TOUR INFO AND ITINERARY

This is a full-day city tour by bus and boat. The tour starts by picking you up from your hotel at about 08.30 am and ends up by dropping you off back at your hotel at about 17.30 pm. During the tour, you will be visiting some of the most remarkable highlights of İstanbul. First, you will be driven to Dolmabahçe Palace to visit the interior parts. After that, you will be taken to Asian Side to visit the highest point of İstanbul, Çamlıca Hill by passing across the Bosphorus Bridge. You will get the sense of passing from one continent to another. Then you will be taken back again to European Side to visit Pierre Lotti Hill and have a cable car tour. The bus tour will end up bypassing the Ancient City Walls and you will be transferred to your boat to do the Bosphorus Cruise. You will be given an open buffet free lunch with 30 different dishes. On the way, you will sail along the European Side up until the third bridge, and on the way back, you return from the Asian Side so that at the end of the tour you will have a great collection of pictures and videos. All along, there will be a private licensed tour guide who will explain to you the history and importance of the monuments. It will be an unforgettable day trip. Below, you can find a summary of the places you will be visiting during the tour.

Dolmabahçe Palace, if you take a Bosphorus tour, you’ll pass many lavish and intriguing buildings, but the most opulent of them all surely has to be the 600 m long Dolmabahçe Sarayı (Dolmabahce Palace). It took 13 years to build and was completed in 1856 and served as the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire until 1922.

The palace was commissioned by Sultan Abdülmecid who decided that there should be a more European palace than Topkapı Palace and was designed by Armenian architect Karabet Balian and his son. It is an ostentatious blend of architectural styles including Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassical and modern Ottoman, dripping in luxury. It must be added that the father of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk has lived and passed away in this palace.

Çamlıca Hill, a trip to İstanbul would not be complete without a visit to Çamlıca Hill, the highest point of İstanbul. At this height, the mighty İstanbul looks like a gigantic carpet of sea and forest where the houses snaking through it. With Çamlıca Mosque located on the cliff, it is a wonder of man-made architecture that paves the way for awe-inspiring views.

Pierre Loti Hill, this wonderful viewpoint has a commanding view over İstanbul. Facing towards the Golden Horn of the Bosphorus waterway, many choose to spend time drinking traditional tea or coffee at the cafe on the hill to take the view. The hill was named after a French writer who specialized in impressionistic style writing. After visiting İstanbul for the first time in 1876 as an officer on a French ship, he felt impressed by the Ottoman way of life. During his time in Istanbul, he lived in the Eyup area, which includes the hill.

Bosphorus Cruise, Bosphorus Strait is the natural symbol and icon of İstanbul. For the locals of İstanbul, the Bosphorus Strait is simply the most beautiful place in the world, and there’s no better way to see it than from the water. This important waterway is such a defining feature of İstanbul and the Bosphorus cruise along it gives visitors a chance to delve into the city’s past and today. Lined with extravagant palaces, crumbling wooden mansions, lush gardens, tiny fishing villages, and an unparalleled array of spots to watch as the boat goes by, the Bosphorus offers something for everyone.

Closed: Dolmabahçe Palace is closed on Mondays and Thursdays. Therefore, you should join this tour except for Mondays and Thursdays.

What is Included: All transfers, all tickets, one lunch and a professional tour guide in English.

Cost: 75€ per person.