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Istanbul Private City Tour: Explore Main Attractions with a Local Guide
4.9
22 Ratings
Fatih
Discover the main attractions of Istanbul on a private city tour with a local guide. Explore the city’s history, culture, and hidden gems while supporting local economies and minimizing over-tourism.
Discover the main attractions of Istanbul on a private city tour with a local guide. Explore the city’s history, culture, and hidden gems while supporting local economies and minimizing over-tourism.
Duration:
8 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Topkapi Palace - Palace that was the political center of the Ottoman Empire between the 15th and 19th centuries.
- Topkapi Palace - Palace that was the political center of the Ottoman Empire between the 15th and 19th centuries.
What's Included
- Local guide
- Entrance Mawlawi house
- 1 local drink or snack
- Local Snack
- Local guide
- Entrance Mawlawi house
- 1 local drink or snack
- Local Snack
What's Not Included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Extra food and drinks
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Extra food and drinks
Additional Information
Checkmark from your travel bucket list the main spots of the city on an extended tour of Istanbul and get to know the city like the back of your hand. All you have to do is trust your local guide, they got you and will show the best of their city.
Your local guide has a jam-packed itinerary full of history, culture, stories, and sights. See must-sees of…
Checkmark from your travel bucket list the main spots of the city on an extended tour of Istanbul and get to know the city like the back of your hand. All you have to do is trust your local guide, they got you and will show the best of their city.
Your local guide has a jam-packed itinerary full of history, culture, stories, and sights. See must-sees of the city, plus get current recommendations about local hot spots, family owned eateries, and up and coming districts of Istanbul you must pay a visit. Yes, this tour is the city guide that will help you enjoy Istanbul in the best way possible.
Withlocals Full Coverage 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
- CO2 Neutral: all tours carbon emissions are offset
Location
At Meydanı Caddesi
Meet in front of the German Fountain in Sultanahmet.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(22 Ratings)
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1 star
Njgut
Oct 6, 2024
Great Experience in Istanbul - Private Customized Tour of Istanbul - Kadir Celal was one of the best tour guides we have had in recent years. His sensitivity and kindness cannot be overstated. His easy friendly demeanor and openness made us feel comfortable in this large and crowded city. Despite the large crowds, we were able to see most of the key sites of the city. Because of his knowledge of the city, he easily navigated us through the crowds making the best use of our time with him. He appears to have a great depth of knowledge which he was able to share with us in a very understandable manner. He made sure that our key interests were taken onto account when planning our stops which also included some shopping at the Grand Bazaar. He generously bought dried fruit, Turkish "pretzels" and even a shawl for my wife to wear when needed. He even had plastic bags for us to put our shoes in on Mosque visits. Kadir seemed to know many people along the way which gave us a sense that he was well liked by many in the tourist industry. We highly recommend him for your next visit to Istanbul.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dcwnyc
May 19, 2021
Istanbul - I had the most amazing experience with Ugur touring Istanbul. I was traveling solo and only had 3 days in town, my decision to book Ugar for 2 of those days to show me around his city could not hv been any better. Ugur was AMAZING! Great communication before my arrival to find out my interests, ability etc. Ugur met me at my hotel and ensured I returned safely on both days. We had great conversations during our tour. He was very friendly, funny and of course, he was very well experienced in the history. I learned so much thanks to Ugur and I for sure want to go back to Istanbul for another holiday. It truly was a pleasure spending the 2 days touring with him. Ugur is definitely one of the best guides Istanbul has to offer. Highly recommend and will hire me again as my guide on my next trip!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Camper273228
May 19, 2021
Amazing! - We spent a day touring Istanbul with Ugur in September 2018. We were a group of 5. Ugur has deep knowledge of the city and patiently answered our questions as we repeatedly interrupted each other with a barrage of requests. His English is perfect. We recommend using a guide to tour Istanbul since it is affordable and quite helpful to navigate the different sites, and to understand what you're seeing. And if you're planning to use a guide, I have to imagine that Ugur is one of the best. In addition to knowledge and patience, Ugur is fun to be with. It was a pleasure spending the day with him.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Crokent
May 18, 2021
Excellent - Esra, what a lovely lady. A very knowledgeable tour guide that is passionate about history. You come away from the tour not only educated about the sites you visit but with a feel of the culture and customs of Istanbul and its inhabitants. Highly recommend you request Esra as you will get the most out of the tour (January 2019)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
P
May 17, 2021
Great activity for the first day in Istanbul - We visited Istanbul in the summer of 2019 but I am reposting this review as tourism opens back up post-COVID. We expected a good tour from Esra having read earlier reviews, but we did not realize her depth of knowledge of the history of Istanbul and Turkey. With some history buffs in our group, we learned much more than we expected. As a retired architect, my husband was very interested in the detailed information Esra provided on the architects who were responsible for much of the historical architecture. We scheduled our walking tour for our first full day in Istanbul, which was a great idea because Esra helped us get oriented to the major historical sites and Grand Bazaar. She also recommended restaurants and educated us about Turkish Delight (and led us to a great vendor). Thank you, Esra, for a great first experience in Istanbul, and with Withlocals!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
381jeffd
May 17, 2021
West meets East - Had a fun tour with Esra. She is a quite knowledgeable and passionate historian. She also seems to know everyone in town! Tried a restaurant she recommended and the food and service were terrific. Esra is flexible and will work with your interests. Thanks again for a fantastic experience. Trip was Nov 2019.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Brendan
May 17, 2021
Day trip - Very friendly and knowledgeable. You can see and hear her passion for her country. Great insights into the history and current politics. She gave me great recommendations for food (she’s a foodie) and places to see and things to do. She is a licensed tour guide and has online tickets ready, the lines can be very long so it’s good you can skip most of them with her. Tickets to the museums not included so budget for that
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jwolf39
May 17, 2021
Esra is the BEST - I had the most amazing day with Esra. We went all day from 9-5pm and loved every minute. Esra was extremely knowledgeable and took me to some hidden gems that tourists never find. She was accommodating and made great suggestions for shopping, food and the best Hammam! I highly recommend hiring Esra to show you the best of Istanbul!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Angeline
May 22, 2021
Enjoy Turkey! - It is good that our first Turkey friend is Ugur. He is always smiling and share a lot of information. We did the tour with Ugur when we first landed Istanbul. Hence, it gives me a wide perspective on Istanbul and this helped us in my planning to visit the area on our own. Ugur still responded to my queries on Istanbul (particularly on transportation) even after the private tour ended.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jennyk817
May 17, 2021
Amazing day with family - Esra was wonderful! First of all, she was on time at our meeting area, plus she was able to accommodate my family's different expectations within the 3.5 hour tour. We were with our two jetlagged kids (9yr and 11yr old), my husband wanted to learn about the history of the Turkey, and I wanted to know where to go to buy best Turkish delights, apple tea, Turkish ceremics. I also wanted to feed the children durum in istanbul. Esra was very flexible in the itinerary, and changed her plans upon hearing what we wanted to accomplish (She originally wanted to bring us to Topaki Palace). She's very passionate about to history, and good with children. We ended up learning about Constantinople, Hagia Sophia, Hippodrome, importance of 1923, Cistern, Grand Bazaar. We highly recommend Esra, and would not hesitate to have her take us to explore a different area of Istanbul
Review provided by Tripadvisor
