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
- 08/31/2019 - 04/13/2027
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 153 reviews
Alicia_H, Mar 2026
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!
Thomas_S, Dec 2025
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)
Beth_M, Dec 2025
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!
Kathleen_L, Oct 2025
Ugur was an excellent guide in Istanbul. He is knowledgeable, patient and responsive to questions and situations.
Jane_G, Oct 2025
A wonderful morning in historic Istanbul with Uger. He was very knowledgeable and patient! And a delightful man!
Terry_P, Oct 2025
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.
Andrew_W, Oct 2025
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.
anthony_g, Oct 2025
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!
Sally_S, Oct 2025
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.
Barry_C, Sep 2025
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...
Joan_b, Aug 2025
Very educational. Just enough time to see the sights. Erbil was very informative and attentive to our needs.
Richard_G, Jul 2025
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.
Julie_L, Jul 2025
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.
Stephanie_G, Jul 2025
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!
Anonymous, Jun 2025
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!
Vicki_S, Jun 2025
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,
Anne_S, Jun 2025
This was one of the best tours we have ever done! Celal is a great guide. We highly recommend this! Because my husband was in a wheelchair, we were able to go into an area of the Hagia Sophia that we wouldn't have.
Marie_M, Jun 2025
Our guide “J” was amazing. He was informative and took us to the places we wanted to see. He arranged for an amazing lunch with various Turkish dishes. His English was outstanding.
John_H, May 2025
We had an outstanding half day tour with our guide, Erbil Eraslan, today, getting a chance to spend time at Hagia Sophia, The Blue Mosque, the Basilica Cistern, Grand Bazaar, and Hippodrome. Erbil shared the history of these locations in a way that made this fun & memorable for us.
Response from Host, May 2025
Dear John,
Thank you for your review. We will be happy to see you in lstanbul again.
All the best
P_F, May 2025
We had a great day with J. He met us at our hotel and showed us how to navigate the metro and tram, which was very helpful for the rest of our stay in the city. He gave a very detailed and interesting history of the city, everyone in the group enjoyed the tour. The Grand Bazaar is closed on Sundays so he brought us to the Spice market which was excellent.
Response from Host, May 2025
Dear Cheni,
Thanks for your beautiful review. We hope to see you in lstanbul again♥️
chris_A, Apr 2025
Our half day tour was great because of our guide. His name is Celal. He was very knowledgeable regarding Istanbul, Turkey Greece and the History of all, dating back literally thousands of years and took excellent care of us thru the day! Book this tour and ask for Celal!
Trevor_T, Mar 2025
Our guide (Celal) was extremely knowledgeable and hospitable, and patient with us while we stopped and tried several delightful food stands. The history of this city is amazing and the whole tour was exactly what we wanted, and more!
Response from Host, Mar 2025
Dear Trevor,
Thanks for your review. We will be happy to host you in lstanbul again.
All the best...
Adel_S, Feb 2025
I booked a half-day tour of the major sites in Istanbul, and it was an unforgettable experience. Our guide Celil was a true historian who provided us with an engaging mini masterclass on Turkistan and Byzantium history. We thoroughly enjoyed our tour of the Hagia Sophia, which is now a mosque. It was a fascinating part of world history.
Celil was phenomenal, friendly, and incredibly helpful. He even checked in with us the day after the tour to see if we needed anything. I found the tour price to be very reasonable, and I highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Istanbul.
Monica_G, Oct 2024
We enjoy the history and the blue mosque, also the basilica cistern.Our guide was very knowledgeable and patient
Virginia_C, Oct 2024
Our tour guide was great but Istanbul is a one and done for us. There is a lot of walking with this tour after taking a tram ride. Our guide did pick us up from the galataport which is a city in itself. Our favorite was the bascillica cistern.
Gayle_L, Oct 2024
We had an excellent tour with Ipek. She was very knowledgeable and very generous with her time. She even arranged an appointment with a Turkish barber. We thoroughly recommend this tour.
Response from Host, Oct 2024
Dear Gayle,
Thanks for your great review. We are so happy to hear that.
All the best...
Maureen_M, Oct 2024
Our tour guide, Nurten Canbeyoglu was very personable and knowledgeable!! She took us to all the top sites and guided us through the Grand Bazzaar. She made us feel safe on public transportation and helped us order a terrific Turkish Lunch. A great day. We covered so much in half a day.
Debra_L, Oct 2024
Lucy was a wonderful tour guide, very knowledgeable about the history of the sites we visited. Large, clean van that comfortably fit 5 guests and the tour guide.
Response from Host, Oct 2024
Dear Debra,
It is great to see your review. We hope to see you in lstanbul again.
All the best...
Sachin_S, Oct 2024
This was a great experience. Hasan our guide was super knowledgable about everything we saw and took us wherever we wanted to go, he also gave us good recommendations for places to eat in Istanbul. Highly recommend
Cathy_P, Oct 2024
Ipek was a delightful guide so professional and full of great knowledge about the stunning sites, also fascinating insite into life in Istanbul! She gave us restaurant and transport advice making us more confident with the remaining time of our visit here. The speed that she got us through cues was fabulous and having her one on one meant we didn't have any downtime. Highly recommend this tour for travelers with limited time.
From $285.00
per group (up to 10)up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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