ISTANBUL BEST : Iconic Landmarks 全日プライベートガイド付きシティツアー

It’s the top-rated tour for a reason. My wife and I made the decision to book this tour at about 11 PM the night before, for a 9 AM start. Through a series of unrelated circumstances, we ended up getting roughly three hours of sleep. So when we woke up at 8 AM, we were absolutely dead tired and asking ourselves why on earth we had chosen this particular day to do the tour! But we’d already paid, so we decided to soldier on and hope it lived up to the hype and all those five-star reviews. It absolutely did. Our guide, Anil, arrived promptly at 9 AM, and within about five minutes of chatting with him, I knew we were going to have a great day. We hopped in a cab and headed toward the Old Town, and all the way there Anil chatted with us about the sights we were passing, explaining the history in a fun, conversational way. It genuinely felt like being shown around by an old friend rather than being given a scripted tour. As others have mentioned, Anil knew exactly how to navigate the crowds and get us past the long lines, which was particularly glorious in the August heat. We visited the Hippodrome, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Basilica Cistern, and Grand Bazaar, and throughout the entire day he was incredibly patient and good-humoured about my wife’s extensive photography sessions. He even became her official purse holder, human tripod, and personal photographer, seemingly determined to accommodate absolutely anything we asked of him. Around midday, we stopped for lunch together, which turned into a fantastic, completely unplanned conversation about pretty much everything. That was one of the highlights of the day. Anil is simply a great guy; warm, funny, genuine, and incredibly easy to spend time with. What really stood out was how much he tailored the entire day around us. We never felt like we were being shuffled through a predetermined itinerary. He listened to what we wanted, adjusted things accordingly, and made us feel like royalty with our own private guide whisking us around Istanbul. He also seemed to know everyone in the city! On the way to the Grand Bazaar, we stopped at an incredible rug vendor whose building sits above the remains of an ancient Roman villa. We were taken downstairs to see UNESCO-certified artisans demonstrating how traditional Turkish silk rugs are made, before heading into the showroom to see some truly beautiful pieces. The whole experience was fascinating, and once again, we were treated like absolute royalty. We finished the day at the Grand Bazaar, where Anil showed us some of the best places, explained what to look for, and taught us the proper way to haggle like locals. And this man had been with us since 9 AM and was still going strong at 6 PM, every bit as enthusiastic and energetic as he had been at the beginning of the day. Frankly, I don’t know where he gets the stamina. I could barely keep my eyes open and he was still ready to conquer Istanbul. Despite our disastrous lack of sleep, my wife and I both agreed by the end of the day that it had been an absolutely fantastic experience. We got to see some of Istanbul’s most incredible historic sites and learn about the city’s extraordinary past, but what made the day truly special was getting to spend time with a fantastic local who introduced us not only to the history of Istanbul, but to modern-day Istanbul and the people who make the city what it is. If every guide is even half as good as Anil, you will not be disappointed. Anil, thank you for an incredible day. We genuinely couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to Istanbul.

It was our first time in Istanbul, our guide resul was incredibly helpful, arrived on time and took us to the sites via public transport, resul was very knowledgeable and made the tour interesting and fun, would definitely recommend, especially for first timers

Wonderful experience. Guide was on time, knowledgeable, accommodating and professional. Great experience.

Ege was very informative and accommodating. He was personable and his command of English, very good.

Wonderful tour! Customized to what we wanted to see and how long we wanted to enjoy.

Emel was a great guide! Very knowledgeable on all the subjects and provided recommendations to us for things to see and lots of information on the subjects as well. Highly recommend her when visiting for all your tour needs.

Our guide Kazim was absolutely amazing! Very knowledgeable about history and knew all of the best places to stop. Would definitely book again!

Excellent experience. Having a private car and driver made it very easy for us to pick and choose what to see and do. Caner was friendly and knowledgeable.

Fantastic experience, our guide was John, who was superlative and fun. This tour is tailor-made for tourists because it touches on the main attractions, using time for those of greatest interest and varies based on the wishes of the people. John came to pick us up at the port of Istanbul with a Vito-type van and brought us back to the port at the end of the tour. In the center of Istanbul we walked and stopped to visit all the main attractions, with anecdotes that only a local guide can know. I highly recommend it.

We had an amazing experience exploring Istanbul with our guide- Ege! A group of 5 people from the USA, we were shown all the main mosques and learned so much fascinating history and insight along the way. He was knowledgeable, friendly, and made the whole experience enjoyable and memorable. He also took us to an amazing local place for lunch — one of the highlights of our day! We truly enjoyed every moment and would highly recommend him to anyone visiting Istanbul.