TERRIBLE experience. Disappointing and overpriced for foreigners…read more Summary: Employees don't speak English so your kids will have no clue what is happening during the activities and be bored. You aren't allowed to enter the activities with your kids. Also, very few activities for little kids. Lots of the activities were closed when we came. The whole experience felt like a scam. Detailed: I took my two kids (4 and 11 years old) to Kidzania while in Istanbul. We were looking forward to it all week. But we were all realllly disappointed. Bear in mind that the tickets for foreigners are much more expensive. Kids tickets are double the price and adult tickets are more than 3x the price. Because foreigner tickets cost more and the website is in English, I assumed that the employees would speak English. Not the case. NONE of the employees at the activities spoke English. This meant that my kids couldn't really participate in many of the activities because they didn't understand what to do. The manager's "solution" was to send us a translator who would walk around with my kids to each activity while we adults sat in the parents lounge. Understandably, my kids didn't want to walk around with some strange guy. My 4 year old was scared of him. On top of that, his translations during the activities were boring. After a LOT of arguing, I was able to convince the manager to let me attend the activities with my kids so I could explain things and try to make it more interesting. Despite getting permission, I still had to explain to each activity leader that I was allowed to enter with my kids. Then they would get on the phone and call the manager. Basically, we had to wait 5-10 minutes before each activity (not counting the time spent in line) just to get permission again. The entire experience was frustrating and annoying. I felt like they were scamming the foreigners. It's not okay to charge more than double the price for such terrible services. Now, if you speak Turkish and your kids are around 6 to 8 years old, then Kidzania is probably worth it: you get to sit and relax while your kids run around and have fun. But, if you don't speak Turkish, it's definitely a waste of money.

"I am an American with degrees in Psychology and Communication, and I work in Human Resources with…read morean International Company here in Istanbul. I speak Turkish fluently, and we send our daughter to a reputable Turkish preschool. Today we visited KidZania for the first time, and I expected to be treated both fairly and respectfully; however, that was not my experience today. Unfortunately, a number of the employees treated both myself and my Turkish friend disrespectfully. While I understand that there are guidelines that must be followed in such an establishment, the manner in which an employee enforces certain guidelines and conducts him or herself with customers (many of them highly educated professionals bringing their children) says a lot about the business. While I love the product that KidZania is "selling" and the experiences my daughter had, the manner in which some of the employees carried themselves left something to be desired. I wondered if their manner comes back to the training KidZania provides or the lack of education and experience of their employees. At any rate, it will be a while before I venture to KidZania again, and when I do I will put my "thick skin" on and prepare myself for the disrespectful behaviour of their employees." - Sarah, Dave L's wife

Istanbul Akvaryum is Istanbul's aquarium. This is a very large facility that, as it's name implies,…read morepresents a large selection of sea life and other life forms for your viewing pleasure. This is a very large facility. They have several sizable aquariums, home to an untold number of large fish, as well as smaller aquariums, housed throughout the facility, presenting all kinds of sea life. They also have a penguin enclosure. Though personally, I am against restricting those aquatic birds to facilities such as this. Nonetheless, they seem to do a good job of providing them with a livable home. I actually came to this aquarium by accident, when a taxi driver took my wife and I to the wrong location. But, as we were already here, we decided to check it out, and it was impressive. You can spend a lot of time here, if that is what you want to do. There are many things to see and a lot of time can be spent studying the fish and other sea life as they glide through the water. FYI: This facility is a bit out of the way from central Istanbul. Meaning, it will take you some time to get here. But, once here, you may have a truly enjoyable experience. Also, this aquarium is connect to a large shopping mall. So, if that is your choice, you easily go shopping once you have completed your Istanbul Akvaryum experience.

Located on the water. Aquarium is fairly reasonably priced. No lines making it to easy to buy…read moretickets, you can purchase online tickets as well. They have awesome themed rooms you walk through which is the coolest experience. Lot of different species. Overall a great and wonderful experience