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Full Day Istanbul Tour: Explore Highlights with a Private Local Guide
5.0
21 Ratings
Fatih
Embark on a full day Istanbul tour with a private local guide. Explore the city’s highlights, skip the lines at museums, and immerse yourself in the old city’s charm.
Duration:
7 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
learn more
Highlights
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Topkapi Palace - The Topkapı Palace is a large museum in the east of the Fatih district of Istanbul in Turkey. In the 15th and 16th centuries, it served as the main residence and administrative headquarters of the Ottoman sultans.
*Topkapi Palace is closed every Tuesday. The Basilica Cistern will be visited instead of Topkapi Palace only on Tuesdays. - Hagia Sophia Mosque - Hagia Sophia is a Late Antique place of worship in Istanbul, designed by the Greek geometers Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. Built-in 537 as the patriarchal cathedral of the imperial capital of Constantinople, it was the largest Christian church of the eastern Roman Empire (the Byzantine Empire) and the Eastern Orthodox Church, except during the Latin Empire from 1204 to 1261, when it became the city’s Latin Catholic cathedral. In 1453, after the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire, it was converted into a mosque. In 1935, the secular Turkish Republic established it as a museum. In 2020, it re-opened as a mosque. It’s visited outside, if you would like to visit inside, please ask your guide to help to buy the tickets.
- Blue Mosque - Sultan Ahmed Mosque also known as the Blue Mosque is an Ottoman-era historical imperial mosque located in Istanbul, Turkey. A functioning mosque also attracts large numbers of tourist visitors. It was constructed between 1609 and 1616 during the rule of Ahmed I. Its Külliye contains Ahmed’s tomb, a madrasah, and a hospice.
- Hippodrome - Hippodrome of Constantinople is a square in Istanbul, Turkey. Previously, it was a circus that was the sporting and social center of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire.
- Grand Bazaar - The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 4,000 shops on a total area of 30,700 m2, attracting between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. In 2014, it was listed No.1 among the world’s most-visited tourist attractions with 91,250,000 annual visitors. The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is often regarded as one of the first shopping malls in the world.
- Sultanahmet District - we will have time for lunch. lunch is excluded.
What's Included
- Entrance Fees for Topkapi Palace
- English speaking guidance licenced by Ministry of Culture and Tourism
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Drinks
- Tips
- Lunch
- Pick up and drop off
- Entrance Fee for Hagia Sophia
Additional Information
Discover the highlights of Istanbul in a single day with ease. Your local guide’s detailed information will leave you fascinated by the end of the tour. With pre-purchased tickets, breeze past long lines and begin your museum visits without delay. The tour highlights are within close proximity thus making it a walking tour, allowing you to fully absorb the charm of the old city and notice every minute detail. Choose the pick-up option if you wish to have transportation arranged from your hotel!
Location
Obelisk of Theodosius
If your hotel is located out of the old city area, you will meet with your guide at a meeting point.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(21 Ratings)
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Meera
Feb 27, 2024
THE BEST VISIT TO TURKEY WE HAVE EVER HAD. NEVER FAILED TO SURPRISE US WITH AMAZING PLACES AND DELICIOUS FOOD SRSLY. - It was a great experience travelling with this agency. The guide was so friendly, kind and had a lot of patience with us. We are always thankful for it. Tour guide explained our visits very well and made us understand the Turk’s culture and old and new lifestyle very well.
We had a blast on trying variety of Turkish’s food and it was DELICIOUSS. They brought us to the best local restaurants and we tried mouth watering delights.
Travel guide shared some tips to be safe in turkey and really did their best to full fill our comfort.
Conclusion, yall shud really choose this travel agency if you’re going for a vacation to Turkey as they serve the BEST!!!! Really worth it!🔥🔥
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Freedom20964243639
Nov 5, 2023
Istanbul 2 days Fantastic trip! - It was a fantastic two days in Istanbul! Thanks to our agent Mr. Bahadir who was very attentive in the entire management from transportation to the tours. Thanks to our guide Mr. Tolga very charismatic! . It was a very beautiful walk, Istanbul is a very beautiful city, I was dazzled by the castles. Definitely if I return, I would contact them again.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Avyukta123
Oct 23, 2023
great experience -recommend Metin - Metin was very helpful and available to resolve all our queries with patience. We had a great experience in the wonderful country
Review provided by Tripadvisor
920carmeni
Oct 17, 2023
Amazing Experience! - This was a wonderful tour. Our guide, Perihan, was very knowledgable and friendly. She managed our time perfectly. Our cruise asked us to be at the ship at 5PM, when we were supposed to stay until late because the ship would stay overnight. We moved around in the Tram (which is great BTW) and saw all the sites we had planned for the day. The next day we started early and finished visiting every spot we had planned. This is our second tour with Smart Turkey Tours and I highly recommend them.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Heathersa3326mt
Sep 25, 2023
Istanbul & Ephesus Tours, Gulet boat trip AND Airport Transfers - Just Awesome!! - This group is just such a pleasure to deal with. We had 22 people and they made traveling from Istanbul, to Bodrum & Ephesus just effortless. Metin & team were so responsive, knowledgeable & reasonable on price. The tour guides offered private, detailed experiences. The transfers were very comfortable and high-end. Every detail was attended to, and they always checked in to ensure it was to our liking. HIGHLY recommend this great local outfit!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michaelrx8097bw
Sep 1, 2023
Great guide for an awesome tour of Istanbul - Kenan was an excellent guide with vast knowledge of the history and particulars of the various areas of the city. His knowledge of the local area resulted in us taking the tram instead of buses that needed to take a longer route due to road repairs. We thoroughly enjoyed our tour
Review provided by Tripadvisor
206induk
Apr 4, 2023
Amazing and outstanding service - Yeliz was the best. Her service was outstanding:
She made us feel safe and secure as it was a girls trip
She made our Turkey trip the best trip I have ever had.
Totally recommend her. Prompt response and efficient:
Review provided by Tripadvisor
271suec271
Mar 5, 2023
Fabulous Travel Company - We had a great two days with Nese as our guide. She was very knowledgeable, gave us loads of history, really listened to what we wanted to see, do, and even eat, and made the whole tour easy to enjoy.
The company was also very responsive to Whatsapp messages. We highly recommend them to anyone that would like to see Istanbul.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ruthhrh
Feb 28, 2023
A wonderful guide. - We had a wonderful time and everything went so smoothly. Nese who was our guide was so interesting. Her knowledge of all we saw added so much to our trip. She went well above and beyond all we could have wanted and was a delight to get to know. Definitely ask for Nese personally.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Navigate29959429861
Feb 28, 2023
So good! - Fantastic experience in Cappadocia and Istanbul. Smart Turkey tours were great right from the initial planning through to our tour here on the ground. Metin is an excellent communicator and helped us select the right itinerary for us. Our guides were excellent. Couldn’t recommend Mrs Neşe highly enough. Not only was she so knowledgeable about everything we saw, she also went above and beyond in what she showed us and where we went. Her discussions about Turkey were fascinating and we so enjoyed her company, such a lovely person. If you want to have a reliable and excellent tour in Turkey, we recommend Smart Turkey Tours!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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