- Pushchair
- Hard on the historic peninsula
- Stops per day
- More than three tires everyone
- Child seat
- On request, no extra charge
How far the walking really is
The sights on the historic peninsula look close on a map, but between them are cobbled, sloping lanes where a pushchair will not roll easily. Topkapi Palace itself is a large site; you walk inside it for an hour or two. Putting two major museums in one day is usually too much for a family with children.
Having the car with you all day
On a programme with children, the most useful thing is having the car at your disposal all day: jackets, water and shopping bags stay in it, you pause when a child tires and the plan can be shortened. If the car waits at every stop, finding transport during the day stops being a problem at all.
Which stops work for children
A Bosphorus boat trip, the cable car up Uludag and walking by the lake at Sapanca are the parts children like most; all involve little walking and plenty of view. Long museum visits and crowded bazaars tire everyone fastest. A good day balances the two: one historic site in the morning, open air in the afternoon.
Where a pushchair helps and where it does not
The historic district of Istanbul is cobbled and sloping. A pushchair can be used around Sultanahmet but the stones shake it and some lanes have steps. Inside the Grand Bazaar, a pushchair cannot manoeuvre when it is crowded.
By contrast the Bosphorus shore road, Emirgan Park, the malls and the pavements of modern districts are easy. Ferries are no problem; the metro has lifts but not at every station, and some older ones have only stairs.
Most families with small children arrive at a two-part answer: a carrier for short distances, and a light folding pushchair for long walks and rest. Large heavy pushchairs are not an advantage in Istanbul.
Having the car with you all day changes this picture: the pushchair, luggage and shopping bags stay in the vehicle and you get out only at the place you are visiting. The real reason families with children ask for a private car is not comfort but this carrying load.
Building the day around the child
The commonest mistake in a plan with children is taking the adult plan and shortening it. The method that works is different: build the day around one main stop and one open space. A museum or historic site in the morning, a park, shore or pool in the afternoon. Two museums back to back does not work with a small child.
If you have a child who naps at midday, write that hour into the plan. Sleeping in the car usually works; if a long drive or an intercity leg falls at that hour, the day is not lost.
Move mealtimes earlier. Dinner starts late in Turkish restaurants; six or seven means both a calm room and faster service for a family with children.
The stops children like most are usually not the most historic: a ferry ride, feeding the gulls on the Bosphorus, a cable car, an aquarium, big parks. Putting one of these in every day makes the historic sites pass without trouble.
Carry water, snacks and a change of clothes — there are shops everywhere in Istanbul, but you do not want to queue on a hot day.
Common questions about this guide
Let us build the programme in this guide for you
Send your dates and party size; we will come back the same day with the route and a fixed price.
Message on WhatsApp
