Private Sultanahmet Walking Tour with Licensed Guide

Recommended by 98% of travelers

Badge of Excellence

Istanbul, Turkey

4 to 8 hours (approx.)
Group discounts
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

This unique tour experience in Istanbul allows visitors to make their own itinerary with a guide at their disposal for one entire day. This tour is very flexible, with no need to obey timings or exact programmes and lots of free time for photo breaks or little explorations. Visitors will enjoy this personalised and intimate experience of Istanbul.

You will be accompanied by a professionally licensed guide.
This is a private tour so only your group will participate.
Explore the major tourist attractions of the Old Town of Istanbul.
Learn about the history and culture of this beautiful city.

What's Included

Private licensed expert guide for the entire day
Personalized route planning within Sultanahmet
Flexible timing at each landmark
Priority assistance and local guidance
Insider tips for dining and hidden gems

Entrance tickets (can be purchased on-site with guide assistance)
Skip-the-line tickets (available upon request)
Meals and drinks
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Transportation (this is a walking experience)

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting points

Select a meeting point

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Itinerary

German Fountain

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Sultanahmet District

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Sultanahmet Square

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Hippodrome

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Blue Mosque

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Basilica Cistern (Pass By)

TopkapI Palace

2 hours • Admission Ticket Not Included

Grand Bazaar

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Most travelers can participate

On Fridays, Hagia Sophia or Blue Mosque will be visited from outside because of the worship.
Tour guides don't have skip-the-line priority in Hagia Sophia. You may need to wait in the security line, in order to avoid queues we suggest departing at 9:00am.
Grand Bazaar is closed on Sundays can be replaced with Spice Market.
Topkapi Palace is closed on Tuesdays can be replaced with alternatives.
Skip the line service is not available for active mosques - there is a queue for the entrance.
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

William_N

Overall, I highly recommend this tour. Our guide, Naci, reached out the night before to customize the itinerary around our interests and even made adjustments on the spot to include specific food and shopping stops. He was knowledgeable, friendly, and engaging throughout the day. While entrance fees to many sites are not included and can add up, Naci made the process seamless by handling the bookings during the tour, which also allowed us to skip the lines. If you only have one day to explore Istanbul, this tour is an excellent choice.

Reviews

4.9

based on 96 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Great one day personal tour option

William_N, Nov 2025

Response from Host, Nov 2025

Thank you so much for your valuable feedback

Istanbul Walking Tour

Lorna_W, Jun 2025

If you are interested in the history of Istanbul, this tour is for you. Our tour guide was polite and knowledgeable regarding this aspect, however, we would have liked to have delved deeper into other aspects as well… the people, the culture, the food and more. Note: This was marketed as a personal tour. The owner of this company mentioned that they could provide pick up/drop off service from the port to the meeting spot. When we queried how much it would cost he said it would be USD$80. To us, this was outrageous as it was only about 2 miles away and the cost of a tram, which we did use, was minimal and easy. We felt that this kind of quote is not in the best interest of their customers and we would’ve loved to have canceled it, but it was less than 24 hours.

Response from Host, Jun 2025

Thank you so much for your valuable feedback 🙏🏼

Excellent tour guide

sudha_s, Feb 2025

This was a very informative tour. Our tour guide Mr. Murat was very knowledgeable and helpful. We would not have appreciated the history and culture of this beautiful place without him. He went with our pace and did not overload us with unnecessary information. I highly recommend Mr. Murat !

Response from Host, Mar 2025

Thank you so much for your valuable feedback

Well worth it.

Sherri_A, May 2024

Our guide Eren was great. Very knowledgeable and personable. We did not want to see the usual sites and he adapted to that and showed us the city he knew. Great to be able to walk and not worry about where we were all the time.

Response from Host, May 2024

Thank you so much for valuable feedback.Hope to welcome you in Turkey again

Very interesting tour with a knowledgeable guide

Helen_F, Feb 2024

We were very lucky to have Eren as our tour guide. He is very knowledgeable and friendly, explaining the history to us so that we could understand the story of the buildings that we looked around. He adapted the timings to suit our schedule. It was a very enjoyable day.

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Thank you so much for valuable feedback . Hope to welcome you in Turkey again

Excellent coverage of the main highlights of Istanbul

Michael_C, Jan 2024

We were lucky to have Sedat as our guide. He's very knowledgeable, and easy to communicate with. His explanation of the history of Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque and Basilica Cistern was very interesting and thorough. He's just a really nice guy to have conversation with.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Thank you so much for valuable feedback

El guía se presentó media...

Daniel_S, Apr 2025

El guía se presentó media hora tarde, y excepto en Santa Sofía, en el resto de lugares visitados demostró unos conocimientos bastante básicos

Response from Host, Apr 2025

Muchas gracias por sus valiosos comentarios y por la situación. Disculpen las molestias en nombre de mi equipo y del guía que recibió una respuesta negativa por este retraso.