Istanbul Excursions 2027: With Children, Around the City and for Cruise Guests

Istanbul excursions with us start at $60 per person for a beach day in Şile on the Black Sea, $90 for the Princes' Islands with ferry and lunch, and $599 for two days in Cappadocia with flights. Many of our day trips from Istanbul can still be booked for today or tomorrow, with hotel pick-up in the central districts. Send us the date, your hotel and the number of people on WhatsApp and we confirm free places and the pick-up time in writing.

This page is written for travellers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland who are already in Istanbul, land in the next few days or arrive by cruise ship at Galataport. How to plan a three-day city break with flight and hotel is on our page about the Istanbul city break from Germany. All prices are our own, in US dollars, as of October 2026; euro amounts use the ECB reference rate of 30 October 2026 ($1 = €0.895).

Booking Istanbul excursions: which tours there are and what they cost

Best of Istanbul, private guide for 1 to 3 days, from $199 per group

Our excursions fall into three groups. City excursions last three to eight hours and stay in Istanbul: Old City, Bosphorus, markets. Excursions around Istanbul fill a whole day of eight to twelve hours, among them islands, lakes, a beach and the old Ottoman capitals of Bursa and Edirne. Then there is Cappadocia, with a domestic flight and a night in a cave hotel.

Group trips cost less, run in English and pick you up at central hotels. Private tours cost more but give you your own pace, your own vehicle and, on request, a German-speaking guide. The full choice with duration and price is on our Istanbul tours page.

Prices vary with the season, group size and what is included. Ask us for the price on your day, especially for private tours.

Excursions in the city: Old City, Bosphorus and food tour

Bosphorus cruise with lunch and hotel pick-up, from $75 per person

If you have only one day, take the Old City. The Hippodrome, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and Grand Bazaar sit within walking distance of each other in Sultanahmet. The upper gallery of Hagia Sophia costs foreign visitors €25; on our small-group morning tour the ticket is already included. Topkapı Palace is closed on Tuesdays and the Grand Bazaar on Sundays. On Fridays the mosques close to visitors around midday prayers.

The Bosphorus is the second classic. On the lunch cruise we collect you from your hotel between 12:00 and 12:30, the boat leaves at around 13:00 and sails past the Ortaköy Mosque up to Rumeli Fortress. Drinks with lunch are extra. For an evening there is the dinner cruise with a show, or a private yacht.

The food tour lasts six hours and goes through residential neighbourhoods and markets, with kebab, stuffed mussels, baklava and tea. It fits well on the day after the museums, when your feet need a break.

Princes' Islands: the most popular day on the water

Princes' Islands with ferry, lunch and hotel pick-up, from $90 per person

The Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara are the excursion German guests ask us about most often. The ferry stops at Kınalıada and Heybeliada and then docks at Büyükada, the largest island. There you have lunch at a local restaurant and free time among old wooden mansions, seaside cafés and pine woods. No private cars drive on the islands.

Our Princes' Islands trip includes hotel pick-up, return ferry tickets and lunch; the tour assistant speaks English, Spanish or Russian. Bicycle hire and the electric vehicles on the island are at your own expense.

To be honest: on summer weekends the ferries are full, because half of Istanbul wants to go to the islands. On weekdays and in spring it is much quieter. If you would rather explore the islands on your own, you will find ferry times and a plan for Büyükada on our Istanbul day trips page.

Excursions around Istanbul: Bursa, Sapanca, Şile and Edirne

Bursa day trip with ferry, cable car and lunch, from $90 per person

Bursa was the first Ottoman capital and lies on the far side of the Sea of Marmara. Our group trip crosses by ferry, rides the cable car towards Uludağ and visits the Green Mosque and the Green Tomb; ferry, cable car, guide and lunch are in the price. If you prefer to travel alone with a driver, book the private version from $100.

Sapanca is where Istanbul families go for a day out: a lake, forest and the Maşukiye waterfall, a good ten hours including the drive. ATV, zipline and cable car are optional and cost extra. The guide speaks English and Arabic, because Sapanca is very popular with visitors from the Gulf.

Edirne and the Selimiye Mosque, private full-day tour, from $370

Edirne is the longest day trip: about three hours' drive each way, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. In return you see Mimar Sinan's Selimiye Mosque, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The tour is private, with guide, van and entry tickets; lunch is not included. For Şile on the Black Sea, see the section on children, because the beach day is mainly a family trip. We compare all destinations around the city on our day trips from Istanbul page.

Istanbul excursions with children: what really works

Sapanca and Maşukiye with lunch, optional ATV and zipline, from $70 per person

Children rarely last eight hours in museums. What works are trips with water, movement and short distances: the Bosphorus cruise, the car-free Princes' Islands, Sapanca with zipline and cable car, and in summer the beach at Şile.

In the city itself, the Istanbul Aquarium in Florya, the Rahmi M. Koç Museum on the Golden Horn with its ships, trains and aircraft, and Miniatürk with models of Turkey's best-known buildings are worth it. The Old City works with children too, but better as a half-day loop with breaks in Gülhane Park. More ideas are in our Istanbul tours for families.

Şile, beach and pool on the Black Sea with hotel transfer, from $60 per person

The Şile trip takes you to a beach and pool venue on the Black Sea, with sunbeds and a transfer from your hotel. Food and drinks are bought on site. The Black Sea has open-water waves and currents, so small children are better off in the pool. This is a summer programme. Pushchairs are hard work in the Old City: cobblestones and steep lanes. A baby carrier is more practical.

Cappadocia in 2 days from Istanbul

Cappadocia 2 days from Istanbul with flights, cave hotel and transfers, from $599 per person

Cappadocia is not a day trip, but two days work well. Our 2-day Cappadocia tour includes both domestic flights, one night at the Medusa Cave Hotel or similar, breakfast and all transfers. The flight to Kayseri or Nevşehir takes just over an hour.

The balloon flight on the second morning between 05:00 and 07:00 is optional and not in the price; it also depends on the wind and is cancelled more often in winter. The guided tour of the valleys and underground cities is optional too. You fly back in the evening and are in Istanbul again between about 19:00 and 21:00.

With children the early balloon morning is tiring but doable. If you have more time, take three or four days so the trip does not feel rushed.

Istanbul excursions for cruise passengers at Galataport

The Galataport cruise port is in Karaköy right on the Bosphorus, in the middle of the city. Sultanahmet is about three kilometres away. The T1 tram from Tophane stop takes about 15 to 20 minutes to the Old City; on foot across the Galata Bridge it takes 40 to 50 minutes.

For cruise passengers only one number counts: the all-aboard time. We plan the day backwards from it and allow an hour's buffer for the way back. With six to eight hours ashore, the Old City with Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the bazaar fits. A trip to Bursa or Edirne does not fit; the risk is too high. With an overnight call, the Bosphorus or the Princes' Islands work on the second day.

AIDA and other cruise lines sell their own shore excursions on board, often with German-speaking tour leaders. With us you book privately: the guide on our Best of Istanbul tour meets you at Galataport, and you decide the route yourself. More tours for shore days are on our Istanbul tours page.

Entry, flights and holidays for Germans, Austrians and Swiss

Germans enter with a national ID card or passport, without a visa, for up to 90 days in any 180 days. According to the German Foreign Office (as of 31 October 2026), the ID card, passport and children's passport may even have expired up to one year earlier; the office does not recommend a temporary ID card. Swiss citizens are on the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs list for entry with a national ID card. Austrians need no visa but are not on that list and should travel with a passport.

Turkish Airlines flies nonstop from Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Cologne, among others, to Istanbul Airport (IST), and Lufthansa from Frankfurt and Munich. Pegasus and AJet land at Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) on the Asian side. Flying time is about 2:45 to 3:30 hours. Turkey stays on UTC+3 all year, so in winter it is two hours ahead of Germany.

The school holidays get busy: the 2026/27 Christmas holidays start between 21 and 24 December 2026 depending on the state, and the 2027 Easter holidays fall around Easter Sunday, 28 March. Eid al-Adha runs from 16 to 19 May 2027, when many Turks travel themselves and ferries and hotels fill up. For those dates, ask about your excursions early.

Booking, cancelling, paying: how it works with us

You book online on the tour page or by message. Payment follows the Book Now, Pay Later principle, so nothing is paid in advance. Up to 7 days before the excursion you cancel free of charge with a full refund; after that no refund is possible. Get Istanbul Tours is a TÜRSAB-licensed A-group agency, in Istanbul since 2010.

German-speaking guides are available for private tours such as Best of Istanbul, Edirne or the private Bursa tour. We check who is free on your date and confirm the language in writing before you pay. Group trips run in English.

Send us your hotel, travel dates and the number of adults and children through the contact form or on WhatsApp. You receive a proposal with excursions, pick-up time and price, for today, tomorrow or your whole week.

Frequently Asked Questions