Istanbul Highlights: Guided Tour with Turkish Tea or Coffee

Recommended by 97% of travelers

Istanbul, Turkey

Great choice

5+ bookings last month.

4 hours (approx.)
Group discounts
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Why travelers loved this

4.9

· Jennifer_B ·

Jun 2025

Jamil was an expert tour guide! He explained the history of the mosques and Istanbul . He explained everything in great detail and took the time to wait while we took pictures and stopped at the gift shops. The Apple tea was amazingly good! I highly recommend taking this tour! There is alot of walking, so wear comfy shoes. It was just breathtakingly beautiful!

· Svetlana_G ·

Jul 2025

Fantastic tour, the tour guide is very knowledgeable and experienced, with excellent communication skills; we learnt so much about Hagia Sophia, Basilica Cistern , Blue Mosque and history of Istanbul. We also enjoyed the shopping where we get very fair price for products were were looking for. Highly recommend this tour.

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Overview

Get the perfect introduction to Istanbul’s most iconic places during a half-day tour of the Old City with an experienced guide. Step into the world of Ottoman sultans and Byzantine emperors as you make your way from the Hippodrome to the Blue Mosque and the underground Basilica Cistern. Explore the gleaming mosaics at Hagia Sophia, then immerse yourself in the bright colors, vivid scents and bustling aisles of the Grand Bazaar. Enjoy the personal experience of a small-group tour, with insider tips and advice from a local.

Half-day tour of Istanbul's Old City and its highlights
Get a great overview and orientation of the city
Visit multiple historic and religious sites in just one day
Shop the Grand Bazaar with an insider to help you out

What's Included

Professional guide
Tea or Turkish Coffee
Skip the line tickets at Hagia Sophia and Basilica Cistern (Not Entrance Fees )

Hotel pickup and drop-off
Tipping your guide.
Entrance fee - Basilica Cistern

TRY1,950.00 per person
Entrance fee - Hagia Sophia Mosque

€25.00 per person

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Pudding Shop Lale Restaurant
Alemdar, Divan Yolu Cd. No:6, 34400 Fatih/İstanbul, Türkiye
Meeting point is 1 min walking distance to the tram stop

End point

Grand Bazaar
Beyazıt, 34126 Fatih/İstanbul, Türkiye

Itinerary

The Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, Istanbul

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Basilica Cistern

25 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Blue Mosque

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Hippodrome

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Corlulu Ali Pasa Medresesi

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Real Istanbul Tours (Pass By)

Grand Bazaar Jewelers

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
Grand Bazaar is closed on Sundays and will be replaced with Spice Bazaars

On Religious Fests Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar are closed and your guides can show alternative sites
Meeting Time for the small group tours are 10 am ( 2 pm on fridays ) and if you book private option, meeting time is up to you.
Tours Ends near Grand Bazaar
Comfortable walking shoes are recommended
None has right the skip the lines in Blue Mosque
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 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

4.9

based on 278 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Hope you get Muhammed-wonderful!

Chris_B, Jan 2026

Muhammed was great and spent so much time teaching, discussing the history of all the mosques-just had an amazing time and experience

Walking tour Instanbul best with guide KC

Job_V, Oct 2025

AAA tour! Our guide was KC and his knowledge is superb. He took time to explain our day and made sure explaining the historical value of everything we toured. We felt at ease and comfortable with KC.

So so tour. Wish we would’ve done it on our own.

Indee_M, Jul 2025

Good tour but our tour guide was very long winded and irritable. Wish we would’ve done it on our own. We also ended up paying over $150 in tickets to each place. Too expensive.

Response from Host, Jul 2025

Thank you for your review. We're sorry to hear that your experience didn’t meet your expectations. However, we would kindly like to clarify a few points mentioned. As noted in the tour details at the time of booking, this was a group tour, and hotel pick-up was not included (As you asked to meet at your hotel ) We also clearly state that entrance fees are not included in the tour price. Specifically, the entrance to Hagia Sophia is €25 and the Basilica Cistern is 1500 TL per person (approximately €57 in total per person). For two guests, this comes to roughly €114, not $150 as mentioned for each site. We always encourage our guests to review the tour description carefully before booking to ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience for all. We hope this helps clarify any misunderstandings, and we truly appreciate your feedback as it helps us improve. Best regards,

Superb!

Svetlana_G, Jul 2025

What an Amazing experience!!!!

Jennifer_B, Jun 2025

Outstanding tour with Muhammad!

Diane_D, May 2025

We had a fantastic time with Muhammad turned out just to be two of us instead of a group so we had him all to ourselves, he modified the tour for us. We got to see so much of all the highlights :) stopped when we wanted to stop to use the restrooms. Explained in detail everything we were seeing and why….. we learned so much from him. He knows all the shortcuts. Would definitely recommend him. I couldn’t have ask for a better guide. Extremely pleased from San Antonio, Texas

Great tour with Mohammed

ivona_p, Apr 2025

Mohammed was knowledgeable, friendly, with a great sense of humour and took really good care of us, especially when we ran into difficultiy with paying one of the attractions for which we are grateful. . I recommend this tour 100% it was a great experience

A perfect introduction to Istanbul

Victoria_P, Apr 2025

I initially booked for a Sunday, Very good communication from Yunus to say I was the only one and would I like to go on a different day. Communication was fantastic throughout. We had Mohammed as our guide and he was so knowledgeable. He was punctual. He explained about the history of the places. I felt that he was passionate about what he was doing.

Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque & Basilica Cistern

Nitsa_W, Apr 2025

The tour was informative and enjoyable. Mohammed was a brilliant guide and made history come alive for us. Would highly recommend, particularly with this guide.

Istanbul highlights

Nancy_S, Mar 2025

Our tour guide was absolutely excellent. He gave us a great history of Turkey and all the sites we were seeing.

Perfect Tour if you just have a long connection

Emanuele_V, Feb 2025

It was perfect for me because I could manage my time and choose the places. I wanted to know. My guide adjusted considering my needs.

Muhammed Is The Best Tour Guide!

Sheila_E, Feb 2025

My tour guide, Muhammed, is wonderful. Our pace was good and we took time for a chai tea break. His knowledge wisendless and he has a sense of humour that translates across cultures and language. There was no question left unanswered. Highly recomend him!

Topkapi is huge with so much to see

Richard_C, Jan 2025

Mere was a very good guide. Comprehensive coverage of Topkapi site. Best to go early as it gets busy later.

Excellent, informative tour

Adrienne_C, Nov 2024

Jayson was an excellent tour guide—we ended up with a private tour because no one else had signed up, so we had a personalized experience. Jayson took the time to explain everything to us thoroughly, blending history with religion and culture. Great tour, and appreciated being able to skip lines to enter sites.

Best way to see the sites

James_M, Nov 2024

So good. Friendly and knowledgeable guide Yasin new his stuff and made already impressive sites even more so. Highly recommend

Great Guide!!!

Liz_B, Oct 2024

Jason was an excellent guide. Very personable and engaged our entire group. We appreciated his vast knowledge on all of the sites we visited.

Highlights of the Old City

Fiona, Oct 2024

Tour guide very knowledgeable. Visited the highlights in the Old City and avoided long queues at the Mosques and the Cistern. It would have been useful to know the additional charges and to bring a head scarf, our hats were not suitable to visit the Mosques.

Great way to see the top sights

Alexandra_P, Oct 2024

Many of the sights were really busy on the day of our tour and the guide was excellent at navigating our way into places without the queues. It would have taken so much longer to see all of these sights on our own so this trip is a great option if you are short on time in Istanbul.

Exceptional

Marita_V, Oct 2024

Exceptional experience! Our guide was very knowledgeable and very attentive. He shared great insights about history and modern life in Istanbul. He was patient and he made the experience both fun and educational. Thank you Onder for everything!

Excellent tour and guide

michael_s, Sep 2024

A great experience with our wonderful guide Muhammed Imran Caliskan. He was very knowledgeable and friendly and able to adapt his presentation to the needs of our small group. It was a well structured and intimate tour, fun and informative. We very much enjoyed this experience.

Great overview of important sites in the Old Town

Anne_B, Sep 2024

Knowledgeable guide, Ozge, who took us smoothly through the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and Cistern. It wouldn’t have been the same without her thoughtful historical overview. The right amount of time at each site - not too long and not too short. Highly recommended!

Enjoyed the tour and visited some of the key sites of Istanbul.

Sandi_G, Aug 2024

Enjoyed the tour and visited some of the key sites of Istanbul. One issue would be that the charge to enter some of these sites were quite expensive, and were not inclusive of the tour charge.

Response from Host, Aug 2024

Hello Sandi, thanks for your review and unfortunately entry fees are high totally not related with us and on tour details, it is clearly stated also tour confirmation that they are not included. Sorry

Nice way to see the big spots in one morning

Noah_S, Aug 2024

Very good experience and a perfect way to see the big sites of Istanbul all at once. Our guide explained the history of each place and had to pictures to help us visualize what it looked like back in those times. He took to take pics of us in the different places too which was nice. Overall, a good tour.

Amazing sites, amazing guide!

Nicole_B, Aug 2024

What an amazing guided tour of Istanbul by our amazing guide Salih. He was incredibly knowledgeable, professional, and friendly, and got us into all of the sites very quickly and efficiently, maximizing our time inside. I would highly recommend this tour, this company, and especially this guide to anyone. Thank you Salih for a wonderful day!

Great introduction to Istanbul

Ashwin_M, Jul 2024

Very knowledgeable and friendly tour guide. would recommend this tour for anybody visiting Istanbul.

Istanbul 101

Mario_J, Jul 2024

I was only in Istanbul for one full day. This tour hit the highlights that I was interested in seeing. The guide was phenomenal, and the experience overall was very pleasing!

Great half day tour, thoroughly recommended:-)

Stacey_T, Jul 2024

Salih was an excellent guide. very knowledgeable and couldn’t have been more accommodating when we were late!

Great tour. Highly recommend.

Julie_C, Jul 2024

We had a wonderful time on the walking tour and learned so much about the places we visited. Our guide was very knowledgeable. Loved it.

100% recommend

Aubrey_A, Jul 2024

Book this tour! More than worth the price. Salih was incredibly knowledgeable about all aspects of Turkish history and the sights he guided us to. Skipping the lines was great, and Salih made sure we saw them in the most efficient order to avoid the crowds. We stopped for a drink and ended at the bazaar for a speedy walkthrough and more great info.

Perfect Tour

Mario_H, Jul 2024

The tour was exactly what we expected. Our tour guide altered the order we visited each to ensure we were ahead of the cruise boat crowd. He explained the sites in clear English. The 4 hours was perfect.