Private Istanbul Tour: Unique Adventure in Old City and Grand Bazaar
4.8
233 Ratings
Beyoğlu
Make your Istanbul adventure unique with a private sightseeing tour. Customize your itinerary, visit famous landmarks, explore the Grand Bazaar, and enjoy a Bosphorus cruise. Limited time offer!
Duration: 3 days
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights

Private istanbul Guided Tour Day:Blue Mosq,Hagia Sophia,Topkapi Palace,Basilica Cistern,Grand Bazar

Blue Mosque - Blue Mosque The Blue Mosque (Called Sultanahmet Camii in Turkish) is an historical mosque in Istanbul. The mosque is known as the Blue Mosque because of blue tiles surrounding the walls of interior design

Topkapi Palace - Topkapi Palace Topkapı Palace was not only the residence of the Ottoman sultans, but also the administrative and educational centre of the state. Initially constructed between 1460 and 1478 by Sultan Mehmed II, the conqueror of Constantinople, and expanded upon and altered many times throughout its long history, the palace served as the home of the Ottoman sultans and their court until the middle of the 19th century.

Hippodrome - Hippodrome Hippodrome of Constantinople, located in Sultanahmet/Istanbul, was a public arena mainly for chariot races. The word hippodrome comes from the Greek hippos (horse) and dromos (way). The Hippodrome of Constantinople was also home to gladiatorial games, official ceremonies, celebrations, protests, torture to the convicts and so on.

Hagia Sophia Mosque - Hagia Sophia Mosque The Hagia Sophia, one of the historical architectural wonders that still remains standing today, has an important place in the art world with its architecture, grandness, size and functionality. The Hagia Sophia, the biggest church constructed by the East Roman Empire in Istanbul, has been constructed three times in the same location.

Grand Bazaar - Kapali Carsi One of the largest and oldest covered bazaars in the world, the Grand Bazaar is 30,700 square meters with over 60 streets and alleys and 4,000 shops

Sultanahmet District - Home to some of Istanbul’s most recognizable attractions, the Sultanahmet District is an ideal place to explore the city’s complex history. With the rose-colored Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofya) sitting across from the six minarets of the Blue Mosque and down the street from the energetic Grand Bazaar, this neighborhood packs in a wealth of culture.

Basilica Cistern - The Basilica Cistern, also known as the Yerebatan Cistern or the Sunken Palace, is an ancient underground water reservoir located in Istanbul, Turkey. It is one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions and a remarkable architectural wonder.

Historical Background:
The Basilica Cistern was constructed during the reign of Emperor Justinian I in the 6th century AD. Istanbul, known as Constantinople at the time, was the capital of the Byzantine Empire. The cistern was built to provide a reliable water supply for the Great Palace of Constantinople, which stood nearby.

Architecture and Features:
The cistern is an enormous underground chamber that spans an area of about 9,800 square meters (105,000 square feet). It is supported by a forest of 336 marble columns, arranged in 12 rows, with each row consisting of 28 columns.

The cistern has a capacity to hold up to 80,000 cubic meters (2,800,000 cubic feet) of water.

What's Included
  • Professional guide
  • Private Tour
  • 1, 2, or 3 days (depending on option selected)
What's Not Included
  • Food and drinks
  • Gratuities (suggested)
  • Museum/Attraction Tickets
  • Overnight Accommodation
  • Lunch
  • Transportation from/back to hotel and between sites (unless option selected)
Additional Information

Experience the uniqueness of Istanbul with a personalized sightseeing tour lasting 1 or 2 days. Choose a single day to explore the entire Old City and the Grand Bazaar. If you prefer a longer tour, add a second day to visit the Spice Bazaar, Dolmabahce Palace, Taksim, and Istiklal Street, including a Bosphorus cruise. It’s worth noting that your guide is open to changing the tour plan to cater to your specific interests.
Enjoy the unique customization of a private tour Tailor the tour plan according to your preferences
Optimize your limited duration in Istanbul Benefit from complimentary hotel pickup and drop-off

  • Blue Mosque is closed until 2pm on Fridays
  • Grand Bazaar is closed on Sundays
  • Dolmabahce Palace is closed on Mondays
  • For last minute bookings, tour starting time can be flexible.
  • Galata Tower will be visited from outside as tour guides have no priority to skip the line due to Galata Tower regulations
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Location
Galataport Istanbul
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.8
(233 Ratings)
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Cottertrav1
May 2, 2024
Great tour with Orchun Kamit! - Great tour. The guide, Orchun Kamit, was very knowledgeable! We enjoyed and learned a lot!!! Also the lunch was delicious!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rudolfh816
May 1, 2024
Magnificent city with Fuat - I would like to thank this team very much for helping me have a good time in turkey . I am especially grateful to my guide Fuat Peker , who showed and explained me the city for two days in April . When I first met Fuat we decided on places to visit together since it was a private tour and I had the opportunity to find many historical places of the city with fuat’s recommendations. Fuat was definitely friendly, polite and did his job patiently. I highly recommend Fuat as your guide .Thank you for these two days and for your services !
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Karen
Apr 27, 2024
Do not hesitate! Book this private tour! - I absolutely encourage everyone to do this private tour with Fuat! First of all, at the end of two days we feel like Fuat is a friend! He was always considering our needs and making sure we were doing things at a pace that was right for us. Secondly, we were able to do exactly the attractions we wanted to do, and some that we weren’t even aware of. Thirdly, since it was just the three of us, we were able to do things much more efficiently than if we had to wait for more people, and finally, he has connections and knowledge to avoid waiting in lines, and he has a wealth of information which he shared with us in a way that made it fun and interesting! He was also more than happy to answer all our questions, too! If we go back to Istanbul, we will definitely tour with Fuat again! I might add that his English is excellent, and he’s easy to understand.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Karen_j
Apr 26, 2024
Do not hesitate! Book this private tour! - I absolutely encourage everyone to do this private tour with Fuat! First of all, at the end of 2 days we feel like Fuat is a friend. He always was considering our needs, and making sure we were doing things at a pace that was right for us! Secondly, we were able to do exactly the attractions we wanted to do, and some that we weren’t even aware of. Thirdly, since it was just the 3 of us, we were able to do things much more efficiently than if we had to wait for more people. And finally, Fuak has connections and knowledge to avoid waiting in lines, and he has a wealth of information which he shared with us in a way that made it fun and interesting! He was also more than happy to answer all our questions, too! If we go back to Istanbul, we will definitely tour with Fuat again! I might add that his English is excellent, and he’s easy to understand.
Review provided by Viator
Anamarijaj2023
Apr 2, 2024
Best Tour - We have tour guide Enver Kurt, and as far as we can say he was 1000% good guide, he was knowledgeable about all Turkey history, al places we been to, and history of every place, be there domestic or foreign. He was very polite, and is a very pleasant person.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
H7002bjsabinem
Mar 31, 2024
The best tour guide on the Bosphore - Today, my family and I went for a boat trip on the Bosphore and even though we knew it would be interesting, it exceeded our expectations. The weather was beautiful, the view from the boat was superb and we had an amazing tour guide! His name was Burhan. He was extremely knowledgeable, described every single interesting building we passed and gave us a very detailed overview of the history of Istanbul. The tour lasted one and a half hour, and Burhan had fascinating stories to tell us all along. We learned so much! And his English was excellent. He also speaks French, Chinese, Japanese, etc. The best tour guide ever! Thank you so much Burhan! 🙏
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Coreyctn
Mar 29, 2024
Excellent tour of Istanbul - We had an excellent time with our guide, who took us to see the major sites but also made sure we saw anything else we wanted and helped us in the bazaar. Thank you!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Y2996vdlauras
Mar 18, 2024
Grate time at Istanbul - !! Our tour guide was amazing she help us to enjoy the time the best! ! We been in the most important place at Istambul with her help.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
D4841ylls
Mar 31, 2024
Great way to get to know Istanbul - Burhan was very Knowledgeable and and explained very well. He took great pictures and knew all the angles. We were able to skip most of the queues. The tour does not include all of the enterance fees. He was very patient and waited for us to get our shopping done at the Bazar. Minus one star because he did not tell us that Haiga Sophia was closed at 4 otherwise we would have done that before visiting Topcapi Palace.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Douglas
Mar 18, 2024
Guide with knowledge of the places visited, very friendly, took photos of us - Our day was beneficial since the guide picked us up on time at the hotel, he took me to many historical places, they spoke in Spanish, he took our photos, he was patient to wait for us, everything was very good.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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June 2024
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