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Istanbul Two Continents Tour By Bus And Bosphorus Cruise

Recommended by 97% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Istanbul, Turkey
Great choice
10+ bookings last month.
  • 10 hours (approx.)
  • Pickup offered
  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English

Why travelers loved this

4.8
·
· Rocco_M ·
Nov 2025
Excellent tour! Very comprehensive to give you a nice taste of Istanbul. Pickup was efficient. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and even helpful in taking pictures. The authentic Turkish lunch was so good and I left very full! I also liked the free time we had in each place. For everything you get, the price is extremely reasonable. I recommend this tour very much.
· Scott_H ·
Dec 2025
Fantastic experience. Great value. Will definitely recommend. The guides were outstanding. Drivers were polite and professional

Overview

    What's Included

    • Coffee and/or Tea
      Free Tea & Nescafe On boat
    • Air-conditioned vehicle
    • Free WiFi On Boat
    • Lunch
      Quality Turkish lunch with a soft drink.
    • All Fees and Taxes
    • Palace Entrance fee
    • Cable Car Ticket
    • Personal Expenses
    • Tips

    Meeting and Pickup

    Pickup points

    Select a pickup point

    Pickup details

    Please contact the tour provider via WhatsApp for the exact pickup time one day before the activity starts.

    Itinerary

    1

    Camlica Hill

    30 minutesAdmission Ticket Included

    2

    CamlIca Mosque

    1 hour Admission Ticket Included

    3

    Beylerbeyi Palace

    1 hour Admission Ticket Included

    Bosphorus Bridge (Pass By)

    4

    Eyup Sultan Mosque

    2 hours Admission Ticket Included

    5

    Pierre Loti Tepesi

    45 minutesAdmission Ticket Included

    Bosphorus Strait (Pass By)

    Additional Info

    • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
    • Not wheelchair accessible
    • Near public transportation
    • Most travelers can participate
    • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers

    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)

    Reviews

    4.8
    based on 561 reviews
    Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

    We have the privilege to...

    Ramon_C, Mar 2026
    We have the privilege to have Ziena as a tour guide, she is a very talented, knowledgeable and experienced young lady, she went out of her to explain every aspect of the tour. The tour was great, but the tour guide made one of the best tours we had ever have. We strongly recommend the tour and the great guide.

    Perfect!

    Max_G, Feb 2026
    The service and the guide were top-notch! We had a lovely tour, a day to remember! Definitely we can recommend the experience, to first time or returning visitors in Istanbul.

    Awesome tour

    Scott_H, Dec 2025
    Fantastic experience. Great value. Will definitely recommend. The guides were outstanding. Drivers were polite and professional

    Good but long tour.

    Andrew_K, Nov 2025
    Overall a good tour with amazing visit to the largest mosque in Turkey and to one of the Palaces. Tour took longer overall than anticipated with pick up and transfer to main bus taking nearly and hour. Boat tour was a total of 2.5 hours when accounting for the time the boat had to wait to get a space to dock...allow 11-12 hours for this tour if you have to be picked up from your hotel.

    The tour was great. Tbe...

    Cristal_P, Nov 2025
    The tour was great. Tbe bus was comfortable and our tour guide on the tour was informative and helpful.

    Excellent tour

    Rocco_M, Nov 2025
    Excellent tour! Very comprehensive to give you a nice taste of Istanbul. Pickup was efficient. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and even helpful in taking pictures. The authentic Turkish lunch was so good and I left very full! I also liked the free time we had in each place. For everything you get, the price is extremely reasonable. I recommend this tour very much.

    Our two country tour

    Robert_L, Nov 2025
    We had a very good day. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about everything. We toured the Asian and then the European side of the country, and if you wanted to see the two countries we would highly recommend this tour.

    Istanbul in one day!

    Madhusudana_I, Oct 2025
    It was with a nice group of people of different ages and cultures. The tour guide is extremely fluent in English and highly knowledgeable on the historically important places of Istanbul. My wife and I fully enjoyed the tour. Congratulations to the team of the tour!

    Excellent Tour

    Panna_S, Oct 2025
    Excellent Tour. Hotel pick up was great. Very professional & in time. Bus driver was very patient in traffic.

    Fabulous day tour

    Isla_S, Oct 2025
    Magnificent tour with fantastic well informed guide. So many sights with great history for each shared knowledgeably. Amazing 4course lunch provided. Transport very comfortable. Definitely recommend, with a 10/10

    Great cruise

    Peggy_H, Oct 2025
    It was very nice to have someone that would explain things to us and take their time and answer questions when we had them. We saw many things and learned a lot.

    A very interesting day,...

    Brigitte_B, Sep 2025
    A very interesting day, and a very dedicated guide, Gustavo. The 3 travelers I made friends with and I all agreed that it should have been less of Çamlıca mosque ( though beautiful) and esp. less of Beylerbey palace, while we would have enjoyed a lot more of Balat, with a guided walk there : it deserved it. The lunch was nice & abundant.

    Good way to get introduced to Istanbul.

    Kevin_G, Aug 2025
    Great look at a variety of places in both the Asia and Europe side of city. Learned a lot and was able to see things I would not have sought out otherwise. The one issue was on the boat, I could not hear any of the announcements when sitting on top side.

    Tour guide was amazing!...

    Karen_C, Aug 2025
    Tour guide was amazing! He was very informative and friendly. We enjoyed our tour. Only complaint was that on the boat tour we could not hear very well.

    Excellent value

    ruth_m, Jul 2025
    This was an excellent experience and excellent value. The boat ride was 2hrs, we were taken to multiple places including markets, palaces, mosques churches. The food at lunch was delicious and I could not possibly eat it all. If you could you could just ask for more. The one down side was the transfers they tried to pick me up at 810 not 830 so I was rushed and left my sunscreen at the hotel. When they dropped me back if was on the other side of a 6 lane road which was hectic - no way was I crossing so I had to walk 10 minutes to lights at 930 at night as the tour had finished late. As a single woman in a foreign country I did not feel very safe with this.

    It was good tour and our...

    Dana_T, Jul 2025
    It was good tour and our guide was great, but we spent too much time at each stop, which made for a long day.

    Tour Chaperone vs Tour Guide

    MariaC_K, Jun 2025
    If you prefer a tour with a guide giving you just a high level overview of the sights and let's you go wander independently for longer than normal then this is the right tour for you. I was expecting the tour guide to provide a balance, maybe providing more detail, interesting facts and perhaps her insight to Turkish culture based on the places we visited. It was fairly organized, we were taken to all the places listed but we seemed to be waiting and wandering a lot too. They put the English, Spanish and Russian groups in one bus. I could tell the Spanish guide was providing more insights to his group, granted they were smaller like 6 people but we were 11. Our English guide was nice and personable but I was hoping she would've "guided" us more especially in Balat. She was helpful but at a bare minimum. When they dropped is off for the Bospherous cruise, we waited for 40 minutes then the boat was super full and we couldn't hear the audio guide clearly. The drivers were fine except when I was taken back to my hotel, the driver picked up 2 guys who rode in the front along the way before I was dropped off. It made me feel uncomfortable since the driver did not say anything to me about the 2 guys in the car. Overall, the tour was not what I expected.

    Response from Host, Jun 2025

    Thank you very much for your detailed and honest feedback. We're genuinely sorry that the tour didn't fully meet your expectations, and we appreciate the opportunity to clarify a few points: First, regarding the guide experience, we understand your expectation for deeper cultural insights, especially in areas like Balat. While our guides aim to provide a general overview and allow time for independent exploration, we will closely work with our team to ensure that all guests, regardless of group size or language, receive a consistently engaging and informative experience. About the language groups: sometimes, due to operational logistics, English, Spanish, and Russian groups may share the same bus, but they are assigned separate guides. We apologize if it felt unequal in terms of the level of detail, and we'll follow up with our team to ensure a better balance and quality across all language services. Concerning the Bosphorus cruise, we're sorry you had to wait. Occasionally, there may be a short delay between the land tour and boat boarding due to scheduling alignment, but we do our best to minimize it. The cruise can be crowded during peak times, and onboard speaker quality may vary depending on the seating arrangement. That's why we provide a free online audio guide in multiple languages via your phone — no app needed. Instructions are posted on the board, and our team is happy to assist with the setup. Regarding transportation, we'd like to clarify that all transfers are shared, not private. For this reason, it's normal that other passengers may join or be dropped off along the way. While the driver doesn't need to inform each traveler about this, we understand it can feel confusing or uncomfortable if not expected. We'll look into making this more transparent in the tour description to avoid surprises. Once again, thank you for taking the time to share your experience. Your feedback helps us improve, and we hope we'll have the opportunity to provide you with a better experience in the future.

    Thank you very much for all the treatment. The excursion was excellent and the guide Israel was wonderful.

    Pablo_B, Jun 2025
    Thank you very much for all the treatment. The excursion was excellent and the guide Israel was wonderful.

    A full day of experience

    Elisa_S, May 2025
    It is a full day in which you will see a lot of Istanbul. Is a very nice tour and completely full of places to see. Food and plenty of time in between to shop. We enjoyed very much

    Great Tour!

    Maosheng_C, May 2025
    It was an absolutely informative tour visiting so many nice places. Our tour guider Burak gave us quite good descriptions for each places and recommendations for the places for the drinks. Lunch was also a nice one. Last activity was the cruise tour. It was a very nice one seeing both Asia and European sides. Highly recommend this tour for people with limited time.

    It is a fun tour, and...

    Andres_I, Mar 2025
    It is a fun tour, and many sites are visited, which could take a week if you are doing it on your own. The tour guide was excellent and the planning from one site to the other was well done. You will get the site's history and then some time to be on your own and do what you want.

    Use your judgment

    Rita_R, Mar 2025
    The itinerary is amazing as you get to see many highlights of Istanbul outside of the regular tourist area of Sultanahmet where the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia is located as the store skips that entire area. But that is where it ends based on my days experience. However, we had the worst guide in my opinion. I have been traveling for decades and I’ve used Viator over 10 years. Never have I taken a tour where the guide was so disappointing. It was a blistering cold, rainy, and windy day.(never take this tour under these weather conditions). He provided us no explanations, significance of the points of interest we were visiting or an overview of the Turkish history and at the locations that we went he offered very little. Both the driver and the guide were heavy smokers. We had a small bus and every time I got in this cigarette smoke odor was difficult to get rid of. The guy did not care whether we were comfortable or if there was anything he could do to make the day enjoyable. In the Balat , he left to our devices and told us we could get back to the bus after one and a half hour without even waiting. The driver came to pick me up at 9 AM which was 45 minutes later than what I was told. I had to reach out to Viator, where they responded their inability to get in touch with the tour operator. After several WhatsApp messages to the tour operator, I was finally told that a driver was on the way to pick me up.The store which ended at 9 PM could easily end at 6 PM. The amount of time in between points of interest are unnecessarily long and it seemed more in line with their smoking habits. Made us wait for 90 minutes before we could get on the boat trip without any explanation. The place where we had lunch under best of circumstances could be called a roadside eatery inside a bustling market Viator should reconsider whether this particular Sea & Land Agency should be allowed to be on their platform The only reason I’m giving it to two and not one is because I thought the itinerary was good and that is where it began and ended. I would not use this particular tour operator as I’m sure there are others that offer the same.

    Response from Host, Mar 2025

    Thank you for your feedback, and we sincerely apologize for the disappointing experience you had. We understand how crucial it is to provide not only a well-planned itinerary but also high-quality service. The issues you raised regarding the guide's lack of engagement, the smoking, and the timing delays are absolutely concerning, and we take them seriously. We will address these points with the team to ensure that future guests have a much more enjoyable and informative experience. Your comments about the itinerary are appreciated, and we’re glad it was one of the highlights of your day. We genuinely hope we have the opportunity to serve you better in the future. thank you.

    It was a full day, plenty...

    Marcela_S, Mar 2025
    It was a full day, plenty of walking, even if the rhythm seemed to be slow. Murat was our guide, he was really nice and knowledgeable. We saw a lot, learned a lot. It was a great day! If you spend few days in Istanbul and you don't want to waste time finding out which places are best to see beside the most touristic attractions, or which means of transport you need, this is the trip for you! We loved it!

    Good tour of Istanbul

    Marion_N, Jan 2025
    We were picked up on time. Tour was interesting, went to a good variety of places. Tour guide was knowledgeable and spoke very clearly. We didn’t do the cruise as we had done it the day before. Tour was good value for money, never felt rushed and would highly recommend.

    Not Recommended

    Barry_Y, Jul 2024
    The pickup at the hotel was late. The guide is not knowledgeable of the sites visited. This is more of a bus ride to the sites with very limited amount of talks by the guide. I am not getting much information of the sites visited from the guide. I could have done this using a hop on hop off bus.

    Response from Host, Jul 2024

    Hello dear traveler. Please understand that this is a shared tour, and pickup may be delayed due to traffic or because another traveler needs to be picked up before you. Our tour guides are certified by the Turkish Ministry of Tourism and are professionals in their field. We apologize if our tour did not meet your expectations. Thank you for your feedback.

    Very good experience, overall very happy

    Bertram_A, May 2024
    Good service,excellent guides. Well look after.Guide with excellent knowledge of the places we visited

    fantastic experience

    Vicky_G, Apr 2024
    The cruise was exceptional and well worth the money. The entire day was filled with beautiful sites. The client mentioned that it was their best day.

    Beautiful tour recommend 100%

    Ali_S, Nov 2023
    I would recommend this tour 100% to everyone. They picked us up from the hotel in a very nice and clean bus. The guide was very informative and answered all our questions.

    Our guide was very knowledgeable.

    Muthukrishnan_S, Nov 2023
    The tour was good. The bus tour was in two languages English and Russian. Both of them were speaking at the same time.We we're at the back just next to the Russian guide she was loud we could not hear our guide. Very disappointed and please avoid putting two language guides in the same bus. Throughout the guide was chatting loud. Please try to avoid this situation. Our guide was very good.

    Response from Host, Jul 2024

    Thank you for your feedback. We're glad to hear that you found the tour itself enjoyable and that your guide was very good. However, we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused by the dual-language commentary. We understand how frustrating it must have been to have difficulty hearing your guide due to the simultaneous commentary in Russian. We appreciate your feedback and will take the following steps to improve: Separate Language Tours: We will work on providing separate tours for different languages to avoid overlapping commentary and ensure a better experience for all passengers. Guide Conduct: We will remind our guides to be mindful of their volume and conduct, especially when providing commentary. Your feedback is invaluable in helping us improve our services. As a gesture of goodwill, we would like to offer you a discount on your next tour with us. Don't hesitate to get in touch with us. Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. We hope to have the opportunity to provide you with a better experience in the future.

    The boat portion was horrible

    sally_k, Oct 2023
    The most memorable part of our trip was visiting the two continents. The drive was beautiful. Getting to the highest point of istanbul was amazing. Our tour guide Ali was sooo knowledgeable. He was exceptionally

    Response from Host, Oct 2023

    Dear traveler, we are glad to hear that you enjoyed our bus tour. We always strive to provide the best experience for all of our guests, but sometimes we are unable to meet certain expectations. We apologize for any inconvenience caused and hope for your understanding. Thank you for choosing our service.

    From $105.19

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    up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

    Book ahead!
    On average, this is booked 37 days in advance.

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