The tour guide was very helpful. My friend missed the tram, and the guide went with him on the tram.





Discover the Basilica Cistern with the option that suits you best. Choose Ticket Only and receive your QR ticket online for direct entry with no meeting point required, or select the Guided Tour option to explore the highlights with a professional licensed guide. After entering, you can explore the Basilica Cistern at your own pace and stay as long as you wish.
Prices change with the date; the lowest is shown.
From the operator’s live schedule on Viator, checked Oct 4.
Basilica Cistern was designed to service the Great Byzantine Palace and surrounding buildings. It was able to store up to 100,000 tons of water delivered via 20 km of Aqueducts from a reservoir around Belgrad Forest. Basilica Cistern (Underground Cistern, Yerebatan) is one of the most famous cisterns in Istanbul. It was built during the Byzantine Empire and later not used by the Ottoman Empire and forgotton for long time. Since it discovered and restored now. It has been used as a museum since 1988.
Reviews collected by Viator and Tripadvisor
Excurgo comparison of 3,617 Viator tours, recalculated daily.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Basilica Cistern Skip-the-Line Ticket lasts about 30 min–2h. The itinerary has 1 stop.
Prices start at $66 per person for this Istanbul experience, booked through Viator with the price shown before checkout. There are 2 booking options, so the final price depends on the option you choose.
According to the operator’s current schedule, it runs every day, with 16 departures a day between 9:30 AM and 5:00 PM.
Children aged 4–7 pay from $66, adults from $66. Infants go free.
Yes. Cancel at least 1 day before the start for a full refund. Later cancellations are non-refundable.
The meeting point is Your QR ticket will be sent to you before your visit. Go directly to the Basilica Cistern entrance, scan your QR code, and enter. No meeting point or guide is required. Hotel pickup is not part of this experience.
The experience is available in EN.
It is a small-group experience with a maximum of 30 participants.
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
Yes, bookings are confirmed instantly.
Travellers rate it 4.8 out of 5 across 6 reviews on Viator and Tripadvisor; it is run by Manolya Tours.
Reviews collected by Viator and Tripadvisor
The tour guide was very helpful. My friend missed the tram, and the guide went with him on the tram.
The guide was very kind and offered us to visit the racetrack as well, it is a place with a lot of history and a wonderful architecture and ambiance. I felt like I was in the 007 movie walking along those walkways. I would have liked the tour to be available in Spanish.
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We took advise and arrangements from Manolya Tours 🇹🇷 The Best Travel Agent in Istanbul & they took care of us from A-Z Es war super Toll !
Thanks for nice comment. We will be glad to guide you again istanbul and Türkiye.
I had great experience with my walking tour guide in istanbul. We save a lot of time and skip the line of museums. Highly recommended!
Thank you for your kind comment. We would like to remind you that you can always reach us while planning your travel. Best regards
Pending at all times, making sure that our expectations were aligned with the time available but also experiencing Istanbul as it should be! Burak as a guide was the best, his love for history is contagious!!
Gracias por su amable comentario. Nos gustaría recordarle que siempre puede comunicarse con nosotros mientras planifica su recorrido. saludos
Manolya tours provided our group of 4 with reliable service that included transportation all around, private guides, they arranged activities for us at the last minute based on our preferences and stayed flexible to accommodate when we needed to make a last minute change. Overall, we had a worry free trip and got to experience both Istanbul and Capodoccia in the best way possible.
Thank you for your kind comment. We would like to remind you that you can always reach us while planning your travel. Best regards
| Tour | Duration | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Basilica Cistern Skip-the-Line Ticket | 30 min–2h | 4.8 (6) | $66 | |
Basilica Cistern Skip-the-Line Ticket with Guided Tour | 20 min–30 min | 4.0 (319) | $67 | View |
Istanbul Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Basilica Cistern with Tickets | 3 hours | 4.9 (152) | $131 | View |
Istanbul Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia & Cistern of Theodosius | 3 hours | 4.8 (628) | $63 | View |
Best of Istanbul 1, 2 or 3-Day Private Guided Istanbul Tour | 7–21 hours | 5.0 (10,338) | $90 | View |
Istanbul Bosphorus Sunset Cruise Experience on Luxury Yacht | 2h 15min | 4.9 (5,544) | $34 | View |
Istanbul Taste of Two Continents Food Tour - Spice Market & Ferry | 5h 30min | 5.0 (3,674) | $135 | View |