Pnly 3 1/2 days in Istanbul - need help planning
 

We only have 3 ½ days in Istanbul, and I know it is not enough…but it is what it is. Here is an initial plan for these days, please let me know if it’s too much:

Day 1 – we land from US at about 12:30pm, so we will be jet-lagged. After checking into the hotel and lunch, I am hoping to do the 5 pm (or 6 pm) 1.5 hr Turyol ferry on the Bosphorus cruise. I assume the ferry makes some stops, but it will apparent where the end of the line is. Do we need to change ferries, or can we get a round trip ticket and stay on the boat to get back to Eminönü?

Day 2 – Blue Mosque, Sultanahmet Park, Aya Sofia, Basilica Cistern and Yeni Cami

Day 3 – Topkapi Palace, Grand Bazaar, the Spice Market, Rustem Pasa, Galata Bridge and Tower – if we skip anything, it will be the Grand Bazaar (I think)

Day 4 – Chora Church, Suleymaniye Mosque, Dolmabahce Palace and Ortakoy Mosque
All days seem sooo full, is there a better way to organize them?

What is the easiest way to do day 4? I assume that if we get a taxi at the hotel, we would get a set price, and would not be left somewhere in the middle of nowhere when going to Chora Church. Suleymaniye Mosque seems to be right next to it, and from there…how do we get to Ortakoy Mosque, and then to Dolombahce Palace? I think we would prefer public transportation, so we do not have to deal with taxis and price negotiation.

We will get the Istanbul card, so we do not have to stay in line, and get online tickets before hand whenever possible.
Any other suggestion? Thanks

One more thing: we are going late Sept, and we are staying in Sultanahmet, at Hotel Nena.

> ...Chora Church. Suleymaniye Mosque seems to be right next to it

As I recall, the Sulemaniye complex is not far from the Grand Bazaar or the Rustem Pasa Mosque, not anywhere near the Chora Church.

> We will get the Istanbul card, so we do not have to stay in line

Should serve you well!

>>...As I recall, the Sulemaniye complex is not far from the Grand Bazaar or the Rustem Pasa Mosque, not anywhere near the Chora Church.

Of course you are right, thanks for the correction. I think I'll move it to Day 3, and move Galata Tower on Day 4.
And if we don't get to see everything, we'll just have to go back someday :)

- Turyol boats are cruise boats for tourists. They are always return and probably do not stop at any piers unless there is any special reason to let a tourist group on or off.

There are commuter ferries for the price of a token (using Istanbul Card) which go up the Bosphorus stopping at various piers. There will give you an interesting view of the local people and a closer look to the shore.

However, they have no return trips till the next morning, so you would need to take a bus or a taxi back, preferably after having a good dinner somewhere like Yenikoy or Sariyer, up the Bosphorus (a much better dinner than anything you can get anywhere in Sultanahmet) away from all the tourists.

There are no set prices for taxis. There are no nihght or day rates for taxis.

You must make sure the taxi turns on the meter and that it starts at something like 2.9TL. Make a show of getting a photograph of the taxi with its number and if possible with the driver just in case you are worried about a possible scam. Recording the number blatantly also would help. Try not to get taxis parked in front of tourist attractions but get them from near by taxi ranks if you can or just hail one.

Yeni Cami and Spice Bazaar and Rustem Pasa mosque are within a stone throw of each other, and that is also the start of the Galata bridge. You can do all that your second day, combining them with dinner at or near Istiklal Street and/or Galata tower.

You do not have to enter Yeni Cami, Blue Mosque, Suleymaniye and Rustem pasa should be enough unless you are really into Ottoman Islamic architecture.

You can thus do the Archeological Museum after Topkapi palace, since they are next to each other.

I can even let Suleymaniye and Chora alone. In any case, you will need two separate cabs, for them because they are not close to each other.

Go to Chora first, then Suleymaniye, Walk to Beyazit to the tram lines after Suleymaniye , take tram to Kabatas (end of line). Dolmabahce Palace is 7 minutes walk from Kabatas and you can take bus 25E or a taxi to Ortakoy afterwards. The distance to Ortakoy will be less than 3 miles.

OC,
What would I do without you? Thank you.
I understand what you are saying about Turyol boats, but I think that after the long flight, the regular ferry + the bus might be too much for us. I guess we’ll just wait and see to get there, and decide what to do based on how tired we are.

Great info about taxis in Istanbul, will keep that in mind.
Based on kja’s note earlier, your suggestions above and the schedule for different point of interest, I re-worked the itinerary each day – I think it’s better clustered (less back tracking) and gives us more breathing time.

I think we’ll skip Ortakoy (too far) and thanks for info on how to reach Dolmabahce Palace. This is coming along nicely…but I wish we had an extra day in Istanbul. I know…you told me so…