Any recommendations for foodie tours in Istanbul? Will be there 2 days prior to our RS tour. Also considering the time spent in Istanbul with the tour, should we allow for a few more days then the original planned 2?
Posted by
Salem, Oregon, USA
3684 posts
Depending on which RS tour you're doing, there may be an option to arrange a foodie tour with SRM Travel (the company that provides the guides for the tours). If offered it will be listed in your tour materials. It's usually one day before the official tour start date. I thought it was an excellent value and great experience to go to the Asia side of the city. I believe the Best of Istanbul tour essentially includes a food tour, but others can weigh in on that.
As for arriving early, for the Best of Turkey tour I arrived 3 days ahead. Day 1 (arrival day) was to get from airport to hotel and rest after 19 hours of travel, Day 2 was to do the extra things in Istanbul not covered by the tour (including a Turkish bath), Day 3 was the foodie tour, and Day 4 (tour start day) I had the morning to transfer hotels and sightsee a bit before the 1 p.m. tour meeting time. If I could go back in time, I would have added one more day - so much to see and do in Istanbul.
Posted by
NYC
66 posts
Culinary Backstreets is fantastic. We took their evening tour in Istanbul last month and loved it!
Posted by
Seattle area
74 posts
Another vote for extra days in Istanbul, if you can add them. If you are on the Turkey tour, not the Istanbul tour, it will just give you a brief introduction to Istanbul. And definitely find food tours - they include a lot of interesting information in addition to the food. I thought the SRM tour was excellent, and the Culinary Backstreets tours I have taken were all outstanding.