Turkey Trip from Pakistan in 2027: Eid Dates, Visa Lead Time, Routes

The best 2027 windows for a Turkey trip from Pakistan are the Eid ul-Adha holidays in mid-May, the school summer vacation from June, and the autumn weeks around Iqbal Day on 9 November. The first step is the visa, which ordinary Pakistani passports need: lodge it at Anatolia Travel Services well before the Eid rush. Our 5-day Istanbul and Cappadocia package with flights and a cave hotel starts from $1,150 per person.

This page is built around Pakistan's 2027 holiday calendar. It shows how each break lines up with the Turkish calendar, which sits a day or so ahead for the Eids, and what the weather is like on those dates. For city-specific details on the visa offices and the morning flights, read our pages on Turkey tour packages from Lahore and Turkey tour packages from Karachi.

Pakistan's 2027 holidays next to Turkey's

The fixed national days are set; the Islamic holidays depend on the moon sighting by the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee and the Cabinet Division's notification, which for 2027 has not been issued yet. The Pakistani Eid dates below are therefore estimates. The Turkish dates come from the 2027 calendar of the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), which Turkey fixes in advance.

Turkey is two hours behind Pakistan all year, so the time change is easy for children and grandparents.

Eid ul-Fitr in March: one day apart

Ramadan 2027 runs through February and into March. In Turkey, the Eid holiday at the end of the month, Ramazan Bayramı, is 9 to 11 March, with the afternoon of 8 March as a half day. In Pakistan, Eid ul-Fitr is expected on 9 or 10 March, so a family that celebrates the first day at home and flies out the next morning arrives in Turkey on the second or third day of the Turkish holiday.

What Eid looks like in Istanbul:

• The Eid prayer is held at every mosque shortly after sunrise on the first day. The large imperial mosques, such as the Süleymaniye and the Blue Mosque, are full well before the start.
• Families visit elders, and children go door to door for sweets and small gifts of money.
• Transport is busy. Millions of Turks travel home for the holiday, so domestic flights and intercity coaches fill weeks ahead.

March is still cool, and Cappadocia can be cold in the mornings, so pack warm clothes. If you would rather spend Ramadan itself in Istanbul, with iftar in the old city, see our Istanbul Ramadan 2027 tour package.

Eid ul-Adha in May and the Youm-e-Takbeer weekend

Kurban Bayramı, the Turkish Eid ul-Adha, runs from 16 to 19 May 2027, with the afternoon of 15 May off. In Pakistan, Eid ul-Adha is expected on 16 or 17 May. Two weeks later, Youm-e-Takbeer on Friday 28 May gives another long weekend. Families who can take the days in between have a natural ten- to twelve-day window.

The weather is the reason this is the best spring slot: warm days, long evenings, the valleys of Cappadocia still green, and the sea on the south coast warming up. The catch is the same as in March: Kurban Bayramı is the longest holiday in the Turkish year, and domestic flights and coastal hotels are at their busiest. Our planning advice:

1. Spend the Eid days in Istanbul, which empties as residents leave for their home towns.
2. Book domestic flights to Cappadocia, Trabzon or the coast for 20 May or later.
3. Make the visa application in March, before the Eid rush at the visa offices.

Our Eid al-Adha 2027 Turkey holiday package page covers the Eid days in detail.

Summer vacation: Bursa, Söğüt and the Black Sea

School summer vacations in Pakistan are set each year by the provincial governments, but most families travel between June and August. Ashura is expected around 14 and 15 June, and Independence Day falls on Saturday 14 August, with Eid Milad-un-Nabi expected the following day.

Summer in Turkey is hot in the south and in Cappadocia at midday, so many Pakistani families split the trip between Istanbul and the places they know from television:

• Bursa and Söğüt. Bursa was the first Ottoman capital, and Söğüt holds the tomb of Ertuğrul Gazi. Our private Ertuğrul Gazi tour, 2 days in Söğüt and Bursa, starts from $535 per person, or see Bursa alone on the private Bursa day tour from Istanbul, from $100 per person.
• The Black Sea. Trabzon is green and much cooler than the south. Our private 2-day Trabzon tour from Istanbul with flights starts from $785 per person. From Trabzon, the Uzungöl day trip is from $80 per person and the Sumela Monastery tour from $120 per person.

Our Black Sea Turkey tour page explains the region, the plateau villages and the best months for it.

Autumn and winter: Iqbal Day and December

Iqbal Day, Tuesday 9 November. With Monday 8 November as one day of leave, you have a four-day weekend; with a week's leave, a ten-day trip. November is quiet in Turkey, hotel prices are lower, and Istanbul is pleasant for walking. It is also a good month for a heritage trip to Konya, the city of Mevlana Rumi: our Konya tour from Istanbul takes two days, from $530 per person.

Winter vacation and Quaid-e-Azam Day. Quaid-e-Azam Day falls on Saturday 25 December. December is winter in Turkey: cool and wet in Istanbul, and snow is common in Cappadocia, Uzungöl and the Black Sea mountains. Families who want to see snow travel then. Cappadocia's balloons are cancelled more often in winter, as every flight needs permission from the civil aviation authority each morning.

The visa: Anatolia, the e-Visa and the lead time

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Türkiye lists ordinary Pakistani passports as visa-required. There are two routes:

1. e-Visa, with a qualifying visa. If you hold a valid visa or residence permit from a Schengen country, the USA, the UK or Ireland, you can apply at evisa.gov.tr for a one-month, single-entry e-Visa.
2. Sticker visa, for everyone else. The Turkish Embassy in Islamabad names Anatolia Travel Services as the sole authorised provider for visa applications in Pakistan, with offices in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi and in several other cities. Each family member needs their own application.

Practical points:

• Your passport must stay valid for at least 60 days beyond the end of your intended stay.
• Apply well ahead of the two Eids and the summer vacation, when many families apply at once.
• Use only Anatolia and the official e-Visa portal; the embassy warns against agents who sell Turkish visas.
• Buy flights only once the visas are issued.

Our Turkey tour packages from Pakistan page explains the documents most families prepare.

Flights, halal food and prayer

Flights. Turkish Airlines flies nonstop from Karachi and Lahore to Istanbul, mostly in the morning, in about six and a half hours. From Islamabad and other cities, check the current schedule or connect. All the Istanbul flights land at Istanbul Airport on the European side.

Halal food and prayer. Food in Turkey is halal as a matter of course, except where a restaurant serves pork, which is rare. Mosques are everywhere, and our guides plan prayer stops into each day and allow time for the Friday prayer. In hotels, ask for a room with the qibla marked if you need it.

Tours that cover this

• Istanbul and Cappadocia Tour Package: 5 Days with Flights and Cave Hotel: from $1,150 per person.
• Islamic Istanbul Tour Package: 4 Days, Private Guided Heritage Tours: from $768 per person.
• Private Ertuğrul Gazi Tour from Istanbul: 2 Days in Söğüt and Bursa: from $535 per person.
• Trabzon Tour from Istanbul: Private 2 Days with Flights: from $785 per person.

Travelling as a large family? Our Turkey family tour packages from Pakistan page covers minivans and room plans; couples can read our Turkey honeymoon package from Pakistan.

Frequently Asked Questions