Istanbul: Hagia Sophia & Blue Mosque Guided & Small-Group Tour

Istanbul, Turkey

Great choice

5+ bookings last month.

3 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Overview

Experience the historic center of Istanbul with ease on this group tour. Depart from your hotel or cruise ship in an air-conditioned vehicle and set out into the city. In the company of your guide, learn about the city and visit the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Grand Bazaar, and more.

Hassle-free hotel pickup (If option selected)
Travel comfortably in an air-conditioned vehicle
Learn about Istanbul from your guide
Explore the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and more

What's Included

Hotel Pickup (If option selected)
Blue Mosque Guided visit
Hagia Sophia Guided visit
Hippodrome Guided visit
English-speaking tour guide

Hotel Drop-off
Admission Fee - Hagia Sophia skip the line entrance ticket

€25.00 per person
Food & Drinks

Meeting and Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

Hotel pick-up from centrally located Istanbul hotels. Before the tour start time, each hotel there is a fixed pick up time.

Meeting point

Buhara 93 Restaurant
Sultan Ahmet, Nakilbent Sk. No:13 A 15, 34122 Fatih/İstanbul, Türkiye
Front of Buhara 93 Restaurant

End point

Sultanahmet, Alemdar, 34110 Fatih/İstanbul, Türkiye
Tour ends at Sultanahmet square, no transfer to the hotel

Operating hours
.9:00 am

Itinerary

Blue Mosque

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Hippodrome

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Grand Bazaar

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Near public transportation
Infants must sit on laps
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
Please dress appropriately when entering sacred sites. Participants are advised to wear long pants, a long-sleeved shirt. Please bring a scarf to cover head.

Hagia Sophia skip the Line entrance ticket: €25 and must be paid in cash.
Even though you'll skip the ticket lines,the security checks at the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque are mandatory and cannot be bypassed.
The Grand Bazaar is closed on religious holidays and Sundays.
The tour ends at the Grand Bazaar.
This is a shared transfer with Minibus or Midibus and pick up could be early or late. For each hotel there is a fixed pick-up time. before the tour starts time
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 14 travelers

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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)

Reviews

4.4

based on 48 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Pros: guide arrived on...

Fredi_L, Mar 2026

Pros: guide arrived on time. Guide was well informed and gave a lot of information at our different stops that would not be obvious without a guide. Ample time was given at our various stops. Guide gave well informed answers to all of our questions. Pros: Hagia Sophia entry cost was not included in the tour cost. Tour description included a stop at the Grand Bazaar; however, our last stop was at a department store with an unanticipated sales pitch. Clearly state Hagia Sophia entry is extra and eliminate the sales pitch stop and actually include the Bazaar portion as stated.

Istanbul tour

Sharon_H, Oct 2025

A pleasurable small group tour. Picked up close to my hotel. The guide provided interesting commentary as we strolled round The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, ending at the Grand Bazzar.

Brilliant and educational loved it, very lucky

Natalia_H, Jul 2025

I was fortunate to have the tour guide to myself. I learnt so much from him and the history was fascinating, I was very lucky. He looked after me and it was a full on history lesson. The mosque are beautiful, rich eith so much to tell. Highly recommend.

Excellent tour

Sarah_S, Jul 2025

I traveled with a friend and my partner. The other group of three was a mom and her two kids. The tour guide was extremely knowledgable and kind. It was a bit bare bones - no tickets to Hagia Sofia or Basilica Cistern (Which is noted in the ticket clearly), but you will have to wait in lines and buy your ticket. We opted out of these two experiences and went shopping. I would recommend checking out the Hagia Sofia and to get tickets in advance. I am not sure if the tour guide goes inside with you, so I would ask the company and then also book a guide or audio tour. It was a lovely way to see the city and learn more about its history.

Best guiding experience in Istanbul

Martin_O, Jul 2025

The three of us traveling together hired this company’s services and loved every minute of it . Mr. Baki was one of the best guides I’ve ever had. He was extremely knowledgeable, nice and friendly. He understands very well what the group needs and tailors the pace information he provides accordingly . He was very helpful and I even texted him for more information after the tour had ended, and he kept assisting us . Highly , highly recommended.

Worst tour I’ve ever experienced

Jackson_L, Jun 2025

Genuinely the worst tour I’ve ever been on. I recommend NOT booking this tour. Our tour guide made the entire experience so uncomfortable it was awful. It was clear by his poor attitude, abrupt nature, and dismissive comments that the guide did not want to be taking us on this tour. Here is a breakdown of what we experienced. 1. The guide was texting on his phone throughout the entire tour. He would point to a site of interest and tell us the name of it without even looking up from his phone. 2. The guide was visibly angry and frustrated throughout the entire tour. He was abrupt and rude and not just to us but to random other people. At one stage he began yelling at a group of tourists on the street and their guide. He literally was yelling at them and they began yelling back. It was incredibly uncomfortable. I don’t know why he was so rude and abrupt. He was like this from the minute we got in the van. We were not late, in fact we were ready and waiting for the van early. I have no idea why he was like this. 3. The guide made no effort to explain any facts or details. He basically pointed at things, said what it was and then rudely said “let’s go now”. When he did explain a small amount of detail on a certain site of interest, he made as little effort as humanly possible. 4. Every 10 minutes or so the guide would let out a big exhausted sigh, demonstrating just how much he did not want to be there. 5. His attitude was so bad that we felt uncomfortable even asking him questions about the sites. When we did ask a question we received an abrupt and dismissive answer. We ended up just stayed silent because we didn’t dare speak to him. Overall this tour was overrated and it was entirely not worth doing. Perhaps with a different guide it would be okay. But with the guide we had it was truly the worst tour I’ve ever done, in any city.

Average

Mariam_H, Jun 2025

This was average. Pick up from hotel was good Everything else was average. They also didn’t tell us that the grand bazar will be closed during our visit due to a public holiday, I think that would have been good to know beforehand. They told us on the day and took us to this expensive 5 storey shopping area, I mean it had nice things (if you’re into leather jackets and designer stuff, but not a bazzar like advertised on this tour)

Response from Host, Jun 2025

Thank you very much for taking the time to write Review. The Additional Info section of the website states that the Grand Bazaar will be closed on religious holidays and Sundays.

More details needed

Liliana_C, May 2025

Interesting facts about the Blue Mosque. However, the description didn't say we could choose the second part of the tour. The guide also included visits to a leather and jewelry store; these should be optional.

Short excursion with excellent price.

Raul_M, Feb 2025

The guide was knowledgeable and very affable. The short tour was informative and the price right. Highly recommended.

Great tour. The guide was...

Sean_L, Oct 2024

Great tour. The guide was fantastic! Make sure to bring cash in case you want to go inside the Hagia Sophia and the Cisterns. I highly recommend this tour! Worth every penny!

Istanbul religious & historical sites

EeLain_O, Oct 2024

Baki was a very informative guide on all aspects of our Istanbul religious & historical sites. Well recommended. He spoke very clear and understandable English too. The tour was conducted at a measured pace.

Average at best.

Julian_J, Oct 2024

Although the guide appeared to be very well informed, portions of the tour appeared to be rushed with little context of what we were viewing. I did not appreciate being dragged through a leather store and then being told that I needed to walk to the Grand Bazaar on my own because I had only booked the half day tour.

Excellent

Clare_N, Sep 2024

Our Guide Mr Baki was excellent, very knowledgeable and gave us plenty of time to explore. Would highly reccomend.

Great when in sightseeing parts what youre paying for but beware of tourist trap at end.

MetalJukebox, Sep 2024

The historic part was fantastic learning about the full history of constantinople/istanbul. The sights and mosque in sultanahmet 10/10. But what stopped the trip been 10/10 was the tourist trap of been taken to a shopping mall with Highley expensive fashion clothing and carpets and souvenirs. Because I had zero intrest in purchasing items as I booked this excursion basically for sightseeing I was then told by the guide who looked unhappy to see us , the directions to the bizzare to go our own way. I'm not a moaner despite been english we do whinge, I do guided trips with viator get youre guide everywere I travel and will continue to do so, but tourist beware of been taken to a mall even though it's not in the iteniary. I made my own way to the bizzare I can imagine you will be then taken to an exclusive shop, when thers no need as no one ever hassles you in it anyway

Harmony (religions/old and new)

FabyStve_H, Aug 2024

Our tour guide was quite knowledgeable and welcomed any questions we had with patience and curiosity. I appreciated it.

Great tour!

Michael_G, Aug 2024

Excellent tour, very well organized and narrated. We were able to review the important highlights without any delays, with information and fact packed.

Forced shopping pause

Robyn_M, Aug 2024

Overall the tour was nice. The guide himself was knowledgeable and informative. He never introduced himself so I do not know his name. Everything was exactly as advertised. It did not earn 5 stars for 2 reasons. I was led into a shop with “amazing rooftop view” (it wasn’t) on the 5th floor. I was escorted to the fifth floor up an elevator with an employee of the shop and then I was led down the stairs one floor at a time where I was encouraged to buy…carpets, watches, jewelry, clothes, shoes, purses, fur coats. I told the man very politely that I was not going to buy anything yet the agonizing journey down floor by floor continued. It took about 30 minutes while my guide was off doing who knows what and that was not what I was there to see or do. The other problem was that I had paid for hotel pickup. This did not include a return to the hotel. It was in the tour information and I did miss that part, but the tour guide basically just left me at the Grand Bazaar after pointing out the direction to other things I might want to see. I chose the tour with the hotel pickup because it was my first day in Istanbul, I’m a solo woman and I had no concept of how to get around yet. I should have noticed that the return was not included, but the guide could have at least helped me figure out how I could get back instead of just leaving.

Not worth the time - do something else

Jodie_S, Aug 2024

This tour was doomed from the start. The guide never introduced himself. Just turned up & straight into the tour. There is a “fashion show” added into the itinerary that is not advertised. We were taken up to a room & it was a full on runway with models. We were given a card should we wanted to purchase anything. I felt EXTREMELY uncomfortable having the models going down the runway, making strong eye contact with you. It was a surprise and the whole group was disappointed with it as we didn’t pay to see a fashion show. We didn’t go into the Sofia as it had been turned into back into a mosque and it would have costed €25 to only go in for 10 mins & only allowed access to the top floor. There was no guide through the Bazaar. Just pointed where to go & finished the tour there. It’s really not worth the time. Find a better tour.

Disappointing tour

Matt_F, Aug 2024

The blue mosque itself was amazing. The tour did not include the basilica cistern. We saw the Hagia Sophia from the outside only, as you have to pay more to go in. There were a few other things that were skipped over because they were apparently not great to see, we were told by the guide (such as the coffins of old emperors or someone like that, as they are actually buried underground. Still, we have come all this way and booked a tour to see things not skip over them! The guide was ill and should have been resting, because the tour guidance was half hearted at best and it was clear he did not want to be there (I don’t blame him, he was sick!) I got more out of eavesdropping on other tours in the blue mosque, as our guide had told us to just roam around on our own while he waited outside. Then, we were taken to some coat shop and again left there with someone very keen to sell us things. Again, not on the tour description and no one on the tour wanted this. Oh, and they had coffee for 5 euro!! Then we were dropped off at the grand bazaar to look around on our own. This is where my half day tour ended. Wish I had booked a different tour.

Good experience/Excludes Cistern Tickets

Ryan_E, Jul 2024

Wonderful tour guide. I did not realize that the tickets for the cisterns was not included in the price.

Mixed bag

Anna_O, Jul 2024

We had a worthwhile experience around basilica. Blue mosque and hippodrome. He made time for toilet and drink break. His knowledge of historic areas was acceptable. Disappointed we did not have time to go inside haggia Sophia. The most disappointing thing was being told we could go to a store and take photos of the city from the roof. Little did we know that we were being taken to look at luxury items and had to sit through afashion show. No pressure to buy we were told but it used about 20-30 mins of ourfourhourtrip and then the guide appeared at the end and told us trip is over you can access the grand bazaar around the corner. Trip only lasted 3 hours we lost a good chunk of time. If you choose this trip my advice is to pay a bit more for another provider or leave before the dodgy fashion show.

Great Detail and Information

Greg_W, Jun 2024

Great information and explanation of historical sites with time allowed for coffee/drinks and toilet breaks. Very much appreciated the tour.

Excellent Introduction to Istanbul’s History

Andrew_S, Jun 2024

Friendly tour guide who was very knowledgeable. This half day tour introduced us to Istanbul’s history, focusing on the Faith District. The tour guide was open to questions and gave us planned breaks while walking in the summer heat. Children or those who tire of historical detail might be bored at times but if you love the history, this is a perfect introduction to Istanbul!

No show guide

alidaron, May 2024

Our guide never showed up and did not even respond to my chat message asking when he would arrive. . At least the money was refunded without any hassle.

Response from Host, May 2024

Are you sure you are messaging with the correct mobile number? So we texted and called the Mobile number you provided during booking, but no one respond

Great tour

David_B, Apr 2024

Very interesting tour the architecture was beautifull. The guide was full of information and made the tour interesting and enjoyable. I would not hesitate to praise this tour and the guide we had.he was very knowledgible

The tourist guide had a...

Kiran_J, Mar 2024

The tourist guide had a lot of insight into the monuments we visited. Had fun exploring the city. There was a point in the tour with a random fashion show which was a bit weird but a funny story to tell. All in all, had fun!

blue mosque Aga sophia grand bazaar

lisa_n, Jun 2023

so glad viator offered this tour. beat the lines and learned from guide all the interesting history. excellent. our guide gave us best place to have turkish street food at the grand bazaar. so much fun.

Nice, knowledgeable...

Carmen_J, Dec 2022

Nice, knowledgeable guide. Nice people on the group from all over the world. Fashion presentation was a bonus. Recommended.

Very friendly guide,...

Antoine_v, Oct 2025

Very friendly guide, with a lot of knowledge of history and religion. Too bad about the long lines everywhere, but he knew our iig at Nlauwe Mosque and the cisterns

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Le rendez vous avec le...

Herve_D, Mar 2025

Le rendez vous avec le guide a été très facile à programmer. La visite est intéressante seul hic, c’est quand on a été amené dans un grand magasin pour nous faire assister à un défilé de « mode de vêtements « pour nous les proposer à la vente….on été mal à l’aise…