Panoramic City Tour with Bosphorus Strait Sightseeing Cruise

Istanbul, Turkey

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

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Overview

Gaze over land and sea on this guided Istanbul city tour with a Bosphorus Strait sightseeing cruise. Aboard a comfy coach, discover the lively neighborhoods of Fener and Balat, and drive along the Golden Horn for spectacular views. With your expert guide experience the vibrant Spice Bazaar and then board a charming sightseeing cruise to traverse the Bosphorus viewing highlights like the Bosphorus Bridge and Rumeli Fortress.

City tour and sightseeing cruise in Istanbul
See top Istanbul attractions like the Golden Horn and Church of St Stephen of the Bulgars on a coach tour
Walk through the Spice Bazaar with an expert guide
Cruise through the waters of the Bosphorus Strait aboard a sightseeing boat
See Rumeli Fortress, Bosphorus Bridge and the Imperial Gardens of Royal Yildiz Palace from the water
Hotel pickup included

What's Included

Hotel pickup
Professional guide
Coach tour

Gratuities
Food and drinks
Hotel drop off

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting points

Select a meeting point

End points

This activity ends in a different location. See details below:

Operating hours
.8:30 am

Itinerary

Begin your day by meeting your guide at either a central location on the way to the Yenkapi neighborhood or your central hotel in Istanbul. Hop into your comfortable coach and start with a drive around the Golden Horn which converges with the Bosphorus Strait to connect Europe and Asia. Continue through the Jewish district of Balat and observe the distinct, iron built Church Of St Stephen of the Bulgars. Then, marvel at the ancient Byzantine Walls of Constantinople.

Next, make your way into the Greek quarter of Fener and admire the Ecumencial Orthodox Patriarchate. Learn about the liturgical leader of the Greek Orthodox Church who resides at this established church. Then, continue to the colorful Spice Bazaar (Egyptian Bazaar) and walk about its lively stalls seeing an array of shopkeepers selling spices and eclectic wares, tapestries, and other diverse goods.

Hop back on your coach for a quick ride to the port for your sightseeing adventure on the Bosphorus. Find your favorite vantage point aboard and relax for a charming cruise. As the boat picks up speed, whip out your camera for perfect panoramic shots of Istanbul’s top attractions. Marvel at the beauty of the Imperial Gardens of Royal Yildiz Palace and see the commanding Rumeli fortress which views the slimmest section of the Bosphorus.

As you duck beneath the Bosphorus bridge enjoy the illustrious marble palaces that sit cheek-by-jowl with Ottoman-era wooden villas on both east and west coastlines. As your cruise on the Bosphorus heads back to the port side, glimpse over the long shoreline and savor the picturesque scene of the city of a thousand faces. Step off the boat and take a leisurely ride back to Taksim Square where your tour ends.

Misir Carsisi (Spice Market)

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Rumeli Fortress (Pass By)

Halic (Pass By)

Bosphorus Bridge (Pass By)

Bulgarian Orthodox Church (Pass By)

Historic Areas of Istanbul (Pass By)

Bosphorus Strait (Pass By)

The Walls of Istanbul (Pass By)

Patriarchate Of Constantinople (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Please note: When reconfirming your booking, your local supplier will advise you on alternative meeting points for hotels which are not accessible
Stroller accessible

Near public transportation
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 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

3.6

based on 52 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

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Nice boat trip. Guide was very good but...

P_F, Sep 2016

Nice boat trip. Guide was very good but not really the overview of the city I was expecting.

It was very a wonderful tour, we...

Carlos P, Dec 2015

It was very a wonderful tour, we were able to visit all places that were offered for this tour, our tour guide was very knowledgeable and took good care of us.

It was good and well managed tour...

Richa_K, Nov 2015

It was good and well managed tour. : will recommend.

Good value, but a little strange...

Mark W, Oct 2015

Good value, but a little strange that we were collected from our hotel, then driven a few kms to another meeting point, then back to near our hotel...45 mins later for the tour. Not sure it was necessary. Bosphorus cruise was pleasant.

good experience, but sad we could...

Caroline C, Oct 2015

good experience, but sad we could not visit the egyptian bazar because of Aid celebration. Only issue : we can hardly hear we the guide peak on the boat and miss interesting info. However,his level of French was very good.

It was good, it just seemed really...

Leah G, Sep 2015

It was good, it just seemed really rushed and chaotic and I couldn't hear anything while on the tour of the Bosphorus.

It was good. The tour guide spoke more...

Kesavan N, Jun 2015

It was good. The tour guide spoke more Spanish than English

Good value. Guide was reasonably...

Stephen P M, Jun 2015

Good value. Guide was reasonably well-informed though he recommended spending some time at Taksim Square (the actual ending point of the tour) which proved to offer very little. Boat ride was fun. Bus tour of Golden Horn informational. The highlight, however, was the stop at the spice market!

We were put by mistake on different...

Jeremy S, Jun 2015

We were put by mistake on different tour, not even one word of excuse. The guide issue was only time time is our ennemy repeated a hundred times rather then taking care of what we were sightseeing Shame no value for money for this tour as long as with same guide!

excellent especially for first time...

MJ L, Jun 2015

excellent especially for first time visitors to Istanbul as a general orientation and facts finding experience. only critic is the sound on the tour bus that was bad. On the Bosphorus Strait the sound was good

It was an okay tour overall. Very...

Brittany H, May 2015

It was an okay tour overall. Very nice people, ran a little late, so we were rushing. But great views and nice little stop at spice market.

Good sightseeing experience. Not too...

Kyungoh, Apr 2015

Good sightseeing experience. Not too spectacular nor amazing... Too much traffic and tight schedule made us hurry all the time.

This tour is mostly a bus ride to...

John E, Sep 2014

This tour is mostly a bus ride to spice market and a boat cruise. Very little commentary on the city or sights.

The tour was very nice and well...

Diego D, May 2014

The tour was very nice and well organized. The Egyptian market was really interesting and colorful. The cruise on the Bosphorus was beautiful. Unfortunately, the weather was not very good on the day that we have done it and so the view from the boat was not optimal, but we were lucky enough to see dolphins and so we were very happy anyway.

Nice. Well worth it for the cruise. Not...

Paka, Apr 2014

Nice. Well worth it for the cruise. Not much time at other places though..

time was sufficient. Tours in the...

Ghada A, Mar 2014

time was sufficient. Tours in the spice bazar was limited but worth the time spent on the Bosphorus

Brilliant weather for a great trip...

Pauline D, Mar 2014

Brilliant weather for a great trip to the Spice Market and the Bosphorus Cruise. The courier was extremely knowledgeable and very interesting about the history of Istanbul. The Spice Market is absolutely brilliant, for us, better than the Grand Bazaar! This was followed by a trip over the river to the Asian side of Istanbul to join a boat cruise up the Bosphorus. The boat was not overcrowded so we were able to move around easily plus enjoy a drink from the cafeteria. The commentary was very interesting, explaining about the Golden Horn and pointing out the famous Palaces and Castles. On our return to the European side of Istanbul we left the coach at the Spice Market and spent the rest of the afternoon browsing and purchasing teas, nougat, turkish delight and many spices. Excellent!!!

Picked up at time arranged at city...

christine_M, Mar 2014

Picked up at time arranged at city hotel and taken on the tour. The tour was well organised and guides excellent.

The city tour is very poor. They put...

Sidney F, Mar 2014

The city tour is very poor. They put you on a small bus and, going to the port to take the boat, the tour guide speak without stopping trying to explain everything about Istanbul but in fact you don't see much. The Bosphorus cruise is nice and you can see a lot of highlights.

Istanbul was a fabulous experience...

Anne_W, Dec 2013

Istanbul was a fabulous experience. Though this was only a half day tour, the guides showed us so much. They were excellent, very organized and with congenial attitudes. The boat was great as were the coaches.

The tour started with hotel pick up...

Nerita L, Nov 2013

The tour started with hotel pick up in a comfortable bus. We were taken to the Spice Bazaar to spend some time and then boarded out boat for a 1.5 hour cruise. The cruise was fantastic and a great way to see both the European and Asians sides of Istanbul. The boat was comfortable and shade was welcomed as it was very warm. I highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Istanbul.

I loved this tour. The tour bus...

Tiny Traveler, Oct 2013

I loved this tour. The tour bus picked me up from my hotel on-time and the tour guide was wonderful. He allowed us plenty of time to take pictures and the overall tour was an A+.

We recently did a fly drive in...

Nesha, Oct 2013

We recently did a fly drive in America and booked all our tours via Viator as we had no problems with any of the tours we booked. However this one the coach turned up half an hour late- there was literally no room on the coach - they then drove for about 20 mins without any information on what was happening - we were the last pick up and people who were already on board were given no information either. We then stopped somewhere where they proceeded in moving people on and of the coach again no information given. After another 20 mins we drove for another 30-40mins "city tour" which was NOT a city tour!!! just driving round to waste time before it was our time to pick the boat up. The tour guide was had the most boring voice ever - in fact our party of 6 fell asleep- there was no enthusiasm at all. He was translating everything in french and English and all seemed too much of an effort for him. When we got to the boat with noticed our hotel with was not that far - so basically we spent over an hour just driving a round - which would have been fine but there was definitely no "city tour" We were supposed to visit the spice market but as it was Eid it was closed- but we were not informed that we would not be visiting it. The boat ride itself was ok - commentary could have been clearer. Don't waste your money on this trip definitely not worth it. Very disappointing

The main part of the tour was the...

David D, Oct 2013

The main part of the tour was the Bosphorus Cruise which was worth it for the price alone. There was also a visit to the Spice Bazaar, but we seemed to miss out on the Church visit, which was not mentioned. Although you are collected at your hotel, there are only 2 drop off points Taksim Square and Sirkeci Station, so plan for this.

Pick up was late but understandable...

Bina P, Sep 2013

Pick up was late but understandable due to the heavy traffic. The cruise sightseeing was breath taking and the weather was gorgeous.

The programme of this tour was nice...

Mohamed O, Sep 2013

The programme of this tour was nice however tour guide was not fully ingormative. He gave more attention to people who are on full day tour and he spent most of the time with 2 people only explaining only to them and even on the boat he was only sitting with them.

Good City Tour but a lot of wasted...

George T, Sep 2013

Good City Tour but a lot of wasted time changing busses. The Cruise was excellent but at the end the tour operator insisted on dropping us at Taksim Square which is very volatile. The inclusions state Hotel pickup and delivery. Lucky for me I kept a copy of this and the operator agreed to deliver us.

The tour dropped us off in the area...

Darlene M, Sep 2013

The tour dropped us off in the area quite far away from our hotel without any directions to get back to our hotel as a result .. The tour guide was not friendly and refused return us to our hotel where they had picked us up... very distressful and unprofessional as the tour reads pickup and drop off at hotel. The whole tour was very confusing and disorganized while they divided us up into language preference groups. I would definitely not use this tour agency again.

Excellent tour, only drawback was...

William H, Aug 2013

Excellent tour, only drawback was the guide's english was a bit difficult to follow. Maybe you should ask him to speak a bit slower. Regards, William and Anne-Marié

30 mintues in the Egyptian bazaar...

Sun Joo A, May 2013

30 mintues in the Egyptian bazaar and 1 hour on the ferry. Hotel pick up and drop off were included in the price but later we were told that they can't give drop off. It was very chaotically organized at the beginning in the morning.