Half-day Highlights of Istanbul Handicap Accessible Tour

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Half-day Highlights of Istanbul Handicap Accessible Tour

By exploring the flattest part of the city, this Istanbul handicap accessible tour manages to avoid many of the hills and uneven cobblestones found in other parts of the city.

The sites visited on this tour are close together and will minimize the distances you need to travel. You will visit the most picturesque sites in Istanbul: the Blue Mosque with its six minarets, the Hagia Sophia church turned mosque turned museum, and the unique Basilica Cistern which you may have seen in several movies. You (and your photo album) will enjoy this tour!

Other tours that you may be interested in include the Highlights of Istanbul Accessible Shore Excursion by Tram (if you’d like a cheaper half-day tour and are okay with walking/rolling longer distances) or the Sultanahmet Istanbul Accessible Private Tour (if you’d like a full-day tour).

Combine this tour with the Panoramic Istanbul Wheelchair Accessible Tour and get €150 off! You’ll get to see all of the sights on the accessible van driving tour and visit the interiors of the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, and Basilica Cistern!

Tour Highlights

– Blue Mosque
– Hagia Sophia
– Hippodrome
– Basilica Cistern

Accessibility Details

The Highlights of Istanbul Handicap Accessible Tour has a 4 Star Sage Accessibility Rating because it uses a van with a wheelchair ramp that is suitable for heavy electric wheelchairs and mobility scooters. It also involves step-free routes between the tourist attractions, and the tour guide can push manual wheelchair users. This involves the least amount of walking of any of our accessible tours because these four attractions are located close together. The tour did not receive a higher accessibility rating because there are cobblestones and hills on the tour route (they are found almost everywhere in Istanbul).

After you depart your cruise ship, you’ll pass through the red buildings shown in the photo on the left. The Highlights of Istanbul Handicap Accessible Tour starts with your professionally-licensed tour guide greeting you at the Istanbul cruise terminal exit (shown in the photo on the right).

You will be comfortably transported into the Istanbul city center using a wheelchair accessible van.

Hagia Sophia
This handicap accessible Istanbul tour includes a visit to the Hagia Sophia which was a church from 360 AD to 1453 AD, a mosque from 1453 AD to 1931 AD, and a museum since then. It contains numerous mosaics and was the world’s largest cathedral for nearly a thousand years.

Your Hagia Sophia accessible tour will use the step-free ticket entrance located on the west side of the building (shown in the photo on the left). Your tour guide will escort you to the building entrance with the wheelchair ramp (shown in the photo on the right).
The entrance to the Hagia Sophia ia on the left side of this picture. There is level access. This ramp leads down into the building.

The tour route inside will use the wheelchair ramp up to the former location of the altar (shown in the photo on the left). The Highlights of Istanbul Handicap Accessible Tour will avoid the steep, cobblestone covered ramp shown in the photo on the right.
This ramp leads up to the area where the altar formerly was located. This rough path and some steps lead to the upper level.

Blue Mosque
The Highlights of Istanbul Handicap Accessible Tour includes a visit to one of the most famous mosques in the world, the 400 year old Blue Mosque. Your tour guide will explain to you the significance of the six minarets and bring you to the Istanbul Blue Mosque wheelchair accessible entrance and allow you to skip the line.
Image of the Blue Mosque

There is one small marble doorway (shown in the photo on the left) that disabled visitors will need to navigate. No outside wheelchairs are allowed onto the 100+ year carpet inside. Wheelchair users who want to go inside will need to transfer into the wheelchair provided by the Blue Mosque (shown in the photo on the right).
Everyone walking will have to take off their shoes to enter. Wheelchair users will have to transfer to this wheelchair.

Hippodrome
This Istanbul handicap accessible tour will visit the Hippodrome (aka Sultanahmet Square) located just in front of the Blue Mosque. Your professionally-licensed tour guide will tell you about the chariot races held here, the 3500 year old Egyptian obelisk, the “walled obelisk”, and the Serpent Column brought here from Delphi by Constantine I in 324 AD.

Basilica Cistern
The Basilica Cistern (also known as the Underground Cistern) is one of the most unique attractions you’ll see on this Istanbul handicap accessible tour. This 6th century water storage cistern was fed by a 19 km long aqueduct, and it can hold 80,000 cubic meters of water. The ceiling is supported by 336 nine meter tall columns. Your accessible Basilica Cistern tour avoids the 52 steps at the entrance and includes permission to use the wheelchair lift at the exit (shown in the photos below).

Tour Details

Tour duration: 4 hours
Cost: €625 for 1 peson, €650 for 2 people, €720 for 3-4 people, and €790 for 5-6 people.
* €50 off if booked as part of an accessible cruise & excursions package.
* €20 off if booked as part of an accessible Istanbul travel package
Days of the week the tour is offered: Every day except Monday (when the Hagia Sophia is closed)
Meet-up time: 8:30 am or 1 pm
Meet-up place: Cruise dock or accessible hotel lobby
Dress code: In mosques you will need to cover your knees and shoulders. Mosques can typically supply you with a piece of fabric to cover yourself. In the Blue Mosque, ladies do not need to cover their heads.
Maximum number of people on tour: The accessible van can hold 6 people.
Entrance tickets: Not included. Some entrance tickets are free for disabled visitors if they have an ID card from their home country stating the percent of their disability. Otherwise, the Hagia Sophia is 40 TL per person and the Basilica Cistern is 20 TL per person.
To review our cancellation policy, please click: HERE. Tours run rain or shine.
Not included: Entrance tickets, snacks/lunch, and gratuities.

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