City break
Istanbul in three days: hotel, guided visits and transfers
Two hotel nights, airport transfers, entrance tickets and two days of visits with a licensed English-speaking guide: the historic peninsula on the first full day and the Bosphorus with Galata on the day of departure.
Key facts
- Duration 3 days / 2 nights
- Route Istanbul 1 destination
- Quotation Quotation within 24 business hours
- Recommended months April–June, September, October
- Type Private
The façade of Hagia Sophia from Sultanahmet Square, the first visit of day 2.
Overview
A 3-day, 2-night programme in Istanbul designed for a long stopover, a weekend or the start of a tour. Day 1 is the arrival: transfer from the airport (IST or SAW), hotel check-in and a free afternoon. Day 2 is given entirely to the historic peninsula, on foot and with a licensed guide: the Hippodrome, the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia by its gallery route, Topkapı Palace, the Basilica Cistern and the Grand Bazaar, with tickets included. Day 3 combines the Spice Bazaar, a shared Bosphorus cruise and the walk over the Galata Bridge to İstiklal and the tower, and is shortened or completed according to the flight time, before the transfer to the airport.
The two days of visits follow the same route as our day tours of the old city and of the Bosphorus and Galata, operated here privately for your party, with the hotel and transfers in the base. It is the short version of our stay in the city: anyone with more days will find two further full days in the five-day programme.
The two days of visits follow the same route as our day tours of the old city and of the Bosphorus and Galata, operated here privately for your party, with the hotel and transfers in the base. It is the short version of our stay in the city: anyone with more days will find two further full days in the five-day programme.
Route: Istanbul
- Physical level: Moderate
- Languages of the guided visits: Spanish, English
Highlights
- Hagia Sophia, Topkapı and the Basilica Cistern with tickets included, in a single day on foot around Sultanahmet.
- The Grand Bazaar at the end of day 2 and the Spice Bazaar at the start of day 3, with free time in both.
- A shared Bosphorus cruise between the two shores, followed by the Galata Bridge, İstiklal and the tower.
- Arrival and departure transfers included from IST or SAW, with the luggage in the vehicle on the last day.
- Two hotel nights in the city and two days of visits with a licensed English-speaking guide, privately.
- The departure day adjusts to the flight time: the programme is shortened or completed without changing the two nights.
What is included and what is not
Included
- 2 nights’ accommodation in Istanbul.
- Daily breakfast at the hotel.
- Airport – hotel – airport transfers in Istanbul (IST or SAW).
- Excursions and visits stated in the programme, with a licensed English-speaking guide.
- Transport by air-conditioned coach, minibus or tourist vehicle for the included visits.
- Entrance tickets to the monuments listed in the itinerary: Hagia Sophia, Topkapı Palace and the Basilica Cistern (subject to changes in local regulations).
- Regular Bosphorus cruise (shared boat, according to operation).
- Programme organisation and local taxes.
Not included
- International flights (home country – Istanbul – home country).
- Lunches and dinners not mentioned as included.
- Optional activities: the Topkapı Harem, going up the Galata Tower, a sema ceremony, a Turkish bath and a dinner cruise with show on the Bosphorus.
- Personal expenses (minibar, laundry, telephone, etc.).
- Tips for the guide, the driver and hotel and restaurant staff.
- Visa fees and visa handling services, if required.
- Travel insurance (recommended).
- Any service not explicitly mentioned as included.
Day by day itinerary
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Day 1
Arrival in Istanbul
Arrival at Istanbul Airport (IST), on the European shore, or at Sabiha Gökçen (SAW), on the Asian side. The driver waits at the exit of the arrivals area with a sign in the passenger’s name. The drive to the hotel takes between 45 minutes and an hour and a half depending on the airport, the time of day and the traffic; from SAW, with the Bosphorus crossing, allow for the longer run.
Check-in and the rest of the day free. With a morning arrival, the afternoon allows a first look without the guide: Sultanahmet Square is a short walk from most hotels in the historic centre, and the Galata Bridge is the place to watch the sun set over the Golden Horn. With a night arrival nothing is lost: the visits begin on day 2 at nine.
The guide is not involved on this day; the hotel, the next morning’s pick-up time and the assistance number are in the travel documents your agency receives. A dinner cruise with show on the Bosphorus can be booked for this evening by those who wish.Optional activities
- Dinner cruise with show on the Bosphorus at night
Notes for the day: State the arrival airport when requesting the quotation: from SAW the transfer crosses the Bosphorus and is longer than from IST.
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Day 2
Historic peninsula: Hippodrome, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapı, Cistern and Grand Bazaar
Breakfast and pick-up at the hotel at nine. The day is done on foot around Sultanahmet, which packs into a few hundred metres what was once the centre of Constantinople and of the Ottoman capital.
It starts at the old Hippodrome, with the Egyptian obelisk of Theodosius, the Serpent Column brought from Delphi and the German Fountain, and continues to the Blue Mosque, with its six minarets and the İznik tiles inside; entry is made between prayer times. Opposite stands Hagia Sophia: foreign visitors follow a dedicated route up to the galleries, from where the Deesis and the imperial mosaics, the dome and the prayer floor are seen.
Next, Topkapı Palace, home of the sultans for almost four centuries: the courtyards, the kitchens, the Council Hall, the chamber of the holy relics and the terraces over the Bosphorus; the Harem has a separate ticket and can be added. Free time for lunch in the area.
In the afternoon, the Basilica Cistern, the Byzantine reservoir of 336 columns with the two Medusa heads, and to finish, the Grand Bazaar, with its covered streets of silversmiths, carpets and leather, where the guide leaves free time. Return to the hotel on foot or by vehicle at around five. Evening free; a sema ceremony can be attended by those who wish.Optional activities
- Harem of Topkapı Palace (separate ticket)
- Dervish sema ceremony in the evening
Notes for the day: If day 2 falls on a Tuesday, when Topkapı Palace is closed, or on a Sunday, when the Grand Bazaar is closed, the guide swaps visits with day 3.
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Day 3
Spice Bazaar, Bosphorus and Galata; transfer to the airport
Breakfast and check-out; the luggage travels in the vehicle to the airport. The day begins in Eminönü at the Spice Bazaar, the seventeenth-century covered market next to the New Mosque: spices, nuts, teas, lokum and cheeses, with a stop two streets away at the small Rüstem Paşa Mosque, lined with İznik tiles.
From the pier, a shared Bosphorus cruise of around an hour and a half: Dolmabahçe Palace, the Ortaköy Mosque beneath the first bridge, the wooden mansions on both shores, the Rumeli Fortress and the return with the old city’s skyline ahead.
Back on land, a walk across the Galata Bridge among the anglers and up to Beyoğlu: İstiklal Avenue with its red tram and its arcades, and the fourteenth-century Galata Tower, explained from the square; going up is optional. Lunch at leisure.
The airport transfer is set from the flight time: for an international flight, plan to be at IST three hours ahead and allow an hour’s drive, or more for SAW. With an afternoon flight the day is reduced to the bazaar and the cruise; with a night flight it runs in full and there is time for a coffee in Galata. End of services at the airport.Optional activities
- Going up the Galata Tower (separate ticket)
Notes for the day: The cruise runs on a regular shared boat; in rough seas the operator may cancel it and the morning is rearranged on land.
How the rate is calculated
Rate tailored to the season, the hotel category and the number of travellers. Request a quotation.
Departures
Tailor-made departures: any date
The programme is operated privately for your group: you choose the starting day and the itinerary is built around that date. There is no fixed departure calendar and no outside group to join.
Route map
Sultanahmet → Eminönü and the Bosphorus → Galata
Operational notes
- The order of the visits may change according to opening hours, traffic and the day’s operation. The content of the programme stays the same.
- In the mosques shoes are removed and shoulders and knees are covered; women cover their hair. Bringing a scarf of your own avoids relying on the ones lent at the entrance.
- Working mosques close to visitors during the five daily prayers and for longer around the Friday midday prayer; when a visit coincides, the guide explains it from outside or changes the order of the day.
- Hagia Sophia became a working mosque again in 2020 and foreign visitors follow a dedicated route up to the galleries, with the ground floor reserved for prayer. That route pauses at prayer times, its rules and hours depend on current regulations and may change without notice; if access is restricted on the date of the visit, the monument is explained from outside.
- Topkapı Palace is closed on Tuesdays; the Grand Bazaar on Sundays and religious holidays; museums keep different summer and winter hours. The final itinerary is adjusted to the opening calendar of the travel dates.
- During the religious holidays (Ramazan Bayramı and Kurban Bayramı, whose dates move with the lunar calendar) museum and shop hours change, and Sultanahmet and the piers are far busier.
- The Bosphorus cruise runs on a regular shared boat. The route or the vessel may change with the state of the sea and, exceptionally, the operator may cancel the service; in that case the morning is rearranged on land.
- Transfers depend on the airport and on traffic: between 45 minutes and an hour and a half from IST, and longer from Sabiha Gökçen (SAW), on the Asian shore. For an international departure, allow three hours at the airport.
- Both days are largely on foot, on cobbled streets and with slopes in Sultanahmet and on the climb to Galata. Moderate walking level; comfortable shoes and water.
- A valid passport, the visa or electronic authorisation and compliance with entry requirements are the traveller’s responsibility and depend on nationality; they should be checked in advance at the official source.
Best time to travel
Recommended months: April, May, June, September, October
Istanbul is visited all year round. From April to June and from September to October temperatures are mild and the Bosphorus is usually calm; in July and August the heat is humid and the queues in Sultanahmet are longer, so the visits start earlier; from December to February it rains often and there may be the odd day of snow, but the monuments are open and the city is seen with fewer people. The first half of April coincides with the tulips in the parks.
Gallery
Frequently asked questions
Does it work for a long stopover in Istanbul?
Yes, as long as the stopover includes two nights. For stopovers of under 24 hours with no hotel night, the right format is our day tours with pick-up, not this package.
What if the flight arrives at night or leaves early in the morning?
Day 1 only involves the transfer, so a night arrival takes nothing away from the visits. An early departure on day 3 does shorten the Bosphorus day: in that case the guide brings the Spice Bazaar and the cruise forward to first thing or, if that is not possible, a shorter visit is agreed in advance.
Do we go inside Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque?
Yes, on each one’s terms. Hagia Sophia is a working mosque with a tourist route through the upper galleries, closed during the five daily prayers and for longer at Friday midday; the ticket is included. The Blue Mosque is visited between prayer times, with shoulders and knees covered and, for women, hair covered.
Which days are Topkapı and the Grand Bazaar closed?
Topkapı Palace closes on Tuesdays and the Grand Bazaar on Sundays and during religious holidays. If day 2 falls on one of those, the guide swaps the order with day 3 or replaces the visit with another in the same area; the content of the programme stays the same.
How much walking is there?
Day 2 is almost entirely on foot within Sultanahmet, about four kilometres on cobbled streets with the odd slope. Day 3 alternates boat and walking, with the climb from the Galata Bridge up to İstiklal, which can be done on the Tünel funicular. Moderate level; comfortable shoes.
Where will the hotel be?
The hotel is named in the quotation with its category. The programme is designed for central hotels, from which Sultanahmet and Eminönü are a few minutes away, so that day 2 starts without a drive.
Is a visa needed?
It depends on nationality. Ordinary passports from Argentina, Colombia and Chile enter without a visa for up to 90 days, and those from Spain and Peru for up to 90 days in any 180-day period; Mexican passports need a visa, either consular or electronic (evisa.gov.tr). The full table by nationality, with the date it was checked, is in our guide to Turkey entry requirements. The passport must be valid for at least 60 days beyond the stay. Checking is the traveller’s responsibility and should be done in advance at the official source.
Can the programme be extended?
Yes. The five-day stay adds two more full days of visits, and from Istanbul the Cappadocia and the Ephesus and Pamukkale modules link up by air; everything is quoted together in a single offer.
Booking conditions
- Deposit
- 30% of the total when the booking is confirmed. For bookings made 30 days or less before departure, the full amount at confirmation.
- Balance
- The remaining 70%, no later than 31 days before departure.
- Payment methods
- Bank transfer or credit card. Card payments carry a 3% surcharge; charges applied by the issuing bank are borne by the client.
- Cancellations
- More than 90 days before departure: handling fee only, plus penalties on services already issued · 89–61 days: 25% · 60–31 days: 50% · 30 days or less and no-show: 100%. Reductions in places follow the same scale. Refunds within 10–14 business days of written cancellation.
Credentials
- Legal name
- Colorido Tours Turkey Turizm Ticaret Ltd. Şti.
- TÜRSAB licence
- A-12116
- Office
- Istanbul
- Operating scope
- Turkey only. Egypt, Jordan and the Greek islands only as extensions of a Turkey itinerary.
- Guides
- Licensed guides in Spanish and English
- 24/7 emergency line during the trip
- +90 544 533 53 55
- Who handles your request
- Your request is handled by our reservations team, and the same person follows the file from quotation through to operation on the ground.
