Couples 3 day Itinerary
April 2024
We arrived late into Istanbul, with the 3 hour time difference 6pm was suddenly 9pm. Getting from the airport to the city was easy- we went on the metro which was about a 5 minute walk from the airport. You can buy a 10 use ticket from a machine (which can be used in metro, ferries, bus and tram) which you can select the relevant language and pay by card. A tip- if you have a lot of luggage use the lifts as there are a lot of escalators down and then back up! By the time we found our Airbnb it was 11.30pm so we headed straight to bed.
Day One
Our first day initially started when the call to prayer sounded at 5am. Ear plugs in and we went back to sleep.
We then reluctantly got up at 7.45am (4.45am UK time). Although as soon as we opened the curtains and saw the sunshine streaming in we were motivated to get out!
We were staying in the Beyoglu area of the city which is up high (this was a work out when carrying 6 bottles of water up the hill the night before).
The first thing I immediately loved about Istanbul- the cats. Being an owner of two ginger cats I loved to see the well cared for cats lounging around the city in the early morning sunshine.
We got the tram (using our 10 use ticket) and headed down to Sultanahmet. We went to Tarihi Cemberlitas Borekcisi which was a café Dale had seen on an Instagram Reel. We had a cheese Borek and a Turkish tea, the staff were very friendly. We sat inside to enjoy it.
At 10am we met outside The Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts for our free walking tour. Our tour guide Catagay Catel was brilliant. He was born in Istanbul and was very passionate about the history. His walking tour covered Sultanahmet District and ended in the Eminonu District. It covered:
– Hippodrome area
– Obelisk of Theodosius
– Serpent Column
– The Walled Obelisk
– German Fountain
– Blue Mosque
– Haseki Hurrem Baths
– Hagia Sophia
– Basilica Cistern
– Soğukçeşme Street
– Gulhane Park (the garden of Topkapı Palace)
– The street of Historical Restaurants of Hocapasa
– Egyptian Bazaar (Spice Market) – inner visit
– The New Mosque
– Eminönü District with views of Suleymaniye Mosque and Galata Tower.
This tour gave us a really interesting summary of Istanbul history and advice on how to make the most out of your trip- a great starting activity.
After the tour we headed to Tatlici Safa Sirkeci for more Turkish tea and the recommended Kunefe with icecream, which was melted cheese in spun pastry. It was out of this world (but also the second time I’d had cheese and pastry in one day). A nice refreshing break before we headed to visit some Mosques.
The first Mosque was Rusted Pasa Mosque, and the second mosque was Suleymaniye Mosque Complex. We choose these mosques over going back to Hagia Sophia or Blue Mosque just due to the amounts of people we had seen in the old town. Both of these Mosques were beautiful. Visit Suleymaniye second as this is the most impressive out of the two. It has fabulous view of the city and there are volunteers in the actual Mosque who are keen to provide information. For a Mosque visit it is recommended for you to have full length skirt/trousers and your shoulders covered. Women also have to cover their head/hair. There are scarves you can borrow but I would recommend taking your own. You also have to work around prayer times which vary each day. On a Friday some Mosques are only open from around 2.30pm.
We stopped near to Suleymaniye Mosque in Mimar Sinan Cafe. The view on the city was fantastic. The service not so great. But an iced tea was well needed!
We headed back to our apartment for a quick shower then we headed to the waterfront at Karakoy and sat watching the sun set and all the boats coming in from day tours or heading off for sunset tours. For dinner we headed to Purtelas Ocakbasi, a kebab restaurant with a fantastic view. I would recommend the restaurant however I wished I had gone for the lamb chops over the lamb mince kebab.
We had been told that locals go to a different restaurant for pudding so we walked over the Karakoy bridge, it was dark by this point so nice to see Istanbul lit up by night. We headed to Hafiz Musatfa which is a chain of Baklava cafes. It was the busiest I had seen it all day (at this point it was around 9pm). We had to wait about 10 minutes for a table but then sat upstairs and shared a mixed walnut and pistachio platter of baklava whilst again drinking a turkish tea. What a jammed packed day!
Day Two
Our morning started off with a simit- a bagel that you can either have on its own or filled. I had cream cheese and Dale had Nutella.
Our morning activity was to head to Dolmabahce Palace. There are two palaces in Istanbul. The first is Topkapi Palace which was in use by the from 1460 to 1856, where it was the seat of the government, a college for officials and soldiers and home of the sultans.
Dolmabahce Palace was built by Sultan Abdul Mecit, who wanted a new luxurious Palace. It has 285 rooms 43 reception halls. It was in use until the end of the sultan empire in 1922. You enter the Palace through some beautiful gardens with views over the Bosphorus river. You then pick up an audio tour (included in the price, don’t miss the spot where you pick them up, on the left just before you head through the entrance gate).
The Palace is certainly lavish, it has impressive chandeliers, huge original carpets and beautifully decorated vases. The last room, Ceremonial Hall, really is out of this world. The whole mornings experience was topped off with dolphins who came to say hello in the Bosphorus water surrounding the Palace.
We then headed to the Beyoglu area. We started off at Taksim Square and hopped onto Heritage tram through shopping streets down to Galata Tower. Unfortunately the Tower was hidden behind scaffolding having restoration works undertaken. Beneath the tower we went to Viyasa Khavesi. Dale had seen this café recommended on Instagram due to its baked cheese cake covered in hot chocolate sauce, it did not disappoint.
As the afternoon grew hotter we headed down to Karakoy waterfront and sat in the park overlooking the water taking in the sunshine.
After a quick visit back to our Air Bnb for a shower we headed once again down to Karakoy waterfront to do a food tour booked through Trip Advisor. Here we met our guide and group and got on a ferry to head over from the Europe to the Asian side of Istanbul into Kadikoy. Here we embarked on a 9 stop food tour:
Place 1: Ozcan Tursu 135
Here we had a pickle juice. Plums, cabbage, cucumbers, chickpeas, peppers, gherkins and other veg are fermented and then are served as a drink with the vegetables which you can eat afterwards.
Place 2: Arzum Şarküteri
Here we tried some pastrami and then grape leaves with rice.
Place 3: Ecevitler
Here we tried cheese from sheep milk which is aged one and a half years, wrapped in goat skin with some delicious bread.
Place 4: Borsam Tasfirin
We had Lahmacun, Turkish pizza with minced beef and a watered down yoghurt drink called Ayran that you see commonly drank in cafes.
Place 5: Midyetik
Here we had theee different types of muscles, stuffed with rice, chilli and sauce.
Place 6: Ayik Corba & Kebab
Here we tucked into a bowl of soup named Ezogelin. Red pepper tomato paste. The origin of the soup is attributed to Ezo the bride from Gaziantep.
Place 7: Mis Tantuni
Here we had a tantuni, traditionally known as a breakfast for poor workers.
Place 8: Le Man Kultur
Quick beer stop. The local beer called Bomonti.
Place 9: Kebapci Iskender
Here we ate donor meat over pitta bread with a pouring of melted butter.
For our final place we headed back over to the European side into Karakoy once more.
Place 10: Beyzade
Our second helping of Kunefe with icecream with Turkish tea.
What a food tour. Absolutely stuffed we headed back to our Airbnb.
Day 3
An early start meant we caught the 8.30am ferry from Kabataş to Büyükada, one of the Princes’ Islands. Our food tour guide had warned us that going to the Islands can be busy on the weekends, hence why we decided to get the second ferry of the day (7.30am start was too early)! Büyükada was the forth Island that the ferry went to so it took around 1 hour 45 minutes to get there. It took x3 travel tokens each for the journey.
When we arrived into the port and main town on the Island, we hired bikes. There a few places that hire, you have to leave your passport and pay in cash, it was 200 each for a days hire.
We headed off to cycle the 15km loop around the island. Beautiful blue skies, empty roads (apart from the odd shuttle bus or golf buggy) and fantastic views over to Istanbul kept us motivated on the ride. We looped round the bottom and took at pit stop at Monastery of St George. Here we dumped the bikes at the bottom and walked the steep 10 minute climb to the Monastery for panoramic views of the island and Istanbul. The orthodox monastery itself was quaint and worth a visit.
We biked back to the main town and came across Tiara’s restaurant, which had a floral funky vibe and once again boasts views across the water to Istanbul. Here we had a selection of small dishes, mini burgers, Icli Kofte and Visneli Yaprak Sarma. The Visneli were soaked in cherry and was really flavoursome. We were unable to drink a beer here due to it being Istanbul’s election day and no alcohol is allowed to be served until after voting.
As we ate so much we felt another half loop of the island on the bikes were in order. Once back at the town we noticed how different it felt now full of tourists buying gifts, dining out and eating ice creams. The three tower stacked ice cream looked too good to miss out on, so we grabbed ours and headed back to the ferry for a very peaceful journey back to the city in the sunshine.
In the evening we headed back out to the Galata area. Here we were pleasantly surprised to find 3 or 4 streets lined with restaurants and bars. We first had our second Bomonti beer in Ben’den Karakoy, a cute bar under a number of multi coloured umbrellas. We then headed to Golden Shish Döner & Cağ Kebap for a final Donor meal as its Dales’ favoruite. There was a fish stall in the street selling fish wraps that had the longest queue. The was also one bar with live music and a few bars with different board game options. I would highly recommend coming here to spend an evening.
Day 4
We only had a short amount of time before we headed for the 9.30am metro back to the airport. We followed our Air Bnb host’s advice and went to Van Kahvalti Evi for a traditional Turkish feast of a breakfast. Bread, eggs, cheese, savoury and sweet sauces made the perfect end to our trip. We headed to the metro feeling satisfied.
Top recommendations of Istanbul:
- Do a walking tour with a local guide (on your first day if possible)
- Visit a Mosque and don’t spend half a day queueing for the most famous ones- there are plenty of beautiful examples
- Experience the Bosphorus, whether its a local ferry, on a tour or a visit to the nearby islands
- Try the local cuisine in the Asian side of Istanbul. There is something for everyone’s taste and budget
- Use the trams as much as possible as they go through most of the tourist areas