Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque & Basilica Cistern tour
Description
Don't spend your limited time in Istanbul standing in 2-hour ticket booth queues. Join our professional, budget-friendly small group tour and gain direct access to the city’s most breathtaking sites. We’ve designed this tour to be the perfect balance of efficiency, affordability, and deep historical insight. What Makes This Tour the Best Choice? Skip-the-Ticket-Lines: I personally pre-purchase your museum tickets before we meet. While other tourists are still waiting to buy tickets, we will be heading straight to the entrance gate. Complete Interior Visits: We don't just look from the outside. We go INSIDE the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and the Basilica Cistern to experience their full glory. Budget-Friendly & Honest: By paying for your entrance fees in cash on the day of the tour, you avoid the high commissions charged by online platforms. You get the professional experience at a local price.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We will visit most important monument in the city.Built by Emperor Justinian between 532-537 ad.It was the biggest churh when it was built
The Basilica Cistern, or Cisterna Basilica, is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul.
you'll visit the Blue Mosque, a masterpiece of Islamic architecture. Admire the exquisite blue Iznik tiles that lend the mosque its name, and learn about the harmonious blend of cultures and religions that has shaped this enduring symbol of Istanbul.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(72)
Our guide was wonderful. Very knowledgeable and interesting. She was patient and kind.
This was an amazing tour of impressive sites in Istanbul with Oz, one of the best historical and cultural guides we have experienced. He skillfully explained each site providing the history and current understanding. He is funny and engaging and included a brief introduction to the grand Bazaar with practical tips on making purchases and good food stops. Basilica Cistern was my favorite stop - an architectural genius plan to store water for the city which now makes for great photos. Highly recommend this tour and highly recommend Oz.
We had an outstanding tour with Ozzy, visiting the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, the Basilica Cistern, and the Grand Bazaar. Ozzy is a true professional who clearly loves what he does and is incredibly passionate about his work. His knowledge of Istanbul’s history, culture, and landmarks is exceptional. He enhanced every stop with supporting photos and visual references that made his explanations even more engaging and easy to understand. Being multilingual was also a huge advantage, allowing him to connect effortlessly with people from all backgrounds. He is not only an excellent guide but also a fantastic photographer. He knew exactly where to take us for the best photos and even coached us on poses to make our pictures memorable. His familiarity with the city is remarkable—from local streets to major tourist attractions, he seems to know everyone. It was obvious that people genuinely like and respect him wherever we went. What stood out most was how enjoyable and natural the experience felt. The tour was highly informative without ever being boring. Instead of feeling like a formal guided tour, it felt like spending the day with a longtime friend who happened to know everything about Istanbul. We highly recommend this tour, and Ozzy was a huge part of what made it perfect. He truly deserves recognition for his exceptional work and could easily train others on what outstanding customer service and tour guiding look like. We hope to have the opportunity to return the favor someday if he ever visits us in California. Thank you, Ozzy, for making our trip so memorable!
My friend and I were excited to spend a half day viewing the historic monuments in Instanbul after weeks of planning. We woke up early, navigated the Tram line, and made it to our meeting point as advised early. 20 minutes later we are still waiting. The tour guide never arrived. We chatted with Viator via the app and finally got a hold of the tour guide who indicated the thought the tour was the next day. Huh?! The app provides reminder notifications. Luckily, we were refunded our money but it was a waste of time and excitement.
Great experience. Guide was very knowledgeable and was able to navigate the crowds well. Highly recommend.
Fantastic tour taking us through the main attractions in the centre of old town! We visited Hagia Sofia, the Basilica cistern, the Blue Mosque, stopped by the hippodrome and the tour ended in the Grand Bazaar. Lots of facts and history and our guide was very kind to us and helped and waited for our slow pace with great patience and good humor. We enjoyed our visit today. We did have to purchase the fast entrance to hagia Sofia end the Basilica Cistern which are not included with the ticket price so be prepared as prices have gone up (March 2025) you can check them on their website. The tour guide can help you purchasing the tickets.
I recently joined the small group tour of Hagia Sophia and the Basilica Cistern, and it was absolutely worth every penny! Our guide was not only incredibly knowledgeable but also had a great sense of humor, which made the experience both educational and entertaining.
Had difficulty contacting the guide. Sent messages.. replied late. Felt so bad with very late reply. Said he will asked viator to refund us because of this. Never received.
The view were amazing and we took some photos and was a great trip of my life I never forget it in my life ever so I want to advise u to go there
Each second and time or moment we spent with them was extraordinary and perfectly done as we wanted and we also recommend them as they are best no one is better than them they are unique in their way.
