Bursa and Uludag Day Trip from Istanbul by Ferry with Cable Car Option

The ferry crossing of the Sea of Marmara

The day starts early: the coach collects you from your meeting point and drives about an hour along the Asian side to the ferry terminal near Gebze. From there a car ferry crosses the Sea of Marmara in roughly 45 minutes, which is the quickest and most scenic way to get to Bursa from Istanbul. Our Istanbul team always recommends going up to the open deck: on a clear morning you can see the green hills of the Yalova shore ahead and, behind them, the ridge of Uludağ, often white with snow until late spring.

The crossing is calm on most days and there is a small café on board for tea and simit. It also saves hours of driving, which is why this Bursa day trip from Istanbul fits so much into one day. From the landing pier it is about an hour more by coach through orchards and olive groves to the first stop in Bursa.

Turkish delight and the İnkaya plane tree

Bursa is the historic capital of Turkish delight, and the first stop in the city is a traditional lokum shop where the sweets are made the old way with starch, sugar and real pistachio, walnut or rose. You can sample before buying, and the one-hour break also gives you time for tea and a rest after the journey. Chestnut candy (kestane şekeri) is the other Bursa speciality worth taking back to Istanbul.

A short drive uphill brings you to the İnkaya Historical Plane Tree, a huge oriental plane said to be more than 600 years old, with branches propped on steel supports and a tea garden spread beneath its shade. It is one of the most photographed natural monuments in the Bursa region, and the guide explains how plane trees anchored village squares across the Ottoman world.

Uludağ Mountain and lunch at Kirazlı Yayla

Uludağ, the Great Mountain, rises to about 2,543 metres behind Bursa and is Turkey's best-known winter sports area, but a Uludağ day trip is rewarding in every season. The coach climbs through pine and fir forest to the Kirazlı Yayla plateau, where lunch is served at a mountain restaurant with wide views over the forest and the Bursa plain. The food is simple Turkish fare, halal as everywhere in the region, with grilled meat, rice, salad and bread; drinks are paid separately.

After lunch there is time for the optional extras that so many visitors ask about: a short quad safari on the forest tracks and a chairlift ride up towards the summit area and the ski slopes. Both are paid on site, and the guide helps you decide whether the weather makes them worthwhile. Bring a jacket even in summer, as the mountain air is noticeably cooler than Istanbul.

The Bursa cable car from Uludağ to the city

The descent is the highlight for most travellers. The Bursa cable car (teleferik) is one of the longest cable car lines in the world, running about nine kilometres from the mountain stations down to the Teferrüç district on the edge of the city. Modern glass gondolas glide over the forest and the deep ravines of the mountain, and as the trees thin out the whole of Bursa spreads out below with the Marmara plain beyond.

The ride takes around twenty minutes and is included in the default option; with the other options you buy the ticket on the day, and the cable car accepts cash only, so keep some Turkish lira with you. If strong wind closes the cable car, the chairlift is used instead or the coach drives you down, so the sightseeing never stops. Photographers should sit on the side facing the city for the best shots.

Green Mosque, Green Tomb and the Ottoman silk market

Back in the city, the guided walk begins at the Green Mosque (Yeşil Cami), completed in the early fifteenth century and famous for the turquoise and cobalt tiles that give it its name. Its carved marble gateway, tiled mihrab and raised sultan's gallery make it one of the finest early Ottoman buildings anywhere. It is a working mosque, so visitors remove their shoes and dress modestly; women are asked to cover their hair, and a short pause is made if a prayer is in progress.

Across the street, the Green Tomb (Yeşil Türbe) with its blue-green tiled exterior is the resting place of the sultan who built the complex. The walk ends in the old city centre at the Ottoman silk market, a historic covered han where cocoons were once traded and where stalls now sell Bursa silk scarves, towels and handicrafts. There is free time to shop before the two-hour return drive to Istanbul.