Highlights & Hidden Gems of Istanbul: Private City Tour with a Local Guide

Experience the best of Istanbul with a local guide on this private city tour. Discover hidden gems, avoid the crowds, and get a unique perspective of the city’s culture and history.

Duration: 3 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Topkapi Palace - See Topkapi and other landmarks and must-sees of the city. Your local host will take you to the main spots in town so you can get the perfect overview of what makes Istanbul so unique

  • Hagia Sophia Mosque - Hagia Sophia is often referred to as the eighth wonder of the world and one of Istanbul’s most impressive sights! See it from the outside. Along the way, your local host will show you treasures hidden in plain sight that only the locals know about. Get to know the city through a different perspective, the local way, and discover places and stories that not many tourists experience

  • Blue Mosque - Blue Mosque is Istanbul’s most beautiful (and blue) active mosque built between 1609 and 1616 years. Behind every landmark and every stop, there’s a story, and your local host is ready to tell it all. Get ready to listen to incredible stories, one-of-a-kind insights, and fun facts only a knowledgeable local would know!

  • Hippodrome - Depending on your host and their chosen route for the tour, this stop might also be included in your route.

  • Caferaga Medresesi - Depending on your host and their chosen route for the tour, this stop might also be included in your route.

  • Galata Tower - Depending on your host and their chosen route for the tour, this stop might also be included in your route.

  • Historic Areas of Istanbul - Depending on your host and their chosen route for the tour, this stop might also be included in your route.

What's Included
  • Experience a carbon-neutral tour, ensuring an environmentally friendly journey.
  • Enjoy the exclusivity of a private tour for a more personalized experience.
  • Benefit from the knowledge of a local guide and gain insider insights.
  • Indulge in the local flavors with a complimentary drink or tasting.
What's Not Included
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Extra food & drinks
Additional Information

This is not just another city tour; this is the best of Istanbul with hidden gems that only a local can show you. Get to know Istanbul on a city tour that gives you the perfect overview, from culture, history, and local lifestyle - this tour has it all!

Forget about big touristy groups and the crowds; it’s time to see Istanbul at its best thanks to your local guide’s knowledge and stories. Check out main landmarks like Topkapi, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and uncover city secrets that will show you the city through a different perspective. As they say, the locals know best!

Highlights & Hidden Gems of Istanbul: Private City Tour is one of Withlocals’ signature tours available in major cities worldwide. We work with passionate local guides who earn a fair fee. We support local economies by only offering local produce and prevent over-tourism with only small non-intrusive groups. Our tours are carbon-neutral and away from the standard tourist routes.

  • Private tour: only you & your local guide
Location
At Meydanı Cd 3/A
At Meydanı Caddesi
Meet at the entrance of Sultan Cafe in front of the German Fountain in Sultanahmet.
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.9
(212 Ratings)
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716delphinew
Aug 29, 2024
Wonderful tour and guide - Delink went above and beyond to give me a wonderful experience and introduction to Istanbul. So knowledgeable and friendly, and tailored the tour to suit me. Thank you Dilek
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lasmalasf
Aug 27, 2024
Have a blast - Istanbul is very crowdy, I chose Alp for a Street art tour, in a nice neighbourhood at the Asian side. Lively but not too crowdy. He surprised me everytime with Street art you would not see walking alone. With that as the red line he expalined and told a lot about Istanbul history and present. And we have a love in common, comic books, so we ended at a comic store. I've learned a lot and it was pleasant. So yes, I can say, have a walk with Alp and enjoy Istanbul from a more relaxed way. Thank you Alp
Review provided by Tripadvisor
K6938mcdanieller
Aug 23, 2024
Everything we hoped for, and more! - Our tour with Emre was even better than we expected! He personalized it to us, offering even more ideas than we had thought of. It was the perfect balance between a deep historical overview of the history of Turkey & Istanbul and an exploration of the current existing sites and their hidden marvels. Emre was fun and interesting and patiently answered our many (many) questions with thoughtful answers and fun related stories, demonstrating a deep historical knowledge accompanied his amiable and engaging personality. We highly recommend you take a tour with Emre and hopefully will do so again when we return to Istanbul!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Capisha1
Aug 21, 2024
Unforgettable day - An unforgettable day in Istanbul. Even with the limitations of the cruise stopover, we enjoyed both the Bosphorus tour (magnificent explanations) and the city tour (the stop at the Grand Bazaar was very good). Thank you very much Esra (I hope there will be another time with fewer limitations)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Marianna
Aug 17, 2024
Great Istanbul highlights tour - We did our Istanbul tour with Gülce, it was our first time in the city and this was the perfect way to start our stay! Highly recommend to take this tour.. Gülce was fantastic she explained history of the city and showed us around the main highlights we would not have been able to appreciate just doing it on our own! She also had a lot of great tips for us for the rest of our days here! We truly enjoyed our time!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
C826gotomj
Aug 14, 2024
Amazing time with Esra in the old town! - Esra was everything we could ask for and more. Great info, great time, great insight. Brought us to an amazing local restaurant with the best baklava ice cream sandwich ever. She knows everything and can do everything you ask/want. Book and you will not regret!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
663patty
Aug 11, 2024
Excellent guide for Sultan Ahmet - Ahmet Can was an excellent guide, he met us at our hotel which was far from Sultan Ahmet and took us there via public transport. That was a great help. The tour was well thought out and he was very knowledgeable.and obliging. Highly recommended!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
C5558vsbobp
Aug 4, 2024
Fabulous tour and guide - The street art tour is the second tour we've done with Alp (also did the 10 tastings tour 2 years ago). Alp is a warm, engaging and interesting guy who kept our family (2 18yo lads) entertained. The street art was fascinating and great to visit residential areas a tourist might never see. Alp's recommendations were spot on for lunch as well.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
905nareshn
Jul 30, 2024
Customize you tour on the go - I booked this tour for a Friday which is Jumu'ah (prayer day). Many mosques had lot of locals for praying and tourists for visiting. I modified the visit, we went to Topkapi palace, then to Sulemaniyeh mosque which had mostly locals. We walked around the Grand Bazar, Galata bridge, Kadakoy and all over the streets around Sultanahmet. Abdullah has traveled extensively around the world, he is able to narrate stories and tales in a way that makes sense to foreigners. I will book him for future trips.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Stay763108
Jul 24, 2024
Highly Recommend - We enjoyed our three-hour tour of Istanbul with Ahmet, who loves the city's history and speaks excellent English. We saw the Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque, the ancient circus and the Cistern. Great memories.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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September 2024
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