Why Private Tours with Us?
Special discounts. You will decide on departure time. Our tour guide will meet you at the port with your name sign, Our professional tour guide and A/C vehicle will be with you from arrival till departure, Our professional guide will be with you in the sites. Our guide will have pre-paid tickets to skip the lines. Fees can be paid to our guide after the tour. You will have flexibilty to spend how much time you want in each site and make small changes on the itinerary, You do not have to wait for other group members. You will have a chance to make stops to have pictues during the tour. Our Private tour rates are more reasonable than cruise shore tours, You will have several alternatives to taste famous Turkish Delicious foods, if you want to have lunch during your trip
Posted By : Jurgen_K
The guide was very efficient and helpful. He was well connected and managed to bypass all queues, which made the tour very comfortable and pleasant. He also was truly knowledgeable and gave us all the background information about the monuments we visited.
Rating :
Posted On : 2024-06-30 07:51:37 
Posted By : Anand_G
Billy was fantastic. He picked us up from the airport at 8am and spent a whole day showing us Athens. I loved that he was a proud Greek who had a lot of knowledge about his culture and country's history.
Rating :
Posted On : 2024-06-29 16:49:55
Posted By : Wayne_F
Day trip was overpriced . Did not know how much extra we had to pay for entrance fees.
However our tour guide did his best and was so informative and very knowledgeable
Guide took us to a restaurant that he knows - but was so overpriced
Felt like we did not get our monies worth
Rating :
Posted On : 2024-06-29 05:05:42
Posted By : Tim_K
Our group of six ranged in age from 54 to 82 and traveled by cruise line to the port of Istanbul. Our tour guide Mustafa, proactively reached out to me prior to arrival in port via Whatsapp, which was above and beyond my expectation and eased the frustration/delay we experienced disembarking(due to our cruise line).
We were cheerfully met by Mustafa just after we exited the Turkish customs center. He led us to our first of two van ride transfers; the first to get us into the old historic city area and the second to get us back to the ship…the van was air conditioned and dropped us into the heart of the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque areas.
Our experience in Istanbul with Mustafa as our guide was unforgettable!
He is a down to earth professional with a flair for keeping everything light and fun.
We walked roughly 7 miles through the busiest tourist destinations and Mustafa expertly maneuvered us into the shortest queues and kept us under his watchful eye. He is an encyclopedia of all things Istanbul and kept us entertained with a wry wit and down to earth sense of humor. He also took many wonderful group photos of us throught the tour.
Although the weather was pleasant, our feet appreciated a much needed air conditioned stop at a local pottery shop where we enjoyed our choice of various Turkish hot beverages and a lovely potter’s demonstration. The restrooms were clean and the business was very hospitable.
Lunchtime was from a roof top restaurant where Mustafa ensured we were taken care of. We opted for fresh seafood family style and the food was plentiful and delicious.
With Mustafa’s recommendation, We skipped the Grand Bazaar and spent 2 1/2 hours in the Palace grounds.
Finishing up at the Hippodrome and then off to our second transfer back to the ship with Mustafa.
All in all, our 10 1/2 hour Mustafa led Istanbul experience was memorable and very pleasant.
Rating :
Posted On : 2024-06-28 06:36:45
Posted By : Andrey_L
Sofia and Blue Mosque.
Well, due to limited time, the excursion was very high speed, without brakes. Unfortunately, our ship was late, and Turkey played Portugal that evening. I wish we had more time.
Maybe next time
Rating :
Posted On : 2024-06-23 06:22:28
Posted By : Cory_S
Ozge was an incredible tour guide. She engaged our 6yo in facts and kept her interested. She adjusted the pace to make it perfect for all we wanted to see and do. Her lunch recommendation was delicious and we loved the ice cream spot too. I would highly recommend the tour and book with them again when we return
Rating :
Posted On : 2024-06-21 23:22:16
Posted By : Charles_S
Mustafa was outstanding. We would recommend him to everyone. Very professional and knowledgeable. He made our day.
Rating :
Posted On : 2024-06-21 08:03:26
Posted By : Doug_G
What a whirlwind tour through old Istanbul. We were greeted at the port by our guide, Onur, who spoke very good English. He then spent our day touring major sites within Old Istanbul - the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (which was once a church), the Topkapi Palace, and the Grand Bazaar. The historical and cultural significances of these places was almost overwhelming for an American who knew little to nothing about these places, so my brain was on overload during the tour because of the all history I was taking in. Definitely a fun time, but be ready to walk! Because the roads are narrow and there are so many people, our driver was only able to accompany us for part of the day, so we walked between all the different places we visited. This wasn’t a hard walk, but it was challenging in the Istanbul heat, and it was over 90 degrees the day we visited, so be mindful to wear comfortable walking shoes and light clothes if the temps will be high.
Onur was a wonderful guide for the day and the tour was great, but the one thing I would caution people on are prices, especially at the Grand Bazaar. We wanted to purchase some Turkish Delight while at the bazaar and these guys are more than happy to shove samples in your mouth and get you to buy it. However, they are slow to tell you the cost and the conversion to Turkish Lyra is sometimes challenging. We purchased some TD and tea as gifts for folks back home and once I got back to our boat and looked at the receipt, it was well over $1000 USD. Granted, this was my own fault, but it’s sometimes difficult to get the shop folks to tell you prices and when they do, it’s in Lyra, not dollars and this can get out of hand very easily if you don’t monitor what you spend closely.
The one awesome plus of this trip is that Onur took us to a carpet emporium that only sold carpets made by local artisans. The carpets were all handmade using the Turkish double knot technique so they were very high quality and 80% of what they sell carpets for go back to the people that make them. They had demoing silk thread making, as well as actual carpet weaving on site and this fantastic to see. They even sell rugs to the general public and will ship back to the United States if you desire.
Two notes to consider for this tour:
1) Many sites you will enter will have covering requirements based on Muslim traditions, so women should expect to cover their legs and heads while in the mosques, and men should have long pants on. I’d recommend bringing a day pack you can carry cover ups with you to put on at these sites, otherwise they will make you purchase disposable coverings at these sites that are hot and uncomfortable.
2) I would not recommend this tour for anyone with small children or toddlers. This is cultural tour and there won’t be much for young kids to see, enjoy or appreciate on this tour. Most of the streets, roads, walkways in Old Istanbul are made with uneven stone and are very difficult to navigate with strollers.
Rating :
Posted On : 2024-06-17 06:10:05
Posted By : Wyn_P
Our guide Buket was very knowledgeable and helped us throughout the day with any queries we had. She was very considerate on our specific needs and did a great job
Rating :
Posted On : 2024-06-14 13:49:03
Posted By : Solomon_B
Our tour guide Zeinap was great- knowledgeable, easy accommodating and very friendly. We had great time with her in Istanbul. The car was very comfortable, clean and air-conditioned. Driver was great!
Great job VIATOR with your team members.
Rating :
Posted On : 2024-06-13 10:27:58
