Istanbul City Tours

Welcome to the Big Bus sightseeing tour of Istanbul
With magnificent views from an open top bus, Big Bus Tours Istanbul is the perfect introduction to a city that strides two continents – Europe and Asia. This carefully designed tour takes you to the major landmarks and historic sights on both continents, while your personal recorded commentary explains the history and culture of this beautiful city.

From the moment the bus departs you will experience a real mix of culture where east meets west. Tour highlights include the journey from Europe to Asia across the Bosphorus Bridge, the Blue Mosque, Dolmabahce Palace, Galata Tower and much more. Don’t forget your camera to help capture some memorable moments.

The hop-on, hop-off facility will enable you to get on and off the bus at many attractions and places of interest. Choose from the 24 or 48 hour ticket to see the city and its sights at your own pace.
The Big Bus sightseeing tour is a safe and relaxing way to discover this great city; the perfect introduction to Istanbul and a fun day out for everyone.

Recorded Commentary
The Big Bus sightseeing tour of Istanbul includes informative commentary that guides you through the city.

The commentary explains the history of Istanbul and points out the buildings and landmarks of significance. The commentary also gives an insight into Turkish culture and tradition.

The personal recorded commentary is available in your choice of eight languages: English, Turkish, Arabic, Russian, French, German, Italian & Spanish. Complimentary earphones are provided.

Buses at Regular Intervals
The hop-on, hop-off facility enables you to get on and off the bus at a number of exciting places to explore at your leisure. You can take a break from your tour whenever you wish to visit attractions and landmarks and re-join the tour at your convenience.

The regular service enables you to see the sights in your own time and gives you the flexibility to start the tour at any of the 9 stops for the Red Route and 6 stops for Blue Route at any time of the day. Your 24 hour ticket will be valid until the same time on the following day.

Explore two continents!
The City Tour is the perfect introduction to Istanbul city centre, taking you to a number of the city’s most popular attractions in both Europe and Asia.

This carefully designed tour also takes you to the major landmarks and places of interest giving you an insight into Istanbul’s incredible history and diverse culture. It provides the opportunity to discover the reminiscence of Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires as well as the modern Republic of Turkey we see today. You will discover Istanbul’s distinctive blend of European and Middle Eastern cultures.

Throughout the City Tour, you’ll have the opportunity to hop off and explore many of Istanbul’s attractions, such as the Egyptian Bazaar, Galata Tower, Dolmabahce Palace, Taksim Square and Beylerbeyi Palace. The tour also journeys across the famous Bosphorus Bridge; a suspension bridge connecting Europe and Asia and one of the prominent and most important landmarks of the city. Crossing the bridge provides spectacular views of the Bosphorus estuary, Europe and Asia, and is one of the highlights of the city tour.

Until 1st October buses will depart from Sultanahmet every 20 minutes from 9.00am until 7.00pm.

Experience a cultural journey
The Golden Horn Tour is the best way to explore Istanbul’s famous Golden Horn, taking you to a number of the city’s most popular places of interest around this sea inlet in the shape of a horn.

The blue route takes you through the historic old town of Sultanahmet into the quaint suburbs of Istanbul and around the Golden Horn. Along the tour you will learn about the strategic importance the Horn had to the city, as well as seeing the sights and key surrounding landmarks that span over two thousand years.

Along the route you can use the hop-on hop-off facility to explore Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sohpia, the old great wall of Constantinople, Aynalıkavak Palace and a 4th century Roman Aqueduct. There is also a cable car, a miniature town, a Dolphinarium, the Rahmi Koc Museum and the Basilica Cistern to discover.

Until 1st October buses depart from the Sultanahmet every 30 minutes from 09.15am until 6.45pm.