With so many must-see attractions and landmarks in Istanbul, Big Bus tours are a great way to make the most of your time in the city. Big Bus has two tour routes around different parts of Istanbul so you won't miss a thing!
ISTANBUL CITY TOUR - RED ROUTE
Highlights of the Red Route include the Old City, spotting fishermen on Galata Bridge, hopping off to see Dolmabahçe Palace, taking selfies at Taksim Square and exploring the Spice Bazaar. Even experience the novelty of crossing continents as the bus drives across the Bosphorus Bridge to Beylerbeyi Palace on the Asian side.
GOLDEN HORN TOUR - BLUE ROUTE
The Blue Route circles the Goldern Horn area of Istanbul stopping at places such as the Orthodox Patriarchate, Rahmi Koc Museum and the Spice Bazaar. Hop off and ride the Eyüp Cable Car, visit the Istanbul Dolphinarium and admire the 135 miniature models of architectural wonders at the Miniaturk Museum. There are so many options when you take the Big Bus! Enjoy seeing Istanbul your way.
Big Bus tours operate everyday.
The Red Route operates between 9.15 am - 5.45 pm and a loop takes around 2 hours. Buses run even 30 minutes.
The Blue Route operates between 10.00 am - 4.00 pm and a loop takes around 1 hour 15 minutes. Buses run every 60 minutes.
With Istanbul Tourist Pass you get access to Big Bus tours for 24 consecutive hours. This means that as soon as you get on your first Big Bus at Sultanahmet Square, the 24 hour time period starts counting down.
Getting there
Please note that you must board the Big Bus for the first time at Sultanahmet Square for both the red and blue tour routes.
To get to Sultanahmet Square, take the T1 Bağılar - Kabataş tram and get off at Sultanahmet station. Walk towards Hagia Sophia and keep an eye out for the Big Bus stop.
Avoid paying the entry fees and skip the ticket queues with Istanbul Tourist Pass®.
Hagia Sophia Mosque Tour Includes Istanbul Tourist Pass®️ with English speaking Professional Guide.
Blue Route begins from Sultanahmet just like Red Route does. Then, it continues towards Golden Horn area which is one of the most famous landmarks of Istanbul. Around Golden Horn as you will see with your tour with Big Bus, you can climb Pierre Loti Hill with cable car, visit Rahmi Koc Museum, Miniaturk Museum and more. Rahmi Koc Museum is a significant museum of transportation. You will witness the evolution of vehicles throughout the history with the collections of cars, railway vehicles, maritime vehicles, airway vehicles as well as machines, models and toys. Miniaturk on the other hand will give you a tour around Turkey, but in a much smaller version of it. There are tiny models of the landmarks of Turkey from Denizli to Diyarbakir. You will also see a mini version of what you have seen on your Big Bus tour! On Blue Route Big Bus also passes by Istanbul Dolphinarium Aquarium where visitors watch sea mammals’ show or swim with dolphins. If you are into sea life and want to get to know sea animals closely, you can go to Sea Life Aquarium Istanbul. You can go to Sea Life Aquarium by taking M1A or M1B metro lines and taking off at Kocatepe Station.
By having the Istanbul Tourist Pass®, you can visit more than 75+ attractions in Istanbul. You can save huge amount of time and money by not waiting in the long queues or paying fees at the entrances of the museums or for other facilities and activities. You can buy the Istanbul Tourist Pass®️ for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 or 10 days. So many attractions are available with Istanbul Tourist Pass®️ such as Topkapı Palace, Hagia Sophia, Dolmabahçe Palace, Sapanca Lake daily tour, Dinner on the Bosphorus, Istanbul Airport Shuttle etc. included in the pass. For more details and updated attractions available with the pass can be found on website.
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