January in Istanbul — workable with trade-offs
Trade-offs · 6.2/10January averages 8°C (46°F) — jacket weather. Comfortable for walking and museums, too cool for anything water-based.
Rainfall runs 91 mm, so plan one flexible day in three; you still get about 19 sunny days and 9.6 hours of daylight.
It scores 6.2/10 here, 12th of 12 months, against 9.4/10 in the destination's best month.
Expect mid-season pricing, and crowds are light for this destination.
Pack a mid-weight jacket, long sleeves and shoes you can walk 15 km in, a packable rain layer.
If your dates are flexible, June is materially better in Istanbul — 3.2 points higher on the same scale.
February in Istanbul — workable with trade-offs
Trade-offs · 6.5/10February averages 7°C (44°F) — jacket weather. Comfortable for walking and museums, too cool for anything water-based.
Rainfall runs 76 mm, so plan one flexible day in three; you still get about 19 sunny days and 10.7 hours of daylight.
It scores 6.5/10 here, 10th of 12 months, against 9.4/10 in the destination's best month.
Expect low-season pricing, and crowds are light for this destination.
Pack a mid-weight jacket, long sleeves and shoes you can walk 15 km in, a packable rain layer.
If your dates are flexible, June is materially better in Istanbul — 2.9 points higher on the same scale.
March in Istanbul — reliably good (9th best month)
Good · 7.2/10March averages 8°C (47°F) — jacket weather. Comfortable for walking and museums, too cool for anything water-based.
Rainfall runs 76 mm, so plan one flexible day in three; you still get about 21 sunny days and 12 hours of daylight.
It scores 7.2/10 here, 9th of 12 months, against 9.4/10 in the destination's best month.
Expect mid-season pricing, and crowds are light for this destination.
Pack a mid-weight jacket, long sleeves and shoes you can walk 15 km in, a packable rain layer.
If your dates are flexible, June is materially better in Istanbul — 2.2 points higher on the same scale.
April in Istanbul — reliably good (7th best month)
Good · 8.2/10April averages 12°C (54°F), the range most people find easiest for walking a city all day without either overheating or losing daylight to weather.
Rainfall runs 70 mm, so plan one flexible day in three; you still get about 24 sunny days and 13.3 hours of daylight.
It scores 8.2/10 here, 7th of 12 months, against 9.4/10 in the destination's best month.
Expect mid-season pricing, and crowds are moderate.
Pack layers you can shed by midday plus one warm layer for the evening, a packable rain layer.
May in Istanbul — the year's strongest window
Best window · 9.1/10May averages 17°C (62°F), the range most people find easiest for walking a city all day without either overheating or losing daylight to weather.
Rainfall runs 57 mm, so plan one flexible day in three; you still get about 27 sunny days and 14.5 hours of daylight.
On our climate-comfort scale this is the top-ranked month of the year for Istanbul at 9.1/10 — the reference point every other month on this page is measured against.
Expect mid-season pricing, and crowds are moderate.
Pack layers you can shed by midday plus one warm layer for the evening, a packable rain layer.
June in Istanbul — the year's strongest window
Best window · 9.4/10June averages 22°C (72°F) — warm enough for beach and boat plans, still short of the heat that pushes sightseeing into early morning.
Expect 42 mm of rain — occasional showers rather than washed-out days — alongside about 30 sunny days and 15.1 daylight hours.
On our climate-comfort scale this is the top-ranked month of the year for Istanbul at 9.4/10 — the reference point every other month on this page is measured against.
Expect mid-season pricing, and crowds are moderate.
Pack light clothing, swimwear and real sun protection.
July in Istanbul — reliably good (5th best month)
Good · 8.4/10July averages 25°C (78°F) — warm enough for beach and boat plans, still short of the heat that pushes sightseeing into early morning.
Expect 33 mm of rain — occasional showers rather than washed-out days — alongside about 31 sunny days and 14.8 daylight hours.
It scores 8.4/10 here, 5th of 12 months, against 9.4/10 in the destination's best month.
Expect mid-season pricing, and this is one of the busiest months here.
Pack light clothing, swimwear and real sun protection.
August in Istanbul — reliably good (6th best month)
Good · 8.4/10August averages 25°C (78°F) — warm enough for beach and boat plans, still short of the heat that pushes sightseeing into early morning.
Expect 20 mm of rain — occasional showers rather than washed-out days — alongside about 31 sunny days and 13.8 daylight hours.
It scores 8.4/10 here, 6th of 12 months, against 9.4/10 in the destination's best month.
Expect mid-season pricing, and this is one of the busiest months here.
Pack light clothing, swimwear and real sun protection.
September in Istanbul — the year's strongest window
Best window · 9.3/10September averages 21°C (70°F) — warm enough for beach and boat plans, still short of the heat that pushes sightseeing into early morning.
Rainfall runs 49 mm, so plan one flexible day in three; you still get about 29 sunny days and 12.5 hours of daylight.
On our climate-comfort scale this is the top-ranked month of the year for Istanbul at 9.3/10 — the reference point every other month on this page is measured against.
Expect mid-season pricing, and crowds are moderate.
Pack light clothing, swimwear and real sun protection, a packable rain layer.
October in Istanbul — the year's strongest window
Best window · 8.8/10October averages 16°C (61°F), the range most people find easiest for walking a city all day without either overheating or losing daylight to weather.
Rainfall runs 53 mm, so plan one flexible day in three; you still get about 26 sunny days and 11.1 hours of daylight.
On our climate-comfort scale this is the top-ranked month of the year for Istanbul at 8.8/10 — the reference point every other month on this page is measured against.
Expect mid-season pricing, and crowds are moderate.
Pack layers you can shed by midday plus one warm layer for the evening, a packable rain layer.
November in Istanbul — reliably good (8th best month)
Good · 7.4/10November averages 13°C (56°F), the range most people find easiest for walking a city all day without either overheating or losing daylight to weather.
Rainfall runs 100 mm, so plan one flexible day in three; you still get about 22 sunny days and 9.9 hours of daylight.
It scores 7.4/10 here, 8th of 12 months, against 9.4/10 in the destination's best month.
Expect mid-season pricing, and crowds are moderate.
Pack layers you can shed by midday plus one warm layer for the evening, a packable rain layer.
If your dates are flexible, June is materially better in Istanbul — 2 points higher on the same scale.
December in Istanbul — workable with trade-offs
Trade-offs · 6.3/10December averages 10°C (49°F) — jacket weather. Comfortable for walking and museums, too cool for anything water-based.
Rainfall runs 90 mm, so plan one flexible day in three; you still get about 17 sunny days and 9.3 hours of daylight.
It scores 6.3/10 here, 11th of 12 months, against 9.4/10 in the destination's best month.
Expect mid-season pricing, and crowds are light for this destination.
Pack a mid-weight jacket, long sleeves and shoes you can walk 15 km in, a packable rain layer.
If your dates are flexible, June is materially better in Istanbul — 3.1 points higher on the same scale.
