Visiting Istanbul next month

[Lucky]

Istanbul is advertising itself as "the new cool."

 

[vinapu]

On 6/24/2023 at 11:55 PM, PeterRS said:

 

I found it one of the most stunning cities I have ever visited and would gladly return. 

for me Istanbul is the best European city but I would not go there men hunting

[xpaulo]

Just spent a few days in Istanbul with several visits to Aquarius. I've always liked it because the men to me are super hot. But I've also regretted the uncomfortable cubicles and the not good value for money. I'm not sure what changed, but the guys had really upped their game since my last visit two years ago. I'm passive and they were much more aggressive than in the past. There weren't many younger guys there, it was mostly masculine from some low 20s into low 30s. As for escorts Hunqz and Rentmen have been blocked by the the government, but  I think there are workarounds..

[Heba as-sa3udeya]

More agressive ? 

[xpaulo]

2 minutes ago, Heba as-sa3udeya said:

More agressive ?

Instead of just sitting back and letting me blow them with no engagement from them, if I asked, they'd be more take charge and be the dominant masculine partner I was hoping for. It was a lot more enjoyable for me and I think they appreciated knowing what it was I was hoping for.

[Heba as-sa3udeya]

they'd be more take charge and be the dominant masculine partner I was hoping for… it sounds as good and clear as possible 

Thank you

[jensplatta]

9 hours ago, xpaulo said:

Instead of just sitting back and letting me blow them with no engagement from them, if I asked, they'd be more take charge and be the dominant masculine partner I was hoping for. It was a lot more enjoyable for me and I think they appreciated knowing what it was I was hoping for.

I agree Xpaulo, Aquarius is  good for what it is. It does perfectly what it says on the tin.  It is dirty, yes. The cabins are uncomfortable, yes. In relation to value, you need to be firm that no way you  are willing to pay more than 2000TLR (65 euro). There should be more than happy with that for a full service. They always quote 100 USD to start with but no way. I was there last week myself after Athens but only for a couple of days over the weekend. 

I did notice this time that there were less "professionals". The pool over the summer was better.

[djknight1]

Hello, I'm staying at the Mamara Taksim.

[AlecH.UK]

I enjoyed Aquarius when I visited some years ago, and I'd say it's a must when in Istanbul. Be sure to get to the tourist sites on the other side of the isthmus in the early mornings to get the best experience of them.

[young11]

On 2/1/2025 at 6:58 AM, AlecH.UK said:

I enjoyed Aquarius when I visited some years ago, and I'd say it's a must when in Istanbul. Be sure to get to the tourist sites on the other side of the isthmus in the early mornings to get the best experience of them.

there was one really hot guy in 2018, had an amazing experience and arranged a meeting next time in 2019 at my hotel but he had to go to hospital when he was on my way to me because the wife's water got broken. It was an interesting experience lol Anyway, after covid, I visited a couple of times but never had anyone sexy enough to deal with ridiculous price haggling there. 

[polysome]

On 3/15/2025 at 1:52 PM, young11 said:

there was one really hot guy in 2018, had an amazing experience and arranged a meeting next time in 2019 at my hotel but he had to go to hospital when he was on my way to me because the wife's water got broken. It was an interesting experience lol Anyway, after covid, I visited a couple of times but never had anyone sexy enough to deal with ridiculous price haggling there. 

When's the best time to go?

Approx. how many providers are in the venue?

[Pinnacleore]

On 8/22/2022 at 9:27 PM, Sherlocked said:

Hello everyone. Just got my e-visa and I'll be visiting Istanbul in the first week of September for one week. I have gone through the existing posts on Istanbul on these forums, but still had some questions that I would be grateful if anyone could answer!

1. Saunas other than Aquarius - Most people on the forum have mentioned Aquarius sauna, but none of the other reputedly gay saunas. Google and gay travel websites mention Firuzaga bath, Cihangir sauna and Yesilderik hamam too. Has anyone had an experience at any of these saunas and hammams, or any other hammams I've missed out? At the above saunas, is fun only to be had with patrons (like in saunas in the West), or are the masseurs up for extra services as well?

2. Tekyon club - All the gay websites say that this is a pretty popular club in Istanbul. However, the Google reviews are pretty mixed! Has anyone visited Tekyon? Are escorts also available here (a few of the Google reviews mention this)?

3. Massage places - This is probably my naivete, but I was expecting a lot of gay massage places like there is in other parts of Asia like Thailand or Singapore, but through a Google search I could hardly find anything. I found this masseur called Bora (https://malemasseuristanbul.weebly.com/), who has a few good reviews - does anyone have any experience with him? Apart from that, I've found these two massage listing websites - https://www.masor-turkiye.com/, and https://www.masajturkiye.com/. However, the descriptions indicate only a professional massage, with nothing sensual/erotic. Does anyone have experience hiring from either of these websites; are the masseurs willing to go beyond and offer extras? Are there any other masseurs/massage services in Istanbul that forum members can recommend - I was pretty surprised to hardly find anything!

4. Apps/websites - A few people on this forum have mentioned hiring escorts through Planet Romeo or Rentmen? Are they both equally popular and reliable, or is one better than the other? I checked out Istanbul listings on both websites, and they were pretty extensive, but reviews are few. Given some of the dangerous experiences guys have mentioned having through online hiring from Grindr (I don't use Grindr so won't be hiring from here) or to a lesser extent, Romeo (Hunqz) and Rentmen, I was wondering if either one was safer/more reliable? Some of the older reviews mention Hornet being popular; is that still the case or is it now not that popular?

5. Stray dogs - Have any of the forum members had any negative experiences with stray dogs - like attacking people, etc.? I know this point seems a bit unusual, but there has recently been a lot of controversy in Turkey over an app called Havrita which points out locations of supposed aggressive street dogs that have attacked people. On the other side, a lot of people are calling for it to be shut down because some people have apparently poisoned street dogs after learning their locations through the app.

Thank you all in advance. I will truly be grateful for any answers anyone shares. I will of course post a trip report of my experiences once I'm back, that I hope will be helpful for forum members visiting Istanbul in the near future. This forum has been extremely helpful to me so far!

 

Don’t count out Scruff, i have found Grindr really went downhill. I’m having some lovely conversations with younger guys on scruff ahead of a trip next month to Europe. Lots of young guys who like daddies. Customer support on scruff has been amazing too, I had a tech issue and they resolved it in less than an hour. Grindr took at least a week to ever get back to me. 

[young11]

On 7/6/2025 at 10:00 PM, polysome said:

When's the best time to go?

Approx. how many providers are in the venue?

Not sure if there is a best time for Aquarius because the guys work in shifts so it is different from thermas or Brazilian saunas where boys are free agents. I forgot when the shift change was but I guess you want to go before the shift change if you want to see both shifts. I think they had only two shifts. I forgot the exact number of boys present but should be around 10 or less. But again, I haven't been there for a couple of years. In my recent (nonhiring) visit to Istanbul, I realized that the inflation has been far worse than the currency devaluation so many things got expensive, similar to cheaper western European cities. It really kills a major attraction for the city.