Tips for City Tour: Istanbul

Exciting for you - Istanbul and TURKEY are absolutely amazing.

Hi. My husband and I were in Istanbul for three days on a stopover in October 2024. We found it to feel very safe (even at night in the tourist areas where we stayed) and the people to be so kind and helpful, even those who were not in the tourism business. For instance picking up my dropped jacket and offering me a seat on public transportation. I would be very comfortable there as a solo traveler. The most unexpected thing happened when we took a taxi back to the airport. The taxi driver got there in record time despite us getting a late start and crazy traffic. We offered him a decent tip and he gave most of it back!!! He said it was too much! That has never happened to us anywhere! We used a credit card to tap and pay for public transportation and also used the card for everything else. Apple Pay would also work.

Hammams are great! most of them are separated by sex, so you would just be with women. But it happens in a big room with others, so there's some nudity - just to let you know. you usually just wear bottoms and a towel. You lie on a marble slab and get a soapy rubdown and then a rinse off. Afterward you come out into a common area and have tea and snacks.

https://cagalogluhamami.com.tr/en/

this is the one we went to. Highly recommend it!

You could also do a food tour. there's a trip report i wrote from 2023 that has the details on the food tour i booked,etc.

if you have a visa/mastercard you can tap it on the turnstile to get into the subway- much easier than the old way which involved buying tickets.

Almost everyone I know who has been to Istanbul -- myself included -- lists it among their favorite cities in the world. Great food, beautiful architecture, fascinating history, and hammam: all not to be missed! I'll be there for my second visit in early November.

I did two food tours with Culinary Backstreets the last time I was there. They were both excellent, better than CB tours I've had elsewhere. I've booked another one for my upcoming visit.

Hammams range from super luxurious (with prices to match) to basic (also with prices to match). The one annemargaret recommended, as well as Hurrem Sultan Hammam (https://www.hurremsultanhamami.com/en/) are the very top end. The one I visited last time I was there was Kılıç Ali Paşa (https://www.kilicalipasahamami.com/), and I can't even imagine how those top-end places could be any better (but supposedly they are). I did a much more basic Hammam later in my trip in Antalya, and it didn't compare, but it was interesting to be in a place where I was the only foreigner. Still a nice experience. By the way, Kılıç Ali Paşa has separate hours for men and women (women during the day, men late afternoon and evening). Some of the larger ones have separate areas.

There's a separate discussion about tap and pay for public transportation in Istanbul (https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/turkey/using-google-wallet-google-pay-for-transportation). You should get your answers there. If your credit card doesn't work, you should buy an Istanbulkart. Ask at your hotel where to get one.

Culinary Backstreets has both daytime and evening tours, but if 4pm is the time your plane arrives, you probably couldn't make it in time for a tour that evening. Maybe consider a hammam to help you relax after your flight, and a morning food tour on Sunday.

You have time to contact your credit card companies and ask whether they can send you new, tappable cards. That would be more convenient. Buying and loading an Istanbulkart was not a trivial process for me in 2023, so on a short stay I'd try to manage with a tappable credit card instead. If you can't get at least one tappable card, do seek the assistance of personnel at your hotel. If you happen to be staying near one of the city tourist offices, you may be able to buy an Istanbulkart from it, but you'll probably need to add some money to it, which I found tricky. (I don't know whether your RS tour guide will include transit familiarization on the first day of your tour.)