Besiktas travel guide

Besiktas
UEFA Champions League
Tuesday, September 15, kick off 21:45 local time, 19:45 UK time
BJK İnönü stadium, Istanbul

Tickets:

The BJK İnönü stadium capacity is 32,145. United have got 1,400 tickets priced at £35.03, though all tickets will be posted by special delivery at a cost of £4.95 per ticket. There are also a few VIP tickets priced at £105.10.

Executive members, season ticket holders and One United members can apply until 20:00 on September 7.

You can apply online or by calling 0161 868 8000.

However, only those who applied to become members of the new Manchester United European Travel Club before 20:00 on September 2 can apply.

Ballot results will be published on September 9.

Supporters who get tickets must fill out only travel reports and send them to United before travelling to Turkey.

TV
The match will be shown live on Sky Sports 2 and Sky Sports 2HD, with the programme starting at 19:30.

Online video links to be put up on here on the day of the game.

Weather
To be updated nearer the time, but it is likely to be roughly 20C/72F during the game and 25C/77F during the day

Currency
In Turkey, they use Turkish Lira (TL) and Kurus. 1TL = 40p. £1 = 2.40TL

Travel

Getting into the country
You will need a visa, but don't panic. You don't need to fill out any forms or do anything else before you arrive.

When you arrive at the airport (or, if you're going by train, when you cross the border), you pay £10 or 24.3 TL. More information here. Your passport must be valid for six months or more.

Official trip
On behalf of the club, Cooperative Travel Sports is offering a day trip for £389. For that, you get return flights, a match ticket, transfers and "CES security". You can pay £75 extra for a VIP ticket (a ticket in the main stand).

Champion Sports Tours
Champion Sports Tours have announced details of two trips to Istanbul for United's game against Besiktas on September 15.

The Sir Matt Busby Way-based company is offering a one-day trip from Liverpool and a three-day trip from Birmingham.

The Liverpool trip, WHICH IS NOW SOLD OUT, costs £349 and includes indirect flights in both directions.

However, the company is advising to keep checking its website in case more seats become available.

The Birmingham trip leaves on Monday September 13 direct for Istanbul, returning on Thursday September 16.

The price, including three nights' accommodation based on two people sharing a room is £365 per person. Book here.

Miss Ellies Travel
The company said it was considering running a trip to this game but has not released any specific information.

Red Army Travel
As above.

Independent routes - circa £200
Istanbul has two airports.

Sabinha Gokcen International Airport (pictured left) is about 12 miles east of the city centre.

Ataturk International Airport is about 15 miles west of the city centre.

Most travellers will be wanting to go on Saturday/Sunday/Monday and return on Wednesday.

For the cheapest deal, it is best to go from London, otherwide you're paying roughly £250 more from Manchester.

If you want to fly from Manchester, don't go independently - go on one of the organised trips above. You won't get as much time as an independent trip, but £450 flights is a rip off by anyone's standards.

The best combinations are:

1
Sunday September 13 - easyJet - £62.99 one way - Luton to Istanbul Sabinha Gokcen
Wednesday September 16 - Pegasus Airways - £131.55 one way - Istanbul Sabinha Goken to Stansted.
Total price: £194.54.

2
Sunday September 13 -Turkish Airlines - Stansted to Istanbul Ataturk
Wednesday September 16 - Turkish Airlines - Istanbul Ataturk to Heathrow
Total price: £189.66

3
Monday September 14 - Pegasus Airways - £59 one way - Stansted to Istanbul Sabinha Gokcen
Wednesday September 16 - Pegasus Airways - £131.55 one way - Istanbul Sabinha Gokcen to Stansted.

Total: £190.55

Due to Turkey's vastness, it really isn't practical or cheaper to fly into, or out of, other parts of the country.

That is with the exception of Izmir, which is six hours south of Istanbul by a combination of train and ferry.

That gives you this option:
4
Sunday September 13 - easyJet - £62.99 one way - Luton to Istanbul Sabinha Gokcen

Wednesday September 15 - Thomas Cook - £130 one way - Izmir to Manchester

However you might want to do part - or all - of the journey by train and get onward flights.

5
Sunday September 13 - easyJet - London Stansted to Istanbul Sabinha Gokcen - £62.99 one way
Wednesday September 16 - SunExpress - Istanbul Sabinha Gokcen to Frankfurt am Main - £111.31 one way
Wednesday September 16 - Ryanair - Frankfurt Hahn to Manchester - £19.91 one way.
Total: £194.21.

Seat 61 is an amazing website which brings you a step by step guide from reaching Istanbul from London, stopping off in Paris, Munich, Vienna, Budapest and Bucharest along the way.

You can use Sky Scanner to find appropriate flights that link up with your train journey.

But you'll be lucky to get a cheaper deal doing it this way and, due to the length of the train journey, it will certainly be a lot slower, so only do it for the fun of it!

Hotels
We've written a full hotel guide here.

What to see and do

We've written a full guide here thanks to ex-pat red Andy Olfield, who now lives in Istanbul.

Getting to the ground

It is opposite the Dolmabahçe Palace along the road from Beşiktaş to Taksim.

You will come across the Beşiktaş İnönü Stadium right at the end of Gümüşsuyu Avenue when traveling from Taksim.

It is within a walking distance of 10 minutes from Beşiktaş or Taksim Square which you could reach by subway, minibuses called “dolmus” or buses.

Those who travel from the Anatolian side could use the ferry which departs every 30 minutes, or the boat which operates continuously from Üsküdar and Kadıköy to Beşiktaş and Kabataş.


Other useful information
The Football Supporters Federation has put together a guide to Besiktas and Istanbul for reds making the trip. Read it here.

The Foreign Office also have a country guide for Turkey here. In particular, it mentions that the holy month of Ramadan will be on going until September 19, so be wary that most Turks will not eat or drink in public between sunrise and sunset.