Istanbul Travel Itinerary

As I mentioned on my Instagram account, I've finally decided to sit down and post all my travel itineraries! Bear in mind that my long term memory is pretty useless, so some facts may be incorrect or missed out completely. However, when planning a trip, I always make a Word document to print out the itinerary and give out copies to my travel buddies. I also have pictures to refer to, so hopefully I won't miss out too much.

I've decided to start with Istanbul for no particular reason. I went with my two housemates in February 2015. It was off season so tickets were cheaper, but we were caught out when a freak snowstorm happened just the day before we were supposed to fly and our flight was delayed by a day (eek!) so our 5 day trip was cut short, and ended being a 4 day 3 night trip only (because by the time we arrived it was late at night). This is also why you should always have TRAVEL INSURANCE. We were put up in a nice airport hotel for the night by the airline though, so there's always a silver lining.

We even ordered room service :P

Istanbul in pictures always is sunny with clear skies, unfortunately when we were there it was mostly covered in snow, ice and grey skies -.-" But still, it was an amazing city; bad weather can't keep this historical city down for long.

Okay, now for the itinerary:

I booked our flights and hotel together via Expedia. I compared prices for booking things spearately and at the time the Expedia package was cheaper. Note that THIS IS NOT ALWAYS TRUE so check first!

We flew with Turkish Airlines from London Gatwick. 

Hotel plus return flights cost: GBP 246 

Hotel: Diamond Royal Hotel
Review: It's a small hotel, but the staff was very helpful and accommodating about our flight delay and changes. The room is quite small though, but the buffet breakfast was not bad plus they have a hamam which was free for guests for one hour! Go for the sauna! You'll have to pay for the massage though so we skipped it. They have a shuttle to the airport, which I would recommend booking in advance. It's quite a nice location, loads of shops and restaurants. We walked to most of the attractions on foot, all were 15-25 minutes away. Good value for money overall.

Day 1: 

Checked in and explored nearby area ( by this I mean we had dinner and then crashed due to exhaustion. Our taxi also got lost, so always have the address and phone number of your hotel on hand!)

Day 2:

Topkapi Palace (30 Turkish Liras)

-This place is HUGE so be prepared to spend at least half the day here. Even then you might not fully explore the palace.

One of the entrances to Topkapi Palace 

 

Inside Topkapi Palace. The tiles are crazy beautiful!

Lunch 

-There are plenty of restaurants around Topkapi, but they can be pretty pricey so walk further away to find cheaper eateries.

Grand Bazaar

-Souvenir shopping! Make sure you bargain hard, or else you'd definitely lose out. The scarves are quite cheap plus really nice, so make sure you look around first before buying. 

So many choices at the Grand Bazaar, so little time (and money)

Dinner

-Somewhere near our hotel. We're three girls so we weren't keen on going out too much at night.

Day 3:

Hagia Sophia (30 Liras)

The ceilings are so pretty you'd want a selfie with the ceiling too lol

-The queue can get pretty long so get there early! This place is amazing but also very crowded, so it might take you a while to get to see the whole place. We spent about 2+ hours there.

Super crowded but super worth it!

Blue Mosque 

-Also a must-see site, it's absolutely gorgeous from outside as well as inside. It's right across Hagia Sophia so you can see both in one morning. There's a nice park in the middle between these two sites, great for taking picture of the exterior and to get a quick rest from the crowds. 

This fountain is in that park I mentioned, great views of both the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia (as seen here)

The detail in all these historical sites is just breathtaking

We also had the great experience of praying in the Blue Mosque, which is a memory I'll cherish always.

Praying inside the Blue Mosque is...unforgettable.

Late lunch

-Can't remember where, but I do remember that Turkish food was delicious!

Basilica Cistern (10 Liras)

- Okay, I was the only one who wanted to come here because it's a major location in Dan Brown's book Inferno which I had just read. (Go read it or watch the movie, you'll see) But both my housemates were very impressed by it, and it's definitely something different, so I highly recommend it! 

The otherworldly atmosphere at the Basilica Cistern

Grand Bazaar again

-We're girls, we can never have enough shopping hehehe....plus the bazaar is ginormous! 

Day 4:

Istiklal street, Taksim Square, Bosphorus coast

We basically spent the day roaming these streets and ending by the seaside facing the bridge that crosses the Bosphorus, connecting the Asian and European sides. We wanted to take the Bosphorus tour but we didn't have enough time so we just spent the day buying last minute souvenirs, walking and enjoying the sights before heading back to the hotel. We took their shuttle to the airport and headed home. 

The Strait of Bosphorus. That's the Asian side we're looking at. 

One place I really wanted to go and didn't manage to was Galata Tower. It provides one of the best views of the entire city apparently. Hopefully next time, Istanbul!