Istanbul in a Single Day, Flown from Antalya

Istanbul is at the other end of the country from the Mediterranean coast, which is why most people staying in Antalya write it off. A domestic flight collapses that distance into something you can do between breakfast and a late dinner, and the day is built around that hop rather than around a coach seat.

Enough, if you keep it tight and geographically honest. The Sultanahmet peninsula holds most of the headline sights within a few hundred metres of each other: Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque facing it across the old Hippodrome, Topkapi Palace on the point above the water, and the Basilica Cistern underneath it all. Add the Grand Bazaar and a look at the Bosphorus where Europe and Asia sit facing one another, and the day is full.

What you should not expect is the Asian side, Balat, the Prince's Islands and a museum crawl on top. A guide's job on a day like this is partly to stop you trying.

Istanbul's mosques are working places of worship. Shoulders and knees covered for everyone, a scarf for women's hair, and shoes come off at the door — bring socks. You will walk on marble, cobbles and slopes all day, so trainers beat anything with a heel.

The tour price covers:

• Hotel pickup and drop-off
• Air-conditioned transport
• professional English, German or Russian-speaking guide
• All entrance fees
• Lunch at a local restaurant
• Bottled water
• Insurance

Air tickets are the one part that varies by date and availability, so confirm the flight arrangement with us at the time of booking rather than assuming. Carry photo ID for the domestic flight.

We pick you up from your hotel lobby in an air-conditioned Mercedes and take you back to the same door at the end of the day. Given the early start, that matters more than it sounds.