Bursa And Uludağ Tour From İstanbul: Explore Ottoman History and Majestic Mt. Olympos
3.9
107 Ratings
Bursa

Learn about the history and landmarks of Bursa, the first capital of the Ottoman Empire, on this full-day tour. Admire the tile décor of the Green Mausoleum (Yesil Turbe) and the Green Mosque (Yesil Camii). After lunch prepare for a cable car ride to the peak of Mt. Olympos. Get an unbeaten view of the city, perfect for your holiday photos.

Duration: 12 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Bursa - Start your day with a pickup from your European-side Istanbul hotel, and travel to the port where your ferry awaits. Cruise south across the Sea of Marmara to Yalova, and then continue your journey by air-conditioned minivan. After just over two hours of traveling, arrive into Bursa, the first capital city of the Ottoman Empire. Make your way through the city, and hear how the ancient capital evolved into the flourishing modern metropolis that it is today. While contemporary sights are common, the city has retained its original opulence with an abundance of historical monuments strewn around its streets.
What's Included
  • Expert local guide
  • Scenic cable car ride
  • Delicious lunch included
  • Relaxing ferry journey
  • Comfortable air-conditioned vehicles
  • Convenient hotel pickup and drop-off
What's Not Included
  • Food and drink, unless specified
  • Gratuities
Location
Bursa
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
3.9
(107 Ratings)
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258anggiej
Mar 23, 2024
The travel and guide are so friendly - The view was amazing, and we took a lot of photos. They take us to a good and beautiful place. The tour included lunch and the vehicle are clean and comfortable.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Drazeem2016
Feb 23, 2024
Experience - A great trip. A must visit for everyone visiting Istanbul. We left at 8:30am and returned at 9:30pm. Fabulous experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ilkhomk428
Feb 23, 2024
Best sightseeing but too much unnecessary time spent - Sightseeing was great indeed, very many places and spots have been visited. Professional drivers and helpful guide. But very many places to be visited for advertisement purposes. Too much time spent on those places.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Harish_j
Mar 29, 2024
Worst vehicle and drives - Hi I was really upset with the vehicle provided. No air conditioning was turned on. I requested few times to turn it on, but he turned off after few minutes. Did not drop me back at the hotel, have walk all way to the uphill. Refused due to road closer was the driver reason but the road wasn’t closed.
Review provided by Viator
Alex
Mar 3, 2024
This is a scam. Avoid at all costs. - Genuinely the worst “tour” I have ever been on. - Three different pickup times, locations, no airbnb pickup, lied about nearby hotel pickup, made us walk 10 minutes away to meet up with the “tour” bus - No explanations given by the “guide” about anything - Had to wait an hour and a half for “English speaking bus” in the middle of a random intersection in the city - Basically no English spoken by the “guide” - “Tour guides” rude and dismissive; wouldn’t answer any questions - The bus is hot, stuffy, and uncomfortable; forced us to move seats to sit in back row (including one member of our group who was the only black man on the “tour”); the bus driver drives like a madman and everybody got motion sick; had to ask many times to turn on the air conditioning, which didn’t really work - “45 minutes” at scam atv place/shopping center was actually 1.25 hours at a dirty playground with terrible and incredibly overpriced food (not included in price of “tour”). This was not a scenic atv tour, just ride through random side of highway area - “Turkish delight factory” was just another overpriced scammy store on the side of the highway under an apartment building they force you to stop at for “30 minutes” (actually took an hour) - no English explanations of anything. Another kickback here. - “Lunch” is at 4pm - Not really a bursa tour, just a forced trip from scam to scam so you are captive and pressured to buy things so “guide” can get kickbacks. - Didn’t actually take a ferry -Turkish delight “factory” was just a random store off the highway. -Everyone on the bus was angry and complaining to the “guide” - he threatened to kick someone out of the “ tour”because he was complaining that six hours into the “Bursa tour” that we still weren’t even in Bursa - Another scam stop at a scammy, overpriced tourist trap store before the green mosque. Only 30 minutes allotted for the green mosque and mausoleum. After 2.5 hours at scam stores. - No information given on “tour” by “guide”- they just dropped us off in the mosque area. The small amount of information he gave was not even accurate
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Alex_w
Mar 2, 2024
Predatory scam - avoid at all costs - This was not a real tour. It is a predatory scam led by a “guide” who barely speaks English, provides little information about anything historical, and takes you to a bunch of scam stores so he can receive kickbacks. You spend more time at scam stores than at bursa and Uludag combined. The bus is hot and uncomfortable, and the air conditioner barely works, and you have to beg them to turn it on. Utter scam - should be delisted
Review provided by Viator
207ismailg
Mar 1, 2024
Unlist this please - Bad experience, left half way. “Guides” don’t know english, they dont communicate, they dont teach anything (they called Sultan Mehmed “Sultan Muhammad”—wrong and perversely arabicized) In the morning it was chaos, nobody would tell us what was going on. We found out way later that the reason we didn’t couldnt go on the ferry was bc of fog (which is very reasonable!—but they literally did not communicate). This is basically just a group charter bus. The worst part was going to “turkish delight factory” that was a nasty shop on the side of the road. The “cultural” shops that they take you to have very few people that speak turkish OR english
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Zachg907
Mar 1, 2024
DO NOT BOOK: Awful Scam “Tour” to Bursa - BEWARE: this “tour” is a predatory scam. DO NOT BOOK. My four law school friends and I were visiting Turkey from the U.S. and booked this “tour” thinking it would be a nice day trip during our one-week stay in Istanbul. We were quickly let down. First, the bus left Istanbul 1.5 hours late (10:15am instead of 8:45am, as promised). We had to switch busses multiple times, and there was virtually no communication about what was happening. Second, instead of driving straight to Bursa (2 hour drive), after 1.25 hours we were forced to stop at a campground in the middle of nowhere. The stop was a surpise to everyone on the bus. We were told this stop was for those who wanted to ride ATVs. The ATVs cost $25 USD. Those who opted to pass on the ATVs (90% of passengers) were forced to sit and wait in a campground where we were being hawked to buy food. We waited for over an hour at this stop. When we asked the trip leader questions about when we would be arriving in Bursa, he was dismissive and rude. Before boarding the bus and leaving the campground, we saw the guide collecting money from the campground owners—it was clear this was a kickback he received in exchange for bringing his tour group to the campground. Third, after another 1.25 hours, the bus stopped short of Bursa once again. This time, at a Turkish Delight “factory.” It was not, however, a factory in any sense of the word. There was no opportunity to see how Turkish Delight was made—instead, we were stuck inside a candy store on the side of the highway. The stop was 40 minutes long. By this point, my friends and I realized that this was not a real tour, but rather the trip leader was bringing us to various stores to collect kickbacks. During this stop, we once again asked the trip leader when we would be arriving in Bursa, the sole reason we booked the tour, and were met with rude, dismissive, and threatening responses. Another group of Algerian tourists echoed our concerns. To this, after collecting his cash kickback from the shop owner, the trip leader threatened to throw one of the Algerian tourists off the bus. At this point, many of our fellow passengers were restless and eager to arrive in Bursa. It did not help that the bus was hot and cramped. Fourth, at 2:15pm, nearly 6 hours after we were met at the pick-up point, we finally arrived at the Green Mosque in historic Bursa. The trip leader gave us less time to visit the mosque and the sultan’s tomb than he did to check out the Turkish Delight store. The trip leader also provided very little information about the historic sites. This was not a guided tour, he simply told us what time to be back. Finally, around 3pm, we arrived at the Uludulag cable car. We bailed here after learning that lunch would not be served until 4pm (over 8 hours after we were picked up) and that the tour would stop at a “jam store” and a strip mall on the ride back to Istanbul. The passengers we left behind will be returning to Istanbul well after 10pm, after a 13 hour day spent as the frustrated victims of shameless trickery. We will be requesting a full refund. Instead of booking this scam, I would suggest booking your own ferry ticket from Istanbul to Bursa and finding your own guided tour from a local tour guide. Viator, please delist this tour from your site.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sircharles517
Mar 1, 2024
This is a scam - Do not do this. They do not follow the itinerary, the drivers and “guides” are rude, and only stop at places where they are getting kickbacks (I am not joking - we witnessed them collecting the money). You spend more time at random stores and coffee shops than you do at the actual historical sites and mountain. Additionally, there is no information given on this tour. The entire tour was furious at the “guides”, who don’t provide any explanation about the stops. The tour operators get annoyed if you ask them any questions.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michael_c
Feb 24, 2024
A whole day of inconsistencies - Bursa and Uladag were both terrific and beautiful, the cable car down to the city was fantastic as well. That part was truly memorable. However the itinerary written is so wrong and inaccurate, not to mention the guide was also completely awful and felt more like a scammer than a guide. We did not leave on time, the guide did not speak multiple languages so he could not communicate with everyone. A very important one was English, he couldn't speak more than a lick of it. Not to mention how disrespectful he was just because some of us know that he stopped by 4 different shops to try and get us to buy overpriced goods you can literally find anywhere else for much cheaper. This was also not 12 hours but 15 1/2 hours because of all the shopping stops. Be careful if you choose to book this. I met some others that made it worth it but overall if you got stuck alone with this guy, it is miserable, it really is. I did multiple tours in Türkiye and hoped to end off the last one really well but this one was not a tour but a one hour sightseeing event of the mountain. To top it off, at the end when we were driving back to Istanbul, the guy had the nerve to ask everyone to give him 15-20TL for the tolls to scratch off 30 minutes from the drive. That is not our responsibility, what the heck? And they don't drop you off back at your hotel but instead anywhere between 5-20 minutes walk away. My phone was so close to dead and I was lucky that it had just enough battery to find my way back to my hotel. I do not recommend booking this. The cheap price is a scam for a illegitimate tour.
Review provided by Viator
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1 Adult
May 2024
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