How days do we need in Istanbul?

grosnl19 · February 2012

DH and I are planning a trip to Istanbul over Easter weekend...he has off Good Friday and Easter Monday. How many full days do we need there to see the main attractions?

NewlyWeds13 · February 2012

That is a very difficult question to answer. It depends on to what extent you want to see the attractions and what level of attractions you want to see and generally what sort of traveler you are.

I have done several bubble assignments (where I lived there for 3 months at a time) for work, so I know the city quite well. My general opinion would be that 5 days would be a good amount of time if you are active traveler who is not scared of seeing multiple things in one day, but also not someone who thinks they can see Paris in 2 days via a tour bus:)

Why don't you post what you want to see and then I might be able to help more. Hotel Bebek is my favorite in the city! Highly recomend it http://www.bebekhotel.com.tr/tr/index.asp

hz80408 · February 2012

I haven't been, but my parents and sister are headed in 2 wks and they'll be there for 5 days based on input from friends who have gone.

They're staying at Hotel Amira, which is #2 on Tripadvisor. It seems to be a great location and pretty affordable!

Obsession · February 2012

We were there for 5 days last Christmas and I thought it was a bit much.
BUT they do have a Banana Republic!!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanyon_Shopping_Mall,_Istanbul

Traffic in Istanbul was RIDICULOUS so I highly recommend staying by the Blue Mosque. We stayed in a business district area and it would take 30 minutes to go 4 miles.

sillygoosegirl · February 2012

We were there for 4 days and it seemed like one day more than we really needed. If we'd had one more day, we would have spent 3 days in Istanbul and taken the overnight bus to Cappadocia and spent 2 days there. Though if you like to shop or like big cities in general, I think you could happily spend a lot longer there.

mxolisi · February 2012

I think 4 is a good amount. But you wouldn't get bores if you had 5 or more days. It's a huge place.

grosnl19 · February 2012

NewlyWeds13:
That is a very difficult question to answer. It depends on to what extent you want to see the attractions and what level of attractions you want to see and generally what sort of traveler you are.

I have done several bubble assignments (where I lived there for 3 months at a time) for work, so I know the city quite well. My general opinion would be that 5 days would be a good amount of time if you are active traveler who is not scared of seeing multiple things in one day, but also not someone who thinks they can see Paris in 2 days via a tour bus:)

Why don't you post what you want to see and then I might be able to help more. Hotel Bebek is my favorite in the city! Highly recomend it http://www.bebekhotel.com.tr/tr/index.asp

To be honest I have no idea what we want to see/do. Istanbul is on Dh's places to see in 2012. We like to see the sites, but not at warp speed...a few a day depending how far they are away from each other, etc. We aren't really museum people unless they are a must see (ie. the prado in madrid, the archcroplis museum in athens, the louve in Paris, etc). Have any suggestions on what to see and where to eat.

GilliC · February 2012

We had 4 days (3 at the beginning of our Turkey trip, 1 at the end), and I felt like we had enough time to see what we wanted. We had a long to-do list, but we also tend to pack a lot into a day.

My sightseeing and restaurant suggestions are in my original trip recap:
http://community.thenest.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/14564391.aspx
(Restaurants are at the end.)

How days do we need in Istanbul?

Re: How days do we need in Istanbul?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards