Istanbul Private Guiding Service

The booking started off very shakie as the operator wanted us to pay for pick when the booking specifically said that pickup for this private tour was included, that was unsettling to say the least especially since I'd already paid for the 3 of us. The operator reached out to me, they were very nice but I'd already reached out to Viator who told me not to pay a dime. The operator then messaged me to say that they would work something out. I was still not happy. Then I got a message from the operator to say that it was settled and that my transport would be there to pick me up at the agreed time. I've dealt with Viator before and found their tours to be true and honest to a fault. This is the first time that I had this experience. The next thing on this tour was the guide, while he was very knowledgeable he seem to be guiding us to places and shops that he had an interest in/very familiar with the people. He insist on showing us a rug and jewelry shops that had very little to do with history. He had his own places that he wanted us to visit and seemed a little put out when we didn't show much interest. We arrived at the start of the tour at about 11:00am at about 3:30pm our 6hr tour ended with him saying that the driver had to leave and didn't want to be caught in traffic we were very shocked as it had only been about 4 hrs. He kept taking calls while on the tour. We could've gotten a taxi to the start of the tour for less then walk around and listened to the other tour guides, walked to the market and gotten a taxi back to the hotel for less. I'm sure that if it had started out different and the guide had been dedicated to his job, the experience would have been different. I've been on similar tours like this that were really enjoyable. So I'd say give it a try.

Renan, the tour guide was punctual and well presented with excellent command of English language. The tour covered cultural sights with good explanations and commentary at each stop off. I would recommend the guide.

Watch out ! They bring you to places like rug stores to sell to you , also a spice place looking to sell you something , and they have their own scarf place in case you forgot to bring yours ( this one did actually help me except I picked the $100 cashmere blend one . They must all be in cahoots! That should NOT be part of this tour. This is wrong .

Lale has been a great guide, very professional and effective. We have taken advantage of the day very well, we have made several visits, an extensive program very studied.

Our guide was friendly and had a flexible schedule. She offered some ideas on things to see and brought us to the places where we wanted to go.

A private tour with a great guide makes all the difference! Seda, our guide was so knowledgeable! Very intelligent, interesting and personable. She took us through the attractions we wanted to see, and knew them so well!

The visit to the city was wonderful. Istanbul is magnificent and Sedat the guide one of the best. Took us through the most iconic places of the city and made this a memorable visit

I visited Istanbul in May and it was a wonderful experience. The city is beautiful, but what made the trip truly unforgettable was our guide: knowledgeable, passionate, and able to make us dream with her stories. I highly recommend her to anyone who wants to discover Istanbul at its best.

Volkan, our Viator tour guide, was informative, friendly, funny, and helpful. We saw the beautiful & inspiring mosques. We went to the Istanbul promenade & the Grand Bazaar. We topped off the day with a fabulous meal at a traditional Turkish family restaurant. My husband is mostly in a wheelchair & Volkan ensured all of our visit was accessible & wonderful. Thank you Volkan!

Our experience in Istanbul was perfect. Our guide was amazing. Understood what we wanted and spoke our language perfect. So we understood him. He knows his history very well.