In case you didn’t know, Turkish Airlines has several great ways for transit passengers to pass the time while connecting through Istanbul Ataturk Airport. In addition to a massive business class lounge, complete with day rooms and shower suites, free transit hotels for both business and economy class passengers, Turkish Airlines also provides free day tours for connecting passengers to stretch their legs and see the city.
For business class passengers, if your layover is:
- Between 1 and 24 hours, you will qualify for lounge access.
- Between 4 and 7 hours, you will qualify for a free day room in the business class lounge.
- Longer than 7 hours, you will qualify for a free hotel room at a local hotel.
- Between 6 and 24 hours, you will qualify for a free day tour of Istanbul.
For economy class passengers, if your layover is:
- Between 6 and 24 hours, you will qualify for a free day tour of Istanbul.
- Longer than 10 hours, you will qualify for a free hotel room at a local hotel.
NOTE* For free hotel rooms, both your arriving and departing flights must be on Turkish Airlines metal. Codeshare flights do not qualify. But for free day tours, you can have a combination of both Turkish Airlines-operated and codeshare flights. Additionally, you are only permitted to receive a day tour or a free hotel room per layover, not both. In other words, you can get a free hotel room on your outbound and a free day tour on your return. Or vice versa.
Last week, I showed you how to get your free transit hotel through Turkish Airlines. Today, I’m gonna show you how to get a free day tour of Istanbul during your layover.
As I stated earlier, the rules are quite simple. All you need is (1) your transit time must be between 6 and 24 hours long and (2) both your arriving and departing flights must be with Turkish Airlines (or codeshare-operated flights). That’s it. No reservations or pre-booking is required. However, the most important thing is that you obtain a Turkey travel visa. You must get a visa prior to your arrival in Istanbul. Here’s how.
Upon your arrival in Istanbul, proceed to the passport control desk with your travel visa in hand. Get your visa verified and passport stamped, and then make your way to baggage claim. Clear customs and walk out to the arrivals hall. Make a right-hand turn outside the door and walk all the way down to the Turkish Airlines Hotel Desk. It’s located adjacent to the Starbucks, across from the Turkish Airlines Arrivals Lounge.
Here, you can sign up for any of the tours departing the same day. Just sign up for the tour hat you want at least 30 minutes prior to the start of the tour. For example, if you wish to sign up for a 9:00 AM tour, you must sign up by 8:30 AM. The agent will then take your boarding pass and hand it back to you prior to the start of your tour. Signups open at 7:30 AM.
There are different tours scheduled for different times and different days of the week, so depending on the day of your arrival, you may get a different tour than another person. But typically, your tour will explore the old quarters of Istanbul. On this trip, I did the Tuesday tour from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
I don’t know what the capacity limit is on each tour but it looks like they are pretty flexible. On the tour I did this morning, there were enough guests to fill up a standard tour bus, which is a lot of people. As for your luggage, you have two options. (1) you can leave it at the checked luggage counter located right next to the Hotel Desk, or (2) if you only have hand luggage, you can take it with you and store it at the tour operator’s office. I opted to check my luggage as it seemed like a more secure option than #2.
At the tour departure time, your tour guide will meet you in front of the hotel desk and escort you to the tour bus. You will then drive to the old quarters of Istanbul. All the tours are walking tours so you will not want to carry any bags; a small backpack at most with your valuables but I wouldn’t lug around electronics or anything like that. Your first stop is the Istanbul Walks tour office. You can store your bags here if you want.
You will then walk from the office to a local restaurant for a very modest breakfast. Breakfast consisted of a hard-boiled egg, bread, side condiments, coffee and tea. As I said, it was very modest.
Your tour will begin at the Hagia Sophia. The admission fee for the Hagia Sophia is included and you will be allowed 30 minutes to explore on your own after a brief history lesson.
From the Hagia Sophia, you will then walk to the Blue Mosque, where you will be allowed an opportunity to explore on your own. There is no fee to enter the Blue Mosque.
You will then exit the Blue Mosque and explore the outside Hippodrome area.
You will then have lunch at a local restaurant. Unlike breakfast, this 3-course traditional Turkish meal was really tasty. Lunch started with a bean salad, bread and an Ayran drink. This was followed by the main dish, which was meatballs and rice, and dessert.
From here, you will walk back to the office, collect your bags and then drive back to the airport.
Turkish Airlines Free Day Tour Bottom Line
Overall, this was an enjoyable day and I was really happy I got to experience this free tour. It allowed me to leave the airport, kill some time in between flights, learn about Turkish history and explore a tiny piece of this amazing city. This was such a great experience and I loved how easy and convenient it was. If you qualify for a tour, I would highly recommend it over hanging out at the airport.
UPDATE* The information provided above was for the Istanbul Ataturk Airport. The main airport has transitioned to the new Istanbul Airport so the process for obtaining a free day tour stated above no longer applies. However, I imagine the process to be fairly similar at the new airport. More information on the free Turkish Airlines Istanbul day tour can be found here.
Have you guys taken advantage of Turkish Airlines’ free city tour? If so, please share your thoughts with us in the comments section below. Thanks for reading!
The other related trip reports in this series:
- United Polaris Lounge, San Francisco
- Turkish Airlines Business Class, San Francisco to Istanbul
- Here’s How to Get a Free Day Tour in Istanbul
- Here’s How to Get a Free Transit Hotel in Istanbul
- Turkish Airlines Airbus A330 Business Class, Istanbul to Seychelles
- DoubleTree Allamanda Resort and Spa, Seychelles
- Hilton Seychelles Northlome
- Turkish Airlines Airbus A330 Business Class, Seychelles to Istanbul
- LOT Business Class Lounges, Warsaw
- LOT Polish Airlines Business Class, Warsaw to Los Angeles
