Pre tour hotel

The Hilton Double tree Old Town is in the middle of everything. You can walk to all the sites.

On my first trip to Istanbul I stayed at a Best Western in Sultanamet. On my next trip I rented an Air B&B apartment near the Galata Tower.I don’t know if I would want to go through the hassle of switching hotels. Istanbul has a great public transportation system that makes it easy from going place to place.

If you have 2 extra nights, I'd suggest staying in the same area as the tour to simplify switching. If you've got 4 extra nights, and perhaps even 3, you might consider exploring and staying in a new area.

If I assume your Best of Turkey tour is staying in the Old Town area, then a possible second location is the New District. Our Best of Istanbul tour stayed in the very nice Haze Hotel. It is across the Galata Bridge from Old Town and makes a nice base for the Galata Tower and walking along the Bosphorus.

I have a reservation at the Nippon Hotel in Taksim Square for this September. The #16 bus from the airport stops at the hotel next door (Point Hotel Taksim) making the transfer in from the airport efficient and inexpensive. The hotel itself is also reasonably priced.

My tour hotel (Galata's Hotel) was in Karakoy so I chose to stay in Sultanahmet area for the two nights ahead of my tour. Though it was busier and noisier, it was nice to be close to the historic area and I got to sit on the roof top of the hotel and listen to the call to prayer from both Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque. So cool. My hotel (Agora Guesthouse) was not fancy at all but the location was fantastic and it is right between two properties that RS uses for tours. I walked from my hotel to the nearest tram stop (Sultanahmet) and rode across the river and walked to Galata's, but you could easily catch a cab to transfer.

The tour hotel is the Galata’s, and I will have four extra nights, but I’m a solo traveller so trying to keep the price down. I was considering a VRBO until I came across this in the guidebook update section:

Short-term vacation rentals offered through Airbnb and other services are not currently advisable in Turkey (due to a new law that allows police to expel renters if neighbors object). It's best to book a hotel that carries a Ministry of Tourism badge (which applies to all our recommended places).

Anita you should be able to find a good selection of reasonably priced hotels that are safe and have good locations. As a solo traveler I was comfortable in the area of my hotel but wasn't out super late at night.

If you haven't found it already, CWSocial's post offers a lot of very helpful information https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tours/so-you-re-going-on-the-best-of-turkey-or-best-of-istanbul-tour

Thanks CL, I did find that post, and have been working my way through it, it’s quite comprehensive!
I see there are a lot of hotels in the area near Hagia Sophia, so that area might be a good option, as it seems there are several sights around there. I don’t need luxury, but maybe a place that includes breakfast for a reasonable price. I’ve looked at some listings that tack on $30 for breakfast, but that’s far to much for what I usually eat in the morning.

Hi Anita. I am also on one of the Best of Turkey tours in October. I was able to secure additional pre-tour nights at the first hotel by emailing the hotel directly with the email provided on our tour page. If they are booked up, you can also email Rick Steves tours for recommendations in addition to the great suggestions offered on this forum

Hi Anita - we are also on an October Best of Turkey tour. We are staying two nights at the Sultanahmet Palace Hotel. We chose it for the location and the views of the Blue Mosque from our room.