Private Guided İstanbul City Tour

Recommended by 97% of travelers

Badge of Excellence

Istanbul, Turkey

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

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Overview

Istanbul is a city full of history, culture, and stunning architecture. It can be overwhelming to navigate on your own, so explore the city at your own pace on a private walking tour with a licensed guide. See the landmarks up close in a walking tour, and walk around stress-free without needing to spend time navigating.

Make the most of your trip and save time by seeing the city with a guide
Private tour ensures a more personalized experience than group options
Visit must-see sites including the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque
The tour can be customized according to your interests and preferences

What's Included

Private licensed tour guide
Private guided tour
Skip the ticket line opportunity

Transportation
Lunch

Meeting and Pickup

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

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

Your professional English speaking guide will meet you at your hotel.

Meeting point

German Fountain
Binbirdirek, At Meydanı Cd, 34122 Fatih/İstanbul, Türkiye
This well known building is located in the middle of Sultanahmet At meydanı square and 100 meters away from Sultanahmet tram station.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Itinerary

Blue Mosque

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

TopkapI Palace

2 hours 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Basilica Cistern

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Grand Bazaar

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Hippodrome

30 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
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

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

4.9

based on 113 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Private guided tour of Istanbul

bryan_s, Mar 2026

Tailor made based on your interest. Our guide, Kerim, was incredibly knowledgeable. He adapted his tour as we went along based on our feedback and made our day in the historical part of town so special. Thank you.

Response from Host, Mar 2026

We’re really grateful and appreciate you taking the time to share your rating with us.

Best way to see Istanbul...

kelvin_G, Oct 2025

Best way to see Istanbul Ozzy our guide was brilliant. from being picked up at our hotel, our day was great. Guide very friendly and informative.

Response from Host, Nov 2025

Hello Kelvin!We appreciate your positive feedback and are so glad you enjoyed your visit! Our team works hard to deliver exceptional experiences, and it’s wonderful to see that reflected in your reviewThank you for choosing us, and we look forward to continuing to meet your expectations.

A wonderful day touring Old City in Istanbul: Ozgur was the best!

Denise_C, Jun 2025

An amazing day on our private tour of old city. Ozgur was the best! He was so knowledgeable and thoughtful- and added so much to our experience overall. Highly recommend! And ask for Ozgur.

Response from Host, Nov 2025

Thank you so much for your kind review! We're so glad to hear that Ozgur was able to assist you. Ozgur is truly an asset to our team, and it’s always wonderful to hear that their efforts are appreciated.

Nice way to know the city especially for first time travelers and history lovers

GSKMDUS, May 2025

If you want to have comprehensive visit of Istanbul’s iconic attractions with review of the history of these places this is the best way to do it. Our guide Chinar met us at our hotel and stayed with us the entire day, helped with tickets by bypassing the lines. She is very knowledgeable, has excellent English speaking skills and answered our questions about every building and went in with us. She also took our group pictures and guided us to a nice place for lunch next to Hagia Sophia with nice view and was great for taking pictures. There is lot of walking so wear nice comfortable sneakers for the day, carry your water bottle. Highly recommend the guided tour as it is well worth the money.

Response from Host, Nov 2025

Thank you for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful review. We’re delighted to hear that Cınar provided you with outstanding service. Cınar consistently goes above and beyond to ensure our customers have a positive experience, and your feedback is a great affirmation of their hard work.

Best tour ever!! Thank you Ozzy!

FRED_B, Mar 2025

Simply amazing!! I can't say enough of how incredible the tour was! Ozzy (Ozgur) was the best guide! So informative and friendly! I would do this tour again and again. So beautiful! I am in love with Istanbul!! Thank you so much Ozzy!!!!

Response from Host, Mar 2025

We really appreciate you taking the time to leave us a review, Fred. These are the stories that keep us so motivated to continue doing what we’re doing, and we’re so happy to hear that you had a great experience. Let us know if we can do anything else for you.

The Best Way to Explore Istanbul

fabiana_v, Jan 2025

We absolutely loved the tour, especially the guide. He was incredibly kind and knowledgeable, which made the experience even more special. We visited very interesting places that amazed us with their history and beauty. Additionally, we had lunch at a spot recommended by the guide, and it was simply perfect—delicious food at a very reasonable price. I highly recommend this tour 100%. It’s an excellent way to explore Istanbul, learn about its rich culture, and enjoy an authentic experience.

Unforgettable experience with Cinar

Fernando_S, Oct 2024

I had the most epic experience with my tour guide Cinar! The day was amazing, she went above and beyond, so knowledgeable about the history and she personalised my day to the tee! Thank you so much for an unforgettable experience. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Great way to see Istanbul highlights.

Andrew_W, Oct 2024

Great tour of Istanbul. Specifically asked for Ozgur as our guide and he was very informative and open about life now and in the past in Istanbul.

Our guide was Ozkar was...

Jessica_M, Oct 2024

Our guide was Ozkar was incredible!! He took us all around, was very flexible to what we wanted to do. This is definitely a great way to learn about the vibrant city.

Just okay

nadianguyen1234, Oct 2024

I was fairly disappointed in this guide. I really couldn’t hear anything because he was talking so softly. Also, when we stopped to take pictures, he never really looked back to see if we were still with him. I actually had to run after him because he walked so far ahead while 2 other people were taking pictures. By the end of the tour, there were only 3 people, so it was a fairly easy group to lead. And I’m trying not to be mean, but when we had other tour guides later on, I realized how little I felt engaged or interested in what this tour guide was saying. Specifically that day, it rained cats and dogs so the tour ended early but I’m not going to count that against him because he did attempt to continue to lead us through the rain. So props for that. The main benefit was the tour guide skip-the-line pass, but honestly, if I just paid for that and had no tour guide, it would have been a similar outcome. The tour included Hagia Sophia, basilica cistern, blue mosque, souvenir shopping, lunch and then we got drenched by a sudden downpour. Overall, would recommend skip-the-line tickets, probably would pass on a tour guide

Response from Host, Oct 2024

Dear Guest, Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We greatly appreciate it, as it helps us continuously improve our services. I’m truly sorry that your tour did not meet your expectations. It sounds like there were some issues with communication and engagement, and I can understand how that would have affected your experience. Our goal is to make every tour informative and enjoyable, and I regret that this was not the case for you. Rest assured, I will personally address your comments with the guide involved to ensure this does not happen again. I would love the opportunity to personally guide you on a future visit to Istanbul and provide the memorable and engaging experience that so many of my guests have enjoyed. Thank you again for your valuable feedback, and I hope we’ll have the chance to make it right in the future. Warm regards, Özgür Mutlu

Enjoyable, informative day in Istanbul w/Ozgur

Janet_T, Sep 2024

We had a wonderful day touring with Özgür (Ozzy). We started the day with Ozzy meeting us at our hotel. We then walked to the Hippodrome with Ozzy providing details of the old city and the Hippodrome ruins. We continued to the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia. Ozzy is extremely knowledgeable of the histories of the mosques and explained some of the e traditions of Islam. We finished the day with a local lunch and an introduction to the Grand Market. Ozzy provided tips for bargaining in the market. Overall is was a fun and informative day. Ozzy was one of the best tour guides I have ever met! Highly recommend this tour and of course, Özgür!

Awesome private tour

Monica_O, Sep 2024

The guide tour Ozgur was great. He was knowledgeable, explained in detail all the important facts of every historical place we visited in the Old Istanbul. This was beyond awesome.

2 day city stop

Duncan_W, Aug 2024

Had a guide called Özzy for 2 days who showed our family the sights and shared lots of knowledge about thus remarkable city. Great value for money and a brilliant lovely guide. Would definitely use again and would recommend Ozzy

Excellent Private Tour...the only way to experience Istanbul!

Jim_M, Jun 2024

First off, I want to commend our guide Serkan for an excellent day! He met us at our hotel and we discussed the highlights of what we wanted to see. Then we were off! I always prefer private tours to mass groups of people. You get a chance to talk with the guide, get a better understanding of the local scene and culture, beyond just the sights. Serkan was excellent, very knowledgeable of the history, background and stories of each place we visited. But more importantly, he was very friendly and a pleasure to spend the day with. I highly recommend the Private Guided Istanbul City Tour and ask for Serkan!

Amazing tour guide in Istanbul!

Federico_M, Jun 2024

Amazing tour guide in Istanbul! We really enjoyed our time with Ozi. He was extremely knowledgeable and we learned a lot. Great way to see the city. Also gave us great recommendations for the rest of the time in Istanbul. Highly recommend working with him. He was also so kind and was so helpful with our two year old daughter!!!

Excellent! Fantastic!

Maria_C, Apr 2023

Nós adoramos conhecer as Mesquitas, a Cisterna, o Grande Bazar e principalmente nosso guia, que foi fantástico, sabia toda a história e nos transmitia muito bem! Eu recomendo fortemente a Viator, nosso Guia, que o apelido é Ozzie! Parabéns pela organização!