City break
Istanbul in four days: three hotel nights and two days of guided visits
Three nights’ hotel accommodation with breakfast, private airport transfers and two full days of guided visits with a licensed guide, on shared services.
Scheduled departure The services on this programme — vehicle, guide and visits — are shared with the other passengers on the same departure.
Key facts
- Duration 4 days / 3 nights
- Route Istanbul 1 destination
- Quotation Quotation within 24 business hours (72 business hours for groups and MICE)
- Recommended months April, May, September, October
- Departure type Scheduled departure
Overview
“Istanbul I” is the shortest of the four city programmes in our 2027 catalogue: three nights in the city and two full days of visits, enough for a first visit to be covered without rushing. On arrival day our team meets your client at Istanbul Airport or at Sabiha Gökçen and takes them to the hotel by private transfer. The second day covers the historic peninsula on foot: the Roman Hippodrome, the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia from outside, Topkapi Palace and the Basilica Cistern — the entrance fees for the last two are included — finishing at the Grand Bazaar. The third day climbs to the Süleymaniye Mosque, cruises the Bosphorus on a scheduled boat and then comes down to Galata, İstiklal Avenue and the Spice Market. On the fourth day, transfer to the airport. It is operated on the catalogue’s scheduled formula: the visits are shared with the other passengers on that departure and the programme can start on any day of the year.
Route: Istanbul
- Physical level: Moderate
- Languages of the guided visits: Spanish, English
Highlights
- The historic peninsula on foot in a single day: Roman Hippodrome, Blue Mosque, Topkapi and the Basilica Cistern, with the entrance fees for the last two included.
- A Bosphorus cruise on a scheduled boat, past palaces, fortresses and the wooden mansions on both shores.
- The Süleymaniye Mosque and the terrace of its complex, one of the cleanest viewpoints over the Golden Horn.
- The two historic bazaars on separate days: the Grand Bazaar on the first sightseeing day and the Spice Market on the second.
- Private airport transfers at both ends of the programme, even though the visits are operated on shared services.
What is included and what is not
Included
- 3 nights’ accommodation in Istanbul in a 4* hotel as listed, or similar, with breakfast.
- City accommodation tax.
- Private arrival and departure transfers between the airport and the hotel.
- The visits listed in the itinerary with a licensed guide.
- Entrance fees listed in the itinerary: Topkapi Palace and the Basilica Cistern.
- Air-conditioned transport with wifi on board during the visits.
- Bottled water each day.
Not included
- Lunches and dinners: the programme runs on hotel breakfast only.
- Entrance to Hagia Sophia: on this programme the monument is explained from outside.
- Going up the Galata Tower.
- Optional excursions, quoted on request: Asian Istanbul, old and modern Europe, a private yacht cruise on the Bosphorus and a Turkish Night in Istanbul with dinner on the Bosphorus.
- International flights (home country – Istanbul – home country).
- All drinks.
- Personal expenses (minibar, laundry, telephone, etc.).
- Tips for the guide, the driver and hotel and restaurant staff.
- Travel insurance, which we recommend with cancellation cover.
- Visa or electronic entry authorisation for Türkiye, depending on nationality.
Day by day itinerary
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Day 1
Arrival in Istanbul
Our team waits in the arrivals hall of whichever airport your client lands at: Istanbul Airport (IST), on the European side to the north of the city, the country’s main intercontinental hub, or Sabiha Gökçen (SAW), on the Asian side in Pendik, which handles much of the domestic traffic.
The transfer to the hotel is private: no shared vehicle and no waiting for other passengers. It is worth explaining to the traveller that road time in Istanbul depends far more on traffic and on the hour of arrival than on distance; from IST to the Taksim area, for instance, a realistic figure by public transport is sixty to seventy-five minutes with a change, and the private transfer exists precisely so that journey is not made with luggage in hand.
The rest of the day is free. If the flight lands in the morning and the room is ready, there is time for a first walk around the hotel’s neighbourhood and dinner nearby; if it lands at night, resting is the sensible choice, because the following day starts early and is covered almost entirely on foot.
For an arrival in the small hours we arrange the previous night or an early check-in: mention it in the request and it is quoted with the rest of the programme.Notes for the day: The transfer is arranged around the flight’s arrival time. Any change of flight or terminal must be notified in advance so the pick-up can be rearranged.
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Day 2
Classic Istanbul: the historic peninsula
A full day of around eight hours, covered almost entirely on foot around Sultanahmet, with a licensed guide and on services shared with the other passengers on that departure.
It starts at the Roman Hippodrome, today an elongated square where the Egyptian obelisk, the serpentine column and the German Fountain still stand: this is where Byzantine Constantinople suddenly makes sense, because the outline of the racing track lies under the pavement. A few metres away is the Blue Mosque, famous for its interior tiles and its six minarets; the interior is visited when it is open to visitors and, if the hour coincides with a prayer time, it is explained from outside and the morning is reordered.
Then Hagia Sophia. On this programme the visit is from outside: the building is explained from the square, with its Byzantine and Ottoman history, and the ticket for the tourist route inside is not included.
The morning ends at Topkapi Palace, with the entrance included and pre-booked: the courtyards, the pavilions and the terrace looking out over the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn. A break for lunch at your own expense in a local restaurant recommended by the guide, and in the afternoon the Basilica Cistern, also with the entrance included, with its forest of columns and the Medusa heads.
The day closes at the Grand Bazaar, with free time among carpets, lamps and ceramics. It finishes in the middle of the afternoon in the Sultanahmet area.Notes for the day: Several hours on cobbled streets and some slopes. Entering the mosques means removing your shoes and covering shoulders and knees. Lunch is not included.
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Day 3
Istanbul’s jewels: Süleymaniye, the Bosphorus and Galata
A second full day of around eight hours, again on shared services. It begins at the Süleymaniye Mosque, Mimar Sinan’s major work in the city; beyond the interior, what justifies the climb is the terrace of the complex, one of the cleanest viewpoints over the Golden Horn and the mouth of the Bosphorus.
From there the group goes down to the waterfront for the Bosphorus cruise. This is a shared scheduled boat, not a private one: you sail past palaces, fortresses, neighbourhood mosques and the wooden mansions on both shores, with Europe on one side and Asia on the other. It is worth warning the traveller that the route or the vessel may change if the weather requires it and that, exceptionally, the service is suspended in rough seas.
Back on land, the afternoon belongs to Galata: the area around the tower, with time for photographs — going up the tower is not included — and the walk along İstiklal Avenue and its arcades. The group then crosses the Galata Bridge on foot, among anglers, trams and views of the Golden Horn, to finish at the Spice Market with a guided visit inside: spices, dried fruit, teas and sweets. It is the useful stop for whatever shopping your client did not do at the Grand Bazaar.
A break for lunch at your own expense in the middle of the day. It finishes in the middle of the afternoon in the Galata area or at a nearby public transport point.Optional activities
- Turkish Night in Istanbul with dinner aboard a Bosphorus cruise
Notes for the day: The cruise operates on a shared scheduled boat. Going up the Galata Tower is not included; if your client wants to, we add it to the quotation. Lunch is not included.
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Day 4
Departure
Breakfast at the hotel and free time depending on the flight: enough for last-minute shopping, a coffee with a view of the Bosphorus or a return to a district that felt too short. At the agreed time, a private transfer from the hotel to whichever airport the ticket uses, IST or SAW, and the end of our services.
Two things worth settling at the time of booking. First, that the transfer is calculated around the flight time rather than around a comfortable morning: with Istanbul traffic the pick-up can be a good deal earlier than the passenger expects, and it is better known at booking than the night before. Second, that if the flight leaves at night, late check-out or an extra night can be requested; we arrange both and they are quoted separately.
If your client wants to travel on, this programme works as the opening leg of a tour of Anatolia: tell us the cities and the dates and we will prepare the quotation for the whole thing.
Expected hotels
| City | Nights | Category | Hotel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Istanbul | 3 | 4* | Nippon Hotel Taksim · Elite World Hotel Taksim · Taksim Gönen Hotel · Ramada by Wyndham Hotel Taksim · Point Hotel · Ramada Grand Bazaar Laleli · Byzantium Hotel · 10 Karaköyor similar |
Hotels as listed or similar; the final confirmation is given in the quotation.
How the rate is calculated
Rate tailored to the season, the hotel category and the number of travellers. Request a quotation.
Departures
Scheduled departure
The services on this programme — vehicle, guide and visits — are shared with the other passengers on the same departure.
The exact dates of each departure are confirmed in the quotation, together with hotel and domestic-flight availability.
Operational notes
- The order of the visits may change according to opening hours, traffic and the day’s operation. The content of the programme and the level of the contracted services stay the same.
- Mosques require shoes to be removed and shoulders and knees covered; women are required to cover their hair. Bringing your own scarf is advisable, although the busiest mosques usually lend one at the entrance.
- Working mosques close to visitors during the five daily prayers and, in particular, around the Friday midday prayer. When a visit coincides, the commentary is given outside or the day is reordered.
- Museums and palaces may have a weekly closing day and different summer and winter opening hours. The final itinerary is adjusted to the opening calendar in force on 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 the monuments get busier.
- Our local team in Istanbul looks after the passengers throughout their stay, with an emergency line operating 24 hours a day.
- Passports must be valid for at least six months beyond the return date. The electronic visa, where nationality requires one, is applied for at evisa.gov.tr. Checking entry requirements and carrying valid documents is the traveller’s responsibility.
- Much of the programme is covered on foot, on cobbled streets and slopes in Sultanahmet, Galata and along the Bosphorus shores. Moderate walking level; comfortable shoes are recommended.
- On scheduled programmes the itineraries may be adjusted according to local operating conditions. In Istanbul, some legs are covered by public transport or on foot depending on traffic, which is often the fastest way to move around the historic peninsula.
- On scheduled tours passengers must keep strictly to the stated times: the vehicle and the guide serve the whole group on that departure and cannot wait indefinitely.
- Seats in the vehicle are not numbered and daily rotation is recommended. In high season, some legs may be shared with other groups working in the same language.
- The Bosphorus cruise operates on a shared scheduled boat. The route or the vessel may change because of weather and, exceptionally, the service can be suspended in rough seas.
Best time to travel
Recommended months: April, May, September, October
Istanbul can be visited all year round. April and May, and September and October, are the ideal months: mild temperatures, which suit a programme covered largely on foot. July and August are hot and humid. From November to February, the low season, the monuments are free of queues, the days are shorter and the weather is cold and wet; the Bosphorus cruise still operates, with changes of route or vessel when the weather requires them.
Gallery
Frequently asked questions
Do we go inside Hagia Sophia?
Not on this programme: Hagia Sophia is explained from outside and its entrance fee is not included. Hagia Sophia is now a working mosque, with a separate tourist route for foreign visitors through the upper galleries while the ground floor is reserved for prayer, and that route closes during prayer times. If your client wants to go in, mention it in the request and we add it to the quotation. Our “Istanbul Private in Depth” programme does include the entrance.
Which entrance fees are included?
Those for the monuments marked as included in the itinerary: Topkapi Palace and the Basilica Cistern. The rest are exterior visits, panoramic stops or places with free access, such as the mosques. Going up the Galata Tower is not included.
What does it mean that the programme is scheduled?
It means the visits in the itinerary are operated on shared services: the vehicle, the licensed guide and the route are the same for every passenger on that departure. The arrival and departure transfers, by contrast, are private. The programme can start on any day of the year and runs continuously; the exact date is confirmed in the quotation.
Does the guide speak the same language throughout?
The visits in the itinerary are led by a licensed guide, holding a licence from the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, in English or in Spanish. Airport transfers are made with a driver and without a guide. In high season, some legs may be shared with other groups working in the same language.
How much walking is there each day?
Both sightseeing days run to around eight hours including stops, and much of the route is covered on foot, on cobbled streets and some slopes. The level is moderate: comfortable shoes are needed, not special fitness.
How long does a quotation take?
We reply within 24 business hours for individual travel and private tours and within 72 business hours for groups, once dates, passenger numbers and hotel category are confirmed.
Is this the “Istanbul I” programme from the 2027 catalogue?
Yes. It corresponds to “Istanbul I”, 4 days and 3 nights, in our 2027 trade catalogue.
Are international flights included?
No. The programme starts and ends in Istanbul; international flights are booked by the agency or the traveller. The arrival and departure transfers between the airport and the hotel are included.
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.
