Skip-the-Line Tickets to Hagia Sophia and Topkapi Palace

Both places are pretty busy especially on weekends. The Topkapi Place official website links to GetYourGuide which does show an option for entrance + audio guide and a "host" but not a tour guide. I'd look at the reviews before purchasing. If you're going to be in Istanbul for more than just an afternoon, the Istanbul Museum Pass will get you in quickly I believe and covers a number of other museums.

The Hagia Sophia 25 euro admission charge is a new thing as of last month and you can only visit the second floor. I'm not sure how long the waiting is these days. I went when it was free entry and you could access the main floor and the lines were very, very long. The official mosque page also links to GetYourGuide but the information on the that website says:

Admission tickets can be purchased only from the ticket booth. There
are no buy tickets online, Skip The Line or Museum Passes available
for visiting the Hagia Sophia.

"Skip-the-line ticket" is marketing speak designed to separate you from your money by convincing you that paying more than the price of a ticket from the official source will help you in some way. A ticket purchased from the official ticket seller is all you need. Sometimes that ticket can be purchased in advance online, but not always (as is the case with Hagia Sophia). Sometimes tour companies manage to buy a bunch of tickets in advance and arrange to meet their clients near the door to the sight to hand off the tickets and facilitate entry. That procedure depends on the cooperation of the staff at the sight, and that situation can change.

Procedures at Hagia Sophia have just changed massively; there's even a different entry door being used for tourist visits. I was there last fall, before the change took place, so I don't know exactly what's happening now. There was a line to get into the mosque at the time of my visit, but it didn't really take long because no money was changing hands. A ticket is now necessary, which you'd think would slow things down, but not necessarily, because--except for Friday morning--visitors have a wide time period when visits are allowed. Previously, the mosque was closed to tourist visits for at least an hour of prayer time multiple times per day. That meant you had a major build-up of people, waiting for entry as soon as prayers were over. That will no longer be happening, according to the Hagia Sophia website:

"Hagia Sophia is open to visitors every day, opening hours from 09:00 am to 7:30 pm in 2024. Visiting area of the mosque is closed to visitors between 12:30-14:30 due to Friday Prayers. Admission tickets can be purchased only from the ticket booth. There are no buy tickets online, Skip The Line or Museum Passes available for visiting the Hagia Sophia."

If you don't want to pay extra for a tour at Hagia Sophia, follow instructions on the official website and buy your ticket there: https://muze.gen.tr/muze-detay/ayasofya

You don't have to take a tour of the Topkapi Palace, either. The audio guide seemed adequate to me, though I often opted to read the posted information rather than listening to the guide--a matter of personal preference. I don't think buying tickets online is an option for Topkapi, either. I queued up for 15 minutes or so to buy my ticket. It's possible there are private companies buying multiple tickets and then handing them to their clients when they arrive later for a tour; I can't say for sure. I didn't find the queue very long, and I was there on September 14, which I assume is a busy time of year in Istanbul.

Note that the Topkapi complex is really large and one could spend a major chunk of the day there. It's not a 2-hour visit if you want to see the whole thing. There is a separate line to get into one or two of the buildings. Those can hold you up for 15 minutes or so. If you go in the morning and want to avoid waiting in an internal line after you've bought your ticket, I'd suggest starting with the museum area, rather than the kitchens. People tend to visit the areas closest to the ticket booth first, then later a bunch of them show up at the museum about the same time. By reversing the typical route, you'll probably be able to walk right in.

Here's the Topkapi website: https://muze.gen.tr/muze-detay/topkapi

This website states that the Hagia Sophia IS included in the Istanbul Museum Pass: https://istanbulish.com/istanbul-museum-pass/. Are they wrong?

I bought the Istanbul Museum Pass in October when we were there. It never provided any opportunity to "skip the line" (though we did not test it at Hagia Sophia). At Topkapi Palace, like everywhere else we tried waving it, we just got a shake of the head, a wag of the finger, and a point towards the end of every long line.

The pass may be useful for other things, but we found it 100% useless for skipping any lines. YMMV.

That's not the official website for the pass, which is this one: https://muze.gen.tr/MuseumPasses. The prices quoted on your website are in Turkish Lira, whereas the Muze website quotes in euros (and is higher at the current rate of exchange). If you look at the website (https://muze.gen.tr/Museums), you won't see Hagia Sophia listed; I have to assume that's not an accidental oversight.

I look at the price of that pass and have doubts that it makes financial sense for most visitors. It's not just a matter of what the pass covers, but also of how much of what it covers the traveler will want to see and have time to see. Lots of visitors like to spend time at the covered market, for example; that's time when they're not using the pass. Also not covered are the Basilica Cistern, Dolmabahce Palace and the Blue Mosque. (And apparently also Hagia Sophia.) Plus every other mosque in the city; mosques are usually free, though a small donation is appreciated. The point is that if you go see other mosques, that's more time when you aren't using the Museum Pass). And what about a boat trip up the Bosphorus? Lots of visitors want to spend time taking one of those.

Interests differ, but I spent 20 days in Istanbul last fall and skipped most of the things covered by that pass, preferring to spend my time elsewhere. At current prices, I'd have spent about 75 euros going to covered sights, vs. the 105-euro cost of the pass. I would have also gone to the Great Palace Mosaics Museum if it had not been closed at the time, which would have brought my total admission cost to 85 euros at covered sights--still a lot less than the cost of the pass.

That said, with the Topkapi Palace now costing over 42 euros, the pass price of 105 euros may be advantageous for more people than I'd expect.

Be very careful in analyzing your plans vs. the coverage of the pass. In a technique I've seen elsewhere and disapprove of, they've listed the Topkapi Harem and Hagia Irene separately (at TL 500 each) even though they are covered by Topkapi Palace Museum ticket (TL 1500 as listed). This makes the Museum Pass appear to be worth considerably more than it really is.

Haggia Sophia museum is covered under the pass, Haggia Sophia is not. The website is quite confusing on this matter I agree.

Thanks for pointing that out, Carol. I tend to forget the Hagia Sophia Museum exists. I think there's sometimes some intentional misleading going on.

Son Ian & I walked from the Blue Mosque (quick entry there) to the Hagia Sophia where he got online & had tix in minutes. Entered the marvelous Hagia Sophia right away. No crowds encumbering us. Where the crowds were--waiting at the ticket booth. (13 March '24)

No need for a guide in here. What would one say; "look at this"? RS guide book and Lonely Planet info more than sufficed. That along with an open mind and curiosity to be in the moment.

Too often on this forum (somewhat experienced am I as I have been to Europe 14 times & to over 23 countries) anxious travelers anticipate and overestimate problems that they feel need a guide to conquer. Travel is an adventure. Prepare, go, be in the moment.

Hey Alan- I like the idea of on-line tickets Hagia Sophia . Your son got them easily. What was the exact web address. Seems like an overwhelming number of options on-line.
Thanks,
Doug