Bursa And Uludağ Tour From İstanbul with Cable Car & Lunch
Description
Embark on a full-day trip from Istanbul to Bursa, the first capital of the Ottoman Empire, crossing the Sea of Marmara. Explore the city's rich history by visiting a 14th-century Seljuk-style mosque, wandering through local markets, and sampling fresh, locally grown foods. Take in breathtaking views of the rugged alpine landscape as you ride the cable car up Mount Olympus. Enjoy a traditional Turkish BBQ lunch at the summit, with some free time to explore the area. Afterward, visit an atmospheric tea house in the historic Silk Market to discover Bursa’s rich artisan and trading heritage. Conclude your day with a comfortable return journey to Istanbul. See the Green Mosque and Green Tomb, famous for their colorful tiles. Enjoy a ferry ride across the Marmara Sea with views of Istanbul. Explore Bursa, known for its history and beautiful scenery. Bursa Grand Bazaar Shopping Time . Ride a cable car down Uludag Mountain for great views.
Tour Options
Itinerary
The Bursa Day Tour begins in the morning from Istanbul’s city center. Guests are picked up directly from their hotels in a comfortable, fully air-conditioned bus. Accompanied by a professional tour guide, you’ll enjoy insightful commentary and assistance throughout the journey, ensuring a seamless and enriching experience.
We will cruise south across the Sea of Marmara to Yalova, a journey of approximately 45 minutes, before continuing by air-conditioned minivan. After just over two hours of travel, we’ll arrive in **Bursa**, the first capital of the Ottoman Empire. Explore the city and learn how this ancient capital transformed into the thriving modern metropolis it is today. While contemporary landmarks abound, Bursa has preserved its historical grandeur, with an array of iconic monuments adorning its streets.
During our tour from Istanbul to Bursa, we take a delightful 45-minute break to explore the world of Turkish delight. Discover the rich flavors and centuries-old tradition of this iconic sweet treat.
Accompanied by your guide, explore the early 15th-century Green Mosque (Yesil Cami) and the Green Tomb (Yesil Turbe), the final resting place of Sultan Mehmet I since 1421. Renowned for their exquisite architecture and stunning interior decorations, these landmarks are sure to leave a lasting impression.
Located in the heart of Bursa, the Green Bazaar (Yeşil Çarşı) is a vibrant market known for its authentic local products and traditional atmosphere. Here, visitors can browse a variety of goods, from fresh produce and spices to handcrafted souvenirs and regional delicacies.
Bursa Teleferique offers a scenic cable car ride, providing breathtaking views of Bursa and the surrounding mountains. This memorable experience takes you to the summit of Uludağ, Turkey’s renowned ski resort and national park. Enjoy panoramic views of lush forests, charming villages, and the sprawling city of Bursa as you ascend. The cable car ride is smooth and suitable for all ages, making it a convenient and enjoyable journey. Once at the summit, you can explore hiking trails, enjoy a meal at a mountain restaurant, or simply relax in the fresh mountain air while admiring the stunning scenery. This experience is perfect for families, couples, and nature enthusiasts looking to see the beauty of Bursa from a unique perspective.
Upon arriving in Bursa, your first stop will be a visit to a magnificent 600-year-old plane tree, perfect for capturing memorable photos. Following this, you will journey to the iconic Uludag Mountain. At a local restaurant nestled in this serene environment, you will savor a delicious meal in a tranquil atmosphere. After lunch, you’ll have free time to explore the area, take in the breathtaking views, and enjoy the natural beauty of the mountain.
It's time for Lunch
We visit a charming local shop specializing in handmade jams and natural honey, crafted with traditional methods. Here, you can taste and purchase a variety of delicious, preservative-free products made from fresh fruits and local flora.
The tour will also include a visit to the tombs of Osman Gazi and Orhan Gazi, the founder of the Ottoman Empire and his son, who played a vital role in expanding its early territories. These historic sites in Bursa are significant landmarks, offering insight into the origins of the empire.
It will be another 45-minute ferry ride back to Istanbul.
We give break at Outlet for 30 minutes before drop you to your hotels because there can be alot of traffic and not possible to find toilets when you need. After a nice tour, our vehicle will drop you back to your hotels / pick-up points. Excursion will be finish around 23:00 ( 11:00 P.M )
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Guests are being picked up from the security gate of their hotels. There may be delays up to 15 minutes due to traffic.The listed pickup time is an approximate estimate and may vary depending on your hotel location. It will be confirmed after booking and may be updated later due to operational reasons.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Our tour includes 3 shopping stops, each offering a unique local experience. From traditional sweets and natural products to authentic handicrafts, these visits let you explore and shop for quality Turkish goods.
- This tour will conclude around 11:00 PM, allowing you to enjoy a full day of exploration and cultural experiences before returning comfortably to Istanbul.
Reviews(32)
We've been completely ripped. We sat on the bus all day, a stop to ride the quad bike, a chocolate shop, food, telesiege (a cabin was promised), an old hamman. A full day ruined !!!!
Thanks for letting me know what happened. I'm really sorry to hear your day ended up being such a letdown. That definitely wasn't what we expected when we booked this, especially with the promise of a cable car ride and a proper itinerary. Let's try to get this sorted. Could you please let me know if there's any compensation or solution being offered? I'd appreciate your help in figuring out how we can make this right.
We booked the Bursa tour mainly to visit the Usman and Orhan Ghazi tombs, but unfortunately the driver did not take us there — even though there was enough time. The main purpose of the trip seemed to be shopping stops at various stores where they tried to push everyone to buy things, probably for commission. This was not what we paid for, and almost the entire bus was upset and questioning why the driver skipped the most important part of the tour. If your goal is to visit the historical tombs, this tour is not suitable. It felt more like a marketing trip than a proper sightseeing experience. Very bad experience — not recommended at all.
We sincerely apologize for the highly negative experience and the disappointment you endured on your Bursa tour. It is completely unacceptable that the main highlights, such as the Tombs of Osman and Orhan Ghazi, were missed and that the itinerary was dominated by mandatory shopping stops, which goes directly against our service standards. Please note that the visit to the tombs was prevented due to official road closures implemented by the Governorate (local authorities) for the October 29 Republic Day celebrations. These closures in the city center are beyond our company's control and regrettably affected the tour itinerary.
This is a long tour with a lot of different stops to break up the day. We participated in all of the optional activities and would not have enjoyed the tour as much if we decided to wait behind while Others enjoyed the quad bikes and the chair Lift To the top of the mountain. Be sure to bring a jacket for the chair lift - it was cold at the top in early September. Also, negotiated with the photo sales People, you should be able To get the product for half of their beginning price or less and be prepared To walk away if they wont meet Your price.
Thank you for the detailed and helpful review! It sounds like you had a great time and your tips are excellent for anyone considering this tour. Your advice about participating in all the optional activities is a fantastic point—it's clear they are what make the tour truly memorable. The tip to bring a jacket for the chairlift, even in September, is also very practical and something many people might not think of. Your advice on negotiating with the photo vendors is extremely valuable. It's a great reminder to be prepared to bargain and not feel pressured to pay the initial asking price.
The perfect field trip to get your money taken out. You get picked up: First stop - you get on a boat to cross (which is not necessary as on the return you arrive directly without boat or anything). There they tell you to take the opportunity to eat breakfast that you are going to eat late. Second stop - they drop you off in the middle of a field and tell you that there are quad bikes and that the excursion will be wonderful and with spectacular views (data, it is all a lie). They take you with the quad bikes which you either pay for or you have to sit 50 min looking at nothing, they take pictures (no spectacular views) and then charge you $6 a photo if you want it. The quad bikes, for the modest price of $36 - 50 min. Third stop - A store that of course goes to commission with them. They're trying to sell you absolutely everything, chasing you all the way. If you do not want to buy (because we already had all the things and bought) you are kindly invited to wait outside the store because you hinder them. Then you will see the tomb of Oman I (of how little it is worth) Fourth stop - A tree you don't have to buy anything. You can photograph. Fifth stop - chairlift (to no one's surprise you have to pay 28$ person to use) Food - The only good thing about the trip. Sixth stop - A store (for a change) that tries to sell you jewelry and costumes. They warn you that the green mosque and the tomb are further ahead, but of course the important thing is the shop. Return - you hit 3 hours by car (which is the fastest) and realize that the outbound trip was to take the money. Already back at the hotel the most impressive thing was that leaving the families (5 different) the driver and guide have to stop to smoke a cigar (which they have been doing all the way) because they can not wait to do it after leaving you (we were 6 min. counted from the hotel, but the cigar was more important). Recommended experience to be scammed and lose 1 day of travel.
Apreciamos sinceramente su detallada reseña. Lamentamos profundamente que su experiencia haya sido tan negativa y que se sintiera decepcionado con el tour. Queremos que sepa que esta no es la experiencia que deseamos para nuestros clientes y que tomamos sus comentarios con la mayor seriedad. Nos disculpamos por las frustraciones que experimentó. Tomamos nota de sus observaciones sobre la falta de transparencia con respecto a las actividades y paradas. Es cierto que algunas actividades, como los quads y el telesilla, son opcionales y tienen un coste adicional. Sin embargo, su guía debió haberlo comunicado de forma clara y sin presiones, asegurándose de que usted no tuviera que esperar de forma incómoda. La situación que describe sobre las paradas en tiendas y el trato que recibió es completamente inaceptable. No es nuestro estándar de servicio que nuestros clientes se sientan obligados a comprar o que se les haga sentir que estorban. Investigaremos este asunto con nuestros socios comerciales. Además, nos sentimos muy avergonzados al leer sobre el comportamiento poco profesional del conductor y el guía al detenerse tan cerca de su hotel. Su comodidad y puntualidad son nuestra prioridad, y este tipo de acciones no se alinean con nuestros estándares de servicio. Se abordará este problema de inmediato con nuestro personal. Le agradecemos por haber compartido su experiencia, ya que nos ayuda a identificar áreas cruciales en las que debemos mejorar. Lamentamos de todo corazón que haya sentido que perdió un día de sus vacaciones.
Total fiasco on every level. First-pick up confirmed AT HOTEL between 8:10 & 8:30. LIE. Guide showed up at 8:50 WITHOUT bus. Why? Bus can't negotiate streets in Sultanahmet. DUH-they should already know this. Guide has us walk OVER 1/2 a KM to where the bus was. Now 9:15. UNACCEPTABLE. Spent next HOUR & A HALF picking up more customers. Finally reach first stop for ATV riding in the middle of nowhere outside of Istanbul around 11:45-yes traffic is crazy in this city & the guide kept making excuses about that-total garbage. ONLY 4 of 24 people on the bus did the ATV-the price was beyond outrageous even for the US let alone Turkey. So we had to sit & wait at some outdoor spot w/table for these 4 people. Guide says we have to do this even if 1 out of 24 people want to do this. UNACCEPTABLE. Long story short-it just got even worse if possible. Guide kept lying over and over again. Manager at this agency on Whatsapp kept lying to me over and over again & even had the GALL to tell me to calm down! UNREAL. Lunch? 4:30 pm. UNACCEPTABLE-that is dinner time. Booking said MAX 12-14 hrs. Even 14 hours would have gotten us back to Sultanahmet by 10 pm. LIE. I got back at 11:45 PM! That is almost a 16 hour day! UNACCEPTABLE. Guide was trying to be nice but he was COMPLETELY out of his league AND he refused to hold people to the timeline-aka-for example be back in 30 mins. Waited 45 mins. And over and over again. Bursa & other activities were okay but hindsight is 20/20. I asked manager on WA to get me transport back directly from the ferry port. Of course he ignored me. Finally, I asked TA for a refund. They denied it WITHOUT ANY SORT OF EXPLANATION!!! Luckily I got a full refund ONLY because my credit card company just gave me my $30 US back. Totally wasted day trip from Istanbul. AVOID THIS COMPANY & TA at all costs!
Hi there, Thanks for sharing your feedback about the tour experience. I’m really sorry to hear how frustrating and disappointing the day turned out for you. That definitely sounds like a rough, exhausting trip and totally not what you were promised when you booked. I understand how aggravating it must have been to have the pick-up time ignored, to walk so far just to get to the bus, and then spend so much time waiting around throughout the day. On top of that, not being listened to when you reached out to the manager and then being given no explanation by TA when you requested a refund just adds insult to injury. Thank you for pointing out these issues with both the itinerary and communication. It’s completely fair that you’d expect what was described in the booking and a much smoother process overall. Your feedback is really important and I hope it helps prevent others from having a similar experience. If there’s anything else you’d like us to be aware of or pass on, just let me know.
Pros: Tour was good, tour guide was excellent and provides some good history on Bursa Cons: too many unnecessary stops at shops which seemed to be the most expensive shops in bursa.
Thank you for your feedback! We are delighted that you enjoyed the tour and our guide. We take your comments about the additional shopping stops seriously and will look into how we can improve the experience for future guests. Your feedback is important to us, and we hope to welcome you back soon!
We had extra shopping stops Two extra unpaid activities that made the trip very long. I would rather spend more time touring the city
I am sorry to hear that your experience in Bursa was affected by the additional stops. I understand that you would prefer to spend more time exploring the city. Your feedback is very valuable, and I will pass it on to the relevant team to improve future trips. Thank you for letting us know!
Enjoyed the different modes of travel . Food room for improvement Or decrease price and let people buy their own food Mosque in bursa near a big market - that shoud hav been included as well and leave out the stops at expensive shops along the way I luv the atmosphere of bursa I will go back in winter God willing Tour allowed us to see much of it in the short time we had
Thank you so much for your good reviews about us. We are glad to hear that you had a great experience and enjoyed the tour. Thank you for your feedback and we hope to welcome you back soon!
Whole day tour from Istanbul to Bursa with "a bit" of Uludag. I agree with the reviews of others, so not gonna repeat that ;-)
I’m glad to hear you enjoyed some parts of the tour! If you have specific highlights or experiences from the day that you liked, feel free to share! It's always great to know what parts stood out for you.
It was a good tour overall. The guide was very nice and professional. Everything including the ATV safari, chairlift and the sightseeing was a great experience. I wish the portion size for the meal was slightly bigger. But otherwise, everything else was excellent.
Thank you so much for your good reviews about us. We are glad to hear that you had a great experience and enjoyed the tour. Thank you for your feedback and we hope to welcome you back soon!
