Hi guys!!
So this post is a couple weeks late, because life happened. However, it’s here now with allllllll the exciting details, so come with me on my most recent adventure to the famous Isfanbul - Istanbul’s biggest theme park.
Isfanbul formerly known as Vialand was opened in May, 2013. It is super fascinating, because it’s not your average theme park. It’s a shopping, living and entertainment complex situated on 600,000m² of land. With over 200 shops and multiple restaurants it’s easy to see why it’s a very popular tourist attraction in Istanbul. There’s something for everyone, and visiting could very easily take an entire day, even if you’re there at 11am when it opens, which is what I would advice, if you really want to enjoy everything it has to offer.
Isfanbul is located in the Eyüp Sultan district of Istanbul, and the best way I know to get there is by taxi. I’m certain that there are ways to get there by bus or train, but we used a taxi, and paid about 70TL from the Radisson Blu in Zeytinburnu. The park gates are a distance from the main entrance gate, so our taxi dropped us at the park entrance, and came back later to pick us up.
It’s important to note that Isfanbul does not accept foreign currency in any of the shops, restaurants or at the ticketing stands. The park is strict about this, and we couldn’t do a number of things, because we had dollars and there were no exchange stores around. The ticket stand is a colorful wooden stand to the left after you get in through entrance doors. You can also buy tickets online on the official park website.
Tickets at Isfanbul vary depending on the package you want to pay for, but to access all the park rides and utilities, it costs 269 Turkish Lira per adult and 259TL per child. Rates are subsidized for Turkish citizens and residents, so our tickets cost 109TL instead.
After buying your tickets, you’ll be faced with the important choice on if you’d like to explore the rides, games, or shop and eat. I’ll definitely recommend the rides, because the queues get really crazy. We went on the Bayram holiday weekend in the middle of the pandemic, and the queues were so crazy we waited well over an hour for one ride, so imagine what it’s like in peak tourist season. I’ll also advise you get a fast track band that puts you on the priority queue for every ride. You’ll still have to wait, but it won’t be as crazy. We didn’t have any TL on us, so we couldn’t, but if you have the extra 70TL it’s definitely a useful investment.
The park is full of cute photo booths where you and your friends and family can take gorgeous photos and make beautiful memories that’ll last a lifetime. We sure did!
We decided to head straight to the park as we didn’t know there was a huge mall there and didn’t come prepared to shop, even though the sales were better than anywhere else I’ve seen in Istanbul. We however stopped for a quick bite at Burger King, so we’d have energy for all the enjoyment we were about to engage in. Lol.
To get to the Theme Park itself, you’d have to walk past the mall through the shopping streets down to the castle. We were wandering around a little lost, and found this really sweet man who was cleaning, and decided to take us down to the castle. I love how kind Turkish people always are. They constantly go out of their way to be helpful. It’s my favorite thing about living here.
You’ll know you’ve come to the park when you get to the castle gates. It’s unmistakeable as it’s a grand, pretty and colorful structure, built just like in the fairytales.
There are attendants at the gates that take your temperature, and help you swipe your tickets so you can get in.
When you get in the main castle gates, you’re met with a courtyard where you can access the Isfanbul store, toilets and baby changing rooms. We didn’t check out the store, but on my next trip there I’ll be sure to see what they have there.
The courtyard also houses the stand for the theme park maps, where you can pick up a map of the park and plan your itinerary for how you’d like to explore the park if planning is your thing. I’m more of a go with the flow person, but I picked up one anyway just to see what it was about.
Walking past the courtyard into the park itself, you’re met with the carousel, and if that’s your thing, it can be your introduction to the rides at the park. We stopped to take a few photos just past the carousel, in front of one of the lovely colorful castle rides for kids, before heading straight to our first ride.
I also stopped to take a photo of the gorgeous view of the park.
We went for the Nefeskesen first, which is the craziest roller coaster ride they have at the park. I’m not sure there are any words to describe that ride, but it was truly something. It was TERRIFYING as well as exhilarating. Truthfully, after all the courage I was exhibiting prior to the ride, I spent the entire ride praying with my eyes closed. LOL! It was wild, we were upside down, sideways, etc at neck breaking speed. You can watch the video on my vlog for a much clearer idea of what I’m talking about.
We spent a long time waiting for the Nefeskesen, and made a few friends on the queue with whom we laughed, and exchanged jokes.
We were tired after, and only sought out rides with shorter queues. On our way to find more rides, we walked last a number of colorful, fun rides for the kids. Kids are required to take a height check to know if they’re eligible to get on certain rides.
We also walked past the souvenir shops as well as a few cafes, baklava and dondurma (ice cream) stands.
Next we came to the King Kong ride, where we took photos, but didn’t get on the ride, because we didn’t think it was exciting enough, and we didn’t have enough time.
We moved on quickly to find our next ride, which was this fun giant wheel swing ride.
After the wheel swing ride, we moved on to our next ride which was this fascinating underground boat ride where we received a Turkish history lesson. I wish the narration was in English though, as we missed out on the fascinating story, and only enjoyed the views and sound effects. It was perfectly enjoyable and fascinating as I wondered how long it took to not only create the underground tunnel, but create the figures and all the levers that make the show what it is.
We moved on and walked through the park where we saw a couple more fast food shops, ice cream shops, face painting stands, and many more.
Our next ride was a fun water ride where we got in this floating raft like thing that glided through the water at speeds that made us ooh and aah in excitement at what bump we would hit next. We also got a little wet, but it was fun.
We decided we were done with rides for the day, as it was getting late, and we wanted to meet up with our friends, so we left the theme park and I took a few photos of the sights on our way.
We made a few friends on the way out, and took pictures with them. Turkish people are very friendly and warm, and they love black people. Every time I tell them I’m from Nigeria, I hear chants of ‘çok güzel’ which is Turkish for very good or very beautiful.
We decided to explore the mall and shopping streets while we waited for our taxi. It was all so beautifully lit and lovely to see.
The park has gorgeous views of the city around it too, that’s great to spend some time enjoying while you take a minute to get yourself together.
There’s also a train ride that costs 5TL that runs the entire park for adults and kids alike. It’s the only ride that kids under 1 can get on.
You can also get colorful character balloons for anywhere from 15TL - 35TL from a bicycle vendor on the street.
I spent a couple minutes watching the waterfall while eating roasted sweet corn on the cob we bought for 5TL and then our taxi arrived and we had to go.
Isfanbul was so much fun, and I’ll definitely be visiting again. I hope you include it in your itinerary whenever you visit Istanbul.
Love, Yoma.
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