully.

A. Take a ferry from Shenzhen Shekou Cruise Homeport directly to Hong Kong Airport, then fly directly to Istanbul. This is the only feasible route to Hong Kong Airport. Besides preparing the above documents, there are several points to note. For details, you can also follow the official account of Shenzhen Shekou Cruise Homeport.

a\\ Ferry tickets. There are only two departures per day, very limited tickets, and many buyers. Need to book at least one week in advance. Note: When purchasing ferry tickets, the flight departure time must be on the same day, and the stay at Hong Kong Airport must not exceed 24 hours.

b\\ Departure flight tickets. Must buy tickets from airlines that allow check-in at Shenzhen Shekou Cruise Homeport, otherwise you still cannot board the ferry.

B. Depart from mainland China to Hong Kong Airport, then fly directly to Istanbul. Prerequisite: Be able to complete check-in for Hong Kong Airport at the departure airport in mainland China all at once, otherwise still cannot depart.

All the above routes have cost me a lot of effort. The conclusion is: one of the most feasible routes. If money is no issue, first choice is to fly directly from Guangzhou. To save money, after thorough preparation, try to depart from Shenzhen via Hong Kong in one go.

II. Return routes: First choice should be direct flights, unless direct flights are suspended, then choose a route with one stopover.

As of March 12, 2021, according to the current epidemic prevention requirements of the embassy, all conditions must be met to return smoothly. For details, refer to the official WeChat account of the Chinese Embassy in Turkey.

Nucleic acid test report within 48 hours: 1. IGG report, 2. IGM report, 3. PCR report. All three are essential and must be negative. Unless you have received both vaccine doses, IGG can be positive.

Must first choose direct flight.

Hotel itinerary from start date to end date.

Passport exit/entry stamps. Exit stamp and entry stamp on passport.

COVID-19 vaccination certificate. If vaccinated, it must be uploaded.

Supplementary explanation on return routes: As of May 20, 2021, the latest route information shows that Turkish Airlines has resumed direct flights to Guangzhou, so the only option is the route from Istanbul directly to Guangzhou, local time every Tuesday evening, ticket cost 45,000 to 50,000 RMB. If money is no issue, you can book in advance. Otherwise, you need to wait for this route to be cancelled before you can buy a route from Turkey with one stopover to China. Two stopovers are not allowed, and one stopover must not exceed 24 hours.

Ø About quarantine after returning to China

According to the latest domestic epidemic prevention policies, upon arrival at the domestic airport, you will be taken to a designated hotel for 14 days of hotel quarantine, during which there will be three PCR nucleic acid tests. If no issues, then 7 days of home quarantine, and finally one more PCR test. If all clear, congratulations, you can travel freely with a green code.

Ø Travel tips

There are already many excellent posts online, travel guides. Omitted here for brevity. Worth mentioning is that during the epidemic, all scenic spots are open, but some experience projects are not provided or reduced, so you may not have the same experience as internet influencers describe.

Ø Travel summary:

1. The highest cost is airfare. If traveling on your own, this is one of the most important evaluation indicators.

A\\ Departure tickets are acceptable because there are many options. If you can prepare well and depart from Hong Kong in one go, it's very cost-effective.

B\\ The only direct return flight to mainland China is the biggest expense, equivalent to a month's salary of a domestic gold-collar worker. If money is no issue, you can ignore it. Also, unless you have a legal HK ID, you can choose direct round-trip flights between HK and IST, costing about 6,000.

2. The time cost of travel is relatively high.

A\\ Due to constantly changing policies during the epidemic, my early preparations were insufficient. I spent a week before departure trying all the above routes, and had 4 PCR tests before departure (because the requirement is a valid test report within 72 hours). Finally, after full preparation, I chose the route from Hangzhou airport at the last minute and successfully reached my destination.

B\\ According to current epidemic control regulations, returning to any domestic city requires 14+7 self-paid quarantine (under smooth conditions). This means 21 days of no travel or work, unless working from home.

3. The risk of infection during travel is relatively high.

A\\ Turkey is an open country where any foreigner entering does not need to quarantine, as long as you provide a valid 72-hour PCR test report.

B\\ Everyday travel poses the greatest infection risk.

a\\ There is no personally verified travel green code. Although public places are required to enforce regulations, due to the lack of authenticity in green code verification, most are ineffective, creating many potential risks.

b\\ Most places lack real-time body temperature monitoring and personnel movement reporting.

c\\ Most importantly, there is no mandatory mask requirement. Even if some wear masks, many wear them improperly. If you accidentally encounter an asymptomatic infected person, it's like a mobile virus lurking and spreading invisibly, and it cannot be detected immediately.

d\\ After the lockdown is lifted, all businesses are open, especially restaurants, operating normally with dine-in service, and no proper social distancing is enforced.

e\\ If you get sick, you go to the hospital for testing, diagnosis, treatment, and discharge on your own. Since the transmission route cannot be traced, it's like a laissez-faire epidemic prevention.

4. Overall cost of living is low.

Due to the impact of the epidemic, the stock market circuit breaker in March, and the sharp drop in the Lira, the overall economy is depressed. Many companies have closed, people are unemployed, and average income has declined. Therefore, consumption costs are relatively low. Whether it's personal food, daily necessities, compared to China, it's really cheap. For example, internet-famous century-old dessert shops, especially those who like Turkish cuisine, desserts, handicrafts, are much cheaper than before the epidemic.

5. The biggest gain and benefit is the internet-famous destinations, absolutely fewer people and more beautiful scenery.

Traveling during the lockdown, as foreigners, we can move freely without monitoring. I often take a speed line, a tram, a subway, a bus, a boat alone. Scenic spots that normally require queuing, like Galata Tower, Blue Mosque, etc., have staff serving you throughout. At that time, it feels like a god. All the hardships and setbacks before departure are worth it.

In summary, this epidemic travel is entirely my personal experience. I hope it helps those who aspire to travel, do business, or work in Turkey. Cooperate with the motherland's epidemic prevention requirements, must carefully consider, decide according to personal actual needs, for reference only.