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: 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
(182 Ratings)
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Florian_r
Jul 23, 2024
Good tour to spend a whole day in Istanbul - Everything was fine and as expected. just cut the totally unrequired sales-show, which has nothing to do with a „cultural experience“
Review provided by Viator
Terry_p
Jul 20, 2024
A great way to see the highlights of Istanbul - The guides on this tour were excellent, both were highly knowledgeable, respectful and gave a detailed historical perspective of the places visited in the morning and of the sights seen on the boat cruise in the afternoon. Both guides were superb and I recommend this tour as a great way to see this impressive city.
Review provided by Viator
Julian_l
Jul 12, 2024
Very very good - Great professional outfit, guides know their stuff, and i meet a few good folks asking the way. This is a good one
Review provided by Viator
Rozanne_w
Jul 10, 2024
Terrific day trip - Fabulous way to see Istanbul when you’re on limited time - covered sooo much on a short period - highly recommended this trip
Review provided by Viator
Katy
Jul 10, 2024
Excellent Tour and Guide - We loved this tour. Mehmet was our guide and he was awesome. We loved seeing the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque. The Grand Bazaar was closed on the day we went, but the Spice Market was also really cool. The cruise on the Bosphorus was very relaxing.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Terrypo2208sk
Jul 7, 2024
Day tour and cruise of Istanbul - The tour was excellent. Sakir did a tremendous job as guide and host, very professional and gave an excellent history of the mosques when we visited them. He was very professional and did a first class job. In the afternoon Celal was our guide he was also exceptionally good as well and explained all the places we saw on the boat cruise as well as the history of this great city. I could not recommend the guides or the tour more highly. Well done
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Darryl_e
Jun 28, 2024
Best tour experience ever! - What a fabulous experience and what a wonderful guide, Sakir was! Our friends got delayed due to a problem with forms for clearing the port and he went out of his way to ensure they were collected later to meet the tour and to arrange a later visit to the blue mosque so they didn’t miss it. The whole experience was amazing and well worth the money!
Review provided by Viator
Anil_g
Jul 6, 2024
Good tour and guide. - Visit to Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, cruise on Bosphorus were good. Grand Bazaar is a rip off place and a waste of time. Our guide Ali had a great sense of humor and a good storyteller.
Review provided by Viator
Jessica_f
Jun 23, 2024
Not worth it - The guide Ali was not easy to understand.He was walking fast and did not even stop for us to get water .I almost lost the group because he kept walking when I told him I wanted to get water.Did not understand any of the information he was giving.
Review provided by Viator
Brad_g
Jun 21, 2024
Disappointing - This tour was disappointing for our family of six. Although there were no other participants in the tour, Ali did not look out for our group very well when walking and did not ask anything about us. He barely introduced himself and gave us a very abbreviated history of the area. On the cruise, we barely got any information. There was tons of dead time on the cruise as we just sat there looking at things. Also, there was a large amount of time spent in a Turkish rug shop where we felt very pressured to make a purchase. The transportation was very good. We saw the things that were advertised.
Review provided by Viator
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
September 2024
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