Small Group Tour - Full Day Istanbul City Tour

Istanbul, Turkey

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

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Overview

Experience Turkey’s Ottoman and Byzantine eras during this full-day guided Istanbul city tour in the Sultanahmet district. Aboard a comfortable coach, head to top attractions like Topkapi Palace, Blue Mosque, and the UNESCO-listed museum Hagia Sophia. Witness the lively atmosphere of one of the world’s largest covered markets - the Grand Bazaar. Prior to lunch, enjoy engaging stories about sultans and their harems and other Istanbul lore from your friendly local guide.

Visit Hagia Sophia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and marvel at its Ottoman and Byzantine architecture
Walk around the Blue Mosque and then visit Topkapi Palace
Pass top Istanbul attractions like the Hippodrome and the Golden Horn
Transport by luxury air-conditioned coach

What's Included

Local guide
Air-conditioned vehicle
Donations: Blue Mosque
Lunch

Gratuities
Drinks

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting points

Select a meeting point

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Operating hours
.8:30 am

Itinerary

Hop into a coach and head to the neighborhood of Sultanahmet which is brimming with Istanbul’s finest attractions. Enter the iconic Hagia Sophia which was originally constructed as a church, then converted to a mosque and is now a must-visit museum. Gaze at its magnificent architecture built in the 6th century and learn about its Byzantine and Ottoman influences.

Next, follow your guide through Istanbul Hippodrome towards the Blue Mosque. On the way, see the epicenter of political and sporting activity during Ottoman Empire rule. Hear stories about the epic chariot races and riots that once took place here. Then, approach the Blue Mosque and marvel at the six towering minarets that outline Istanbul’s famous skyline. Continue into the mosque with your guide and admire its dome decorated with vibrant blue Iznik tiles which are connected to its etymology.

After leaving the Blue Mosque, stroll to the colorful and lively Grand Bazaar to witness this eclectic covered market. Explore frankincense-laden alleys with stalls and shops overflowing with Turkish rugs, intricate wares, and even tasty kebabs. Revel in the exciting atmosphere, but stay close to your guide as this hectic market can be difficult to maneuver.

Break for a bite to eat at a restaurant before you voyage by coach to one of the largest and oldest palaces the world has ever known - Topkapi Palace. One of Turkey’s most important museums, see ancient relics and elegant artifacts. Walk through the beautiful courtyards that overlook the Bosphorus Strait and hear lore about sultans and the harems they once operated 500 years ago. Exit the palace and return by coach to your hotel where your tour ends.

Please note: Blue Mosque will be visited from outside on Friday mornings due to noon prayer. Grand Bazaar on Sundays will be replaced with authentic shops. Topkapı Palace on Tuesdays will be replaced with a tour to Byzantium, and Sultan Tombs on Mondays will be replaced with Little Hagia Sophia (St. Sergius & Bacchus). Hagia Sophia (Closed on Mondays; will be replaced with Undergournd Cistern).

Blue Mosque

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Grand Bazaar

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Ayasofya

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Hippodrome

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

TopkapI Palace

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Hagia Irene Museum

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible

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

Supplied by

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

3.8

based on 61 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Lackluster Istanbul Tour

jessen, Apr 2022

Tour guide was disappointed that she had only one person in the morning. She spent a lot of time smoking while I have "free time" to take photos.

Good tour. Just stay away from the carpet shops unless you really want to buy a carpet.

Cobus_V, Jul 2021

Arrangements were spot on. We were picked up from the pre-agreed location and dropped off with the tour leader near the Blue Mosque. There was a lot of walking involved. But the tour leader did not rush us. He was very knowledgeable. All in all n good tour if you like history. Recommended.

Response from Host, Jul 2021

Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback. Our guests are free to spend their free time on their own. During the 'free time', if you seem interested with any shop item, you'll be welcome by a seller at this point. Best Regards

Excellent tour

georgiosmavridis, Aug 2019

You get to see everything in one day! highly recommended, out tour guide was very good and he explained everything of each place we visited

istanbul

Corina C, Jan 2019

Very nice and interesting to visit objectives. too expensive for getting almost a walking tour between objectives.

I booked this whole day tour last...

DonnaMarie_Z, Mar 2018

I booked this whole day tour last week to have a guided one in Istanbul. Topeka museum is closed during Tuesdays and so we were brought to some old churches in the afternoon. The Chora Church, Bulgarian metal church of St Stephen, Chirch st George that belonged to the Orthodox and another church of the blessed Virgin Mary . The tour guides for both morning and afternoon trips are very learned.

Great tour with an excellent guide...

Madhavan V, Nov 2017

Great tour with an excellent guide Umut. Learnt a lot about the city, the culture and the history. Rain played spoil sport and hence could not cover the Hippodrome. The organisers can include umbrellas on rainy days. Umut was friendly, humourous and wise and spoke good English and Spanish. If possible, tours could be separated to only one of the languages without Umut multitasking. Though lunch wasn't great, it wasnt bad either.

Wonderful. Saw most important sites...

Roberta_R, Sep 2016

Wonderful. Saw most important sites very efficiently. Guide well informed and very pleasant. Info delivery by guide exceptional.

The long walks was well worth it and...

MaxLloydJr_L, May 2016

The long walks was well worth it and you get to have enough time to enjoy each place at your own pace.

We were very lucky to have the same...

Carlos P, Dec 2015

We were very lucky to have the same tour guide for this tour, once again his knowledge about Istanbul was outstanding, we learned a lot and we are making plans to return to Turkey again.

enjoyed istanbul's major sights...

Eduardo T, Sep 2015

enjoyed istanbul's major sights. knowledgeable guide Ike. will recommend to friends.

This was a good tour to some...

Nigel S, Sep 2015

This was a good tour to some interesting and famous attractions, but it was not the tour we had booked and paid for. The tour we booked included an afternoon at the Topkapi Palace, and this was confirmed in the tour information we received from Viator. However, we discovered on the day, that the Palace is not open on a Tuesday, and we would like to know how Viator allowed us to book this tour on a Tuesday. We would appreciate your comments on this, as we feel that we paid for something we did not get. Secondly, although our Plan Tours guide was very knowledgeable, his English was not clear enough for a number of members of our tour group. Finally, the post tour drop off took over two hours and included what seemed a lengthy diversion to somewhere in Beyoglu to drop off the tour guide before eventually returning to Sultanahmet. Surely the tour guide should have been the last person to be dropped off. For these reasons, we cannot rate the tour more highly.

Very good tour. Guide was very...

K A, Aug 2015

Very good tour. Guide was very knowledgeable. Food was also quite good with vegetarian options. I would recommend this very much.

excellent choice of sites to visit...

songsterm6, Jun 2015

excellent choice of sites to visit. Knowledgeable and polite tour guides. Tour was too hurried

We were picked up promptly at our...

ginnymangum, May 2015

We were picked up promptly at our hotel. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and we enjoyed the tour very much because of his expertise. Our lunch was delightful. It was a great tour and I would recommend it to all. Ginny Mangum

Sadat the tour guide makes this an...

Gretl M, Apr 2015

Sadat the tour guide makes this an unforgettable experience. Definitely a tour to book when going to Istanbul.

This is a must do in Istanbul and...

Hans K, Feb 2015

This is a must do in Istanbul and our guide made it all come alive!!! Loved it in spite of the pouring rain! Lunch was ok.

Were a little disappointed as we...

Joanne C, Dec 2014

Were a little disappointed as we were looking forward to visiting the Topkapi palace which is shut on a Monday but this was not advised when we booked.The other sights were worth the visit and the guide had great local knowledge

good services and good shows and...

sassi s, Nov 2014

good services and good shows and beautiful servies :D :D :D good dance also .

Tour guide was very knowledgeable...

Charles M, Sep 2014

Tour guide was very knowledgeable, and kept us on a reasonable schedule. Often walked a little fast for the mix of the group. Did a good. Could have dropped off the last church and added the Cistern for a more balanced tour.

The tour was just OK. The palace...

John Ndegwa W, Aug 2014

The tour was just OK. The palace tour was cancelled coz was closed and ended up seeing more old orthodox churches. We felt the tour should have been more varied and not just seeing old site of Istanbul etc etc. also, there was a big complaint since it was hot and the AC was not working. But the driver and guide insisted the AC was OK leading to a few arguments. The lunch was below average. We were also combined with Spanish speakers so that translations took a while. The lines into the mosque etc were quite long and standing in the very hot sun for long periods was not fun. I would rather have paid more and done a 'skip the line' tour.

Terrible waste of of time and money...

Linda G, Jul 2014

Terrible waste of of time and money - disappointing in nearly every possible way. Disorganized, poorly run so that we spent far more time shuffling around on buses than actually seeing sites. Guide provided minimal information about the sights. If you have the misfortune of ending up on this tour, be sure to eat a huge breakfast or bring your own lunch because the lunch provided was an embarrassment - by far the worst meal of my 10 day holiday.

Sites were fab, however slightly...

gail, May 2014

Sites were fab, however slightly disappointed with guide, spoke most of the time in German. Meal was very poor

Despite a misty, chilly and...

J_M, Feb 2014

Despite a misty, chilly and eventually windy day, the tour took in the main sites if interest in the Sultanahmet. We saw The Blue Mosque - peaceful, impressive architecture; Hagia Sophia - impressive in stature, but looking a bit worn out and much restorative work with scaffolding and no-go areas included; the Hippodrome - really just nice walk with a couple of obelisks and again an under-scaffold bell/or well tower thingy. Lunch was OK - a bit tourist-fodder with some eclectic foods on the same plate. After lunch we visited some mausoleums at the back of the Hagia Sophia - peaceful area, then onto Topkapi palace, again imporessive, although the mist prevented us from admiring the view across the Bosphorus and the Sea of Mamaris. To be quite honest, we could have done it all without a guide - the attractions are all in the same area, so the bus was completely unnecessary. In fact, we walked back to our hotel, via the Basilica Cistern which wasn't included on the tour (but should be). However, our guide was good and we don't begrudge paying out on our first trip to Istanbul.

great toiur ..we really enjoyed...

Monika C, Jan 2014

great toiur ..we really enjoyed though it was freezing cold . will come another time in a better weather. but the tour was very informative and the guide was very knowledgeable . would recommend this !

Very confusion! The drive pick up me...

Luciana L, Jan 2014

Very confusion! The drive pick up me to in hotel and take me for a place that I need change the bus. I changed the bus three times and waitting so much for the tour begin. The drivers are not polite and order you to change the bus! I leaving the tour because I don't like !

Excellent tour, would like to have had...

Paul V, Dec 2013

Excellent tour, would like to have had little more time in the bazaar area.

Great tour. Very informative guide...

Peter W, May 2013

Great tour. Very informative guide and very well paced. Prepare for plenty of walking, although thankfully the main attractions are quite close together. Highly recommended.

peut mieux faire

GHERAIA_L, Feb 2019

l'heure du rendez-vous pas respectée. Mais le plus désagréable c 'est la visite "forcée" de magasins entraînant une grande perte de temps. Au lieu de 8h affichées comme temps de visite, une demi journée aurait suffi. Bravo au guide Brout qui prend le temps d'expliquer en 3 langues: anglais, français et espagnol

Alles in allem zufriedenstellend...

Waltraud G, Jan 2016

Alles in allem zufriedenstellend. Leider hatte es in Istanbul geschneit, sodass wir die Sehenswürdigkeiten und das Rundum nur durch Schneematsch, mehr rutschend und in sehr großen, eisbedeckten Pfützen erreichten. Was natürlich auch mit den dadurch verkehrsbedingten Behinderungen kein Genuss war. Der Reiseführer war OK, GUTES DEUTSCH, aber so schnell, dass man nicht alles verstand. Musste deshalb öfter nachfragen. Werden uns Istanbul nochmal in einer wärmeren Jahreszeit ansehen.