Istanbul in 3 Nights and 4 Days from Korea: A Day-by-Day Plan

Three nights and four days is enough to see Istanbul's essentials from Korea: one day for Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, one for Topkapı Palace and the bazaars, one for the Bosphorus and the Asian shore, and a final morning in Galata or Balat before the flight home. Korean passport holders do not need a visa for stays of up to 90 days, and Turkish Airlines, Asiana Airlines and Korean Air all fly nonstop between Incheon and Istanbul Airport. This page sets out the route day by day, what the tickets cost, which days each sight closes and how to move around. If you would rather have the hotel, transfers and guiding arranged as one booking, our Istanbul tour package for 4 days and 3 nights starts from $699 per person.

Entry rules for Korean passport holders

According to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, citizens of the Republic of Korea with ordinary passports can visit Türkiye without a visa for up to 90 days. There is no e-visa, no online registration and no entry fee for a tourist trip. Websites that offer a "Turkey e-visa for Koreans" are selling something you do not need.

Two rules still matter:

• Passport validity. Türkiye requires a passport that is valid for at least 60 days beyond the end of your stay. For a four-day trip that is easy to meet, but check it if your passport is close to renewal.
• Purpose of the trip. The visa exemption covers tourism. Work, study or a long stay needs the right visa or residence permit from a Turkish mission.

If anyone in your group travels on a different passport, our overview of Turkey visa requirements explains the rules by nationality.

Flights from Incheon and the time difference

Three airlines fly nonstop between Seoul Incheon (ICN) and Istanbul Airport (IST): Turkish Airlines, Asiana Airlines and Korean Air. All of them use Istanbul Airport on the European side, north-west of the city, which is the same side as Sultanahmet, Galata and Taksim. Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) on the Asian side only matters if you connect onto a domestic flight or come in from another country first.

Istanbul is six hours behind Korea all year, because Türkiye stays on UTC+3 and does not change its clocks. Noon in Seoul is 6 a.m. in Istanbul. Flying west, you gain those hours, so even a long overnight flight usually lands you in Istanbul on the same calendar day you left.

Plan the first day around your arrival time. A morning arrival leaves a full afternoon in the Old City. An evening arrival means a short first day and a fuller last one, so book a hotel close to the sights to avoid losing time in traffic. Our private airport transfer page explains how a driver meets you in the arrivals hall.

The four days at a glance

The order below avoids the closing days of the big sights. Topkapı Palace is closed on Tuesdays, Dolmabahçe Palace on Mondays and the Grand Bazaar on Sundays, so check which weekday each day of your trip falls on before you fix the plan.

If Day 2 falls on a Tuesday, swap Days 2 and 3. If Day 3 falls on a Monday, keep the cruise and the Asian side but replace Dolmabahçe with Rumeli Fortress or a longer walk along the Bebek shore.

Day by day

Day 1: Sultanahmet after you land

Drop your bags and walk to Sultanahmet Square. Everything on the first afternoon is within a few hundred metres, which suits a day when you are tired from the flight.

• Hagia Sophia. It is a working mosque again, and foreign visitors pay €25 for a separate route through the upper galleries, where the Byzantine mosaics are. Our Hagia Sophia ticket update explains how the entrance works.
• Blue Mosque. Entry is free. It closes to visitors during the five daily prayers, so arrive between prayer times. Women cover their hair and everyone covers shoulders and knees; scarves are handed out at the door.
• Hippodrome. The open square beside the mosque, with the Egyptian obelisk and the Serpent Column.

If you still have energy, the Basilica Cistern is two minutes away. Its management changed in 2026, so confirm the current ticket price on the day.

Day 2: Topkapı Palace and the bazaars

Start at Topkapı Palace at opening time, before the tour groups. The ticket that includes the Harem and Hagia Irene costs 2,750 TL. Allow three hours: the Harem, the Treasury and the terraces above the Bosphorus are the parts most visitors want to see.

After lunch, walk to the Grand Bazaar. It is a maze of covered streets, so pick one or two things you want (lamps, ceramics, towels, leather) and ignore the rest. From there it is a short uphill walk to the Süleymaniye Mosque, whose terrace gives one of the best free views over the Golden Horn.

Walk down through the market streets to the Spice Bazaar and Eminönü. At dusk the fish-sandwich boats and the anglers on the Galata Bridge are a classic first-trip picture. A guide makes the biggest difference on this day, because the order of visits and the queues decide how much you see. Our page on choosing a private tour guide in Istanbul explains what a licensed guide does.

Day 3: Dolmabahçe, the Bosphorus and the Asian side

Dolmabahçe Palace is the 19th-century palace on the European shore, with crystal chandeliers and the room where Atatürk died. The ticket for foreign visitors is 2,000 TL, and visits follow a set route inside.

Then get on the water. A Bosphorus cruise passes the Ortaköy Mosque, the bridges, the wooden waterfront mansions and Rumeli Fortress. You can take a public ferry and do it yourself, as our guide to the self-guided Bosphorus ferry explains, or join a cruise with hotel pickup.

Finish on the Asian shore. Kadıköy has the food market, cafés and the evening crowds, and our page on things to do in Kadıköy lists the best streets. Üsküdar is quieter and faces the Maiden's Tower; a sunset from the Salacak shore is a good last evening.

Day 4: Galata or Balat, then the airport

How much you can do depends on your flight time. Istanbul Airport is a long drive from the centre, so leave the hotel at least three and a half hours before an international departure, and earlier at rush hour.

• Galata. Climb the Galata Tower early (€30) for the view over the Golden Horn, then walk down to Karaköy for coffee and baklava. See things to do in Galata and Karaköy.
• Balat. Colourful houses on steep streets, small cafés and the old Greek and Jewish quarters of Balat and Fener. It is popular with Korean travellers for photos; go early to have the streets mostly to yourself.

Ticket prices and closing days

These are the sights in this plan, with the foreign-visitor prices that apply in late 2026. Museum fees in Türkiye usually change at the start of a year or in spring, so treat them as a guide.

Add a few hundred lira a day for public transport and a ticket of around 46 TL per ride with an Istanbulkart, the city's contactless card. Our Istanbul trip cost page breaks down hotels and meals.

Getting around in four days

The T1 tram runs from Kabataş through Karaköy, Eminönü and Sultanahmet, so it links nearly every sight on Days 1, 2 and 4. Ferries cross to Kadıköy and Üsküdar every few minutes from Eminönü, Karaköy and Beşiktaş. Buy one Istanbulkart and load it; one card can pay for several people, one tap each.

Taxis are useful at night and in the rain, but traffic is heavy. For a family or a group with luggage, a car with a driver saves time on the airport runs and on Day 3, when the palace, the pier and the Asian side are spread out. See our page on an Istanbul private car with driver.

Practical details for Korean visitors: Türkiye uses the same two-pin plugs (types C and F) and 220-230 V power as Korea, so no adapter is needed. Card payments are accepted almost everywhere in the centre, but carry some lira for ferries, small cafés and tips.

When to go: Korean holidays and Istanbul weather

Many Korean travellers time a short Istanbul trip around a long weekend. In 2027 Seollal falls on Sunday 7 February, with the holiday running from 6 to 8 February, and Chuseok falls on Wednesday 15 September, with the holiday from 14 to 16 September.

Istanbul is very different in those two windows. Turkish State Meteorological Service averages give February highs of about 10°C, lows of about 4°C and rain on 14 days of the month. September is one of the best months of the year, with highs of about 26°C, lows of about 18°C and only five or six rainy days. Spring is also pleasant: May averages 22°C by day. For more detail, see our guide on the best time to visit Istanbul.

In February, swap the outdoor walking in Balat for museums such as the Istanbul Archaeology Museums, and book Bosphorus cruises with an indoor deck.

Tours that cover this

• Istanbul Tour Package: 4 Days / 3 Nights with Hotel & Bosphorus Cruise: from $699 per person, the closest match to this route.
• Private Istanbul Tour with a Licensed Guide: 1, 2 or 3 Days: from $199 per group per day, if you book flights and hotel yourself and want a guide for the busy days.
• Istanbul Old City Private Tour: Hagia Sophia, Topkapi & Grand Bazaar: from $200 per person, Days 1 and 2 in a single guided day.
• Istanbul Airport VIP Transfer: Private Mercedes Vito to Your Hotel: from $60 per group, for the arrival and departure runs.

Our sister site Get Istanbul Tours lists more city tours if you want to compare formats. For other trip lengths, see the Istanbul 3-day itinerary or the full list of Istanbul tours.

Frequently Asked Questions