Panoramic City Tour with Bosphorus Strait Sightseeing Cruise
Description
See Istanbul from dry land and water on this 3-hour sightseeing experience that combines a coach tour with a Bosphorus Strait sightseeing cruise. Travel round the city by coach, passing the Golden Horn, and the vibrant neighborhoods of Balat and Fener. Stroll through Istanbul’s colorful Spice Bazaar with your guide, and then take to the water to see sites like Rumeli Fortress and the Bosphorus Bridge from the comfort of your sightseeing boat!
Tour Options
Itinerary
Spice Bazaar (Egyptian Bazaar), mystical smells of different aromas of various spices. Shops selling fruits, vegetables, fish, flowers etc.
Rumeli Fortress (from the boat - no interior visit), historical armament built by the Conqueror to control and protect the Bosphorus. A unique example of military architecture.
Golden Horn (from the bus), the arm of the Bosphorus and a natural harbour of the historical peninsula separating the old and the new parts of İstanbul where the first colonies settled during the Byzantines. The residential area for Byzantine Jews, Italian traders and other non-muslim minorities. Drive along the traces of history at Balat viewing Metal Church of St. Stephen the Bulgarian, Jewish Hospital (Or-Ahayim), Fener Orthodox Patriarchate and 22 kms. long Byzantine City Walls, strongest fortification of the middle age.
Bosphorus Bridge, unique chance to step from one continent (Europe) to another (Asia) in 2 minutes
Metal Church of St. Stephen the Bulgarian
"Sultan Ahmet Center", the heart of the "Old City" from where the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires were ruled.
Spice Bazaar (Egyptian Bazaar), mystical smells of different aromas of various spices. Shops selling fruits, vegetables, fish, flowers etc.
Byzantine City Walls surrounded the Acropolis of Byzantium with 22 kms. long fortification with 96 towers and 9 main gates dating back to the 5th century.
Patriarchate at Fener which is the seat of Orthodox Christianity since Constantine The Great’ s declaration of Christianity as the religion of Roman Empire.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Please note: When reconfirming your booking, your local supplier will advise you on alternative meeting points for hotels which are not accessible
Reviews(53)
Mehmet Akif Öztürk, with license 012889, was our guide and helped my family and my baby have a great time and learn a lot about the culture. He also assisted us with everything we needed, a great guide without a doubt.
We went in the late afternoon and is a walk that is very well worth it! Istanbul is beautiful and the view from the boat has a different panorama. If possible, try a boat with fewer people and a guide. Because it makes all the difference someone explaining what each place is, etc. Tip: I just didn't like the lunch that was served before at a bridge restaurant. If possible, buy the tour without lunch included.
Thank you very much for sharing your experience with us. We are happy to hear that you enjoyed the Bosphorus cruise and the beautiful views of Istanbul from the sea — it truly offers a unique perspective of the city. Your suggestion about having a guide and a more comfortable boat experience is very valuable, and we completely agree that it enhances the overall tour. We also appreciate your honest feedback regarding the lunch. Your comments have been noted carefully and will be shared with our team to help us improve the experience for our future guests. Thank you once again for your kind recommendation, and we hope to welcome you again on another tour in Istanbul. Warm regards, Plan Tours – Gray Line Turkey
Excellent walk along both the Asian and European coast. A duration of more than 1 hour, worth performing. Specifically, it divides in two parts the city of Istanbul, the old city where most mosques and all historical monuments are located, and the new city. In addition, the Bosphorus connects the Sea of Marmara with the Black Sea. This strait has a length of 30 kilometers and its banks are fully populated.
Thank you for choosing us we would like to see you again in Turkey after Corona all the best and stay safe
Unfortunately, the city tour on 02.09.19 was cancelled without notice. The Bosphorus boat trip took place on a normal liner. The e-mail to Plan Tours regarding the shortcomings I received no reply.The fugue was far too expensive . I can't recommend Plan Tours!!!!
Pleasant afternoon, we took waffles before boarding, you will find something to snack on inside with hot and cold drinks To be done again 🛥
Do not fail to take the boat tour through the Bosphorus Strait, you will go through beautiful and historic buildings!! In addition you will see the 2 continents at the same time: Asia and Europe, both connected by Bosphorus Bridge. Imperdible!!
Do not miss this tour, wonderful landscapes, castles, architecture. See the queliga bridge on both continents. Imperdible
Our excellent hotel recommended this afternoon tour at 35 Euros per person, starting from our hotel at 1 :30 pm, we could not have enjoyed it more. Lunch was provided -- food OK and ample, though could be more interesting. Drinks were an extra cost. However, the tour was utterly fascinating with excellent descriptions and a short stop on the Asian side on the return leg. Seeing boats and palaces and castles and bridges against the background of the city was quite magical. Sitting upstairs watching fishing boats emerging while sipping turkish coffee or drink of choice, and the sun sinking as the city lights came on in the evening as the sun sank below the horizon was a delight. Lavatories basic, down steep stairs, so a factor to consider. Return to hotel at 6;30pm looked chaotic at first but actually well organized and efficient.
What makes the tour perfect is the Bulut, Cloud guide. It explains the history, anecdotes and peculiarities of the city excellently. We did tour 6, pretty complete in one day. Start with the Egyptian market/spices, then pass through different neighborhoods until you reach the port where you take the Golden Horn cruise. Eat in a restaurant with typical food and finish in the Asian part of Istanbul with wonderful views while drinking a typical tea or coffee. It is very worthwhile if you do not go with plenty of time to visit the city.
Up until now we have had very good tours in our trip, this is by far the worst. We got picked up an hour earlier than agreed as we were one of the first to pick up, this meant that we stayed in the bus for an hour more to pick up the rest of the group, I guess this cannot be avoided in big group tours. When we arrived to the meeting point we were again 30 minutes waiting while the organizers distributed all of us into different buses. When we finally got to the Spice Market we were just left there with not much of explanation other than where the bathrooms were located. After this we were taken to the port and got into the boat, where we waited another 40 minutes for the rest of the groups to join, while in the boat we could listen on the speakers the explanation in english, and at the same time our tour guide in Spanish (forgot to mention we booked the tour in Spanish), the information given on both was not the same but similar, the problem was that it was given at the same time and made it very hard to concentrate on either. When we finished the trip we were dropped off at Taksim square as agreed. All and all we felt that we spent more time waiting than in the actual tour, plus we did not gain much information from it. This kind of tours need to be better organized to minimize the idle time. I will certainly do not recommend this tour to any one that expects more than a boat ride.