Istanbul is an amazing, diverse, multicultural and multireligious city with a long and interesting history full of contrasts and contradictions. Wherever and whenever you go, you’ll find something to see, eat and photograph. Here is a little help from our side for the first-timers in Istanbul.
The first decision you have to make when coming to Istanbul is, which airport you’re gonna land at. You have two options – the Istanbul airport, which is the new airport that opened this year or the Sabiha Gokcen airport. People coming from Slovenia – you don’t have much of a choice – it will always be the Istanbul airport for you. 🙂
Once you’ve landed the next question is, how to get to the city. If you land in Istanbul airport you can get to the city with Havaist buses (and taxis, shuttles, etc.), if you land in Sabiha Gokcen airport check out Hava buses. You can pay the buses and other public transport with your Istanbul card (a contactless smart, prepaid rechargeable card for fare payment on public transport in Istanbul which can be used for multiple travelers and offers discounted fares) which you can get at the airport – you’ll find the machines sooner or later. You pay a non-refundable amount for the card and load the wanted amount of money on the card.
Next decision you have to make is where to stay. There are many many options and many neighborhoods which all have very different vibes. We stayed a few days in Sultanahmet (part of Eminonu district, European side) and a few days in Karaköy (part of Beyoglu district, European side). We also visited Kadıköy (Asian side of the city) on a day trip.
So, a few words about the neighborhoods.
Sultanahmet is too touristy for us, but if you want to have the major sights – Aya Sofia, The blue mosque (which is currently being renovated), etc. only a few minutes walk away Sultanahmet is your best option. You’ll have issues finding good food for a decent price though. But on the plus side – it is quite easy to get there from the new Istanbul airport. We took the Havaist bus, which stops right in the center of Eminonu in front of Hagia Sophia. So pluses: easily reachable, major sights a walk away; good options to explore other parts of Istanbul by using the ferry connections. minuses: not really the true Istanbul where locals would hang, very touristy, expensive food of questionable quality, full of tourist traps, no nightlife. Check out the Hafiz Mustafa baklavas though (they also have branches at Taksim Square).
Important: If you want to enter the mosques keep in mind that there are five prayer times per day during which you cannot enter. Also, be dressed appropriately. Hagia Sophia used to be closed on Mondays but from April 2019 on is not anymore (until further notice). Expect huge crowds though. The same goes for Basilica Cisterna and everything else. Be careful to double-check the opening hours, because some of the sights are not open all of the days in the week. You’ll still be able to enjoy seeing them from outside though.
Eminonu (where Sultanahmet is) is connected to Beyoglu’s Karaköy with the Galata bridge. When you cross the bride you find yourself in a very different world all of a sudden. Karaköy is very hipster, trendy, full of young people, bars, graffiti, rainbow stairs and other art and of course, good food. We stayed in Nabu Karaköy Hotel, which is awesome and very well placed but not very quiet if that is what you’re going for. You can easily reach Taksim square and Istiklal Caddesi with the help of the tram and funicular and you can walk to the Galata Tower from here. Karaköy is not that well connected by ferry so if you want to go to the Princess Islands you’ll need to cross back to Eminonu, which is also a doable walking distance from Nabu
Karaköy. Expect crowds when crossing the Galata Bridge – especially on the weekends. They can get quite insane, as well as the crowds around ferry piers. For baklava lovers – check out Karaköy Gulluoglu.
We went to Kadıköy for a day trip and it is also completely different from other neighborhoods. Very relaxed, full of locals, students, good food, interesting shops, and bars. Check out the Moda neighborhood while you’re here. Plus: cheap eats – in general prices are lower here, people are nicer, good views of the city on the other side of the bay. Minuses: well connected to Sabiha Gokcen but if you fly into Istanbul airport you’ll have to travel a lot to get here. We only had a day in Kadıköy but coming from Sultanahmet you can easily see that it is much more authentic and homier.
In the end – wherever you stay, public transport is very well-organized (as long as you don’t mind the crowds) so you’ll have no issues getting anywhere, with enough time.
What every first-timer in Istanbul wants to do is a Bosphorus tour. We decided to try the short circle cruise which takes about 2 hours. A tip – definitely don’t do it over the weekend, because the lines are crazy. Check out the ferry timetables for the city boat lines here. The private lines are more expensive (around 20TL for the short circle cruise) but also less crowded and they do a bit of a “show for the tourists”. If you’re not into that sort of thing, do the city boat lines during the week. We, of course, wanted to do it over the weekend and ended up going back to Karaköy because the crowds were too crazy for us. If that happens and you leave the piers “empty handed” with a few hours to spare you can check out the Spice Bazaar, which is near the Eminonu piers.
Remember: People here are used to living in diversity and are genuinely nice and helpful. We didn’t have any bad experiences aside from getting scammed with crazy food prices on the first day (double-check the restaurant online before you eat in Sultanahmet). Also, the more touristic the area, the bigger the chance people will try to sell you something. But generally, people here are very hospitable and customer service, although different from what we’re used to in Slovenia is on a high level.
Verdict: When we come here next we’re definitely staying in Karaköy again. If you want to see a few sights and relax a bit in between, you’ll need at least 4 days in Istanbul, but more days are always welcome. We like to be relaxed and enjoy the city vibe, so we skipped a lot of places that are a must-see when coming here, but there is always next time. This city is so huge, you’ll not be bored coming here again and again and you’ll never be able to see everything (and try every food you want to try). It’s also one of the most photogenic cities we’ve ever visited.