Where to go · İstanbul
İstanbul — how many days, and which side of the water.
The two decisions that shape the whole trip. Everything else is detail, and most of the detail you will enjoy figuring out yourself.
The short version
İstanbul at a glance
| How many days | Three full days covers the old city, the Bosphorus and one proper dinner. Five days lets you slow down and cross to the Asian side. Two days is a taste, not a visit. |
|---|---|
| Two airports | İstanbul (IST) on the European side, 45–50 km out. Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) on the Asian side, with a bridge between you and the old city. Check which one your ticket says — people get this wrong. |
| Getting around | Tram and metro are clean, cheap and fast. Traffic is not. For two or three people a driver often costs less than you expect and saves an hour a day. |
| Best months | April–May and September–October. August is hot and crowded. January is grey but the museums are empty and the hotels are half price. |
| Currency | Turkish lira. Cards work almost everywhere. Keep some cash for markets, taxis and small cafés. |
| Dress | Ordinary city clothes. For mosques: shoulders and knees covered, and a scarf for women — usually provided at the door if you do not have one. |
| The one thing to know | Start at 08:30. See the section below. It is the single biggest difference between a good day and an exhausting one. |
Where to stay
The district decides your trip more than the hotel does.
Two hotels with the same rating and the same price can give you completely different weeks. This is the part a booking site cannot tell you, and the reason people ask an agency.
Sultanahmet
Walk to Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. Best for a short first visit. Quiet at night, and the restaurants are aimed at tourists.
Galata & Beyoğlu
Where the city actually eats and drinks. Steep streets, good bars, 20 minutes by tram to the old city. Our usual recommendation.
Nişantaşı & Şişli
Shopping, calm streets, closer to the private hospitals. Popular for longer stays and for medical visits.
Kadıköy (Asian side)
Where locals live. Cheaper, livelier, and a ferry ride from everything. Good for a second visit, harder for a first.
A caution about "Bosphorus view". Many hotels advertise one. Some mean a full panorama; some mean a sliver between two buildings from the corner of one window. Ask us before you pay a premium for it — we will tell you which is which.
The 08:30 rule
Go early, or go late. Do not go at noon.
Between roughly 10:00 and 16:00 in season, the old city is genuinely crowded — long queues, packed courtyards, and photographs full of other people's heads.
- Start at 08:30You get an hour or two of near-empty streets. It is a different city.
- Or start at 15:30The coaches leave, the light gets better, and dinner follows naturally.
- Rest in the middleLunch, a hammam, or the hotel. Nobody enjoys queuing in August heat.
- Buy tickets in advanceYou walk past the line instead of standing in it. We do this as standard.
Honest opinions
What is worth your morning, and what is not.
Worth it
Hagia Sophia — nothing prepares you for the scale. Süleymaniye Mosque — quieter than the Blue Mosque and, many would say, more beautiful. Basilica Cistern. A private Bosphorus boat at 16:00.
Depends on you
Topkapı Palace — magnificent, but it takes three hours and needs a guide to make sense. Grand Bazaar — wonderful if you enjoy bargaining, exhausting if you do not.
Skip unless you have time
The crowded public ferry "Bosphorus cruise" with a loudspeaker. The tourist restaurants with menus in nine languages and a man outside inviting you in.
On carpet shops and "my cousin's gallery". If a friendly stranger starts a conversation near a monument and it drifts towards a shop, it is not a coincidence. It is not dangerous — just a sales technique. A simple "no thank you" ends it. Our guides do not take commission and will not take you anywhere you did not ask to go.
Questions
Before you write
Is three days really enough?
For the essentials, yes — comfortably, if the days are planned. İstanbul rewards a week, but it does not punish three days. What ruins a short trip is spending it in traffic.
Do I need a guide?
For Hagia Sophia and Topkapı, a licensed guide roughly triples what you take away — the buildings are full of history that is invisible without one. For wandering Galata and eating, you do not need anyone.
Is İstanbul safe?
As safe as any large European city, with the same ordinary precautions about crowds and pickpockets. For official guidance, check your own government's travel advice — we would rather you read that than take our word for it.
Can I see the Asian side in a day?
Yes, and it is worth it. A ferry to Kadıköy, the food market, lunch, and back at sunset. It costs almost nothing and it is the day most visitors remember.
What about Cappadocia — can I add it?
Easily. A short domestic flight, two nights, back to İstanbul. See the Cappadocia page for how the balloons actually work.
Start here
How many days do you have?
Tell us that and what you enjoy. We will send a plan you can change.
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