How to get a free Istanbul city tour during layover ?
These are the conditions mandated by Turkish Airlines if you wish to avail it :
- You must be an international transit passenger of Turkish Airlines.
- Your layover should not be longer than 24 hours.
- Min layover is 6hours . Maximum of 24 hours.
- A valid visa or e-visa must be in possession for you to be able to leave airside
- Your flight arrival and departure must be compatible with their scheduled tours .
Here are the tour timings :
0830 to 1100 , 0900 to 1500 , 0900 to 1800 , 1200 to 1800 , 1600 to 2100
There is no need for you to pre-book the tour.
Just choose the best timetable according to your flight arrival/departure and proceed to the Hotel Desk (International Arrival Hall) at the Ataturk Airport at least 30mins before tour starts. Just present your passport and onward ticket and you are good to go.
Waiting area for tour pickup is at the Starbucks beside the hotel desk.
A tour guide will then pick you up . Will give a short briefing and usher you to the waiting van just outside the arrival hall.
Free tour verdict :
Our flight arrived at 0630am and was able to clear immigration at around 0730am. Headed straight to the Hotel Desk to enlist for the 0900am tour schedule but guide was late . He arrived half past nine.
By the time we started city traffic was at its height. At least 1 hour was wasted and we were only able to visit 2 sights namely , Bhosphorus River (bridge) and Beylerbeyi Palace. There is an option to eat breakfast at the nearby TBMM Mili Saraylar Cafe which is overlooking the river.
If you intend to join the free city tour , Consider the traffic.
It’s important to realize that a 6 hour tour in a van would not be enough to visit Topkapi Palace or Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque .
All things considered , a Metro from the Airport to the major sights would be much quicker.
My final rant :
If this weren’t for free , we could have asked for a refund . Tour was in a rush and guide didn’t talk much during our trip. What a bummer !
Touristanbul website mentioned a free food service during the tour but we bought our own snack. We did not enter the Palace because there was an entrance fee . Ain’t it supposed to be waived for tour joiners?
On the positive side , it was better than hanging around Ataturk Airport. And most importantly it was free!
However, when i chance upon a 6hr layover in Istanbul again, i would hop on a metro and just do it myself. 😀
For more info on the Free Istanbul city tour please find it here .
My Wanderful Life 