Istanbul Short Stay

Istanbul Bursa

Duration: 06 Days / 05 Nights
Highlights: Istanbul, Bosphorus, Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, Grand Bazaar, Yalova, Marmara, Yalova, Cumalikizik, Bursa, Cekirge, Uludag
Departure Dates: Everyday
Note: All Istanbul tour packages are modular & you can use these itineraries as a starting point & we can help modify this itineraries to accommodate your personal requirements & desires to find your perfect holiday.



Day 01 : Istanbul Arrival
Upon arrival to Istanbul Ataturk Airport & clearing customs, you will be met & accompanied during your transfer to the hotel. If time allows, you will have an orientation walk with one of our guides around Sultanahmet to get acquainted with the neighbourhood.

Day 02 : Istanbul
We will leave hotel in the morning to visit the spectacular Blue Mosque decorated with beautiful 17th century Iznik tiles. Then stroll around the historical Hippodrome where chariot races were once held. Continue with the Hagia Sophia, an early Christian church, later converted to a mosque under Ottoman rule. This magnificent temple now serving as a museum with all the artefacts from the Byzantine era intact & is especially famous for its mosaics. After lunch break, we continue driving across the first Bosphorus Bridge & head for the summit of Camlica Hill, which offers 360° panoramic views of Istanbul overlooking the Sea of Marmara. Driving back to Europe over the Bosphorus Bridge, we visit Dolmabahce Palace, with more than 340 rooms & eight Turkish Baths the imperial residence of the last six Sultans, is sure to fascinate its visitors.

Day 03 : Istanbul
Breakfast at hotel, then meet your guide at hotel lobby for a short drive to Spice Market, Egyptian Bazaar heaped with various sweets & spices is one of the world’s largest spice bazaars since 1665. Soon after, we embark on the Bosphorus ferry for an unforgettable cruise along the Bosphorus, the beautiful strait that divides Europe from Asia. Winding between green hills, it is lined with mosques, castles, 19th century mansions, picturesque villages & the extravagant baroque palaces of the late Ottoman Sultans. After lunch break, we will Topkapi Palace Museum, the residence of the legendary Ottoman Sultans. It consists of several exhibition halls, such as the treasury, the porcelain section, armoury, holy relics. We will complete this historical day with a visit to the Grand Bazaar (Kapalicarsi). Return to hotel with evening at leisure.

Day 04 : Istanbul / Bursa
Early breakfast & check-out from hotel, we travel by ferry to Yalova, then by coach to the city of Bursa, the first capital of the Ottoman Empire & one of the greatest treasure houses of Islamic architecture. We will first visit the Green Mosque & the neighbouring Green Mausoleum, both world-renowned for their superb tile decoration, as well as the late 14th century Great Mosque & the Koza Han, which for centuries was the center of Bursa's flourishing silk trade. After enjoying a leisurely cable car ride up the steep slopes of Mount Olympus, we drive to the historic village of Cumalikizik. This is one of the best preserved Ottoman villages in Turkey with scores of picturesque houses built in the traditional style. Lunch is at one of Bursa's most famous traditional Turkish restaurants, where we will enjoy the finest authentic Ottoman cuisine in a historic setting, where Sultan Murat II once dined. You will be dropped off at your hotel in Bursa for overnight stay.

Day 05 : Bursa / Istanbul
Free day at leisure. Before leaving Bursa, experience one of the many famous Turkish Baths (Hamam) in Bursa. A Turkish Bat bath is a place, where physical & spiritual cleaning takes place & is hundreds of years old. Natural lighting & izonic colored tiles create a relaxing atmosphere. When entering to Turkish bath, you leave all the hastiness of daily life outside, you exchange your clothes for a waistcloth & adorn the traditional clogs. Inside temperature reach up to 50 C under the central dome of the building. This heat & humidity opens the pores of body & extracts the fatty anoils of the body in preparation for your scrub down & a massage by the attendant. After a gentle soap massage you leave the bath place with towels & pass to resting room. Here, tea is offered to you. You leave the Turkish Bath renewed, beautiful & refreshed. Check out & transfer to Istanbul (4hrs).

Day 06 : Istanbul Departure
Depending on your flight time, check-out (12:00) from hotel & remainder of day will be at leisure till your transfer to Istanbul Ataturk Airport for your homebound flight.