ISTANBUL Full-Day Privétour met gids; voor de beste historische locaties

First time in Turkey and glad we did the private tour! We highly recommend it. It’s great that it’s private and you get the freedom to do it on your own pace and stop for pics as you please.

We had an absolutely fantastic private tour of Istanbul with Fuat. We visited many of the city’s iconic sites, including the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, and the Grand Bazaar. Fuat brought each location to life with his deep knowledge of Istanbul’s history, culture, and traditions. Some of the highlights of the day included learning about traditional pottery and trying it ourselves, as well as discovering the intricate rug-making process and seeing the beautiful handmade rugs at a local store. We also enjoyed an incredible local lunch and experienced true Turkish hospitality. What truly made the day special was Fuat himself. He was warm, friendly, exceptionally knowledgeable, and incredibly accommodating throughout the entire day, ensuring everything was tailored to our interests and pace. We highly recommend Fuat to anyone visiting Istanbul and looking for a personal, informative, and unforgettable experience!

We had an outstanding experience with Nazan and would highly recommend this tour. She was incredibly knowledgeable and brought Istanbul’s rich history to life with fascinating stories and explanations at every stop. Beyond the tour itself, Nazan went above and beyond by recommending excellent local restaurants and helping us shop in the Grand Bazaar, teaching us how to negotiate and find quality items. Her warm personality, patience, and local expertise made us feel like we were exploring the city with a friend. Thanks to Nazan, we experienced not only the history of Istanbul but also its culture and hospitality. This was truly one of the highlights of our trip, and we would gladly tour with her again.

What an amazing day! Faut was brilliant! His knowlege and flexibility was perfect! We modified the typical tour to better suit our needs and requests. We highly recommend this tour for a great overview of Istanbul at a realistic and relaxing pace!

We had an awesome day with our tour guide Nazan. She took us to all of the top spots in Istanbul. She was friendly and informative. She took us around according to our pace and what we were interested in. She gave us great dinner recommendations as well.

Fuat is very knowledgeable and showed us a lot of the sights and knew his way around Istanbul very well.

My teenage daughters and I booked a private tour in Istanbul while we were here on a long layover. Sude gave us a wonderful tour. She took us to see the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia, the Basilica Cistern, Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar and brought us to a wonderful local restaurant for lunch. Sude is very knowledgeable and she related so well with my daughters. She really made our visit to Istanbul so special.

Our private, 5-6 hour tour guide, Betul, contacted us via WhatsApp and met the three of us at the Galataport cruise port exit, walked us to the closest tram and headed downtown to Sultanahmet Square. This was the perfect transportation option as traffic is insane! Our first stop in the Old City was the “Blue Mosque” (free). The morning crowd was light and Betul led us thru the “back door” entrance, barefoot with headcoverings in place. The mosaics inside and out were plentiful and just gorgeous! Nearby, the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque ($30) was open but under reconstruction, so we opted out and went to the Topkopi Palace and Museum ($60). Betul has local-guide cred, so we breezed past all the lines to a dedicated ticket window. We each swiped our credit card (no cash/euros accepted). The palace grounds are so lush and green with plenty of shade! Our favorites were the treasury, the guest quarters, the circumcision (!) room and library. The city overlook area is a must. Betul REALLY knew her way around that place, imparting SOOO much information regarding the palace, the treasury collection, the city/country’s history, and life in Istanbul. Plan to spend 2 to 3 hours there as it is massive. Afterwards, we walked around the Hippodrome (“horse path”) plaza (free), discussing several monuments there. Betul then offered to take us to the Basilica Cistern ($37) and the Grand Bizarre, (we had ONLY clocked 15k steps! Haha) but sadly, our feet, knees and hips cried “uncle”, so we decided to board the tram, portbound. Betul was a very knowledgeable, focused, energetic (averages 25k(!) steps per tour), and accommodating guide. We truly enjoyed our day getting to know her and her country’s history. Highly recommend!

We had a great experience with Fuat, our guide. He picked us up at our hotel in Sultan Ahmet area. He gave us lots of information about the major sites of Istanbul. He contacted us early to make sure we were properly dressed to go into the mosques. Because he was a guide we were able to skip the line at all the sites and buy tickets to enter immediately (so nice not to have to prebuy tickets). He gave us the option to hear about pottery making and rug weaving at places which do NOT use the traditional hard sell tactics. We actually got to hear lots of educational information about these tradtional, but dying crafts. I would recommend. him and this tour to anyone coming to Istanbul for the first time.

We had a great guide in Sila, who went into depth about the history, culture, and nuances of Istanbul. And sitting with her over lunch led to even more discussion about marriage practices and the religious circumstances. She took us into a rug merchant with an employee actually weaving a new Turkish carpet. The owner gave a historical education in carpets. We enjoyed our time with her.