Early November in Istanbul and need for Skip the Line tickets

I woud have said no, although as I understand it you have a tight schedule, so canr afford to wait too long in the ticket line. I should qualify by saying I was last there in July this year. But Nkvember is off season, so if anything it should be quieter. Any guidance from people there is month may be more useful, but for what it's worth, the Hagia Sofia had a queue (may be five minutes or so) but that was for security, so you'd still need to queue even if you had 'skip through line' tickets. Topkapi Palace and Dolmabache Palace, only very short queues.

A few thoughts- Topkapi Palace is at least a half day, so allow time...

And make sure you dress appropriately for Hagia Sophia (ie if you're female, head covered, and shoulders and preferably elbows covered). Knees also covered. Otherwise you'll be delayed as you borrow appropriate coverings. Same applies for parts of Topkapi Palace.

We were in Istanbul last September (2024). It was very busy, however, we didn't buy any skip the line tickets. We lined up at the places we wanted to see which were Topkapi Palace and Hagia Sophia, about 15-30 minutes before opening. Make sure you are in the correct line for the Hagia Sophia. There is a virtual reality thing, that you may or may not be interested in, and the mosque. Make sure you are in the mosque line. There was very little wait. If you get to Hagia Sophia at opening, go around and take any photos. Then go back and listen to the audio. Topkapi took us the whole day.

I would have to think that November would be shoulder season and less busy than September.

Now I think of it, it's worth adding given you have a tight schedule, remember that the Hagia Sophia is closed to visitors during prayer times.

You can check these here: https://namazvakitleri.diyanet.gov.tr/en-US/9541/prayer-time-for-istanbul

I do extremely intense research on wherever I am traveling so I know sunrise, sunset, prayer times, weather, time changes (both US and Europe while I'm in Europe), free transportation for over 70, all senior discounts at museums, etc. Just had difficulty coming up with a definitive need for a skip the line ticket. Since I will be there in November will take my chances on purchasing on site. I can also adapt if the weather is rainy and that is unknown this far out. Thanks.

Enjoy your trip - sounds like you will have a great time.

Janet, we will be in Istanbul October 25 for 11 nights. We are also trying to decide if we should pre-purchase or wait till we are there.
At the moment we have nothing booked but our hotel. Like you, we are leaning towards waiting till we arrive.
Have a great trip.

I would suggest checking the cruise schedule to see how many ships will be in port when you are there. I was just there a couple weeks ago and there were four ships docked and it was PACKED!!! So you would for sure want skip the line tickets if you have that many ships. Maybe if there were one or none scheduled to be docked you could get away without one.

We started a cruise in Istanbul. None of the big attractions were part of our itinerary. I did note there were multiple ships. However, it could be, as we did, that folks visited the big sites prior to the start of the cruise.

I do think the best strategy for the palace and the Hagia Sophia is to arrive before opening.