What I’d Do Differently: Turkey Edition

Updated April 2026 | 6 min read

I’ve been writing about destination-specific lessons as part of a larger series on travel mistakes — the full version across eleven destinations is here. Turkey gets its own post because I made enough mistakes the first time to fill one, and then went back and made a different set of mistakes the second time.

I Stayed in Sultanahmet the Whole First Trip

This is the most common tourist mistake in Istanbul and I made it fully. Sultanahmet is convenient. It is also a bubble. You are surrounded by other tourists, restaurants pricing for tourists, and shopkeepers whose entire livelihood is extracting value from tourists. It’s fine. It’s just not Istanbul.

What I’d do instead: two nights in Sultanahmet maximum, then move to Beyoglu or Karakoy. Or skip Sultanahmet hotels entirely and take the tram in from Beyoglu each morning. The sights don’t require you to sleep nearby.

I Didn’t Go to the Asian Side at All in 2019

I didn’t know it was accessible. That sounds absurd in retrospect — the ferry from Eminonu to Kadikoy is 15 minutes and costs less than a dollar — but I had planned my trip around a European-side map and never looked east. The Asian side has better food, fewer tourists, and a pace that makes the European side feel frantic.

What I’d do instead: dedicate a full day to Kadikoy in the first week. Walk the market. Eat lunch somewhere with no English menu. Take the ferry back at sunset.

The Grand Bazaar: Go Once, Go Prepared, Don’t Linger

The Grand Bazaar is worth visiting as a historical and architectural experience. It is not a good place to buy things unless you know exactly what you want and are comfortable with the negotiation format.

What I learned: vendors in the main corridors are experienced negotiators operating in their home environment. The tea invitation is a negotiation tactic — once you’ve sat down and accepted hospitality, the social pressure to purchase increases significantly. If you’re not buying, decline the tea, be polite, and keep moving.

If you are buying: never accept the first price. Walk away from any item where the vendor won’t come down at least 30%. For anything over 500 lira, the real price is typically 50-65% of the opening ask. Leather, textiles, and ceramics are the categories where quality varies most — learn what you’re looking at before you go in.

What I’d do instead: go early (it opens at 8:30am and is emptier until 10), walk the full length to orient yourself, identify what you want, then negotiate on a second pass. Don’t buy anything in the first 30 minutes.

I Took the Wrong Bosphorus Cruise

There are Bosphorus cruises that are good and Bosphorus cruises that are floating tourist traps. The long public ferry that goes up to Anadolu Kavagi and back is cheap and scenic and shares the boat with commuters and locals. The short private “cruise” boats that leave from near the Galata Bridge are overpriced, crowded, and move too fast through the interesting sections.

What I’d do instead: take the public ferry — Sehir Hatlari, operated by the Istanbul ferry company — for the full Bosphorus trip. It takes about six hours round trip. Bring food. Sit on the upper deck on the right side going north. The Yali mansions, the fortress, the second bridge — you see all of it at a pace that allows you to actually look.

Timing: early morning departures give you better light and fewer crowds. Midday is hot in summer and the decks fill up.

I Didn’t Account for Mosque Prayer Times

Hagia Sophia closes to tourists during the five daily prayer times. The Blue Mosque has similar restrictions. I showed up to Hagia Sophia twice and was turned away both times before I figured out the schedule. Check the prayer time schedule for the day you’re visiting and plan around it. This is not difficult to do and will save you significant frustration.

I Over-Scheduled the Days

Istanbul rewards slowing down. The best hours of both trips were the ones I hadn’t planned — a breakfast that extended into the late morning, getting lost in Cihangir and finding a rooftop cafe, sitting at the Moda waterfront on the Asian side until it was dark. The cities that reward spontaneity require you to leave room for it.

What I’d do instead: plan two anchor activities per day maximum. Let everything else be improvised. Istanbul has enough to fill every minute; the goal is to stop treating it like a checklist.

Turkish Coffee: Order It at the End, Not the Beginning

Minor but worth noting: Turkish coffee is strong, served in a small cup with grounds that settle, and is traditionally a post-meal drink. Ordering it as a morning coffee and drinking it quickly while standing is a fine way to feel bad. Order it after a long lunch, drink it slowly, and wait for the grounds to settle before you drink the last third.

Timing: When to Go

April-May and September-October are the correct answers. Summer (July-August) in Istanbul is hot, humid, and extremely crowded with both tourists and domestic visitors. The major sights are nearly unbearable in August. November, which is when I visited on the second trip, was cool and quiet and I preferred it — some things were closed for off-season or had limited hours, but the city felt livable in a way that peak summer doesn’t.

Winter is possible but rain is frequent and some outdoor experiences lose their appeal. If you’re focused on food, markets, and neighborhoods over beaches and outdoor cafes, winter works.

The One Thing I Got Right Both Times

Getting an Istanbulkart on day one. It is the single most effective first action in Istanbul. Trams, ferries, metro, buses — one card, reload at any machine, costs almost nothing per ride. If you are paying cash for individual tram tickets you are paying more and moving slower than you need to.

Everything else is negotiable. The Istanbulkart is not.

This post is part of the What I’d Do Differently series. For the full Istanbul guide, see Istanbul: Two Trips Later and Where to Stay and Eat in Istanbul.

Travel Tools We Actually Use

Istanbul taxi scam stories dominate every Reddit thread. Booking.com does not work inside Turkey. These are things you learn the hard way — or read here first.

• eSIM Data: Airalo eSIM for Turkey — Buy before landing. You need data immediately for navigation and Istanbulkart top-ups.
• VPN: — Booking.com is blocked inside Turkey. You need a VPN to access it and some other travel sites. Install before you arrive.
• Travel Insurance: — Comprehensive travel insurance with trip cancellation coverage.
• Money: — Watch for the currency scam with similar-looking lira banknotes. Count your change carefully. Wise gives the best lira rate.
• Transport: Get an Istanbulkart at any metro station kiosk. Taxis are overpriced and drivers are notorious for rigged meters and long routes. The tram, metro, and bus system is excellent.

Book Tours and Activities

• Istanbul Old City Walking Tour
• Bosphorus Cruise
• Cappadocia Day Trip from Istanbul

Gear That Saved Us in Europe

• Osprey Farpoint 40 Travel Backpack – Fits in overhead bins on budget European airlines.
• Anker Nano Power Bank – Long museum and walking days drain your phone.
• Airalo eSIM – One eSIM for all of Europe.
• Universal Travel Adapter – EU, UK, and Swiss plugs are all different.
• Packing Cubes – Keeps your bag organized across multiple cities.
• Rain Jacket (Marmot Precip) – Weather changes fast in shoulder season.

Find Your Next Flight

Book Tours: GetYourGuide Cappadocia hot air balloon rides and Turkish Riviera tours | GetYourGuide Ephesus and Pamukkale day trips from Istanbul

Plan Your Trip to Turkey

Ready to book? Search flights to Turkey to compare prices across airlines. And compare hotel rates in Turkey to find the best deals for your dates.

Affiliate disclosure: This post contains affiliate links at no extra cost to you. SafetyWing, Skyscanner, Airalo, Booking.com, Viator.