Istanbul Historical Tour With Guide, Lunch And Transfers

We took the full day guided tour which took all of the hassle out of what could be a very confusing and chaotic day since there is so much to see and do in this city. Very informative and knowledgeable guide who took us to all major locations, gave very good talk on background and history and the also afforded us time to walk round and take things in in our own time. Beautiful place to start our holiday and a great way to take in the major tourist sights, and to experience the cultural side of this stunning city.

We had an excellent experience with Kadir. He is exceptionally kind, patient, and incredibly knowledgeable about history. He also brings a fun and engaging energy that makes the entire experience even more enjoyable. His dedication to ensuring the best possible experience is evident in everything he does. We fully recommend his services and truly appreciate the professionalism—and the enjoyable moments—he brought to our tour.

This tour was a good introduction to Istanbul’s tourist attractions. The guide was knowledgeable and friendly, but at times a bit chatty.

One of the best tour guides ever. He is a history major and had a deep knowledge of the area and its historical perspective.

We were so fortunate to have Kadir as our guide for an afternoon. We went to both the Hagia Sophia and the Basilliica Cisterns . Seeing these through his eyes and sharing his knowledge was amazing!! Highly recommended…

We had an amazing time in Istanbul! Our guide was very knowledgeable, friendly and showed up exactly on time. He wanted to ensure we had an amazing day!

The sites are great to see, but our guide walked too fast and many of us found it hard to keep up. In addition, his accent was difficult to understand compared to guides on other Viator tours this trip. He offered many facts but didn’t interpret what he told us. Came across as a bit dry.

We were very lucky to have good weather until the end when a thunderstorm broke. The tour with Ahmed was interesting. Possibly too much to fit in comfortably in one day but we are pleased that the tour allowed us to see the major sites . The pick up from the hotel was on time and after a lot of walking the return trip by bus was welcome!

Great experience. An amazing tour of the key historical sites in Istanbul in one day. Our guide, Ms Fatma was very knowledgeable, explained everything in detail and allowed us to spend as much time as needed at each location. We had a wonderful multi-course lunch at a nearby restaurant as part of the tour. Highly recommend.

We booked this tour to try and see as many things in the old part of Istanbul. Our guide Umutcan was amazing. He met us right on time at our hotel. He was so knowledgeable and knew detailed history for each site we visited. Lunch was at Anka Palace with a a great view of the water and the food was very good. We would absolutely book this tour again

Amazing tour. Saw all the major sites without having to wait in ticket line and our guide was extremely knowledgeable and well spoken in explaining the rich history of turkey and the relevance of each historic site. We had a wonderful lunch at a hotel rooftop as well all included! Would 100% recommend this tour.

It’s a long day, but it is the best way to see all of the main historical sites within the old city. Our guide was excellent.

Our guide, Burak, was knowledgeable, friendly, and on-time. Overall, this was a wonderful tour of multiple noteworthy locations. Burak knew the process for visiting them and was able to talk through key aspects of the buildings and their history. Two important considerations for folks thinking of this tour: 1) This would be best considered a walking tour. The van just gets you to the Sultanahmet square, where 4 of the 5 sights are located. Then you'll walk, a lot. Since we weren't going to go back to the van, we decided to carry our backpacks with us. Somewhere on the walk, Burak mentioned that the tour is about 15,000 steps. This is important to know ahead of time because a lot of folks can't do that, especially on a warm day. We decided to stop after the first 3 sights (Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, and Hippodrome). Unlike other tours, the tickets Karavan gets are not transferrable, so we couldn't visit Topkapi Palace on our own, and it doesn't feel like we got the full value of the tour. Another aspect is accessibility, separately from wheelchairs. Not at all Karavan's fault, but something they should share with visitors. The tour description mentions that this tour is not wheelchair accessible, but visiting the Hagia Sophia is moderately strenuous physical activity. The security line is long and in the sun. Once past security, you have to walk uphill on a ramp, for a while. Then, inside the Hagia Sophia, there are no seats and you are not allowed to sit down on the floor, not even for a minute (we tried). To leave, you have to descend stairs. I saw 3 people helping an elderly woman carefully walk down the entrance ramp, all of them frustrated by the Hagia Sophia's lack of accessibility. 2) Clarify the schedule ahead of time. Definitions of lunchtime will vary, but while pickup was at 9am, by 2pm, we still hadn't stopped for lunch. Our group was made up of us and one other family, and both asked the guide to stop for a drink and snack break. We left the tour after the break, so I'm not sure when lunch happened. For us, we started to get hungry at 12pm.

Our guide, Burak, was knowledgeable, friendly, and on-time. Overall, this was a wonderful tour of multiple noteworthy locations. Burak knew the process for visiting them and was able to talk through key aspects of the buildings and their history. Two important considerations for folks thinking of this tour: 1) This would be best considered a walking tour. The van just gets you to the Sultanahmet square, where 4 of the 5 sights are located. Then you'll walk, a lot. Since we weren't going to go back to the van, we decided to carry our backpacks with us. Somewhere on the walk, Burak mentioned that the tour is about 15,000 steps. This is important to know ahead of time because a lot of folks can't do that, especially on a warm day. We decided to stop after the first 3 sights (Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, and Hippodrome). Unlike other tours, the tickets Karavan gets are not transferrable, so we couldn't visit Topkapi Palace on our own, and it doesn't feel like we got the full value of the tour. Another aspect is accessibility, separately from wheelchairs. Not at all Karavan's fault, but something they should share with visitors. The tour description mentions that this tour is not wheelchair accessible, but visiting the Hagia Sophia is moderately strenuous physical ability. The security line is long and in the sun. Once past security, you have to walk uphill on a ramp, for a while. Then, inside the Hagia Sophia, there are no seats and you are not allowed to sit down on the floor, not even for a minute. To leave, you have to descend stairs. I saw 3 people helping an elderly woman carefully walk down the entrance ramp, all of them frustrated by the Hagia Sophia's lack of accessibility. 2) Clarify the schedule ahead of time. Definitions of lunchtime will vary, but while pickup was at 9am, by 2pm, we still hadn't stopped for lunch. Our group was made up of us and one other family, and both asked the guide to stop for a drink and snack break. We left the tour after the break, so I'm not sure when lunch happened. For us, we started to get hungry at 12pm.

Our guide was prefect. She showed us exactly what we were looking for and spent exactly the right amount of time defining the place and the point of interest along with the historical background information. She was perfect for our tour.

We spent a full day with our tour guide, Fatima visiting the attractions in Sultanhamet. Fatima was an excellent guide and it was like being shown round by your friend! The Blue Mosque was beautiful and the Hagia Sophia oozed with Byzantine history. Enjoyed the Grand Bazaar albeit with 4000 shops you reach a point of GroundHog day being a thing! Loved Topkapi palace and its grounds and we stayed after the tour had ended bidding our farewells to the lovely Fatima!

Saw all of the important sites in one day, which was a lot of walking. Topkapi Palace was amazing. Food at the lunch restaurant was mediocre, too bad since there are so many great restaurants here.

We did not realize that all four major attractions were in one place. A lot of walking on hilly road and up and down visiting all three. After visiting Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque and then 15 minute walk to the grand bazar and back we were dead tired. Had a simple lunch in a nice place and then decided to skip the 2 1/2 hour walking tour of the Topkapi palace.

A thoroughly enjoyable and informative day with Fatma. Visited everywhere as described and had a lovely lunch overlooking the rooftops of Istanbul. Istanbul is a vibrant, busy and wonderful city with so much to see and do and should not be missed if you are on a cruise like we were. Be aware that this is an all day walking tour so take plenty of water, wear appropriate comfy footwear and women should take a scarf to cover head/shoulders and men should wear trousers or shorts that cover the knee when entering the mosques. We walked over 25000 steps as a guide. We were collected from and returned to the cruise port by a large taxi. A fantastic day and would highly recommend. Fatma was wonderful and spoke excellent English.

A few hours before the tour and after receiving confirmation, that we will be picked up from our hotel, we get a message that we have to pay extra 90$ if we want to be picked up and dropped off at the hotel. Even so when I booked the tour, it said pickup and drop off from hotel and our hotel was in the list of hotels to pickup and drop off.

There was no vehicle provided for the tour and also no vehicle for return drop as promised or shown in the booking Vehicle was there for only pickup from near the first spot of itinerary to first stop of the itinerary only. After that no vehicle at all

This is an amazing tour. Our guide was so knowledgeable and informative.The lunch provided was really nice with a great view of the Bosphorus Thank you John for such a great day PS Love your sense of humour

Aliza, our tour guide, was fantastic. She tried to showcase the highlights of Istanbul as much as possible due to the ongoing civil protests for Isreal/Palestine. The lunch reservation was great too. Since we had our private transport, she ensured we got to our meeting/ endpoint destination safely. Highly recommend Aliza.

Alize our guide was awesome! She spoke great English and was full of information. The driver was on time and held our bags for the day which was very convenient. Lunch was delicious. I highly recommend this tour. Especially if you are lucky enough to have Alize. Our tour was a group tour but before lunch the others who opted for a morning only tour left our group and it became a private tour as we were the only couple. Ten out of ten for this tour.

We had a very kind leader, beautiful places checked, and walked around. Thank you so much for your work. Never forget that day. Istanbul is amazing. And has a very good lunch in an amazing restaurant.

We loved the experience and learning the history of the Cistern. Our guide was excellent and shared so much information (I don’t remember his name). Definitely recommend! Only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars was that it was very crowded but that is to be expected in August. Highly recommend the tour and the Skip-the-Line is a must, otherwise it’s a very long wait in the sun.

Excellent work from the guide explaining everything and doing a great job taking the time and making sure information was clear and understood

Excellent attention and knowledge of the history, well coordinated to pick up and trimming. Ismael very good person

Everything was perfect. Picked us up at the hotel. Lunch venue amazing. Strongly recommend for small groups

Ali was amazing! He did a great job telling us the history of the places we visited. We visited the topcapi palace, hagia Sofia, brand bazaar etc ... well worth it

Our guide was 5 stars! We are older, and she was kind, patient, informative and accommodating. Recommend this tour highly

It was an amazing trip. We thoroughly enjoyed it 😀. Guide Mr. Ali was brilliant in showing the details and explaining. Highly recommended 👌

Very good guide, knowledgeable and friendly. Sites visited were great. Unfortunately we were taken to a large shop full of fake goods where we had to watch a fashion show and then be given a hard sell by a ghastly spiv. Lunch was terrible btw.

No hotel pickup as promised, A/C bus ride for only first 15 min of day, no skipping lines as promised, disgusting lunch. Not worth $150USD per person. Disorganized guide. We could have had a better experience by tagging along another group for free. What a rip off.

This was a fantastic tour. My dad and I had a great time. Burak was our tour guide. He was excellent. As a history teacher, it was a dream come true. Strongly recommend it. From the food at Anka Palace Cuisine to Hagia Sophia, well worth it.

A great day to see a few highlights in Istanbul. Our guide Burak was friendly and personable which was an added bonus. He was extremely knowledgeable, and we learned much about the history of Istanbul. We enjoyed the tour and the rooftop lunch. A great way to spend your first full day in the city!

Knowledgeable but very confusing regarding communication. We were told we would be picked up at 8:20, but the driver arrived at 8. Luckily we were ready. We were not told we needed What’s App. We were confused about final meeting point and could not be contacted since the tour operator did not have international calling. Lunch was so so. Fixed menu - no choice. Be prepared for lots of walking.

Burak was the best guide we can imagine. Thanks for all my friend. We can recommend the tour completely. Therefore that the recommendation have to have more than 100 letters I’ve wrote the last sentence.

The tour is interesting and out guide was friendly and calm. He knew a lot about the history of istanbul. We really enjoid most of the tour.

Good tour. Unfortunately there were 5 miles to cover on foot, but Barak, our guide, was knowledgable and thorough and made it very interesting.

Our guide was enthusiastic and knowledgeable about all the places we went and kept us on schedule. We would love to have another tour with him ("Jen" is maybe his name?)

Very knowledgeable and well paced. Recommend it to my friends. You should not rquire a mininimum size for comments.

This was a packed day full of history and site seeing. Our tour guide, Jan, was amazing - knowledgeable, friendly, and dynamic. He gave great insight for each site and the context to frame it in. He also gave us the local perspective on what we were seeing, where to eat, and what to do after our tour. We did several tours in the city and he was by far our favorite guide. The sites themselves are amazing and definitely worth a visit.

What was supposed to be a max 15 participant tour turned out to be basically a private tour with just 4 of us, 2 couples. As a result Ali was able to adjust the tour to take advantage of the shorter lineups at the various sites which really reduced the amount of time waiting in lineups. Ali was very knowledgable and able to give us detailed historical information about the Blue Mosque, Haiga Sophia, Topkapi Palace, the Grand Bazaar and answer all our questions. The included lunch, pre-set was great with a authentic Turkish menu. The Turkish coffee, which was extra was a bit pricey.

Excellent guide , his name was Han , very educated, knowledgeable young man, with pleasant manners . Enjoyed the long day spent with him in this tour. The lunch provided was nice, the restaurant had a great view to the sea. I would recommend this tour. Worth the money.

I would recommend this tour for the easiness of the itinerary. (We were a party of 5, and another couple joined for a total 7 people.) First they pick you up at your hotel or a hotel near your airbnb. They take you around in a private van to the sights. Skip the line entrance is included so we virtually walked in without much waiting. We were lucky, went early in the morning and not during high season. Ali our tour guide was great. He was informative, explained the history of our sights and his English excellent. We then went with Ali to a rooftop restaurant with the most magnificent sights of Istanbul and Mosques for lunch. It was a set menu and the food was delicious. We also had a beautiful sunny day and the views were just gorgeous. At the end of tour they take you to the Grand Bazaar and they ask how long you would like to stay and meeting points for return. The Bazaar was extremely crowded. But that is normal. Thank you Ali for a wonderful day! We were able to see the most sought out important sights in one day in a private tour and transportation. I thought it was worth it.

Amazing tour!!!! Tour guide Jan was extremely friendly and very knowledgeable! Enjoyed every moment and learned a ton about history and religion today!

Baruk was our fabulous tour guide shown in the picture at a wonderful restaurant overlooking Istanbul and the Bosporus. If we ever have the good fortune to return to Istanbul, we would use him again in a heartbeat!! He picked us up at our cruise terminal and returned us to the exact same spot.

Really enjoyed this tour. Our guide, Sema, was a wealth of knowledge and very engaging throughout the whole tour. Firstly we visited the Topkapi Palace which was quite extensive and very interesting. We then went the Hagia Sofia. Sema already had our tickets so only a short time in the queue. She told us all the history of this quite majestic place. The history of this building is monumental. This was the joy the trip for us. Then we visited the Blue Mosque and managed to get in before the prayers. Very interesting especially when you hear how many blue tiles there are in the building. Shows off, of course :) Sema then took us for a tasty lunch before we finished our tour firstly with some Knowledge of the Hippodrome and finally at the Grand bazaar where she gave us another wonderful history lesson about the place. All in all a great tour. The best on our short trip to Istanbul. Thanks Sema 👍