We had previously taken advantage of Turkish Airlines stopover program where you get a free hotel room simply for adding a day or two to your itinerary to spend in Istanbul.
For shorter stops, Turkish Airways also offers their Touristanbul program with a variety of tours at different times of the day and different venues and durations. All free of charge. We assume they just want to show off their beautiful city.
Istanbul sightseeing tour
We recently had an 8-hour layover on the way back from the Philippines and the timing worked great for us to try out the half day sightseeing tour.
How to book
We booked it online the same day we arrived, but you can of course book it in advance. Simply go online and enter your name and ticket number. The system will only let you pick tours that can work with your connection time.
Finding the tour desk was interesting. While the official site says there is one in the arrivals area, we were told that the desk was actually outside the secure zone, and we had to clear immigration to get to it. Even more reason to book in advance and to give yourself a little more time to navigate through the large airport and find your way to the tour desk. Basically, after passing through the luggage claim area and exiting, turn right and walk all the way to the end to reach the tour desk that clearly says Touristanbul.
Check-in was easy and soon enough our guide was walking us all out to one of many large modern and comfortable tour buses.
Tour overview
It took about 30 minutes of highway driving to reach our first stop just outside the Dolmabahçe Palace.
The tour includes a free Turkish bagel and choice of coffee or tea at a restaurant with tables overlooking the Bosphorus. This was nice but we could not resist to temptation to order a few baklavas while there. A true tasting memory for us of Istanbul.
Next the bus drove around and past the Old City center but it’s hard to see much because of the fortified walls. We learned that Istanbul actually has the third largest city walls in the world and that they once spanned all the way to the airport!
Aside from a quick glimpse of the Hagia Sophia and seeing the little Hahia Sophia and the original Topkapi Palace we next ventured to the famous Galata Bridge filled with shops overlooking the large Yeni Mosque and the Spice Market. The bus stopped on the bridge for a photo stop, but the wind was howling and we got a few quick pics and headed back to the bus.
Getting back to the airport
Before we knew it, we were back heading to the airport for our 11:30 am drop off. And we got there right on time. Turkish Airlines says that if you miss your flight they will put you on the next one for free so I’m sure they try hard to avoid that from happening.
Sweet memories of Istanbul
Having been to Istanbul before the tour brought back some nice memories for us about the city and we had fun recognizing the landmarks and reminiscing about our longer stay there.
We also enjoyed meeting some of Istanbul’s furry citizens. For thousands of years İstanbulites have had a love affair with cats.
The cats of Istanbul are loved and well taken care of as we can see from their plump figures and silky fur. There is an estimated population of 125,000 free roaming felines and if we include house cats the number rises to 200,000 in Istanbul or shall we say Catistanbul!
Conclusion
Unfortunately with only 3 1/2 hours, you just get a quick overview. The longer full day tour actually stops in the Old City which we thought was the real heart of Istanbul and for those that haven’t visited before would be the one to do. There are also Bosphorus cruises in the summer, perhaps another time we’ll try one of these if opportunity presents itself.
Either way, no regrets. It was sure better to be out and about in the fresh air instead of just hanging out at the airport for 8 hours. We thank Turkish Airlines for making the tour available. Did we say it was all free?
Perhaps the idea is exactly that, to whet your appetite and get you to come back for a longer stay and spend some tourist dollars to bolster the economy. In any case Istanbul is an interesting city to visit and boasts many important historic landmarks.
Tips:
- Plan a good hour to clear customs and get to the tour desk. We had 45 minutes and just made it exactly on time. They want you there 30 minutes before the tour and there was a lineup. I suspect that had we been later we may have missed out.
- Book online in advance. It just takes your last name and ticket number. This also ensures you have a spot after spending time in line and clearing customs.
- Coming back was easy and quick. We got through the Fast Pass customs and back to the lounge in a mere 15 minutes. If you have Fast Pass access as a frequent flier it’s nice to know an express lane exists. If your perks include lounge access you can also keep your carryon at the airport in the lounge locker area but keep in mind there is a 24 hour limit so don’t attempt this with a stopover of multiple days.
- If you don’t want to leave your bag in storage you can also bring them along and they lock them in the bus for you. Many did that on our tour.
- Another plus is that Turkey has eliminated the need for visas for many countries in 2024. As Canadians we no longer needed to apply for a visa. And I believe this is true as well for Americans.
Definitely a nice way to break up the time when on a long stopover. We would definitely recommend it and would do it again should we find ourselves connecting in Istanbul again.