Dec 7, 2024
The Handrian legacy in Instanbul - It was a great experience, you went through a very organised system, as we ordered online we were led inside the Basilica immediately after arrival. This is a top attraction, a historical site that you can follow via audio or at your own pace. It is a remarkable visit, top-notch for educational panels, and the light effects.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nov 23, 2024
Wow! - Amazing experience, cool light / color play. Absolutely incredible building! My niece was impressed and loved to take pictures in there 😄
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nov 17, 2024
Smooth experience lets you skip the long ticket line with decent audio tour - Smooth experience getting the ticket the morning of my visit via WhatsApp. The line for the ticket office was quite long, so I was happy to skip that and get priority access to the security check. The audio tour (from Cosmic Tickets Audios) was pretty good and gave a background story for what would otherwise be a quick walk through the cistern.
The only downside is that the ticket was sent briefly after 9am, which for me meant I couldn't load it from my hotel room. Although it's just a web page, so I'm not sure how long it would stay loaded.
My ticket expired almost a year in the future, so it doesn't appear to be tied to the specific day.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oct 21, 2024
Simply...WOW - The Basilica Cistern was more breath taking than I anticipated it to be. The lighting makes the experience that much more whimsical. The audio that is included with the tour provides a greater sense of understanding of what went creating this majestic necessity.
Review provided by Viator
Oct 17, 2024
Viator failed me on this one (also many around me) - I purchased two skip the line tickets. Viator only provides one QR code and when I arrived, they told me I needed two QR codes. Apparently I had to call Viator by WhatsApp (only) and they would email me a link. The process start to finish took about 30 minutes, with significant help from the people that worked there. Pretty much a disaster when you’re expecting a no hassle Skip the line experience. The cistern was great, but this left me with huge doubts about booking through Viator again. Absolutely none of this process was explained to me advance so instead of going to the event prepared, I was totally unprepared, and went through a complete hassle..
Review provided by Viator
Nov 10, 2024
Use another service to get your tickets to this site! - Viator's communications about this event were vague from the moment we ordered and paid to our (finally!) entering the Cistern. I needed clarification (and had to pry the information out of them) of the timing of our visit, exactly when and how we would receive the actual tickets (here, we spent over an hour in line at the Cistern location only to find out we didn't have the actual ticket), then more time trying to find the "redemption point", and when the Viator rep didn't show up we had to solicit the help of the Get Your Guide rep to contact Viator to send our actual tickets to my WhatsApp. We finally got into the Cistern with the help of the Get Your Guide rep -- HE was great! Viator was an utter failure.
Review provided by Viator
Oct 23, 2024
Disappointing - Very disappointed with this attraction-overpriced. Huge queues to get in, fortunately we had skip the line tickets. But once inside, the building is impressive, but it's a walk through tour, takes no more than 15 mins, and is very poor value for money. So I would advise giving this attraction a miss, the Haggia Sophia, Topkapi and Dolmbahce are much better experiences and well worth the entry fee
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nov 14, 2024
This is essentially a scam - don't bother with it - This was essentially a scam. I was not sent tickets but a voucher that the attraction did not accept. I was told to wait for a guide to meet me and collect tickets but only when I rang the tour operator (at great expense because it meant I had to use my phone) and complained was I sent tickets by whatsapp. The attraction told me that these had been bought online moments before through their website (at a fraction of the cost I paid through viator).
The operator told me that skip-the-line referred to the ticket line not the security line - this is also a scam because it is the security line which is huge.
By the time I sorted out all the mess, I might as well have joined the end of the line.
I want to request a refund through viator because I feel I was badly scammed and it ruined our day.
Review provided by Viator
Oct 24, 2024
Worst experience ever - Didn’t get tickets and could not contact local agent. A friendly staff member from the cistern helped us to get in. Never book Viator again
Review provided by Viator
Oct 13, 2024
Don't buy tickets here - You get a QR code, but it doesn't work. I found out at the entrance and needed internet for download. I was offline and it was very difficult. There vas no audioguide as promised.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
