Layover in Istanbul
 

Hello,


I have a 10 hour layover in Istanbul from 9:30 am. I definitely want to do a little sightseeing but would also like to get back to the airport in time to freshen up and rest before the next flight.


Should I do a day tour or hop on try to do it myself? After the sightseeing and I'm back at the airport, do you have any suggestions on where I can relax until my next flight?

If the tour fits and you feel like not doing something on your own - go ahead and do the tour. Otherwise, take the metro to the center and walk around a bit on your own. Istanbul has a lot of history, so the tour may be interesting from that point of view

An attack today in IST so you may want to reconsider.

If the flight is in the next week or so, this makes good sense, time to re-route the flight.

Bear in mind that this happened outside security. Personally I'd still be OK with a transit through IST; perhaps not so comfortable to go landside at this point. Sad.

Sad about the tragedy, prayers for the victims and their families.

If you are still planning it, I suggest you do it yourself using the public transit(and depending on which sites you plan to visit, get a museumkard, will save you time at entrances of the sites).

But do give yourself sufficient time to get back. If you have access to the TK flagship lounge, it has (or had) its own security entrance which will save you time going back.

I don't think there is a separate security entrance to the lounge any more, but there is definitely a fast track security line which is very efficient.

I'm going the end of October. Thank you for the information.

It is a very sad situation. My thoughts and prayers go to the victims and families.

My experience is if you go in high season the tour may take you places you can't even enter because the lines are so long. The bus back, won't arrive earlier because your tour got shortend ;) if you're a bit of a traveler, i would advise going your own way.

Long lines will be the least of her problems:

"Istanbul nearly a ghost town as tourists stay away"

https://www.yahoo.com/news/istanbul-...62.html?ref=gs

Really depends on the time of day. Istanbul's traffic most of the time is truly appalling. So, if you are travelling back from the Old City to the airport at peak hour or thereabouts, you may need to allow a couple of hours just for that trip! Same inbound. Seriously with 10 hours to spare, it could be tight. You'd need 4 hours to do the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia and (say) the Cistern (they are all within easy walking distance of each other), but if you wanted to do Topkapi Palace or the Spice Market or Grand Bazaar as well...your time is very tight.

I arrive at 9:30AM on Saturday, October 29 and my connecting flight is at 10:30PM.


I saw that Turkish Air has day tours but the only one I can do is the noon to 6pm.


I was also wondering if it would be better to take the train from the airport and do my own sightseeing or try to hire a guide.


I'd like to see the main sights, visit the Grand Bazaar and try a decent restaurant.

afternoon free, Asia side - suggestions?
 

Will be in IST next week, with an afternoon free on the Asian side (morning meetings in Umraniye); planning to take the ferry back from Kadikoy to Bakirkoy and then taxi to IST for a late evening flight. Any suggestions for things to do Asia side, or should I just head down to Kadikoy and find somewhere for a long lunch?

theres also a lot of eating around kadikoy, like at cifa sofrasi. you can burn time taking one of the ferry tours, tho obviously will be quite cold

I second the ferry, but take the commuter ferry for a fraction of the price.

WARNING-beware taking ferries to the Princes Islands (Prens Adaları) as there is a limited service and you don't want to get stuck there when your flight takes off (if you do there are Water Taxis).

Kadikoy is nice but if it's your first time in Istanbul, you may want to head to the European side as there is more things to see.