Istanbul for the 8 March 2027 Long Weekend: Plan Around Eid

Yes, the 8 March 2027 long weekend is enough for a good first trip to Istanbul: in Russia it runs from Saturday 6 to Monday 8 March, which gives you two full days of sightseeing and a travel day, or three full days if you add Tuesday 9 March. The timing has one twist. In Türkiye, 8 March 2027 is the last day of Ramadan and the eve of Eid al-Fitr, which runs from 9 to 11 March, so a few sights close for a morning and the city fills with domestic travellers. With the plan below you can work around all of it. If you want the old city covered in one guided day, our Istanbul Old City private tour is from $200 per person.

This page is for travellers from Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Belarus and other countries where International Women's Day is a public holiday. For the full Turkish calendar of the year, see our Istanbul holidays 2027 planner.

The dates that shape your weekend

Three calendars meet in the same week: your home holiday, the end of Ramadan in Türkiye, and the Turkish schools' spring break. This is how the days line up.

Russia's 2027 production calendar gives 6, 7 and 8 March as three consecutive days off on a five-day week. On a six-day week only 7 and 8 March are free, so check your own schedule before you book flights. The Ramadan and Eid dates come from the calendar of Türkiye's Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet). Our guide to Istanbul during Ramadan covers the month in more detail.

Who has the 8 March holiday, and how long to stay

International Women's Day is a public holiday in Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Belarus and several other former Soviet countries. In 2027 it falls on a Monday, so in most of them it creates a three-day weekend from Saturday 6 March.

There are three sensible ways to use it:

• Three days, Saturday to Monday. Fly in early on Saturday, fly home on Monday evening. You get two full days and a short third one. This is the most common choice.
• Four days, Friday to Monday. Take Friday 5 March off and arrive on Thursday night or Friday morning. This gives you the old city, the Bosphorus and one extra half-day for the Asian side or a cruise.
• Four days, Saturday to Tuesday. Take Tuesday 9 March off. That day is the first day of Eid in Türkiye, so it is better spent on the water and outdoors than in museums.

If you can choose, the Friday to Monday option is the better one. Friday 5 March is a normal working day in Istanbul, and every museum and bazaar is open.

Flights, visas and money for travellers from Russia and Central Asia

Flights. Istanbul Airport (IST), on the European side, has direct flights from Moscow with Aeroflot and Rossiya to Sheremetyevo, Pobeda and Turkish Airlines to Vnukovo, S7 to Domodedovo and Red Wings to Zhukovsky. Seats for the holiday weekend sell early, because 8 March is a popular short break for Russian travellers and the same week is busy inside Türkiye. Book as soon as your dates are fixed.

Time. Istanbul is on UTC+3 all year, the same time as Moscow. There is no jet lag and no clock change to think about.

Entry. Holders of ordinary Russian passports can enter Türkiye visa-free for tourism for up to 60 days. Citizens of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan can stay visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180-day period, and citizens of Belarus for up to 30 days per visit. These are the figures published by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Rules change, so check them before you travel.

Money. Bank cards issued in Russia often do not work in Türkiye, so check with your bank and bring enough cash for the whole trip in dollars or euros. Exchange offices in Sultanahmet, Eminönü and Taksim change money at fair rates; compare two or three before you exchange a large amount. Several museum prices are set in euros and charged at the day's rate.

Language. Many hotel and shop staff in Sultanahmet and Laleli speak some Russian. For the sights themselves, a guide who explains the history in your own language makes a big difference. See our page on Russian-speaking guides in Istanbul.

A three-day plan for 6 to 8 March

This plan is built around the closures: the Grand Bazaar on Sunday, Dolmabahçe Palace on Monday, and the Eid morning on Tuesday.

Two notes on this plan:

• Saturday is your only bazaar day. The Grand Bazaar is closed on Sundays and on the first day of Eid, so if shopping matters, keep Saturday afternoon free for it. Our Grand Bazaar tour page has tips on bargaining and what to buy.
• Sunday is the best museum day. Topkapı Palace is closed on Tuesdays, not Sundays, and Sunday 7 March is a normal opening day for the ministry museums. Start early, because Turkish families in the city for the school break will be out too.

If you want help with tickets and queues, the Best of Istanbul private tour with a licensed guide is from $199 per group for a full day.

Adding a fourth day

A fourth day changes the shape of the trip more than you might expect.

If you add Friday 5 March, use it for the old city. Everything is open, including the Grand Bazaar, and the crowds are lighter than at the weekend. Then Saturday can go to Dolmabahçe Palace and the Bosphorus, Sunday to the Asian side, and Monday to a slow morning before the flight. On Friday evening, the Night of Power, the great mosques fill up for prayers; visitors can watch from the courtyards, but it is not the night for sightseeing inside.

If you add Tuesday 9 March, you are in Istanbul on the first day of Eid. Expect the following:

• Museums run by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism usually stay closed until about 13:00 on the first day of each Eid.
• In 2026 the national palaces, including Topkapı and Dolmabahçe, were closed for the whole first day of Eid al-Fitr. Topkapı is also closed on Tuesdays in any week.
• The Grand Bazaar normally stays closed that day.
• Ferries, Bosphorus cruises and restaurants work as usual.

So keep Tuesday for the water: the Princes' Islands day tour with ferry and lunch, from $90 per person, or a Bosphorus cruise. Both are good choices for a holiday when the museums are closed.

What the end of Ramadan and Eid feel like

For a visitor, the last days of Ramadan are a good time to be in Istanbul. Restaurants, shops and transport keep normal hours during the day. In the evening, the streets go quiet for a few minutes at iftar, the meal that breaks the fast, and then fill up again. On 8 March 2027 the sun sets in Istanbul at about 19:00, and iftar comes with the evening call to prayer a few minutes later.

A few practical points:

• Restaurants at sunset. Popular places in Sultanahmet and Eyüp are full at iftar time. Book a table or eat a little earlier or later.
• Traffic before iftar. The hour before sunset is one of the slowest of the day on the roads. Do not plan an airport transfer for that hour.
• Mosques. The big mosques pause sightseeing at prayer times, and the evening prayers in Ramadan draw large crowds. Visit in the morning.
• Eid greetings. From Monday evening you will hear "İyi bayramlar" (happy Eid). During the holiday, families visit relatives and children are given sweets and pocket money.

Because the Turkish schools' spring break runs from 8 to 12 March 2027, the whole week from 6 to 14 March is a peak travel time inside Türkiye. Many Istanbul residents leave the city, but visitors from other Turkish cities and from the Gulf arrive, and the old city stays busy.

Weather and what to pack in early March

Early March in Istanbul is still late winter. The Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM) gives a long-term average high of 12.4°C and a low of 5.5°C for March, with rain on about 13 days of the month. Some days are bright and mild, others are grey with a cold wind off the Black Sea, and snow is possible but rarely lasts in the city centre.

Pack for a cool, damp city:

• A warm waterproof jacket and a hat for the Bosphorus boats, which are cold on deck.
• Comfortable shoes that cope with wet cobbles and slip off easily at mosque doors.
• A scarf: women need a headscarf inside mosques, and men and women should cover shoulders and knees.
• An umbrella, which you can also buy from street sellers the moment it starts raining.

Most of the main sights are indoors or partly covered, so a rainy day still works: Hagia Sophia, the Basilica Cistern, Topkapı's Harem, the bazaars and the Istanbul Archaeology Museums. Our best time to visit Istanbul page compares March with the spring months.

What the weekend costs: our prices

Hotel prices in the old city rise for the Eid and school-break week, so book the room first and the tours second. These are our own prices for the tours that fit an 8 March weekend.

Museum tickets are paid on top unless a tour says they are included. Hagia Sophia charges foreign visitors for the gallery visit; our Hagia Sophia ticket price update has the current figure. For a full breakdown of a trip, see our Istanbul trip cost guide. If you would like to compare more day tours, our sister site lists private Istanbul tours as well.

Tours that cover this

• Istanbul Old City Private Tour: Hagia Sophia, Topkapı and Grand Bazaar: from $200 per person, 6 to 8 hours. Best on Saturday 6 or Sunday 7 March.
• Private Istanbul Tour with a Licensed Guide: 1, 2 or 3 Days: from $199 per group, 8 hours a day. A guide for the whole long weekend.
• Istanbul Tour Package: 4 Days / 3 Nights with Hotel and Bosphorus Cruise: from $699 per person, for the Friday to Monday version.
• Bosphorus Dinner Cruise Istanbul: Folk and Belly Dance Show, Transfers: from $90 per person, about 6 hours with hotel transfers.

More ideas are on our Istanbul tours page and our 3-day Istanbul itinerary.

Frequently Asked Questions