Istanbul Two Continents Full-Day Tour with Lunch and Boat Trip

Çamlıca Hill

The day starts on the Asian side at Çamlıca Hill, the highest point of the Üsküdar district and the classic viewpoint over Istanbul. From its terraces and gardens you look straight down the Bosphorus at the first bridge, across to the domes of the old city on the European side and north along the strait towards the Black Sea. On a clear morning you can trace the ferry routes between Üsküdar, Kabataş and Eminönü and pick out the Maiden's Tower on its rock. The hill has been a picnic spot since Ottoman times, when it was planted with pines, cypresses and the plane trees that give it its name.

Your guide gives you time for photographs and a first explanation of the city's geography, which makes the rest of the Istanbul two continents tour much easier to follow. Çamlıca Hill is best visited early, before the haze builds up, which is exactly when this tour arrives.

Çamlıca Mosque

A few minutes from the viewpoint stands Çamlıca Mosque, opened in 2019 and the largest mosque in Turkey. It has six minarets, the tallest rising well over a hundred metres, a main dome that recalls the classical Ottoman mosques of Sinan, and prayer halls with room for tens of thousands of worshippers. The complex also holds a museum of Islamic civilisation, a library, an art gallery and conference halls, and because of its position on the ridge it can be seen from almost anywhere in Istanbul.

Entry is free and visitors of all faiths are welcome outside prayer times; women cover their hair and everyone removes their shoes at the door, as in every mosque in the city. Your guide explains the calligraphy and the modern interpretation of Ottoman design inside. The visit takes around half an hour, and because the mosque is new and spacious it never feels crowded, a contrast with the historic mosques of Sultanahmet.

Beylerbeyi Palace

Down on the Asian shore, directly under the first Bosphorus bridge, lies Beylerbeyi Palace, built in the 1860s as a summer residence for the sultan and as a guesthouse for visiting monarchs. Its white marble facade faces the water, and the two small bathing pavilions on the quay are among the most photographed details of the Bosphorus. Inside, the rooms mix European furniture with Ottoman taste: Bohemian crystal chandeliers, Egyptian reed matting on the floors to keep the rooms cool, painted ceilings, and a reception hall built around a marble pool. The gardens climb the hillside in terraces with magnolias and a tunnel that once carried the coastal road beneath the palace.

Entry is included on this Istanbul tour; the palace is closed on Mondays, when the tour visits the Çamlıca Tower observation deck instead. A guided visit of the Beylerbeyi Palace takes about forty-five minutes.

Eyüp Sultan Mosque

After lunch at a local restaurant, where the food is halal as everywhere in Istanbul, the vehicle crosses back to the European side and follows the Golden Horn to Eyüp. The Eyüp Sultan Mosque is the most sacred Islamic site in Istanbul: it was built around the tomb of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, a companion of the Prophet who died here during the first Arab siege of Constantinople in the seventh century and whose resting place was identified after the Ottoman conquest. The first mosque was raised in the 1450s, and the present baroque-style building dates from 1800. For centuries new sultans came here for the ceremony of girding the sword that marked their accession.

The courtyard with its ancient plane tree, the tiled tomb chamber and the stream of pilgrims make this a moving stop. Modest dress is required; your guide explains the etiquette before you enter.

Pierre Loti Hill

Above Eyüp, the historic cemetery climbs the slope to Pierre Loti Hill, named after a French writer who loved to sit here and look at the water. The terrace at the top is the best viewpoint over the Golden Horn: the whole inlet lies below you, from the Eyüp shoreline past the old city walls to the bridges at Unkapanı and Galata, with the skyline of Süleymaniye and the Galata Tower in the distance. A traditional café serves tea in tulip glasses under the trees, and in late afternoon the light turns the water gold.

The tour includes the visit to the hill, with time for tea at your own expense and photographs. It is a calm, local spot far from the crowds of Sultanahmet and a favourite of our Istanbul team on any Istanbul full day tour with lunch, especially in spring when the Judas trees bloom pink along the slopes.

Bosphorus boat trip at sunset

The day ends on the water. A two-hour boat trip, with Wi-Fi on board, takes you along the Bosphorus as the sun sets, so you see the shores you visited earlier from the other side: the marble facade of Dolmabahçe Palace, the waterfront mosque at Ortaköy under the first bridge, the wooden yalı mansions of the Asian shore, Beylerbeyi Palace lit from the water, and the Maiden's Tower on its islet at the mouth of the strait. Ferries, fishing boats and tankers share the channel, and the call to prayer carries across the water from both continents at dusk.

The sunset timing is the special feature of this option, and the boat has indoor and open-deck seating, so it works in every season. Soft drinks, water and tea are available on board at your own expense. After the boat trip the vehicle returns you to your hotel, ending a day of about twelve hours.