Istanbul Full Day Exploration: Discover Old City & Cruise Bosphorus, incl Lunch & Tickets
4.7
168 Ratings
Istanbul
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: 1 day learn more
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 Blue Mosque, which takes its name from the world famous exquisite blue Iznik tiles decorating its interior. Also it is the only imperial mosque in the world that was originally built with six minarets.

Note: Blue Mosque is reserved for Prayer on Fridays. On Fridays, we visit the mosque from the exterior.

  • Hippodrome - We continue to the Hippodrome Square, the sporting and social center of old Byzantium, held 100,000 spectators and featured objects from all corners of the empire such as the Egyptian Obelisk, and the Serpent Column.
  • Grand Bazaar - Brief Handicrafts Presentation & Lecture (Optional Attendance) next to the Grand Bazaar. Guest may opt to skip the presentation and explore Grand Bazaar on their own.

Meeting back and drive to Lunch.

Note: Grand Bazaar is closed on Sundays.

  • Istanbul - 3 Course Lunch (Beverages under your own expenses)

*Vegetarian menu is also available

  • Egyptian Bazaar - After the lunch, we will visit the Egyptian Spice Bazaar, second largest covered bazaar in Istanbul after Grand Bazaar. It is well-known for its herbalists; the Egyptian Bazaar offers traditional natural medicines, spices, flower seeds, roots and shells of rare plants along with dried nuts and fruits, deli products and various Turkish Delights.
  • Halic - After the Spice Bazaar we will drive along the shore of Golden Horn which is an inlet of the Bosphorus and it is the natural harbor of Old Istanbul.
  • Bosphorus Strait - Then we will embark our boat for an unforgettable Cruise on the Bosphorus, the strait runs through the unique Istanbul that stands up on two different continents between Asia and Europe. During the cruise, we will have a chance to view the peerless sights ornamenting the Asian and European shores such as 19th century wooden mansions, Rumeli Fortress built only in 3 months by Mehmet the Conquerer, Anatolian Fortress, fanciful Dolmabahce and Beylerbeyi palaces, and hunting lodges.
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)
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 Europe and Asia. Lunch included.

  • Not recommended for travellers with walking difficulties
  • Please note that this tour includes visits to Hagia Sophia & Blue Mosque. You will be required to have a dress covering the shoulders and above the knees during these visits (for both man & women). Guests whose dress doesn’t cover the shoulders or above the knees, can purchase a single use dress from these sites.
  • Our vehicles are disinfected daily at the end of each tour
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
(168 Ratings)
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1 star
T7097imamya
May 29, 2024
Had lots of fun. Day was worth the money - The guide was helpful and gave lots of extra tips regarding the city. We went to all the places promised and were educated for each place before and during the trip.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Aymanhourani
May 18, 2024
Nice tour. I recommend 👌 - Nice tour , you get to see and learn the history of Istanbul in a few hours thanks to the friendly & professional guide Ali , the lunch was good traditional Turkish Kebab and also the phosphor cruise was not bad and the tour guide Celal was friendly and helpful I recommend
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Krishna_p
Apr 24, 2024
A tour that swhows you the main sights of Istanbul in one day! - Absolutely brilliant tour, the morning guide was good with his explanation of the mosque’s and lunch was absolutely fantastic! The afternoon guide was brilliant! He gave us very good commentary about the places and even on the boat cruise made sure to go around the whole group( who were scattered all over the ferry) and explain the buildings we were seeing. Not so good was when he took us to a shop to buy teas and spices and you sort of felt obligated ☹️
Review provided by Viator
Jiaqingq
Apr 2, 2024
Memorable experience - I went to Istanbul alone so booked this trip and had a memorable journey. It was a great pleasure for me to meet Celal on this trip as my guide. He was really knowledgeable and considerate along the way. As a professional guide, his knowledge of Istanbul and Turkey impressed me a lot. During the whole journey of Cruise, I saw other tour members ask him a lot of questions from history, culture to religion. But he can always give good replies to answer our questions. One of the big problems of solo travellers is no one can help to take pictures. But Celam offered to help to take pictures for me. He even said he can help to take more pictures till I got some satisfied with. So I indeed asked him help to me take many pictures. More than that, one of our group members needed to go to the pharmacy after the tour, but Celal also kindly offered to bring him to the pharmacy and explained what the customer needed to pharmacy assistant even after the trip ended. Of course, he also recommended local authentic restaurants and dessert shops which added pleasure of the journey. I even asked for help the next day of the tour cause I couldn't find the transportation to go to the airport, and Celal also kindly told me the way to arrive at the ariport. Thanks to him i was able to catch my flight despite met huge traffic congestion and heavy rain that day. After back to the UK, I recommended him to my boss of the company. I believe he can also bring a memorable experience to him.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Wesley_p
Mar 27, 2024
Great day out - Thank you for showing me some of the most iconic sites in Istanbul and providing lots of in-depth information. Pick up and drop off was easy. I would recommend this day trip if you like history and would like to be provided with information and tips on the best places to shop in Istanbul. In the afternoon I was one on one with my guide for the river cruise, the guide was lovely and provided me with some wonderful insight to Istanbul and Turkish life.
Review provided by Viator
Noorulain_h
Mar 26, 2024
Istanbul City Tour - Absolutely loved my Istanbul City Tour! It was very knowledgeable, organized, flexible, and understanding people that make sure the experience is great for everyone. Celal was very caring and nice and so was our other guide though we forgot his name. 10/10!
Review provided by Viator
272margiek
Mar 18, 2024
Great tour /fantastic guide! - We did this tour yesterday with our tour guide Ali. It was a wonderful day spent in Istanbul. Ali kept us on schedule and was very knowledgeable. We had a great day. I definitely recommend this tour. Thank you, Ali.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rose_s
Apr 15, 2024
If on a brief visit to Istanbul, this tour is a must - A very enjoyable day all round. Both our guides for the morning city tour and the afternoon boat trip were very nice, knowledgeable and ready to answer questions. The morning city tour is done on foot so do keep in mind your own physical fitness as Istanbul is very hilly involving some inclines. Being a 70 year old female I found it challenging to keep up with group sometimes but Shakir our guide was very understanding and accommodating. The afternoon boat trip is much more relaxed and Maya our guide was like a friend. If you do nothing else in Istanbul take this tour. It takes you to the more historically important sites and saves you a whole lot of time compared to doing the same things on your own.
Review provided by Viator
Payal_k
Mar 20, 2024
Good - Tour was good. Picked up on time. For a vegetarian lunch was basic. Good info provided. Suggested few places for shopping. We even visited leather shop.i felt it priced then other ones.
Review provided by Viator
Carol_m
Mar 23, 2024
Great Tour.................But Be Warned!! - We really loved this tour, well the majority of it - we had 2 guides as our tour was split into Morning / Afternoon groups. Good Points: Bang on time Hotel pick up / drop off. Excellent Tour Guides who knew their stuff / Ample Lunch / Picturesque Bospherus Tour / Mosque visits were excellent / Grand / Spice Bazaar Visits. Our morning guide took us to the Blue and Sopia Hagia Mosques and the Hippodrome which were just superb. After lunch, we met up with our 2nd guide who took us on a tour of the Spice Bazaar, followed close by to a beautiful Mosque (inside was stunning) and then on a cruise down the Bospherus, which we thoroughly enjoyed, Bad Points: After leaving the Mosques, we then walked towards the Grand Bazaar, but en route stopped by a Department Store, to take in a 10 minute talk / leather fashion show. After the show we were then taken into an area to view leather / suede goods on sale. Now, I knew this was on the itinerary when I first booked this tour and having read previous reviews I knew what to expect; but my husband just followed the rest of the group and before I knew it we were in there, sipping Apple tea watching the show. Can I just say, you are not under any pressure to purchase any goods, but I just felt so uncomfortable looking at the goods on display and being constantly followed all the way around by one of the shop assistants, I couldn't wait to get out of the shop. If like me you are not into this, the guide does give you the option to leave and make your own way down to the Grand Bizaare (which I wish I had done - I'm blaming my husband!!) After lunch the group split up and we met our new guide, who was excellent (sorry I can't remember his name) and taken to the Spice Bizaare. We were led into the very first shop in the Bizaare and shown how certain teas were made; we sampled some of the tea; again, this was really aimed about buying some of their products - we just felt really uncomfortable with this. Our guide could see that this was not for us and gave us the option to have a wander around the Bizarre ourselves and meet up with him within the hour - we greatly appreciated that. (Again your are not put under any pressure to purchase) All in all, we enjoyed our day, just not the 'selling side' of things. We also found the 2 x Bizaar visits a bit much within hours of one another.
Review provided by Viator
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
June 2024
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