Est-ce que tu sais que si tu as une longue escale à Istanbul, tu peux en profiter pour la ville gratuitement ? C'est ce que j'ai fait quand j'étais en chemin vers la Corée du Sud, grâce à Touristanbul. Corée du Sud, thanks to Touristanbul.
Touristanbul, c'est quoi ?
Touristanbul offers free guided tours of the city Touristanbul est un progremme proposé par Turkish Airlines qui permet aux passagers de la compagnie aérienne de profiter d'une visite gratuite de la ville. Pour être éligible, la durée de l'escale doit être comprise entre 6 et 24 heures. Plusieurs visites sont programmées chaque jour, tu peux donc choisir celle qui correspond le mieux à ton vol. Le programme de la journée peut varier en fonction du temps passé dans la ville. Il est préférable de vérifier les horaires sur leur site.
Personnally, I joined the tour which ran from 8.30 am to 3 pm, on a Friday. It included a shuttle from and back to the airport, breakfast, a Golden Horn and Bosphorus cruise, and lunch. And all for FREE of course ! Yes, even the meals are free. The Friday tour is a bit different, and I believe that on the other days, this tour is actually a walking tour in the city. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed my visit.
My experience during my layover in Istanbul
When I heard about these tours, I instantly knew that I had to choose a flight that transits through Istanbul, as I couldn’t miss that opportunity to discover a new city. Sure, that means that my journey to Seoul would be longer, which is super tiring when flying, but come on, how could I resist the opportunity to add a new country to my travel list?
So after spending the night at the Yotel in the airport, I woke up early to eat a light breakfast and make my way to the Touristanbul desk. To be honest, unlike the hotel, this was not well indicated at all. I had to ask at two different information desks before I was able to find. Besides, you have to go through security first. Luckily, there wasn’t a lot of people there, so it was pretty fast. And I got a new stamp on my passport as well! My collection is growing.
After I finally found the desk, I registered and they gave me a Touristanbul card with a lanyard indicating my tour schedule. Around 8.30, the guide called us, and we went on the bus on our way to Istanbul. When we entered the city, there was so much traffic! But at least, I got to enjoy the sight of rainy Istanbul while sitting comfortably on the bus, so it was actually really nice.
First, we stopped at a restaurant to eat breakfast. It was a mix of traditional Turkish breakfast food : tomatoes, cucumber, boiled egg, olives, sausage, cheese, dried fruit, etc. And of course, a cup of Turkish tea.
After that, we hopped back on the bus and drove to the place where the boat was waiting for us for the Bosphorus and Golden Horn cruise. The Bosphorus is a strait in the middle of Istanbul, which acts as the limitation between Europe and Asia. I find it fascinating to be right in-between two continents!
Istanbul has more than 3,000 mosques, and we were able to see quite a few, both from the road and from the boat, including the Mosque Süleymaniye.
I wasn’t able to see the famous Blue Mosque or Hagia Sophia, but I really hope to see them during a futur trip.
After the cruise, we went to another restaurant for lunch, where we got to taste a Turkish kebab. I alreay love Turkish cuisine, so I was really looking forward to this meal. And indeed, it was delicious! Of course, for dessert, we had some baklava.
And finally, after lunch, around 2 pm, the bus drove us back to the airport. I went through passport control again, and they put another stamp on my passport. The perfect final touch for this great day!
Conclusion
This was an amazing experience. And it’s completely free! So if you have a layover in Instabul, I highly recommend joining a tour. It’s such a great opportunity, in my opinion.
I wish I could have joined a walking tour though, but it didn’t fit my schedule. But still, I really enjoyed what I saw of Instanbul. Now, there is only one thing on my mind: to go back and see more of the city!