Making the most of a long layover is an art. A long layover in Istanbul can be super rewarding, even if you only have half a day. Turkish Airlines has made this even easier by offering free tours for their passengers with long layovers in Istanbul, but seeing the city is also totally possible as a DIY. The great news is that the core parts of Istanbul are super walkable, plus the tram is really efficient and runs through the major areas.
It helps that most of them are grouped very closely together. Staying a bit longer? Allow for an hour to get through customs once you arrive, and minutes for the taxi ride into the city suggested if you have a short time to explore β¦obviously, allow the same time coming back to the airport and know that heavy traffic is a possibility.
You can do everything at the official site here, and just make sure to print it out and bring it with you. Basically, a nice combination of the iconic historic sites and soaking in culture and food. To help you choose what you care about, the post linked above has more info on all of the different options. Planning a longer trip to Turkey??
Here are some posts to help you out! Or explore all my Turkey posts!! The last time I was there, our flight actually got into Istanbul at midnight, so my dad and I found a PrimeClass lounge where we paid 30 euros each to get in and rested for a while. Then around am we downed some coffee and food, and headed to customs.
Our flight out was at 2pm ish , so we got back to the airport around noon. There are soooo many options, but here are some of the best ones with a short time.
