Half Day Private Istanbul Tour
Recommended by 97% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Istanbul, Turkey
- 4 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Marvel at the vibrant city of Istanbul with this half day tour of the history Sultanahmet. This tour is perfect for those short on time, but looking to immerse themselves in the regions culture and traditions. Highlights including the iconic Hagia Sophia and the gorgeously tiled Blue Mosque. Adire the hundreds of columns underground at the Basilica Cistern, before finishing with the chance to shop at Kapali Carsi.
- Discover the incredible and historic Sultanahmet area
- Enjoy a private tour restricted to your own group
- Admire the hundreds of columns at the Basilica Cistern
- Learn about Byzantine history at the Hagia Sophia Mosque
What's Included
- English speaking private guidance.
- Entrance fees to the museums.
- Private transportation
Meeting and Pickup
You can head directly to your preferred meeting point, or request pickup.
Operating hours
- 31/08/2019 - 21/10/2027
Monday - Sunday : 12:00 am - 11:30 pm
Itinerary
1
Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque
1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included
2
Blue Mosque
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
Basilica Cistern
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
4
Grand Bazaar
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.9
based on 177 reviews
Sort by: Most recent
We had a fabulous private tour of Istanbul with Ipek. She is delightful , informative and made our experience authentic and memorable. We would highly recommend this tour and company. Communication was excellent and they were very a composting.
Response from Host, Oct 2026
Hi Terri,
Thank you for your review. We hope to host you in Istanbul again.
All the best...
We had a wonderful experience with Ipek as our travel guide in Istanbul. She was incredibly knowledgeable, kind and friendly, and did a fantastic job of including our children throughout the tour. She made the experience interesting and enjoyable for the whole family. We highly recommend Ipek and this tour.
Response from Host, Sept 2026
Hi Britt,
Thank you for sharing about your experience. We hope to see you in Istanbul again.
All the best...
We were only in Istanbul for a short amount of time due to our layover and Emine was amazing and coordinated an earlier start time so we would be able to see as much as we could! Our tour with J was really informative and he was very enjoyable to spend time with. We ended up going to the blue mosque, hagia Sofia, and the cisterns. J was able to jump the line at all of the attractions which was great!
The transfer service was very nice and clean! I would recommend this tour!
Response from Host, Sept 2026
Hi Davis,
Thank you for your feedback. We hope to host you for a longer trip in Istanbul.
All the best...
First off we were not aware that this tour would be taking a local tram and walking from place to place. No vehicle. We also didn’t realize that admission to the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque was 35 Euro per person and was under construction. Also, admission to the Basilica Cistern was $50 per person. Would have been nice knowing this before we made our reservations. So basically we only did the Blue Mosque which we could have done on our own. A little disappointing Viator doesn’t include admission pricing when it is not included in tour price.
Response from Host, Sept 2026
Dear John,
Thank you for taking the time to share your review. We’re sorry to hear that you were disappointed with your experience.
We would, however, like to clarify a few points regarding the information provided before your booking. On the Viator listing, it is clearly stated that entrance fees and private transportation are not included in the tour price. In addition, we contacted you by email prior to the tour and provided information regarding the additional entrance fees as well as the use of public transportation.
The Old City of Istanbul is largely a pedestrian area, and private vehicles are not permitted in many of its historic sections. For this reason, the tram is one of the most convenient and practical ways to access the area, and this was communicated to you in advance.
Our guide also informed us that during the tour you chose not to enter the museums and other sites because you did not wish to pay the applicable entrance fees. As a result, our guide showed you the Blue Mosque from the inside and presented the other sites from the outside.
We have also provided you with the email correspondence showing that the relevant information regarding transportation and entrance fees was communicated before your tour. The Viator listing also specifies that entrance fees are excluded, so this information was available for review before making the reservation.
We always aim to provide clear information so our guests can make an informed decision before booking, and we regret that there was a misunderstanding regarding the inclusions of the tour.
Thank you again for your feedback.
Viator, booked the reservation for half-day tour in Istanbul. The chat box representative had me fill out the application. The pick up & drop off was to be from our hotel. He assured me that there is no problem with the location and it is all included in the price. He said just go ahead and pay for it and he will then tell the supplier. After i paid and got confirmed. I started receiving emails from Elefante tour ( supplier) saying that the tour doesnt include transfer. I had multiple email exchanges with them. However, they refused and the told us you have to pay additional $170 to be picked up from your hotel. This was a big surprise specially on the day of the tour. 2 hours before the tour we realized the tour will not pick him ( solo) up from hotel. And told us Viator should have contacted them before confirming. Thus, tge tour was cancelled. This was a terrible service. Unreliable and dishonest.
Response from Host, Sept 2026
Thank you for your feedback. We would like to clarify the details of this booking for future readers.Your hotel was located near the airport, which is approximately a one-hour drive from the Old City and sits outside our standard pick-up zone. Upon receiving your booking details, we immediately contacted you to offer an additional transport option to accommodate your location. When you chose not to proceed with this option, we mutually agreed to cancel the reservation, and we promptly issued a full refund.Please note that this issue stems from a communication gap with the booking platform. The platform did not verify our pickup zones before confirming a transfer from your location. We highly recommend addressing platform-related booking errors directly with their customer service team.Because the tour never took place and a full refund was processed immediately, this review reflects a pre-trip logistical challenge rather than an actual experience with our guiding services. We always strive to assist our guests clearly and fairly, and we regret any frustration this automated booking error caused. However, we are deeply disappointed that a negative review was used as a threat after a full refund had already been amicably settled.
Lovely day seeing some of the major attractions in the historical district of Istanbul. Our guide, Ugur was knowledgable and great to spend the morning with. Stray your day early to avoid the crowds. This is worth every penny.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Hi Dana,
We are happy to see your beautiful review. We hope to host you for a longer trip in the future.
All the best...
This tour was perfect! Our guide, Celal, was friendly, witty, and knowledgeable. We appreciated all of his local knowledge, recommendations, and explanation of the history of Istanbul. He explained thousands of years of history in a way that was easy to understand. Best of all, the tour was flexible! He allowed us to choose our pace and where we went. I highly recommend!
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Hi Rhonda,
Thank you for your nice review. We hope to see you in Istanbul again.
All the best...
It is filled with rich history and detail. The sights were amazing and the guide was knowledgeable, professional, friendly and went out of his way to accommodate us. His name was J. Good pace, inside, detailed knowledge, funny, interesting. We had a great adventure.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Hi Richard,
Thank you for your beautiful review. We hope to see you in lstanbul again.
J (Celal) was a fantastic tour guide! He provided an educational and interesting tour of istanbuls most famous sites touching on its history and current events. He was flexible with pace and kindly escorted us to our dinner that followed the tour.
Highly recommend this tour with J at the start of your trip so you can get a grasp at of this amazing city!
This was a wonderful way to see the most popular points of interest in Istanbul on a half-day tour. Uğur met us promptly and escorted us all over the old town while telling us historical facts of the city and country, not just the sites we visited. If we had longer in Istanbul, we would have loved to spend more time with him on a longer tour; he was wonderfully friendly, funny, and accommodating. He even took us to a local ice cream shop for delicious Turkish ice cream and baklava! Five stars for Uğur and this tour!
Nurten was so fun and knowledgeable. We had a great tour and saw so many great things. I would highly would recommend.
Response from Host, May 2026
Hi Tami,
Thank you for tour review. Hope to see you in Türkiye again for a longer trip.
All the best...
The tour was excellent. Lots of interesting places visited with the right amount of information provided. Tonga was an excellent guide. Would highly recommend a private tour as Istanbul can be very busy with queues. to try.
Response from Host, May 2026
Dear Caroline,
Great to see your review here. We hope to see you in Türkiye for a longer visit. 🌺
This is why you need to book this tour. It is private so you don’t have to wait or share with strangers. Since it is private you can start at anytime and go at your own pace. J was awesome. He let us at the Intercontinental Hotel and taught us how to use the metro to get to all the sites. For some reason our credit cards didn’t work and he paid for us which was so nice. He was super well informed on his history and taught us a lot about the sites and the history and the different religions. We landed the night before and were super jet lagged during the tour and I needed a break with a little food so we stopped to get a tea and a snack. J was awesome. Thank you so much for a great tour!
Response from Host, May 2026
Dear Jenny,
It is a pleasure to see your beautiful review. Your reviews lead us for better. Hope to see you in lstanbul again.🌺
J, my tour guide, was fantastic. He was very knowledgeable and answered all my questions. We had a great lunch at a local spot. It was nice to see everything on the list and not feel rushed.
My husband, 13 year-old son, and I met Nurten at the German Fountain for a fabulous half-day tour of the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Basilica Cistern, and Grand Bazaar. Nurten was so friendly and easy to talk to! She took family photos for us at all of the sites. Along the way, we stopped for tea and treats at a cafe, and she pointed out places that we wouldn’t have otherwise noticed to have lunch and dinner all along our route for later on our trip. She had answers for all of our questions. After giving us a lot of helpful tips for shopping in the Grand Bazaar (including details around handbag shops, etc.) I feel ready to return and do some more shopping on my own. She even stayed on after our tour would naturally end and patiently taught us how to shop for carpets in one shop outside the market and helped us extricate ourselves gracefully when we were not ready to buy. She was funny and smart and never rushed us or directed us somewhere we did not want to go. A good guide can make a tour good or bad and we were so lucky to meet Nurten. Even my son loved the tour and our guide- which says a lot coming from a teenager who doesn’t love museums! Fully recommend!
Fantastic half day tour of the old town area. “J” did a great job explaining the history of the area and significance of the places visited. Picked us up in hotel lobby and brought us back when finished. We even managed to get in an extra stop in addition to quick stop Traditional Turkish Tea and Coffee. Highly recommended this company (great communications throughout the booking and confirmation process) and super job on the tour with “J” (Celal)
Our guide was very impressive and knowledgeable. Remember to bring a scarf to cover your head. Picked us up from our hotel and made the city come alive for us during the tour, we learned so much!
Ugur was an excellent guide in Istanbul. He is knowledgeable, patient and responsive to questions and situations.
A wonderful morning in historic Istanbul with Uger. He was very knowledgeable and patient! And a delightful man!
Excellent guide. Informative, easy to communicate with prior to the tour to make arrangements, and of course during the tour. Very friendly and personable. Just an all around excellent person.
Our Guide was very knowledgeable about Istanbul history. Very good at leading us around the city and making changes to our tour. Would recommend this tour highly.
My guide Ugur was very informative, receptive to any questions that arose, and conducted the tour at very appropriate pace taking into consideration that my 80 year old self had to rest a bit on the staircases in the Hagia and the Cistern. He managed working our way through the Sunday crowds very skillfully and pointed out the highlights of the places we visited. I could not have asked for a better guide!
Delightful guide Erbil, showed us 4 key highlights of Istanbul. We only Arranged the tour the day before and it was a fantastic way to orient ourselves to the city, get insight of public transport, people, etiquette, food and culture. Erbil adapted the tour and length of time at each site according to our preferences. We enjoyed lunch together and then he left us at Grand Bizarre. At our request he took us to a carpet shop with loom demonstrations . It was a great half day, highly recommend. Note we did need to pay for entrance fees, and Transport. Please remember for females to have a scarf for entrances into the mosques and males require trousers.
The whole experience was excellent the guide Ipek was very professional her knowledge was impeccable, the underground cistern tour is an absolute must see.
Response from Host, Oct 2025
Dear Barry,
Thank you for your review. We hope to see you in lstanbul again.
All the best...
Very educational. Just enough time to see the sights. Erbil was very informative and attentive to our needs.
This was an awesome tour of some of the key sites in Istanbul. Although the sites you see are only the tip of the iceberg, my tour was great. My guide was able to answer all of my questions and the conversations we had were great. It wasn't just a tour of the sites but also a long and deep conversation about the history of the sites and the region. I have rarely enjoyed a tour as much as I did this one. If you have the chance and a few hours in Istanbul, THIS IS THE TOUR.
Our tour guide Erbil did a great job explaining to us all the sites of Istanbul. We went into the Hagia Sophia- women bring a scarve or something to cover your heads. Remember no shorts when visiting mosque too. I purchased one before I entered, it’s a beautiful keepsake. The Blue Mosque line was about 45-60 minutes so we opted not to wait. We just took pictures outside. One place I didn’t expect but so glad we went to was the Basilica Cistern - old water way under the city- wow so beautiful and cool ! We went to the Grand Bazaar and it was so overwhelming- so many shops and you can buy so many various things. You could easily spend a day there and you will not even see all the shops. Throughly enjoyed this city and country.
Great way to hit the highlights of the old city. J. was well informed and made the tour interesting. He welcomed questions and shared his enthusiasm of Turkish history. My 17 y/o daughter declared J. the best tour guide we encountered during nearly 3 weeks of travel!
We had a fantastic tour with Ugur. He showed us all the locations we wanted to go to plus brought us to bonus locations. He even extended his time to make sure we got to see everything. Thank you for an incredible tour!
Our guide was "Jay". There was a cultural disconnect between us as female travelers with a Muslim guide.
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Dear Vicki,
Thank you for your feedback.
I must admit that we were quite surprised to read your comments, as your guide Jay reported at the end of the tour that it had been a very enjoyable experience and that you had expressed your satisfaction throughout.
From what we understand from your remarks, the issue seems to be related to the dress code regulations at the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia. As these sites serve as active places of worship, all visitors—regardless of gender—are expected to comply with specific attire requirements. We believe that your guide Jay was genuinely trying to assist you with this matter.
We are also aware that, due to your interest in art history, Jay provided an especially comprehensive presentation at Hagia Sophia. Furthermore, before entering the site, he seated you in a shaded area to avoid having you wait in the sun and stood in the long queue himself to purchase headscarves on your behalf.
Given the care and respect he showed, we believe the issue may have stemmed from a misunderstanding.
Nonetheless, we regret any dissatisfaction you may have experienced.
We hope to have the pleasure of welcoming you again on another tour.
Kind regards,
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per group (up to 10)Was $290.00
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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