[Tips]
- Turkish currency is the Turkish Liras. You can pay with card most of the time, but use liras for tip.
- Make sure to go to both the Europe and Asia side. Super easy to get across by a boat.
- Ubers were extremely cheap so that was our main source of transportation. Because they are limited, it usually take about 10 minutes to come.
- There’s a lot of one way streets & traffic. Sometimes you’ll get dropped off farther than your destination because the car simply can’t get through.
[Day 1]
Morning: First things first after arriving to Istanbul, we dropped off our luggage at the hotel – Nothing exciting but we stayed at the Hampton Inn by Istanbul Zeytinburnu. It’s about 15 min out of the main tourist attractions, but quiet and uncrowded.
Afternoon: We we hangry so on our way to sightseeing, we stopped for lunch at Serbethane. The food was good but we were hoping for something less dry. The atmosphere was super cute though!
We then headed to the Topkapi Palace, which was the imperial palace of Ottoman sultans for almost 400 years. It’s pretty easy to get lost so I would stick with an audio tour and go at your own pace.
We thought we could hit the Grand Bazaar for dinner but there was unfortunately no central place for food. It was too large and overwhelming so we walked through and decided to have dinner else where.
Evening: Dinner ended up being at Antakya Restaurant, near the Grand Bazaar. We were sold because they had clay pot dishes which included a food show!
While we were looking at where to go for dessert, we saw Salt Bae’s restaurant, Nusr-Et, nearby so of course we had to try it. Turned out their desserts were extremely delicious and they still somehow sprinkled salt on everything even though it was dessert!
[Day 2]
Morning: We started off our first official day with a delicious Turkish Breakfast at Cafe Privato. We ended up chilling for about 3 hours because it was so relaxing and comfortable, like a living room!
Afternoon: After breakfast, we headed towards the Galata Tower where I saw one of the most impressive skylines! I loved all the mosques in the background. P.S. DO NOT do the 4D simulation.
We then took an uber back to the other side of town and waited for a huge down pour to die down before heading to the Hagia Sophia (pronounced Hi-yah) featuring millions of gold tiles in the interior.
Across the street was the Blue Mosque where you had to take off your shoes to enter and was still active for praying.
The sightseeing ended with the Basilica Cistern, an underground water filtration system. I honestly didn’t think it was that impressive – I didn’t really know what I was looking at.
Evening: Because we wanted to eat dinner at Balik Ekmek (fish boats), we took an uber back over. It’s pretty much fish sandwiches made on boats which was actually pretty delicious with a squeeze of lime. FYI – all the boats sell the same thing so just choose one.
After wandering around and getting some dessert along the way, we accidentally found the Spice Market (Misir Carsisi) where we stocked up on tea and Turkish delights. I compare it to an extremely calm and smaller version of the Grand Bazaar.
[Day 3]
Morning/Afternoon: I was most excited about this day because we finally did our Istanbul 2 Continents Food Tour where we consistently ate and toured for 6 hours! This was seriously the best food tour I’ve taken and was blown away by how delicious all the food was!
First stop: Produce from a local market (cheese, olives, hazelnut spread) with medmen (eggs) and bread
Second stop: Lamb soup – my fav of the day!
Taking a break: 20 minute cruise across the Bosphorus River to the Asian side
Third stop: Iskender Kebab
Forth stop: Pickled Veggies
Fifth stop: Mezas (little side dishes)
Sixth stop: Steamed Mussels and Rice
Seventh stop: Kebap with an egg white drink
Eighth stop: Baklava and Turkish Coffee
Ninth stop: Grilled Intestine Sandwich
Tenth stop: Chicken pudding and Turkish Ice Cream
Because we were so full, we found a place to chill before dinner and had some afternoon tea at Mimar Sinan. We sat on the roof with a view while we digested all the food from the food tour.
Evening: We decided to do a light dinner and went back the Spice Market to pick up an easy dinner to eat at our hotel. We got cheese, hazelnut butter, and bread to munch on – just like what we had for breakfast on the tour!
[Day 4]
Morning/Afternoon: There was a whole breakfast spread at the hotel that we couldn’t miss out on so we decided to take advantage of it.
We headed over to what I’ve been waiting for, a Turkish bath at Cukurcuma Hamami! We got a bath, full body scrub, and a bubble massage. Afterwards, we hung out in the lounge with tea and dried snacks.
I loved Turkish breakfast so much that I convinced everyone to brunch at Van Kahvalti Evi. This place was delicious but I prefer the ambiance of Cafe Privato better.
To walk off our meal we wandered around İstiklal Caddesi where there were a bunch of shops; a lot that you can see in America (like Zara and H&M) and some selling Turkish delights.
Evening: We were still full from lunch so we wanted something light. We had dinner at Babel Cafe & Restaurant which was extremely hipster and expensive. I do not recommend this place for authentic Turkish food.
We couldn’t leave Turkey without the touristy Turkish ice cream so we walked back to Istikal Caddesi and stopped by for a show before we got our ice cream. Be careful, they gave us 4 scoops and charged us for it even though we never asked. I swear, we gathered up a customer base because everyone else went after.
My sis and I were fatties so even after ice cream, we got baklava at Faruk Gulluoghu to finish off our night and our Turkish trip. The baklava was good but extremely expensive. Oh well, still good.
