Accessible shore excursion Istanbul from Galataport – wheelchair-friendly for cruise passengers

Pick-up at the cruise terminal, minivan with lift platform

Book directly with the guide: MeinReiseleiter.de

Shore leave without the stress of steps. I pick you up directly at the Galataport cruise terminal, show you Istanbul in a minivan with an electric lift platform and bring you back with a time buffer before final boarding. If your ship is delayed, I wait at no extra charge.

Minivan with lift platform
Electric lift platform and driver, can be added from €270

Pick-up at your door
At the hotel, the airport or the cruise terminal

Checked routes
Ramps, lifts, level paths – clarified in advance

Skip the ticket line
In through the tour guides' entrance

Live tour guide
German, English and Turkish, others on request

Private group
Only you and your guide, your pace sets the day

Duration

According to time in port
usually 6 to 8 hours

Vehicle

Routes

Checked
Ramps and lifts instead of steps

Start

Your choice
You decide the time

Highlights

• Pick-up directly at the Galataport terminal, without searching and without detours
• Wheelchair-accessible minivan with electric lift platform, can be added from €270
• Route and duration according to your ship's arrival and final boarding time
• Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque and Topkapı via step-free entrances
• No queuing at the ticket office, tour guides' entrance
• Back at the ship on time, with a buffer before departure
• If the ship is delayed, I wait at no extra charge

Full description

A shore excursion has a fixed framework: your ship's time in port. With a wheelchair there is also the question of which routes work at all. I plan both in advance, so that a few hours become a calm day rather than a rush.

I pick you up directly at the Galataport cruise terminal. The minivan with electric lift platform is parked as close to the exit as possible; where stopping is prohibited, I will tell you the nearest point in advance. You book the vehicle together with the guided tour, from 270 euros for the shore excursion.

Itinerary as an example

This is a sample itinerary. The seven hours are put together entirely according to your wishes.

• Pick-up at the Galataport terminal
  The minivan with lift platform is parked as close to the terminal exit as possible.
• Sultanahmet and Hagia Sophia
  Step-free main entrance with ramp, level square, wheelchair-accessible toilet facilities.
• Blue Mosque and Hippodrome
  Level side entrance, lift to the courtyard.
• Lunch with a view over the Old City
  Restaurant with lift and tables at a suitable height, vegetarian or halal on request.
• Topkapı Palace or Grand Bazaar
  Depending on time in port: lifts in the palace or the flat main lanes of the bazaar.
• Return to the ship
  Return with a buffer before final boarding, right up to the terminal.

Accessibility at a glance

Which sights, hotels and restaurants in Istanbul are wheelchair-friendly? This is my assessment from practical experience, not an official inspection – I cannot rule out renovations and broken lifts. Before your date I re-check the points that matter for your day.
✔ suitable · △ partly suitable · ✖ not recommended

Sights

✔ Particularly suitable

Topkapı Palace (main areas) · Hagia Sophia (ground floor) · Blue Mosque (side entrance) · Grand Bazaar · Spice Bazaar · Istanbul Modern · Miniatürk · Şerefiye Cistern · Pierre Loti cable car · Bosphorus boats with ramp · Galataport · Çamlıca Mosque · AKM Cultural Centre · Vialand

△ Partly accessible

Dolmabahçe Palace (limited inside) · Galata Tower (access difficult, good at the top) · Süleymaniye Mosque · Rumeli Hisarı · Maiden's Tower (depending on the boat) · Archaeological Museum · Chora · Basilica Cistern · Balat and Fener (hilly, cobblestones)

✖ Not recommended

Yedikule Fortress · Theodosius Cisterns · old stepped passages · steep streets in Beyoğlu · Princes' Islands (problematic depending on the boat) · sections of the old city walls

Hotels

✔ Particularly suitable

Hilton Bomonti · DoubleTree Old Town · Radisson Blu Pera · Point Hotel Taksim · InterContinental · Crowne Plaza Old City · Elite World Taksim · Holiday Inn · Arcadia Blue · Bentley Old City – all with wheelchair rooms and wide lifts

△ Partly suitable

Boutique hotels in Sultanahmet · historic buildings depending on renovation · small Old City hotels · hotels on slopes in the Taksim side streets · older lifts

✖ Not suitable

Very small boutique hotels · buildings with steps at the entrance · historic guesthouses · hostels · Old City hotels without a lift · alley hotels in Balat and Fener

Restaurants and cafés

✔ Particularly suitable

360 Istanbul · Seven Hills · Hafız Mustafa 1864 · Mado (large branches) · Galataport restaurants · Kat Restaurant · Dürümzade · Sultanahmet Köftecisi (main restaurant) · Divan Brasserie · Istanbul Modern Café

△ Partly suitable

Many roof terraces, depending on the lift · small lokantas · traditional grill houses · Galata cafés · Sultanahmet restaurants in old buildings

✖ Not suitable

Cramped historic tea houses · cafés with steps at the entrance · very small rooms in old buildings · restaurants in the steep alleys of Cihangir, Galata and Balat

Services

Included

• Private guided tour with a state-licensed tour guide, according to your ship's time in port, usually 6 to 8 hours
• Accessible route checked in advance
• Accompaniment at the entrances, without queuing at the ticket office

Not included

✦ No shopping stops: our promise

Visits to carpet, jewellery or leather businesses are expressly not part of this trip. Your time belongs to the biblical and historical sites and the content of your study tour, not to the sales rooms.

Only at the express request of the group or individual travellers do we organise such a visit separately and outside the programme. The shuttle or taxi is then paid for by the shop concerned.

Our advice: be careful with conspicuously cheap travel offers. They are often subsidised by commissions from sales visits – with compulsory shopping stops, sales pressure and often inflated prices. Never buy under time pressure, compare prices and ask for a receipt and a certificate of authenticity.

• Wheelchair-accessible minivan with driver, can be added from €270
• Admission fees and voluntary donations
• Lunch and drinks
• Additional journeys outside the tour day
• Tips

Languages

I guide in these three languages personally. Further languages are possible on request through licensed colleagues from my team – please state this in your enquiry so that I can check availability in advance.

• German
• English
• Turkish

Good to know

Duration and pace

Duration: according to your ship's time in port, usually 6 to 8 hours. Breaks are planned in and can be extended at any time. If you run short of energy, just say so – we would rather shorten the programme than the rest.

Who the tour is intended for

For wheelchair users, people with reduced mobility, seniors and families with pushchairs. A companion is welcome; up to three people are included in the basic price, each additional person is charged extra. More than six people do not fit into the lift-platform minivan.

Details about the wheelchair

When enquiring, please tell me the type of wheelchair, its overall width and the weight including the person. The lift platform has limits, and I will tell you bindingly in advance whether your model fits, rather than surprising you with it on the tour day.

Skip the ticket line

At the state museums I take you in through the tour guides' entrance. This saves you the queue and is only possible with a state-licensed guide.

Winter half-year, 20 Oct to 15 Apr

During this time most museums close as early as 17:00, and mosques can usually also only be visited until 17:00. The itinerary is adapted accordingly.

Included in the price

• Guided tour €300 for up to 3 people; each additional person €10, child €8, infant €5
• Private licensed tour guide in the booked language
• Accessible route checked in advance

Not included in the price

• Wheelchair-accessible minivan with driver: €270 for up to 3 people, each additional person €10, infant €5
• Admission fees, voluntary donations
• Lunch, drinks, personal expenses
• Wheelchair for hire from €35 per day, electric wheelchair from €49 per day
• Tips

Important notes

• State your wheelchair dimensions
  Width, weight including the person and whether it is a folding or electric wheelchair. This determines which vehicle I plan for.
• Provide your mobile number
  Please give the number you will have with you on the day of the tour, ideally with WhatsApp.
• Companion
  A companion is always welcome and included in the flat-rate price.
• Toilets
  The accessible toilets along the route are known and planned in – just let me know.

Please bring

• ID or a copy
  Helpful at the museum entrances.
• Sun or rain protection
  Depending on the season.
• Medication for the day
  We will be out for several hours.
• Camera or smartphone
  For the moments that last.
• Good mood
  The most important companion.

Meeting point

I pick you up: at your hotel lobby, at the airport, at the Galataport cruise terminal or at a place of your choice in Istanbul. I confirm the exact point and time with your booking.

You will recognise me by the "MeinReiseleiter.de" sign and the visibly worn rehber (guide) badge. The vehicle is parked as close to the entrance as possible; where stopping is prohibited, I will tell you the nearest point in advance.

Important information

Not allowed

• Alcohol and drugs during the tour
• Drone flights at museums and mosques

Dress code in mosques

Shoulders and knees covered, women with a headscarf. Scarves are available at the entrance, and I am happy to bring some along too.

Deposit, cancellation and payment