Best Of Istanbul Private Day Tour With Licensed Guide

Very good service provided by Kadir Bey during my 2-day walking tour in Istanbul. He was a very patient and friendly guide. We explored the city on foot and also travelled by tram and bus, clocking around 10,000 steps per day! We visited many interesting places, including Sultanahmet, Taksim and Galata Tower. Thanks to his guidance over those two days, I gained the confidence to explore Istanbul on my own. I managed to take the Bosphorus Sea Cruise and even crossed from Eminönü to Kadıköy by ferry to experience the culture and lifestyle on the Asian side of Istanbul. As a solo traveller, this was truly a wonderful and memorable experience. Highly recommended!

First roue when we arrived, we ere very satisfied with the pre -trip pets izarion with the tour operator Always on time to answer o Emails, whatsup, accurate information, clear and you feel secure to Deal With such tour operator. We were Dondesenr ro travel 11 days we wee very happy allo along he was following us days per say on how Things were, anytime of the day we felt well protected . Ir was perfect Thank you

Aisha was a great tour guide. She is very chill but at the same time knowledgeable. She even brought us to a lunch spot she is a regular at, and it become the best meal of our entire trip!

Mert was an informative and engaging guide. His knowledge of Istanbul exceeded our expectations. We had several questions and Mert seemed to enjoy the interaction and gave thorough answers. The transportation (luxury van) was exceptional and the driver very safe. We highly recommend Mert and this company.

The trip started with clear communication from the tour guide, Mert the evening before including the picture of where he will meet me off the ship. It was supposed to be for a small group, but I ended up as the only person for the tour. Mert was very friendly and informative throughout the day. I even stopped to buy a small bag of grilled chestnut from a street vendor. Needless to say, I had a fantastic experience.

I only had a brief window in Istanbul and needed a guide who could help me make the most of my time. Kadir Can met that need and more. I had expected to walk to a meeting point but Kadir picked me up at my hotel himself. Kadir not only gave me historical notes on the sites we visited but also gave me insight into the culture surrounding the area. Kadir graciously took me to a location that was on my wish list but not on the published agenda. He also took me to a couple of spots that are not on the list of top destinations but that gave me a more nuanced feel for the local culture. I had thought of making my own way but am very glad that I found Kadir to guide me!

Our Private Tour of Istanbul from cruise port with kids was great! Our guide Mert was very informative and a great host for the city of Istanbul! I would highly recommend for any cruise passengers and those with children as well.

We had three really action packed days in Istanbul. Kadir Can Agir (aka) John was our guide. We are so blessed to have had him for the 3 days. He was so informative, knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor. We went to all the touristy places but having a guide is the best thing as he gives you the history around everything. We are currently in Kusadasi and the off to Antalya, the Cappadocia. Watch the space for the next reviews.

We booked IstanbulTourMatt months ago and he called the evening before our tour to rudely cancel our group of 10. This company responded immediately, the guide Aisha reached out to us shortly after and we were quickly reassured we would have a wonderful experience. Aisha arrived on time in a beautiful car to collect us all, and impressed us with her professionalism, knowledge of the city, warmth and flexibility. It was especially helpful having access to the skip the lines which meant we weren’t standing in the hot sun queuing. Highly recommend Aisha and this company reliable, professional service.

The experience was great and had no issue travelling with our newborn. The guide was great and accommodated all of our request. I would recommend them to others who want to experience beautiful Istanbul attractions.

Great experience, tour guide are very friendly and knowledgeable.

We had an amazing experience with our tour guide in Turkey. He was extremely professional, knowledgeable, and always attentive to our needs. His explanations of the history, culture, and local stories made every place come alive, especially in Istanbul . The itinerary was well organized, timing was perfect, and everything ran smoothly throughout the trip. He was also very patient, friendly, and happy to answer all our questions. We truly felt well taken care of from start to finish. I would highly recommend him to anyone visiting Turkey and looking for a memorable and stress-free travel experience.

Kadir Can Agir is my private tour guide in Istanbul. He is the best tour guide I have ever had. He is very knowledgeable and detailed in the introduction of scenic spots. He is punctual and flexible. If you ever have the opportunity to travel to Turkey or Morocco, you can ask for him as your tour guide. I highly recommend him.

Mert met us at our hotel and provided a tour of Istanbul on foot. He is bright and highly knowledgeable. He provided a thorough overview of the history behind all of the top sights in Istanbul near the Hippodrome. If you are looking for a tour guide that provides an excellent historical overview, Mert is the best. But most importantly Mert is very respectful and a great person to spend a day with. Thank you Mert!

Mert was very informative and engaging - covered all the main sights well - and took us to a fantastic Ottoman restaurant for lunch

What a fantastic tour we had with Mert! He is such a knowledgeable guide. I loved that he was flexible with the tour format to suit the guests. The toes of the blue mosque, the Hagia Sophia and the Grand bazaar were truly memorable, thank you.

Our trip to Istanbul was all we expected. Our tour guide Mert was very accommodating and knowledgeable in all aspects from history to local cuisine. We will most definitely return and book again with Turkey Tours!

My wife and I took a two-day private tour of Istanbul in November 2025, and Mert (Ilker Mert Colak) was our guide. He was fantastic, knowledgeable, polite, and always on time. Istanbul’s history is incredibly rich, and having someone like Mert who really knows his stuff made the whole experience so much more enjoyable. He answered all our questions on the spot, and when something needed a bit more digging, he looked it up and got back to us quickly. He also gave us great recommendations on places to visit and what to eat. Even after the tour ended, he stayed in touch — he shared his contact info and helped us with restaurant reservations later in the week. We had a great time with him and highly recommend him.

We had an amazing time with Mert on our visit to Istanbul. He was incredibly welcoming, knowledgeable, and made everyone feel comfortable throughout our tour. Mert provided fascinating background information on all areas visited. Taking us to the best restaurants in Instanbul we wouldn’t have found on our own was a plus!! Thank you for your kindness and for being so accommodating, patient, and flexible with our group's requests. You are truly an exceptional guide. I'm so grateful to have had you!

This tour was guided by Mert who took our group of 3 to Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, Blue Mosque, and Basilica Cistern. He also shared recommended a great place for us to enjoy a delicious high quality Turkish feast that all 3 of us enjoyed! His knowledge, personality, and professionalism made the whole day of exploring Istanbul fun and relaxing.

Amazing knowledge and lovely tour around the mosques! We had a wonderful time walking around Istanbul and seeing the cisterns.

This was an excellent visit with Mert. He was great at explaining all the history around us, walking us through the sites and making history come alive

We did a tour of the two mosques with a guide called Mert he was very friendly from the offset his knowledge was impeccable and during the tour he constantly asked if we had any questions,he was able to answer questions we had .I would definitely recommend this guide.

Turkey Tours Company arranged two private day tours with our group of seven with a lovely guide called Aisha. The first day she took us around Sultanahmet and gave as an extensive tour of Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, the Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazaar. The second day was a delicious food tour that gave us a taste of the hidden delights of Turkey all the way to the Asian side! Spending those two days with Aisha was an absolute delight and a perfect introduction to Turkey!

We did our Istanbul 2 day tour with Mert. Mert is very knowledgeable about all sites and explains very well. He is jovial and pleasant. Glad we had him as tour guide. Thanks Mert!

Interesting to know the history and culture via this tour. Special thanks to the patient and knowledgable guide Ilker Mert. He is friendly and the best and the tour is awesome with him around explained everything in detailed.

The tour was very enjoyable. Mert had a lot of detailed information that he shared with us. It was an absolute delight to tour Istanbul with him.

Mert was knowledgeable and helpful and informed. He presented history in a clear and balanced way. He was helpful and accommodated our requests. He worked very hard to deliver an excellent experience. He made our Gallipoli experience very special.

We had a great tour with Mert. On a very raining day, Mert was very organised and did a great job avoiding the mass of cruise ship tours so we did not spend unnecessary time queuing. Mert was great company and very knowledgable and was able to answer all of our questions on many topics. 100% recommend this tour. Thank you, Mert.

Our guide Mert was absolutely fantastic. We can very strongly recommend him. His explanations and knowledge of Istanbul’s unique history and culture were exceptional.

We had a great time! The trip was organized well & we saw all the important sites. Highly recommend this tour for your family!

We had a wonderful tour of the old sights of Istanbul with Mert. He collected us from our hotel and then we travelled by tram to the location for Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and the Basilican Cistern. We then had a lovely lunch before a short walk to the grand bizaar. The knowledge and descriptions of each historical place by Mert was first class. Highly recommended.

We had a wonderful experience with our tour guide who took us around Topkapi palace. Rehber, our tours guide had extensive knowledge of Ottoman history and the palace with a good sense of humour. It was well paced. We had 12 people in our group. The visit to Topkapi palace would have had no meaning without the knowledge of history associated with it.

Very well managed 3 day trip to Istanbul. I would especially like to mention our amazing guide Deniz. He was absolutely brilliant. Very friendly and knowledgeable. He shared some very interesting facts about various sites and managed to show us around all the key areas we wanted to visit .. and more.

I traveled with my girlies for a girls trip and Aisha made sure we had the best time and enjoyed every bit of Istanbul from the sites to the shopping…she tirelessly responded to all our requests (including capturing the best shots of us 😂 ohhh and TikTok videos😂). She was an absolute gem☺️ and the funniest guide I’ve ever met….she fit right into our group. 100/10 recommend!!

We had a wonderful time on our tours. Serkan helped organize it and we had an excellent guide and drivers. Aisha was our guide for the Istanbul portion. She was knowledgeable and very efficient in how she handled the crowds. Istanbul is beautiful with rich history. I enjoyed learning about its progress through history. We saw and learned about more than we could have on our own. Highly recommended.

Turkey Tours Co owner Serkan based on our time and places to visit, crafted well planned tour. We visited Istanbul and Cappadocia keeping it easy with 6days guided + 1 day for self exploration. We covered all touristy places on European side, visited asian side and saw newly built Grand Mosque as well. We took Bosporus tour which was quite enjoyable. Our tour guide Aiysha was very knowledgeable with 20+ yrs of experience. We did not have to spend any time in any lines, thanks to her planning and experience. We got a good taste of local cuisine to try during lunchtimes. Aiysha gave us some great dining suggestion as well. I believe one can explore on their own but the private tour options makes it easy, hassle free and relaxing so you get the best experience in short stay. I highly recommend the private tour option.

Great tour organisation Pick ups & guidance thank u All tours had good guides visited lots of tourist sites Clean city Helpful youngsters

Our tour guide "Fatma" was fantastic! We had an 18 mo old with us and she was so patient and caring. She is super knowledgeable and encouraged any questions

We had a great day touring the Istanbul sights with our guide, Sevda. She was very knowledgeable, her English was excellent, and she tailored our day to what we wanted to see. She took us to an amazing ancient underground cistern, that we would never have found on our own. It was definitely a highlight! She also suggested a restaurant for lunch where the three of us had a great lunch. It was a pleasure to have her as our tour guide and I’d highly recommend her!

We had an amazing time in Istanbul with our guide! She was very knowledgeable and took us to all the sites. I definitely recommend this tour group.

Sevda provided very insightful information but most of all was extremely patient. Sevda’s kindness and flexibility made our overall experience tremendously pleasurable. Highly recommended.

This was one of the most memorable trips I’ve ever experienced. Exploring the rich culture and deep history of Istanbul truly put things into perspective. Our group consisted of 13 family members, and our tour guide, Ayesha, along with her company, ensured that everything ran seamlessly. Ayesha’s incredible knowledge and friendly demeanor made the journey even more enjoyable. She expertly answered all our questions and provided us with the perfect balance of freedom to explore and shop while keeping us on track to experience everything we had planned. It was an unforgettable experience, and I would highly recommend this tour to anyone looking to fully immerse themselves in the beauty of Istanbul.

e took the old city walk tour and Aisha, our tour guide was on time and really informative. We cut all the long queues by raking this private tour. We covered Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque, Tokapi Palace and surrounding areas. We asked for Turkish Pida for lunch and Aisha kindly took us to this delicious pida place near to Hagia Sofia. Overall great tour with great tour guide. I give 10⭐️s !!

Istanbul is definitely magical city. Our tour guide Aisha certainly has lots of knowledge on Istanbul, the old city and its history. I would recommend her and Turkey Tours Company to anyone visiting Turkiye!

Sevda is very passionate with her work. She explained in every details part of the places. We walked and see a lot of history that left in topkapi palace, blue mosque, hagia sophia and so on. Eventhough the queue is super long, she willing to check on everything in case we miss it

I traveled to Turkey with my family in April. It was an amazing trip from start to finish and Turkey Tours Company gets lots of the credit. We had a specific itinerary in mind and TTC structured transport, guides, and access to sites around our wishes. Their staff were professional, engaging and flexible. TTC was in regular contact with us via WhatsApp to ensure that all logistics ran smoothly. It was delightful to get to know our private guides who lived in and knew the cities and locales we visited intimately. If you are considering visiting Turkey I cannot recommend it more highly. A beautiful and historically fascinating nation with lovely, welcoming people. And do contact Turkey Tours Company. Arranging your own itinerary and private tour with this group is a terrific way to go.

What a memorable trip! I can’t recommend Turkey Tours enough. Our logistics were spot on, our guide Sevda, was knowledgeable and engaging, and having a guide put context around Istanbul’s highlights (Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Basilica Cistern, Topkapi Palace, Hippodrome, Dolmabahce Palace, etc) was outstanding. Visiting the sites is worth the trip but having a guided tour, in a comfortable van, made the experience all the more enjoyable and rewarding for our family group of 4 (ages 20s to 70s). Turkey Tours worked hard to ensure our trip met and exceeded our expectations!

Turkey Tours from my first email outreach was outstanding and really earned my trust. Serkan listened to our requests, gave excellent suggestions, and made sure each detail of our trip was perfect. Serkan is very responsive and our family group which included members aged 25 to 70 all had the best experience! Our tour guide Sevda was great with wonderful dining suggestions, excellent briefings, and amazing at covering much ground while making time for fun and relaxing breaks. Yes, you will see the top attractions with Turkey Tours and so much more, as well as have time for individual interests. Many of my friends only travel on US organized group tours and are apprehensive to book a local tour operator on their own. Turkey Tours and Serkan made every aspect of our family Turkey trip planning, booking, payment, transport, touring, and on the ground support a seamless and fully professional experience. I have traveled the world for over 50 years and Serkan and Turkey Tours are one of the best and I highly recommend the private tour option.