Bursa
The first Ottoman capital, and the greenest city you can reach from Istanbul in a day.
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Bursa is the nearest "somewhere else" to Istanbul: you go and come back the same day, yet you arrive somewhere that resembles Istanbul not at all. As the first Ottoman capital its centre is full of mosques, tombs and covered inns; behind it stands Uludağ, and a cable car lifts you above the forest in twenty minutes. In summer, when Istanbul is stifling, the summit is eight to ten degrees cooler; in winter the same place is under snow. This page explains how to get there, how the cable car works and whether one day is enough.
- From Istanbul
- About 2 hours by ferry, 2.5 by road
- Tour length
- 10 hours, a day trip
- Snow season
- December – March (Uludağ)
- At the summit
- 8–10 degrees below the city
Getting there from Istanbul
There are two ways. By ferry: a fast ferry crosses from Yenikapı or Pendik to Bursa's Mudanya pier, an hour and a half at sea, with another half hour from the pier to the city centre. By road: across the Gulf over the Osmangazi Bridge, about two and a half hours. Taking the car with us onto the ferry combines the advantages of both — you sit through the crossing, the car comes off with you on the other side, and the day starts at Mudanya without waiting. On busy weekends the ferry fills up; we book the sailing in advance.
Cumalıkızık and Ottoman Bursa
In the city centre the Grand Mosque, the Green Tomb and Koza Han are within walking distance; Koza Han is still a courtyard inn where silk is sold, and the tea garden at its centre is the natural place to pause. Cumalıkızık is about ten kilometres out: a UNESCO-listed village where seven-hundred-year-old stone houses still stand. Its lanes are cobbled, narrow and steep — a pushchair struggles, and comfortable shoes are essential. Several courtyards in the village serve breakfast, and the day usually closes there over tea or a meal. The Inkaya plane tree, six hundred years old, sits on the way and is worth a short stop.
Uludağ: green in summer, snow in winter
The cable car leaves from the city centre and climbs over the forest to the summit; the ride takes about twenty minutes and the view is the most photographed part of the tour. At the top it is eight to ten degrees colder than in town, so even in mid-August you want a light layer — guests who bring nothing get cold up there. From December to March there is snow, and many Gulf guests ask for Bursa precisely to see it. The cable car can close with the weather: wind, fog or heavy snow will stop it, and the day then turns to the city instead. Because the decision is taken in the morning, we cannot promise it in advance.
What we do in Bursa
A ten-hour day trip to Bursa from Istanbul — the ferry crossing, the cable car, the Grand Mosque, Koza Han and Cumalıkızık in one day. In the six-day Istanbul–Bursa programme you stay a night in Bursa and the day is not compressed. We also run transfers straight from Istanbul Airport to Bursa; that is the practical option for guests headed for Bursa who will not go into Istanbul at all. The driver speaks Arabic, the tour is private and the price is set in advance. What we do not do: no yacht charter, no serviced apartments, no wedding cars.
What we offer in Bursa
Transfer routes
Common questions about Bursa
Enough for the headlines: the cable car, the Grand Mosque and Koza Han, Cumalıkızık. A ten-hour programme takes those comfortably. But the day is full and two and a half hours of it are spent travelling; with small children the pace can be demanding. Stay a night in Bursa and the same places can be seen without hurrying, leaving the second day for Uludağ or the thermal baths. Our six-day Istanbul–Bursa programme is built on that second pattern.
No — it depends on the weather. Strong wind, thick fog or heavy snow can stop it, and the call is usually made in the morning, so we cannot guarantee it beforehand. If it is closed we turn that day towards the city centre and Cumalıkızık; the tour price does not change and we do not charge for something we cancelled. If snow is what you came for, December to March gives you the best chance.
The ferry is both shorter and easier: you sit through the crossing and miss the traffic. We take the car aboard, so we drive off at Mudanya and carry on without waiting. The road is used only when the sailing times do not fit or the weekend crossings are full; then it is about two and a half hours over the Osmangazi Bridge. We decide which when the tickets are bought, and the price does not change.
Let us plan your trip today
Send us your dates and party size, and we will come back the same day with a fixed price and a draft programme.
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