Why Istanbul is a Very Easy Travel Destination

In early 2020 I spent more than one full month exploring the vast city of Istanbul before heading on to visit other regions of Turkey.

I quickly fell in love with Istanbul and with Turkey, in general. I found Istanbul to be an extremely easy city to explore. It provides very user-friendly public spaces and facilities, loads of inexpensive places to eat & drink beverages and literally hundreds of attractions to visit.

When I was researching beforehand for my trip to Istanbul, I eventually became a bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of amazing attractions to visit in the city. I didn’t think I’d be able see a good majority of them, even though I was staying one month.

historic Byzantine Spice Market in Eminonu

So I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the city was much easier to explore than I’d guessed. Not only was I able to visit most of the sites I had in mind, but I even fit in several places I thought I’d have to skip and a couple that I didn’t even know about before I arrived.

Istanbul is a vast, sprawling mega-city with 20 million inhabitants as well as millions of international visitors. I also feared that such a huge city would feel overwhelming and exhausting, both in terms of navigating through hordes of people as well as the sheer distances and time needed to reach places.

Much to my surprise, somehow Istanbul does not overwhelm at all. I think that’s mainly due to the fact that the city’s jam-packed buildings are mostly low 4-8 story structures and most of them are older historic buildings, softened by time & weather, but with beautifully-detailed fascades.

In addition, the wide Bosporus Strait running smack through the center of the city, and its branch ‘river’, The Golden Horn, spreads the city out, adding a lot of open air, breathing space and the constant pleasurable sounds of water, seagulls and ships horns.

Also, the city is composed of dozens of distinctive neighborhoods, each with its own charms, atmosphere, beautiful buildings and coziness.

To top it off, I very rarely found myself in any crowds what so ever! Maybe I was just lucky, but I think that was a result of several specific factors….which other visitors could easily incorporate into their visit to Istanbul.

First off, I visited in low season – February and March. It was cold, to be sure, but I had the streets and tourist sites mostly to msyelf. That was a worthwhile trade-off to me!

adorable historic tram on Istiklal pedestrian street

Secondly, I stayed in an AirBnB private room in a little neighborhood called Tophane. It’s a very quiet neighborhood full of antique shops, artsy boutiques and a handful of quaint cafes. So I lived in an area that was extremely quiet. I also had a private room in a quiet apartment, which gave me a lot of privacy.

Even better, Tophane is absolutely ideally located for visiting nearly every place in Istanbul! I could walk down to the Bosphorus shores in 10 minutes, walk across Galata Bridge to Emininu in under 30 minutes, chug uphill to Istiklal Pedestrian street or Galata Tower in 10 minutes, be standing in Taksim Square in 15-20 minutes

…or I could walk five minutes to a tram, bus or subway to reach farther destinations. Anywhere I went in the city, I could get there within 30 minutes ! That’s pretty remarkable for such a vast city.

So the quiet neighborhood, central location, complete lack of crowds and easy transportation made my visit extremely relaxing and unstressed.

Here are other major reasons that Istanbul is such an easy city to explore:

Hagia Sofia – a historic marble drinking fountain – entrance to Topkapi Palace – all in Sultanahmet

Major sites are close together

Although Istanbul is a massive & sprawling city, most of the major attractions are concentrated in a few small areas, very close to each other. This makes visiting the most famous & beautiful sites really easy.

The perfect example is the region called Sultanahmet. Most of Istanbul’s absolute top ‘must see’ tourist attractions are right there beside each other!

They include Agia Sofia Mosque, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and Basilica Cistern. In addition, there’s the beautiful historic Agia Sofia Hamam, several Royal Tomb buildings, a large stunning marble drinking water fountain, a few minor mosques and other interesting historic buildings nearby.

On the edge and in between all these sites in Sultanahmet, there are many restaurants & cafes. So even eating & taking a break are easy.

Groups of other interesting & important sites are clustered together in several different areas around the city. Because of the city’s excellent public transportation system, it’s fast & easy to reach each area and then to spend the day visiting all the sites in that region.

Naval Museum in Besiktas

A couple examples include the following:

Besiktas/Dolmabace area on the shore of the Bosphorus has Dolmabace Palace, Dolmabace Mosque and several excellent specialized museums connected to the royal palaces, their history and contents. Views of the Bosphorus, the ferry terminals, ongoing boat activity, and neighborhoods across the strait are also spectacular.

Eminonu region, close to Sultanahmet has the historic Byzantine Spice Market, the massive New Mosque, the shores of Golden Horn, several smaller mosques and small museums, Galata Bridge and more spectacular views over the Bosporus & Golden Horn waters.

Extremely user-friendly city

Istanbul is a very user-friendly city. There are plenty of benches and sitting spots located in parks, plazas and along the Bosporus & Golden Horn shores.

Public toilets are plentiful and either free or dirt cheap. Public transportation is extensive, modern, clean, punctual and very inexpensive.

Restaurants, cafes, tea stalls, small markets and convenience shops are all over the place, making it really easy to eat & drink.

The city is safe; the people friendly and helpful; protective police presence is in place at very famous locations.

inside one of Istanbul’s public ferries up the Bosphorus Strait

Fantastic public transportation system

Istanbul’s amazing public transportation system is also a key in making the city such an easy place to explore. There are buses, trams, ferries, funiculars, cable cars and a subway system.

They are all very clean, modern, punctual, frequent and extensive. Between all these extensive modes and routes, you can get anywhere in the city rather quickly, one way or the other.

Even better, there’s an IstanbulKart, which allows passengers to travel on all these tranport modes and at reduced fares. The normal fares for a single ticket, including ferries and subways, are really cheap. But using the IstanbulKart gives up to 50% off! With the card, a single trip costs just 3.5 lira / $0.50 US. So any visitors that will use public transportation more than twice should get a card.

Another wonderful aspect of the transportation system are the more long distance ferries. Daily ferries head out to the tranquil Prince Islands, up to the end-point of Golden Horn, and up the Bosporus Strait almost to the Black Sea.

These public ferry trips make fantastic sight-seeing excursions along the waterways, en route to some wonderful destinations. And the trips are super cheap!

Turkish ‘meatball’ – ground beef and greens wrapped in mashed potatoes

Easy & inexpensive to eat

Istanbul is much like Thailand, Malaysia & Singapore – no matter where you go in the city, there are plenty of restaurants, cafes, tea/coffee stalls and food stalls around.

Restaurants vary grealy in price, style and cuisine, but there are plenty of very inexpensive places to eat. The fastest & cheapest are what Turks often refer to as ‘fast food’ joints that serve donors/gyros, burgers or pizza. Many cafeteria-style restaurants that display a selection of hot cooked meals in big glass cases, are also quite inexpensive, quick and delicious.

There are also heaps of cafes, Turkish-style tea stalls and coffee stalls. These are all great for taking a break, getting a caffeine boost, trying out these Turkish style beverages, and enjoying the scenery or people watching.

Turkish coffees and teas are also very cheap, generally 2-3 lira for tea / about $0.35US and about 10 lira for coffee / $1.30 US.

The abundance and variety of restaurants, cafes and tea stalls makes Istanbul really easy to explore all day long without getting hungry, thirsty or fatigued.

Public toilets are plentiful

In Istanbul you’re never far from a clean public toilet! I dont’ know about you, but this makes exploring the city all day long much, much easier for me than in cities where toilets are difficult to find.

For one thing, nearly every mosque has a free public toilet! So all you have to do is look out for the tall mosque minerets and head towards one in times of need. Lol The mosque toilets are always fastidiously clean and fresh.

Otherwise, inexpensive public toilets are situated in all parks, plazas and tourist sites. They cost a mere 1-2 lira / $0.15-0.30 US. They’re also clean and provide toilet paper for your ‘entrance’ fee.

Free toilets are also located in shopping malls, major tourist attractions, museums and, of course, restaurants & cafes. Most restaurants & cafes don’t mind letting non-customers use their toilets either. So if you’re ever really in need, just pop into a restaurant and ask to use their toilet.

one of Istanbul’s historic marble public drinking water fountains.

Istanbul is safe and clean

Turkish culture puts a huge emphasis on cleanliness, particularly personal hygeine, but also cities, streets and public places. Istanbul is practically sparkling clean, the streets and parks and plazas swept & de-littered daily.

Islamic culture has strong taboos against theft, so Turkey is a country where you rarely have to worry about getting your things stolen. And there’s rarely any violence or other crimes against tourists either.

Large protective police presence in major tourist areas

In Istanbul’s most popular areas, such as Istiklal pedestrian shopping street, Sultanahmet and Taksim Square, there are many uniformed police hanging around.

This might make some people feel like the city must be un-safe to have so many cops out. But they make me feel like nothing bad will happen there.

A few years back, there were public protests, terrorist bombings and other violence in Istanbul. That took a toll on tourism in the city for a few years. But now things have quieted down and things seem stable.

Perhaps that’s the reason for the police presence. Or maybe they were in place before the incidents. In any event, I felt that their visibility practically guarunteed public and tourist safety.

In addition, all the large luxury hotels in Istanbul have airport-style security screening at their entrances. Some hotels also have additional security guards in the lobbies.

having Turkish sweets & tea with my friend Gonul in Istanbul

Respectful and helpful locals

Turkish people are famed for their great hospitality. In public, they tend to be friendly, welcoming and helpful to visitors. In the hotels, hostels and private accommodations, their ingrained hospitality shows up even more.

On the other hand, I was surprised at how few Turkish people speak English in Istanbul! So while they’re generally willing to help, they might not be able to. Lol

In any event, somebody always shows up who speaks English. And everything always works out.

Naturally, staff at most hotels & other accommodations speak English at least

moderately, if not fluently.

Few touts

I was exploring Istanbul for more than one month. I visited almost every major tourist area at least once, as well as other more low-key neighborhoods around the city.

In all that time, I only encountered touts at one place – the Sultanahmet Square area – where Istanbul’s top tourist attractions are all located. Those guys were fairly persistent, clearly well-practiced, and rather annoying. Luckily that’s the only place I encountered them.

visiting Basilica Cistern

Summary

With Istanbul’s combination of fantastic public transportation, user-friendly public places, helpful & welcoming locals, safety & cleanliness, famous sites located close to each other and plentiful eating establishments, this massive city is a surprisingly easy city to explore.

You might also like:

My First Impressions of Istanbul

10 Free Things to do in Istanbul

12 Things to do in Istanbul for under $5 US

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