Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Hagia Sophia Mosque, Sultan Ahmet, Ayasofya MeydanI No:1, Istanbul 34122 Turkiye
For the morning arrivals, Hagia sofia is an option to visit from inside with paying an admission fee of 60 tl ( 10 USD). This is one of the most visited attraction in Istanbul. Built as a church in 6 c AD, converted to a mosque in 1453 and to museum in 1935. It is a unique building in the wold which embrace Islam and Christianity inside one single building.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Basilica Cistern, Alemdar Mahallesi, Yerebatan Caddesi, No:1/3, Istanbul 34410 Turkiye
The most impressive water reservoir you can ever see. Built in 6th Century AD to preserve drinking water for the city. It was supplied from rain and aqueducts. 336 column, each column 8 m tall, 100.000 ton water capacity. The legendary Medusa heads are here located at the end of the cistern in the far blind corner.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Blue Mosque, Sultanahmet Mah At Meydani Cad No 7, Istanbul 34122 Turkiye
The biggest and most visited mosque in Istanbul. This was built in 1609 by Ottoman sultan Ahmet and still host prayers five times a day. After the praying is conclude it is open to visitors.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Hippodrome, Binbirdirek, Sultan Ahmet ParkI No:2, Istanbul Turkiye
This is the hippodrome where the chariots races were held here from 4th century until 15 century. It has been pull down by the Ottoman and its materials been recycled to built mosques and palaces by the Ottoman. There are monuments survived and can be visited. Four live size horse statues in St Mark Basilica are taken from here. One of the head from the serpent column is the British museum.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Topkapi Palace, Cankurtaran Mahallesi Gulhane Park, Near Sultanahmet Square, Istanbul 34122 Turkiye
This was the Ottoman residential and parliament house for four hundred years. It is a museum since 1930. This museum helps to understand how Ottoman lived and managed a huge empire over six hundred years.
Duration: 3 hours
Stop At: Istanbul Bosphorus Cruise, Akbiyik Degirmeni Street, No:4, Istanbul 34122 Turkiye
These ferries carry the locals between Europe and Asia in 20-30 minutes.It is the best way to see Istanbul from the water.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Misir Carsisi (Spice Market), Rustem Pasa Mahallesi, Erzak Ambari Sok. No:92 Eminonu - Fatih, Istanbul 34116 Turkiye
This is the places where the aromas from the world meet. Spice bazaar was built in 1664 as a part of the New mosque next to it. The complex is built by a lady Turhan Sultan.
In this market you can find and taste the best spices, Turkish delights, nuts, herbal teas,dried fruits and vegetables.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: KadIkoy CarsIsI, Caferaga, Neset Omer Sk. No:1 Kadıköy, Istanbul 34710 Turkiye
This is a non touristy local market where local shop for the daily needs, greengrocers, butchers, fish mongers, restaurants an more..
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Cinili Turkish Bath, Murat Reis Mah. Cavusdere Cad. Cinili hamam sok no 6 Uskudar, Istanbul Turkiye
If you feel tired and need a massage then it is time to go to a Hamam ( Turkish bath). You don't need to take anything with you ( towels, shampoo etc. ) as they all provided for you. Here you will be washed with a scrubbed, soap massaged and relax at the lobby of a historic building covered with towels and sip your apple tea.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Suleymaniye Mosque, Prof. SIddIk Sami Onar Cd. No:1 Süleymaniye Mah, Istanbul 34116 Turkiye
A great mosque which was built in 1550 by Ottoman sultan Suleyman the magnificent. mosque is famous with its architecture and its high location which offers great Istanbul view.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Grand Bazaar Jewelers, Alemdar Mah. Bab-I Ali Cad. Guran Han No:34 D. 4, Istanbul 34110 Turkiye
This a bazaar built in 1461 by Ottomans with 4000 thousands indoor shops. It is an up market offers anything you need but mainly carpets, antiques, jewelries,leader products, textile products.
Duration: 1 hour
See Availability.
Traveler pickup is offered
Please note that, pick up time is 1 ( one) hour after the landing of your flight.
We will be monitoring your flight from the flight number you share with us during the booking and we will be aware of early landing and delays.
To meet our Meet&Greet staff at the airport, please read the below instructions carefully and note them with you for the airport as you might not have the internet connection once you land in Istanbul.
After you get off of the plane and pass through the passport controls and custom checks, please walk to the exit GATE 14 ( outside the airport ) where it is Meet & Greet point for the transfer organizations. Right after the exit you will see many signs boards hanging. Please keep your eyes for the board sign as M44. There will be a guy standing next to the board sign, tell them your name to the Wellcome & Greeting staff and they will accompany you to the driver. Please note that, the Meet&Greeters are the third party and their english is limited. If you have any issue make them call Salih. + 90 534 200 55 65
The next step is that they will accompany you to the driver and driver will bring you to the center where you will meet your guide to start the tour. Driving duration to the center is approximately one hour.
Please note that, once you arrive to the center the tour will be walking and using public transportations as tram and ferry depend of your itinerary. The car will be used only for pick up and drop off from and to airport. We will not be touring with the car which is not necessary for Istanbul and can be time wasting in Istanbul traffic jam. Walking is the best way to explore Istanbul and it is easy walk. For those who have walking issues please contact us for the private car which will apply an extra fee.
P.S. if you have any luggage with you, we suggest you to store them at the airport while on tour. If that can’t happen for any reason then we will store your luggage at an establishment we work together. Luggage will be stored there while touring and will be picked them up at the end of the tour.
For those who require drop off at airport, we will schedule your tour to end three hours before your flight departure time and you will be dropped off at airport two hours prior to your flight departure time. This time is enough for those who have already checked in and have the boarding passes. We look forward to meeting you in Istanbul.
Airports
Istanbul Private Tour Designed for Layover Flight, Transfer incl.
1/2/2024 - 1/1/2025
| Monday - Thursday : | 06:30 AM - 11:30 PM |
| Friday : | 06:00 AM - 11:30 PM |
| Saturday : | 06:00 AM - 10:30 PM |
| Sunday : | 06:30 AM - 10:00 PM |
4 to 8 hours(approx.)
Not wheelchair accessible
Dress code is smart casual
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Infants must sit on laps
Infant seats available
Most travelers can participate
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 10 hours of travel. In this case confirmation will be received as soon as possible, subject to availability
Posted By : Anthony_L
That was a wonderful experience
Learned new interesting information about met locals and experienced local cuisine
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Posted On : 2024-05-12
Posted By : Javier_G
My friend and I had a 17hr layover in Istanbul and made the absolute most of it! Airport transfer was fast, professional, and very well organized. And our tour was fantastic! Our guide Turkan did an excellent job showing us the highlights of Istanbul and we could't be happier. 10/10 recommend!
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Posted On : 2024-04-15
Posted By : Audrey_P
The perfect way to see Istanbul! Our guide Omer was so knowledgeable and shared so much history and interesting facts about landmarks we saw along the way. We highly recommend this tour for those wanting to see Istanbul with a limited time in destination!
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Posted On : 2024-04-14
Posted By : Oscar T
Turkan is an excellent tour guide, very knowledgeable, friendly and always looking out for her visitors. She made me and my wife have a GREAT and FUN day. Recommend tours with her 1000%.
She brought us to a very good local restaurant and also was helping us out get good deals at the Bazaars! She is great!
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Posted On : 2024-04-13
Posted By : Mark Z
This was simply the best time I spent doing a walking excursion of this kind. As a world traveller I can’t wait to go back and with the same excursion provided. Absolutely first class.
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Posted On : 2024-03-25
Posted By : Najmi_J
We really enjoyed the tour with our Guide Iskendar. He was really easy to converse with and open to moving schedule around so we could see Hagia and cisterns in beginning rather than end. There is a lot to see in Istanbul and this is our second tour with Viator. I do recommend at least 2 days to see more than just the main big mosques. Last time we saw sulemani mosque too, but Blue was closed. Sulemani is beautiful. If you want Topkapi, definitely more than 1 day. We haven’t been to full topkapi tour both times because of time.
Iskendar was on time and very helpful. We walked a lot as expected, so be ready to have good shoes. He gave us enough time to walk around take pictures, answered questions. He speaks multiple languages too. We had a great time.
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Posted On : 2024-03-22
Posted By : JosephT2505
We only had a 24 layover in Istanbul and wanted to make the most of our time here. This tour was the perfect match! The pick up at the airport was smooth. We were dropped off at our hotel where we met our guide after we checked in.
We can’t say enough GREAT things about our guide Burak. He was absolutely fantastic! His English was great but his knowledge of the history here in Istanbul really made the tour come alive. We started at the Basilica Cistern, toured the Blue Mosque, the Byzantine Hippodrome and then the Hagia Sophia. After, we took a tram/ferry to the Asian side of Istanbul for food and drink and general exploration. Our tour started around 4:45 pm and ended close to 11 pm. It was a memorable experience and well worth the price. Burak made our experience more than we could have hoped for - THANK YOU!
One other great part of the tour is that we were picked up in the morning at our hotel and brought back to the airport.
Overall, an awesome experience!!
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Posted On : 2024-03-11
Posted By : Guanming_R
I had a 10-hour layover in Istanbul and was excited to get a glimpse of this beautiful city. My guide Elif was wonderful. She is knowledgeable and kind and has a delightful personality. For just a few hours, she showed me the Blue Mosque (although it was closed), Hagia Sophia, Arasta Bazaar, and Gülhane Park, and pointed out to me several other historic sites. We even managed to try some local cuisine, Turkish coffee, Baklava, and Turkish Delight! Although my visit was short, because of Elif's knowledge of the city and her enthusiasm, I feel like I've seen a good bit of Istanbul!
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Posted On : 2024-03-05
Posted By : Stacey_P
We had a short amount of time in Istanbul, but felt we made the most of our time thanks to this tour! Our guide was excellent and very knowledgeable. He answered our questions and gave us a good history of the different areas we visited. We even got a send off getting to try the best kebab I’ve ever tasted! Thank you for an amazing experience, we hope to return to see more of the city.
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Posted On : 2024-02-13
Posted By : Carola_B
We spent few hours in Istanbul and the tour was amazing. We couldn’t do better choice!
Elif was our tour guide. She is professional, super nice and friendly. We agreed what to see and what to do in few hours and she met our needs.
Thank you Elif, it was a pleasure meeting you!
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Posted On : 2024-02-07
