The former imperial residence from where the Great Ottoman Empire was ruled. Today a spectacular museum that has one of the largest collections of Chinese and Japanese porcelain and the very famous treasury of the royal family.
The magnificent Byzantine Church of all times; one of the finest and largest architectural works of art in the world. It has been nominated to be the 8th wonder of the world by many historians.
The former center of sportive and political activities of Constantinople. During the visit you'll be able to see the Obelisk from Egypt, Serpentine Column from Delphi, and fountain of Wilhelm II.
One of the biggest mosques of Istanbul from 17th. century architecture is one of the principal adornments on the skyline of Istanbul. Also famous for its blue tiles and 6 minarets.
In addition to its historical importance, it's a bazaar that will tempt even the nonshoppers with its rich collection of precious handmade carpets, jewellery, leather and souvenirs.
We did a tour off of a cruise boat (through shore excursions group) of the blue mosque, hagia sophia and topkapi. Kemal was our guide. He was really great - very informative and pleasant. I would really recommend this tour
We had a wonderful tour with Kamel. He is very knowledgeable and moved at the pace we preferred. Not only did we learn a lot about history ( which he is highly educated in) he helped with local shopping suggestions. He gave good advice on navigating the city on our own.
Our tour of Istanbul was extaordinary. We were given an thorough explanation of each of the locations we visited and were given adequate time to take pictures and explore. Kemal our guide went above and beyond to ensure our experiences was outstanding. I would definitely recommend the our and the tour guide. He makes you feel like you are being guided by a long time friend.
Could only see 30%Topkapi palace due to renovations. Couldn’t enter the blue mosque under after 230 due to it being Friday so the lines were MEGA long (our group opted to skip it) and it’s not even summer. Very disappointed that we were not informed of this in advance.
Kemal Aslan was a great tour guide. Very insightful and gave a very well paced tour. He was able to give us all the historical facts behind the attraction.
Wife and I just completed the Istanbul tour and it was outstanding. Our tour guide, Kemal was extremely knowledgeable on the history of Istanbul, had an enjoyable personality and was flexible to our interests. We maximized the day under his guidance and would highly recommend.
It was okay. The day we went for the tour was so chaotic due to protest going on. The bus company let us stay in the stop with all the huge crowd making me nervous. They should rerouted their tours knowing the event for the safety of their customers. Staying in the bus for 1.5 hrs wasn't great for what to expect to happen next. We finally left after 1.5 hrs rerouting the bus which should have been done earlier. Over all the tour went well after that.
Great way to learn about significant landmarks. Also being able to skip admission lines makes a big difference!
A fantastic tour led by Baris, a great historian who made every site interesting, made sure we got the best views, took photos and went well above what was expected. The Top. Palace was closed and so he took me to the Basilica Cistern while the others went to the bazaar. His knowledge of history was so impressive but he also spoke beautiful English and was very kind and charming. I wish all tour guides were as good. I felt completely safe to ask any questions. He was also protective, which was nice for a solo female traveler.
Okan was an excellent tour guide: Informative, suitably sociable, patient, responsive. The information was condensed yet thoughtful and full of interest. However, the tour organisation was not so helpful. The “pick up’ for the tour was supposed to begin in front of the Radisson hotel which was very close to our accommodation. In reality we were told to meet at the German Fountain monument which about 20 mins walk uphill (and meeting a half hour earlier) .This was manageable for us but for some people would have been an unpleasant or unworkable surprise. The tour was advertised as full day but be warned you will be walking for at least 5 or 6 hours with hardly a break. Then lunch at about 2 pm (met at 8.30am) and after that another half to one hour of walking again. Take water with you and make sure to chose the option you want (set menu or a la carte) for your lunch. The guide was excellent (I am a guide myself) but the tour might easily be better set up
This was a great tour! While it was great to have a tour guide at the major sites, one of the best parts was him pointing out elements and historical parts around us that otherwise we would’ve just walked by. Highly recommended doing a guided tour, we walked past so many lines!
Honestly, we didn’t enjoy this tour. The guide didn’t just talk about the monuments, but about all of Turkey’s history, from the beginning, and he repeated himself and got annoyed if we weren’t making eye contact. We don’t go to the bazaar because apparently it’s “mostly closed” on Sunday’s. We chose not to pay the $65pp to Goni to Topikapi Palace so he dismissed us from the group. Wasn’t worth the money at all.
The sites are unbelievable so no matter how you get to them, you can’t be disappointed. But having a great guide makes it so much more rewarding. Fatih was knowledgeable, clear, funny, generous, patient, and personable. Overall, a delight to spend the day with as he guided us through these wonders. I cannot recommend enough.
My wife and I had a great day out with Fatih on the tour to Hagia Sofia, blue mosque and grand bazaar. Very informative and Fatih was super knowledgeable about the history of the buildings.
My tour guide a 10/10. Very knowledgeable and friendly. Open to questions. Flexible. Started out the day rainy and then we had beautiful weather. Be prepared to walk a lot.
The Blue Mosque,is stunning and Baris our guide was brilliant in bringing its history to life.At every part of our tour Baris was engaging in doing this ,a wonderful experience.
The whole tour was terrific because our guide UFKU was terrific. Knowledgeable, helpful, and knew how to pace it. Possibly the best tour guide we’ve ever had!
The sites included in the tour were extremely interesting. I was very impressed by all of the facts provided by our guide who is extremely knowledgeable and courteous.
The tour was very good, thoroughly enjoyed it. Enjoyed the sites, the guide was very good and knowledgeable
Love Istanbul. Our tour guide was most informative and we enjoyed all the sites! The blue mosque was most impressive and liked The Hague Sophia
It was an excellent day tour visiting all the historic sites we wished to see. Our Guide, Ozgur, was very knowledgeable & fun to be with. Would definitely recommend.
The guide was very cordial and engaging. The low score is because Admission to Aya Sofia and Blue Mosque are FREE and all tours listed in Viator omit such information.
Wonderful tour with Ahmet. He did a great job of making sure we got to see all the sights we wanted. He was very knowledgeable and shared his insights with our family. Thank you Ahmet!
This tour seems to be a loot, since tripadvisor claims to include admission/entry fees for Hagia Sophia, Hippodrome and Blue Mosque, which are actually public places and free for all. There is NO entry fee for these 3 places, but tripadvisor says 'INCLUDED' in their list. The only legitimate charge is for Topkapi Palace and the guide. Secondly, the Blue Mosque is closed for public due to renovation, so there's no question of any entry fee or sightseeing related to it. Thirdly, the whole trip was on foot, so no air-conditioned Mercedes minivan was required either. We walked to all the places, and no vehicle was there to take us around ...which was almost 10 kms in all. The main attraction of the tour was the Blue Mosque, but the site has no mention of the fact that it is closed for renovation. If this had been mentioned, we would have probably not booked the tour at all. So, I am unclear about the price charged for this tour, which was on foot and there was free entry to most places covered in the tour. In fact, I have been charged excess unnecessarily for the INCLUSIONS mentioned in the trip details, many of which were actually free. I would like a proper explanation/clarification for the price charged, which is INR 11,533.86/- for 2 adults and a refund for the money charged for the places, where there were no entry/admission charges. My trip booking ref is BR-972911934 and Tour Operator was City of Sultans, date of tour: Feb 17, 9 am.
The guide was really good, he was very knowledgeable and gave good insights on the history and the places that it is now. Loved the overall experience
We had an amazing time on our tour with our guide Unal. He was very knowledgeable about the history/sites of Istanbul and gave us plenty of opportunities to explore, take photos and to even shop for small items. He recommended us to a lovely restaurant for our lunch also. Thank you Unal for a fabulous time on our tour.
Perfect tour for my husbands first visit to Istanbul. Tour guide was great very informative. Highly recommended when visiting Istanbul.
Our guide was Informative, engaging, and had every detail planned perfectly. Would absolutely use him again and recommend to others!
Matt did his possible best and made sure we were all having a great time. We all got picked up from out hotels, visited all the places indicated on the listing and he added more for free and we got dropped off to our hotels.
we have a very good experience durning our holidays in Istanbul. our tourist guide Mehmet Gokhan Turan done great job with showing us all places , answering our questions and very friendly at all. Will definitely recommend Mehmet to all visitors, he is very intelligent speak well English and has lots of humour and knowlage about Turkey and Istanbul it self. Mehmet thank you we will definitely come back for another trip, you are well manner and a bright gem for tourist for first time in Instanbul.
We had Mehmet Gokhan Turan as our guide today and he was A for AWESOME! We walked to the following spots; Hippidrome & Obelisks, Blue Mosque which was amazing, Hag Sophia that was truly magnificent, the Balat church orthodox & Jewish, stopped for a tasty lunch then onto the mighty Topkapi palace and finally the Grand Bazaar. Be prepared to walk a lot, wear good shoes, take water, be mindful of your dress for women although they have scarfs & shirts. Mehmet was very informative, knew his stuff, funny, and a great host. He kept us all together and gave the background first then allowed time for us to wander. We had children with our group of 18 and Mehmet was mindful of the families. Highly recommend the day - it’s long but worth it & very affordable. Viva Turkey!!!!
Viator used Gulliver Tours for this 8-hour tour that allowed the group to visit the Hippodrome, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, and the Grand Bazaar. Given that I was only in Istanbul for a few days (two at a conference), I really needed a guided tour to fit in the major sites. My group had an experienced tour guide and one who was learning from him. The training guide came to recognize that I was truly interested in the history, so he walked with me and really filled in details. I felt like I had a private guide! The sites were spectacular. The only reason I give 4 rather than 5 stars is that other members of the group really held us up by not following instructions or paying attention. So there were two occasions in which we lost a total of over an hour just waiting for others. That was frustrating. Overall, though, this was a great tour.
<p>Very nice tour. The guide Eren was excellent. He knew all the short cuts and a lot on interesting information. Highly recommend it.</p>
<p>First off, I want to qualify my review. I am a licensed tour guide in Israel so I have high expectations and am very aware of the difficulties in this field. That being said, I was extremely impressed by our tour guide, Eren. Eren is one of the principals the tour company and an extremely knowledgeable and professional guide. I was picked up on time and we traveled in a Mercedes Mini Bus. Our guide made sure that not only were we well informed about the history, architecture, and religious significance of each site but Eren had plenty of inside tips for us as well. I was pleasantly surprised by Eren's candor regarding Turkish politics. His national pride did not overly color his opinions a very tough thing to accomplish but very important as a tour guide. Overall I was truly impressed with the tour and especially with our guide. I will be going back for a more in-depth tour later this year and will use Eren again for sure. I highly recommend this tour and if possible, request Eren as your guide.</p>
<p>It was, indeed, a wonderful journey. This was the first time we had ever tried a guided trip, but now I know it is an excellent way to travel.You planned for us so well, and took care of all the difficult details so we could concentrate on the beauty, the rich cultural history, and the kind and friendly people of Turkey.</p>
<p>Very informative tour, however guide was not very personable and the tour was rather generic. The guide's knowledge of history and the sites was great. On a few occasions, we lost a few members of the group due to the sheer number of tourists around, so it would be a good idea for the guide to have a distinguishing flag of some kind for group members to look for!<br/> We didn't have enough time to see everything at Dolmabace Palace as the multiple lines were too long given our time to see everything, but what we did see was great.<br/> Lunch on the tour was relatively Americanized, but good. Extra costs for drinks. </p> <p>All in all a good tour, very informative and historical, great opportunities for photos, and an excellent way to surpass the long lines of the top tourist destinations in Istanbul.</p>
A tour organized really well, you are picked up directly from the hotel and we had a guide KEMAL ASLANI who was really good, serious and available to any question.Top.
We had a great and very interesting day with our guide. We had actually planned half a day and could then spontaneously extend. We were happy that it was a small, very nice group and therefore very personal and flexible. We can definitely recommend it!
Ich kann die Tour mit dem Guide Baris leider überhaupt nicht empfehlen. Die Tour begann tatsächlich erst um 10:00 Uhr, als wir in die Hagia Sophia eingelassen wurden. Die Besichtigung hat Baris informativ gestaltet, mehr aber auch nicht. Gleich verhielt es sich mit dem abschließenden Besuch des Topkapi Palastes. Um 13:00 wurden wir in ein Restaurant zum Lunch gebracht. Um 14:15 ging die „Tour“ weiter - allerdings nicht zu weiteren Sehenswürdigkeiten, sondern in den neben dem Restaurant gelegenen Lederjacken Shop. Dort gab es dann für uns eine Verkaufsveranstaltung. Danach ging es in einen weiteren Shop, wo wir Teppiche präsentiert bekamen. Der Nachmittag bestand also im wesentlichen aus zwei Verkaufsveranstaltungen - wir haben das „türkische Klischee“ erlebt! Abschließend brachte uns Baris zum Grand Bazar. Dort besuchten wir kurz die nebenstehende Moschee und schließlich verabschiedete Baris und am Eingang des Grand Bazar - er begleitete uns dort nicht mehr. Alles in allem war die Tour anders als beschrieben, bestand mehr aus Verkaufsveranstaltungen als aus Sightseeing und war dafür fast schon unverschämt teuer. Ich kann nur sehr von dieser Tour abraten!
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