Istanbul Culture and History Tour: Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Bosphorus Cruise

Embark on a full day exploration of Istanbul’s old city, including visits to iconic landmarks like Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. Enjoy a cruise on the Bosphorus and indulge in a delicious lunch. Skip the ticket queues and immerse yourself in the rich culture and history of Istanbul.

Duration: 7 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Hagia Sophia Mosque - Pick up from the hotel and join the group. We begin our tour with a visit to Hagia Sophia Museum, which is considered one of the Eight Wonders of the World, occupies a unique place in the history of architectures one of the rare works of this size and age that still survives.
  • Blue Mosque - Our next visit will be The…
What's Included
  • Boat fee included
  • Museum tickets covered
  • Lunch provided
  • Comfortable in-vehicle air conditioning
  • All fees and taxes included
  • Professional licensed guiding
  • Convenient pick up & drop off from centrally located European Side hotels
What's Not Included
  • Drinks
  • Gratuities (optional)
  • Please review the additional notes on your ticket for the appropriate dress code for mosque visits
Additional Information

Discover Istanbul’s rich Culture and history with our experienced guides. Skip the Museum Ticket Queues with your guide.
Visit Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, Brief Handicraft Presentation next to Grand Bazaar (Optional, guest may opt to explore the bazaar on their own), Spice Bazaar and take a Cruise on The Bosphorus, the strait that separates…

Location
Hagia Sophia Mosque
Sultan Ahmet, Ayasofya MeydanI No:1
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.7
(190 Ratings)
5 stars
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1 star
Mark_h
Oct 8, 2024
Well worthwhile - This tour ticks most of the Istanbul boxes. Only misses the Cisterns and the Topkapi Palace which you can do on another tour . The guide was very knowledgeable, and we spent enough time going over the highlights of each place . A nice meal was included. The cruise at the end was relaxing. Remember to wear the appropriate attire into the mosques.
Review provided by Viator
Angela_d
Sep 29, 2024
Great full day tour! - Great tour of the city sights and a relaxing Bosphorus cruise to end a full day in Istanbul. Our guide was very knowledgeable and informative.
Review provided by Viator
Carolyn_b
Sep 27, 2024
Great way to see some of the best of Istanbul in a day - Excellent guide at the mosques, really gave us an understanding and background of what we were seeing. Loved the time and detail in the Haggia Sofia. The bazaars were fascinating and lunch was delicious if a bit rushed. Boat ride was a relaxing end to a full day and a fabulous experience. Loved pick up and drop off right at the cruise port.
Review provided by Viator
Georgemv978sr
Sep 3, 2024
The great tour - We liked this tour very much and would recommend to everyone who is visiting Istanbul. Before the trip Aras arranged our pickup at the Hotel and answered all our question, he was all the time available on phone. Our guide Ali gave us detailed information about all places we visited. He is a very interesting person and a professional guide.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Delwyn_n
Aug 30, 2024
A great way to see the city when you only have a short break. - The cruise was a wonderful way to finish the day & cool down but also a very good way of understanding the lay of the city.
Review provided by Viator
Aldijana_a
Oct 9, 2024
Nice but in a hurry - The whole trip is designed to give little bit of everything. Our guide mr Çelik was so nice, but we were moving to fast. Also, on the boat the waiter charged us double price for drinks - That is not something in organisation od our tour guide but just a note from me to ask for the price before ordering. In the end, I would recomend it if you are under 40 and want to walk fast and a lot. Also, the group was small but it was hard to hear our guide speaking (we didn’t have a headphones).
Review provided by Viator
Aileen_m
Oct 8, 2024
Good tour for a short stay - This tour ticked lots of boxes - guide was excelllent, very funny ! Ladies and gents, wear clothes to cover your knees and ladies need a head scarf - can be bought/borrowed on the day if you forget. A very long day but lunch and boat ride was relaxing.
Review provided by Viator
Josemaria_b
Sep 5, 2024
Very good not the best - Nice guy, a little bit in a rush. A year ago I had a guide that was superb showing and telling us everything, not this time. Good tour to skip the cues.
Review provided by Viator
144selmak
Sep 3, 2024
Busy day enjoying Istanbul - The tour was very good. We have seen the most of the old town of Istanbul (Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, Hippodrome, Grand Bazaar, Egyptian Bazaar). We were with an amazing tour guide, Ali. He was very nice and was there to answer to the questions that we had. He was making sure that we were all there at each stop. His explanations were clear and with a little bit of humor also. He took us to lunch : the restaurant served local dishes (lentils soup for starter then a main dish with the meat of your choice and then dessert). The best part was the cruise : the views were beautiful. For those who wants to visit the main attractions of Istanbul, this is the tour for you.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Desury_p
Sep 2, 2024
Great/Knowledgeable Tour Guides, Tainted by an Unnecessary Sales Pitchd by a - Our pick up from the hotel was on time. We were taken to a plaza but not given any instructions - after a few minutes we were gathered by another driver who took us to board another tour bus. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and kind, but I felt the pace was very rushed. At the Blue Mosque, when going thru security, my husband's pocket knife was taken, we were told we could retrieve it afterwards. We didn't try to get it later, but I was appreciative of our tour guide giving us instructions on what we had to do/where we had to go to get it back after the tour. The second part that says "Istanbul Tour" (prior to lunch) is a lie. They take you to a giant department store called Bilkins. A small group of 5 of us had to endure an awkward 15 minute fashion show. At this store all the associates follow you at VERY close range trying to get you to buy leather jackets, jewelry,ceramics, carpets, bags. Quite annoying and makes you feel so suffocated. One sales associate in the clothing section was condescending and rude. Clearly they didn't have my husband's size and he would make off-handed comments about it. They tries selling Zultanite jewelry at 20x the cost, incredibly thin leather jackets at "discounted" prices -- if it's discounted so heavily then why do they have crazy high price tags? The lunch was across from Bilkins where yes it was included, but the meal was already selected for you. We went on this tour on a Sunday, so the Grand Bazaar was closed, which happens to be around the corner and down the street from Bilkins. After lunch we were cattled back onto a tour van, now with more people. We stopped to drop them all off at their hotels (which we didn't know was happening, so we didn't get to say proper good byes to those we spent the morning with) and I guess we were the only ones booked for the Bhosporus Cruise, and so they took us there with a different tour guide. The boat ride was nice, afterwards he took us to the Spice/Egyptian Bazaar to shop at the tour guy's friend's shop. All shops were similar, so we weren't interested further. Our guide was going to walk us to our hotel, but since we knew the way we let him go and ended our tour. The tour guides and van drivers were great, but the stop at Bilkins was unnecessary and I hate that we were tricked into thinking that it was a tour of Istanbul.
Review provided by Viator
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
November 2024
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