Personalized Istanbul Tour with Private Local Tour Guide
Description
Discover Istanbul with a local licensed Tour Guide. We'll organize a fully customized experience based on your requests and preferences. Travelers come from all over to visit the Constantinapol, some get here for the 1st time after years waiting for this trip, others will be here for the 100th time. We all have different expectations and ideas of what we would like to do once we land in Istanbul. With this Private Walking Tour, you can choose the number of things you will like to visit in 7 hours.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Tour of "Sultanahmet Center", the heart of the "Old City in Istanbul" from where the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires were ruled. Our tour guide will meet you at the meeting point and you will start to explore all around in old city.
Hagia Sophia once described as the greatest church in Christendom, is certainly a masterpiece with a synthesis of the Occident and the Orient. Built by Constantine the Great in 325 on the remains of a pagan temple. Rebuilt by Justinian and Theodora. In 1453, Mehmet the Conqueror added minarets to the huge, soaring dome and turned the former church into a mosque.
Blue Mosque, has a special place among the various Ottoman buildings constructed in the Sultanahmet Square. Constructed by Sedefkar Mehmet Aga who took classical Ottoman architecture and the Hagia Sophia into consideration in designing and construction of the Blue Mosque and created an interior space which is more spacious, well lighted and airy than the others. It is known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior.
Topkapi Palace(closed on Tuesday), which had been the seat of government for the Ottoman Empire that ruled three continents for centuries, was constructed between the years of 1460 and 1478 during the reign of Sultan Mehmed II(The Conqueror).
Grand Bazaar(closed on Sunday), is the oldest and biggest closed bazaar of the world. It was founded in 1461. Like an enormous labyrinth, it is a spectacular and unique part of Istanbul with 60 streets and over 3600 stores. The Grand Bazaar offers a wide range of products from copper to glazed tiles, from marriage articles to ready wear, and from various handicrafts to all types of spice. Western writers often mention the Grand Bazaar in their memories and travel journals.
Hippodrome, a public park used in the days of the Byzantine Empire for ceremonies and sporting events(chariot races, athletics).
Built in the 6th century by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, it served as a water reservoir for the Great Palace. Located southwest of Hagia Sophia, the Basilica Cistern is one of Istanbul’s most spectacular museums.
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
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Grand Bazaar is closed on Sundays
- Topkapi Palace is closed on Tuesdays
- Annual Closing Dates of all museums and bazaars in Istanbul in 2023 as follows; January 1-New Year. April 21-Ramadan Celebrations. June 28-Eid Celebrations. October 29-Republic Day
Reviews(26)
Very informative and detailed private tour by Erdem. Good, understandable, yet rich in facts, with answers to all follow-up questions. Very pleasant.
Ahmet, showed us Istanbul from the eyes of a local, showing us the best parts of the city and telling us exciting stories and curious facts of its culture. Highly recommended. Thank you very much Ahmet!
Muhsin Ulusoy is a kind, informative and flexible personal guide. A cold rain fell all 3 days. Because I was wearing the wrong shoes on the 1st day, the marble steps were as slippery as ice. Muhsin and my husband kept me safe. In fact, he made our whole sightseeing journey easier. On the last day, he suggested we visit the ancient Roman Cistern in Istandbul. We had never heard of it. Well-lit, it had gigantic columns supporting the roof several stories above. Walking inside the Cistern stunned me. Because the Roman engineering had held up for 1500+ years. I enjoyed the Bosphorus cruise and visiting the Haga Sophia Mosque too and other places. Thanks to Muhsin, we didn't even have to stand in line. But the highlight was the giant Cistern, which once housed the city's water supply in Roman times.
My husband, son, and I had the absolute pleasure of taking a personalized private tour of Istanbul with Ersa Canturk, and it was the highlight of our trip. Ersa guided us through the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, and the Basilica Cistern, bringing each site vividly to life with her deep historical knowledge and engaging modern context. Her ability to weave together centuries of history with present-day culture made every stop fascinating and memorable. Beyond the major landmarks, Ersa curated a truly personalized experience. She introduced us to two outstanding Michelin restaurants, even arranging for us to meet one of their chefs. She also organized a private boat tour of the Golden Horn at the last minute — a breathtaking way to see the city from the water. One of the unexpected highlights was a visit to a rug merchant, where we learned about the intricate artistry behind Turkish carpets — from silk extraction and natural dyeing to the double-knot weaving process. It was an informative and completely pressure-free shopping experience, and we enjoyed every moment. Ersa also took us to her favorite Turkish delight shop, personally introducing us to the owners,which added such a warm, local touch to the experience. If you are planning a trip to Istanbul, we wholeheartedly recommend booking a private tour with Ersa Canturk. She is knowledgeable, personable, and goes above and beyond to make your time in Turkey unforgettable. She can be reached via WhatsApp at +90 532 613 2651.
Day 2 with Erdem was not planned before we arrived in Istanbul like our other tours but after we toured the Topkapi Palace and Basilica Cistern with his knowledge and guidance we booked another - this time to the Blue Mosque, Chora Church (now a mosque) and Galata Tower. Because of Erdem’s approachability and openness, our day ended up being so much more than these three sites; it became an opportunity to learn more about Turkish customs, cuisine and contemporary culture. Erdem met us close to our hotel to make it easy and we began at the Blue Mosque - a breathtaking and historied representation of traditional Muslim art and Ottoman style architecture. From there, we headed to Chora. DO NOT MISS THIS! It has the most beautiful and historic collection of Byzantine artwork and it’s off the tourist path in an unsuspecting, friendly neighborhood. Here’s the thing - to give it the depth it deserves you need to be with someone who can explain the meaning and history. Erdem brought it to life and made the golden mosaics shine (literally and figuratively). We then walked along the water to a Hungarian Orthodox church to observe the comparison in symbolism and artistic representation. Now hungry and in need of hydration (water and otherwise), Erdem recommended a Michelin Guide restaurant in the Spice Bazaar, a delightful yet reasonably priced gem on the second floor of a tiled staircase above the chaos of the bazaar. We ate stuffed grape leaves and Turkish meatballls beside an open window with Galata tower in the distance - this would be our final stop. Erdem led the way so we could experience the metro which was otherwise intimidating to us as visitors. We walked through colorful winding streets (uphill, wear sneakers!) to reach the tower. From there we learned about the structure’s history and took in breathtaking views of Istanbul’s sprawl over three major landmasses. Erdem kindly dropped us back off in our neighborhood and we returned to our hotel exhausted and satisfied (15,000 steps later). Our best day in the city and one we will always remember!
Tuba was amazing! Hands down one of my favorite tour guides I had on this trip. She was very informative and knowledgeable. We had plenty of time to see and learn about the main sites in Istanbul. We also received dinner, coffee, and Turkish ice cream recommendations from her, all of which were fantastic. Would definitely journey with her through Istanbul again.
Tugba greeted us at our hotel with a warm friendly smile. Haghia Sophia was our first visit, a miraculous feat of design and engineering that has outlived two great empires. Next we went to a palace fit for a Sultan, Topkapi. Beautiful. Tugba was extremely knowledgeable and was able to answer any question we had. Her English language was exceptional. We walked to the Grand Bazaar and ate an authentic, delicious Turkish lunch. We took this opportunity to ask our guide some general questions regarding recommendations on certain shops within the Baazar and other places to visit on our trip to Istanbul. After refreshments we continued and entered the Blue Mosque. Spectacular! Lastly we experienced the Basilica cisterns. Incredible. We were very pleased with our guides expertise and the quality of knowledge and experience. The whole day was great value for money and would definitely recommend
Tugba was absolutely amazing. We skipped all the queues and went straight to the front of everywhere we visited. We went to the Hagia Sofia, Topkapi palace, the Grand Bazar, the blue mosque and the cistern basilica. Tugba has great knowledge of all the places we visited and was very engaging. She also took us to a lovely restaurant and gave us lots of tips and information for the rest of our stay in Istanbul. First class tour guide!!
Erdem was an excellent tour guide. Knowledgeable and professional. He tailored the tour to our interest. We highly recommend him
We really loved out city tour. We make it a habit of doing a historical/site tour at every place we go to. This one was one of the best tour we have done in a long while. Our tour guide, Tuğba, made the experience so much better. She was really knowledgeable and planned everything so well. No time was wasted. She even took us to the most delicious lunch spot. It was the best value for the price. Will definitely come back and redo the tour and hopefully see other things.