6 Days: Istanbul and Beyond
Six days keeps the 5-day spine intact, both Princes’ Islands, the Bosphorus Tour, Edirne and Bursa, then tacks on a single compressed day to Gallipoli and Troy for travelers who can’t spare the proper overnight. Read the honest warning under Day 6 before you book this version; the 7-day plan does Gallipoli and Troy properly instead.
Book these before you go
- The Princes’ Islands round-trip ferry ticket, via GetYourGuide
- A private Bosphorus sunset cruise, via Viator
- A guided Bursa day tour, via GetYourGuide
- A Gallipoli and Troy day tour with a driver who knows the roads, via Viator
| Day | Trip | Distance / Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Princes’ Islands (Buyukada) | 75-100 min ferry from Kabatas |
| 2 | The Bosphorus Cruise | 2-6 hrs, departs Eminonu |
| 3 | Edirne | 2h15-2h45 direct bus |
| 4 | Bursa | 1h40 ferry + 30 min transfer, or 3-5h bus |
| 5 | Heybeliada | 65-85 min ferry from Kabatas |
| 6 | Gallipoli and Troy (compressed) | 4.5-5.5 hrs each way by road |
Day 1: Princes’ Islands
Morning
Ferries leave Kabatas roughly hourly from 05:45 per the official Adalar timetable , reaching Buyukada in 75 to 100 minutes.
Afternoon
Bike or electric cart around the car-free island’s interior roads.
Evening
Return to Kabatas in time for dinner.
Day 2: The Bosphorus Cruise
Morning
The 6-hour Long Tour from Eminonu, about 640 TRY, reaches toward the Black Sea with a lunch stop built in.
Afternoon
The 2-hour Short Circle, around 340 TRY, is the shorter fallback if the Long Tour doesn’t fit your schedule.
Evening
Take the private sunset cruise you booked, or the free commuter ferry to Kadikoy instead.
Day 3: Edirne
Morning
A direct bus, close to hourly from about 5am, covers the 2 hour 15 minute to 2 hour 45 minute run out.
Afternoon
Mimar Sinan’s Selimiye Mosque is the whole point of the trip.
Evening
Return on a direct bus, with departures running until close to 11pm.
Day 4: Bursa
Morning
An IDO or BUDO ferry to Mudanya runs about 1 hour 40 minutes, plus a transfer into central Bursa; a direct bus alone runs 3 to 5 hours.
Afternoon
The Grand Mosque (Ulu Cami) and the Green Tomb and Green Mosque cover the city’s weight as the empire’s first capital.
Evening
Reverse your outbound route; count on 10 to 14.5 hours round trip.
Day 5: Heybeliada
Morning
Take the Sehir Hatlari ferry toward Heybeliada, 65 to 85 minutes from Kabatas, a shorter run than Buyukada and a quieter island once you land.
Afternoon
Hike up to the old Naval Academy grounds and find a quieter beach than anything on the main island.
Evening
Return to Kabatas for an early night, since Day 6 starts before dawn.
Day 6: Gallipoli and Troy, the compressed version
Morning
Leave Istanbul before sunrise for the 4.5 to 5.5 hour drive to the Gallipoli peninsula. This single-day version genuinely exists as a bookable product, but it spends more hours on the road than at either site, so treat it as a compromise, not the ideal way to see either place.
Afternoon
Walk the Gallipoli battlefield memorials and cemeteries, then cross the short ferry to Troy, a further 30 minutes south of Canakkale, for a fast pass through the ancient site.
Evening
Drive back to Istanbul, arriving late. Between the two legs of driving, this single day runs 12 to 14 plus hours for only 1 to 2 hours actually at the sites themselves.
Should you actually do Gallipoli and Troy as one long day?
No, if the extra night is available at all. Every serious tour operator sells this pairing as a 2-day, 1-night trip based in Canakkale for exactly this reason, real time at both sites instead of a driving marathon bookended by a couple of rushed stops. This compressed version only makes sense if a firm return flight leaves no other option.
What’s the actual difference between this version and the 7-day itinerary?
One overnight. The 7-day version splits the same drive across two days with a night in Canakkale between them, turning 1 to 2 rushed hours per site into a proper half day at each, without adding a second full day of driving.
If Day 6 is realistic for your schedule, book a driver-led tour rather than attempting the drive yourself; the road distance alone makes a self-driven version a genuinely long day behind the wheel on top of the sightseeing. Pack an Istanbulkart for Days 1 through 5; none of the ferries on this itinerary run cheaper without one.