İstanbul for free? Well, yes!

Flying Turkish Airlines to and from South Africa was a pretty good idea. Highly recommend taking advantage of the airline's city tours if you have a long layover in Istanbul.

Before we get knee-deep into the South Africa itinerary, let’s talk about my brief time in Türkiye first.

Fun fact: Turkey officially changed its name (to the English-speaking world) to Türkiye in 2022. They told the UN and all of that.

Layover (on the way to Cape Town) companion vlog on TikTok and Instagram

Layover (from Johannesburg) companion vlog [links coming late March]

One of my favorite international travel hacks is having a long layover. You basically can see another country in addition to your actual destination. Buy one country, get one free!

I flew Turkish Airlines to Cape Town and from Johannesburg. Both legs of my trip had eight-hour layovers in Istanbul, and I got to explore the city on the airline’s Lira!

If you fly Turkish and have a layover in İstanbul longer than six hours, you’re eligible to take a Touristanbul tour or have a one-night hotel stay nearby. Both are complimentary. I opted for the former both times.

Touristanbul offers eight free city tours almost daily. All you have to do is sign up 30 minutes before the tour’s start time at the Touristanbul counter, which is at the end of the arrivals terminal. That’s after passport control, baggage claim, and declarations. IST is one of the most beautiful airports I’ve seen, but it’s ginormous. Prepare to walk!

You’re given a lanyard upon registration. You have the option to store your personal and/or carry-on luggage at a nearby counter. I stored my Telfar medium shopping bag for like $5. You can take your items with you on the charter bus, but why?! Attendance is taken by your tour guide 15 minutes before the tour begins.

My layovers allowed me to take the late-night Shopping Tour going to Cape Town and the early-morning Sightseeing Tour leaving Johannesburg.

The Shopping Tour was a little over four hours. The drive from the airport to city center is like 40 minutes. We stopped in the Dolmabaçhe area for dinner first. Dinner was free too! If you eat beef, get the Kofte. You can eat chicken back at your house. Dolmabaçhe restaurant is sandwiched between Dolmabaçhe Palace, Dolmabaçhe Mosque, and Beşiktaş JK Stadium, but all three were closed for the night. We did have some great starlit views of the Bosphorus Strait, which separates the city’ Europe side from its Asia one. We spent the rest of our time shopping and drinking at the Galata Port Mall, which has even better views of the Bosphorus. It was Friday night, and it was popping with friends and family at dinner or promenading along the waterfront.

The early morning Sightseeing Tour was a little over three hours. It was the first tour of the day, and it was packed. We needed two buses! It’s an abbreviated tour, so we only got off the bus twice—first at Galata Bridge to take photos and second at Dolmabaçhe for free breakfast and Turkish tea, and options to visit the neighboring palace or Mosque. There’s not enough time to take tours at either. If you want to visit the Mosque, you must remove your shoes, and women must have their hair covered.

Although not required and uncommon based on my observations, I tipped the tour guides and bus drivers. I tipped a lot this vacation. More on that when I share my experience in South Africa.

Once back at the airport: security checkpoint, go downstairs to get your luggage out of storage, go back upstairs to go through passport control, go through actual security, wait for your gate to be announced an hour before boarding starts, window shop at the luxury designer stores and trek to your gate, which may or may not have a 3-in-1 security checkpoint.

Overall, Touristanbul made having a layover in İstanbul that much more appealing. I’m glad I checked Türkiye off my list. It’s a very smart idea on the airline’s part. And they have a monopoly on İstanbul airport already. They don’t need to offer this!

My South African vlogs will include how much I spent to help you plan your trip. Note: it was peak season in the country, as it’s summer down there.

Cost of flights from D.C. to Cape Town and from Johannesburg: $1,120.05

How far in advance I booked my flights: 4 months, 2 weeks

-T