Skip-the-Line Istanbul: Private Tour from Cruise Ship & Hotel
Description
Our tours have earned the Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence for 15 consecutive years (2009–2025) and we are the most reviewed tour operator for Istanbul, with over 2.000 excellent reviews. Tick off all of Istanbul’s must-see sights in one private guided tour: visit Hagia Sophia, the Underground Cistern, Blue Mosque, Roman Hippodrome, and Grand Bazaar, all with an expert local guide. We ensure a seamless experience by arranging your tickets in advance—skip the long public lines at major attractions when you book with us. For Hagia Sophia and the Underground Cistern, tickets will be pre-purchased so you won’t have to queue. Please note: There is no skip-the-line option for the Blue Mosque, as all visitors must wait in the same entrance line. Save time, see more, and travel with one of Istanbul’s most trusted and acclaimed tour companies.
Tour Options
Itinerary
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque also known as Blue Mosque, one of the most revered masterpieces of the Islamic world, is famous with its blue ceramic tiles and six minarets.
The Hagia Sophia, also known as Ayasofya in Turkish, is a famous historic building located in the old city. It was originally built as the biggest cathedral in the world by Byzantine Empire in the 6th century and later converted into a mosque during the Ottoman Empire after the conquest of Istanbul in 1453. The building is renowned for its massive dome and beautiful mosaics that reflect its rich history and architectural significance. In 1935, it was converted into a museum and in 2020, it was converted into a mosque again. We will prepurchase the tickets for Hagia Sophia for you not to wait at the long ticket lines.
The cistern was known in Byzantium as thebasilica Cistern, Justinian was the founder of the largest underground cistern, built after the Nika Revolt in 532.The number of the inhabitants of Constantinople increased and bring a problem of water supply. Basilica Cistern was used to store water for the Great Palace.
The center for entertainment, amusement and sports in the city during the Roman and Byzantine Empires. The Egyptian Obelisk, the serpentine column and the German fountain of Willhelm II are sites to be visited.
The oldest and the largest covered market place in the world with more almost 4000 shops owing rich collection of handmade carpets, jewelery, leather and souvenirs. Here's the last stop of
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
If you like to join this private tour from the Galata Port (Istanbul's only Cruise Port) Please follow these instructions: After you aboard the cruise ship please follow the City Center sign and you will see your private guide holding a sign with your name on it at the city center sign exit. If you use lift please press the ''G'' level, that will take you to the City Center Exit. Please type ''Galataport Istanbul'' when you choose the pick up location while booking the tour if you are traveling by cruise ship. Also please dont forget to write the name of your ship in the notes box.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Please note that we are boutique small family run tour company and have limited guides, during the summer months and special holidays our tours do fill up quickly. We suggest you try to book as soon as you can, once your plans are firm.
- ***Please note that we will arrange tickets without waiting at the public tickeet line, so you will skip long public ticket lines and save time.
- While visiting a mosque in Istanbul, women need to cover their heads, shoulders, knees. You can carry your own scarf to cover your head but please note scarves are provided at the entrance of every mosque (available at a charge). If you are wearing leggings, tights or skirts, wraps will be provided at the entrance (available at a charge).
- Men also need to cover the knees if the shorts or bermudas are over the knees.
- *** WE ALSO DO PRIVATE EPHESUS SHORE EXCURSION. IF YOU BOOK YOUR PRIVATE EPHESUS SHORE EXCURSION WITH US AS WELL YOU WILL GET A SPECIAL PRICE FOR PRIVATE EPHESUS TOUR. SO PLEASE MENTION IN THE NOTES IF YOU ARE ALSO INTERESTED IN PRIVATE EPHESUS SHORE EXCURSION.
- The Grand Bazaar is closed on Sundays, We will visit the Spice Market instead.
- ***There are no skip the line for mosque visits (since mosques are not museums), so everybody has to wait at the line to enter.***
- ***This is not a tour for those with mobility issues
- ***** WE ACCOMMODATE MORE THAN 14 PEOPLE. If there are more than 14 people in your group, you can book it as 14 people then we can update the number of travelers by messages on viator.
- Mosques are closed until 2.30pm on Fridays due to the Friday Services.
- This is not a tour for those with mobility issues
Reviews(541)
We chose this tour to collect us from our cruise ship and take us to our hotel after a tour of Istanbul. It was an absolutely wonderful day. Our guide and driver were both fantastic. Oz was not only knowledgeable and very interesting but he was also able to modify the itinerary quickly when one of us arrived having hurt her back so unable to walk well or fast. We had a great drive around the city, a lovely boat trip on the Bosphorus with Oz answering all our extra questions and then a visit to the Spice Market and Yeni Cami (New Mosque). He delivered us to our hotel assisting with our bags right to the reception desk. Thank you and best wishes to you Oz.
Extremely knowledgeable & friendly. I highly recommend her. She took us to places that were extremely hard to get into w/o an issue. I would recommend her for anyone. I feel like we became instant friends
We had Ozgur provide the BEST walking tour of a city we’ve ever had. He was knowledgeable, entertaining, kind, and Patient(especially with our daughter). Most importantly, he adjusted the Tour wonderfully for our wants, needs, and interests. We got more info in 2 days than my wife and I would have gotten in 5 on our own. Fabulous experience!
Aish was a fabulous guide. Very knowledgeable and open to any changes we wanted to make to the itinerary.
Our tour guide was extremely friendly filled with lots of information of the history and surrounding areas.
We had a wonderful day with Diana. She was very knowledgeable, friendly, easy to understand and made sure we saw everything we wanted to see. She made our day in Istanbul very delightful, memorable, and we felt like we made a new friend.
A personal guide is well worth the expense We have taken over 12 cruises and our Viator Guide Ozlem Aydin in Istanbul was the best we have ever experienced .
We had a wonderful day with our guide Oz. She was very nice and knowledgeable. The tour company uses state of the art vans which are very comfortable and reliable. Oz accompanied us to many different sites and she took us to a wonderful restaurant for lunch. We were so sad when our day ended because we know that there was so much more to do and see in Istanbul. We hope to return to see more in the near future. We highly recommend this company.
Our guide was exceptional. She was friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. It was definitely worth the cost of a private guide
Our 2 days in Istanbul could not have worked out any better than it did and I give all my thanks to Istanbul Port Tours and Soner Tufan! Our guide Hazal was amazing and she was a perfect match for our small group of 4 adults. By the end of our time in Istanbul we felt she was our Turkish "daughter". She was so friendly and informative. We were able to customize certain parts of the trip. We had a wonderful driver as well. Hazal met us at the port both days. She was prompt and prepared for our group. We were enthralled with Istanbul and all that we saw and we can't wait to plan another trip back to Turkey. We were actually surprised at how much we loved it - Istanbul is a cultural gold mine with very friendly people. My recommendation is to use Istanbul Port Tours and Soner Tufan to make your experience top notch. I would highly recommend and would absolutely use them again!
