Istanbul Layover Tour: Private & Personalized With Transfers

We had a wonderful experience with Burak. We saw the major sites in Sultanahmet, stopped at a nice cafe, visited the Spice Bazaar (as it was Sunday the Grand Market and was closed), then made our way to Karikoy and Taksim Square. The tour was well paced, customized to our interests, and Burak did a great job of explaining in a way that kept my 12-year-old engaged. He gave us a great lesson in the history, geography, politics, and culture of the area and interesting details about the various sites we saw. Burak was helpful and flexible in getting us a transfer from the airport as part of the tour cost, meeting us at the hotel, and giving us time to freshen up after the flight. He had many great suggestions for how to spend our little time in Istanbul and a lot of great inspiration for when we return. Excellent experience and would highly recommend it for first timers as their first agenda item when visiting this spectacular city.

This review is entirely unsolicited. We hope it assists travellers with their Turkiye /Istanbul layover tour decision. My wife and I undertook a private Istanbul ”Old City” Layover Tour in June 2025. We booked the tour a month in advance and paid a deposit in US dollars up front. Like many travellers, we also had to arrange an E-Visa. (During our tour, we learnt inflation in Türkiye is eroding the value of their currency, the Turkish Lira, hence the reason for payment in $US.) When booking via a website and making upfront payments, it is quite natural to have some reservations about the website and whether the proposed itinerary, pick-up and drop-off arrangements, as well as all the deliverables, will be met. It is also natural to have concerns about the quality of the deliverables. My wife and I debated whether to book a layover tour. From our experience, we should have had no concerns. Our layover tour was excellent in every respect and good value for money. Mr. Latif Eseler, who is the principal of the company, was our guide. I found Latif to be an exceptional communicator; he is a genuine person with integrity. He is an outstanding guide with comprehensive knowledge about Istanbul and Türkiye. As seasoned travellers, we can say without doubt that we are much richer for the layover experience. In retrospect, we would have regretted and would have been extremely disappointed if we had not undertaken the Layover Tour. We have no hesitation in recommending Istanbul Layover Tours. Roland and Rosemary Australia June 2025

The tour was well organized and the communication was great. They waited for us at the airport after a long time to pass immigration and get our next flight tickets. Mohamed was our guide and gave us a history lesson on Istanbul, then started showing us the main sites of the city. Even though they are all close to each other there is a time restriction as when to go inside. The drive from/to the airport was a little over an hour. We visited Hagia Sophia, Basilica Cistern, Blue Mosque, hippodrome, and walked through the grand market. We had dinner at an authentic Turkish restaurant and then back to the airport. If you have a long layover I highly recommend this tour. Our layover was 11 hours, but you need to discount the driving time, the time from landing to you actually get out of the airport, and the time you need to be at the airport before your departure. We had a good experience and gave us a taste of the city to want to return again

The guide was very pleasant on time and knowledgable with history he speaks fluent english and organize his tour in a smooth fashion way. He is honest and does nlt waste any time . Thank you.

I was so lucky to get to spend my layover with Feruza! She showed such amazing knowledge and passion for the city that it was infectious! She met us at the airport, took us up to olde towne where we got to see the bazaar, the blue mosque, a subterranean museum, and got to enjoy the local cuisine. If you have the time get out and see the city with an amazing and passionate guide Feruza!!!

Latif is a perfect guide to help a first time visitor understand the historical, religious, and political landscape of Istanbul. I had only 3 hours but he packed them with visits to key sites and insightful commentary. I will be back in a couple of years and definitely plan to engage his services again. Outstanding guide!

Our guide Feruza was excellent! She picked us up straight from the airport! We got to see the Grand Bizarre, several historic sites, and sampled the local cuisine! She got us back to the airport in ample time to make our connection!

Feruza figured out how to make it possible for us to visit Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Basilica Cistern, the Grand Market, the spice market, take a sunset cruise, and a stroll through the modern district all in one day! She kept us informed with important facts regarding each historical monument we visited. We would highly recommend taking a tour with her on your next trip to Istanbul!

Jamal is truly amazing, I had a layover at Istanbul and Jamal took me on this tour through both old and new town neighborhoods. He knows all the shortcuts, and even took me to a local restaurant to try desserts made with fig. If you are looking for an unconventional tour with a deeper connection to the locals, this is the way to go :)

Jamal is amazing. He’s very conversational, warm and knows all the short cuts around the city. This tour is great for someone who doesn’t want to just settle for the basics and would like to explore in depth.

We booked this tour on an 18-hour layover in Istanbul. It was a wonderful way explore, learn and BE in the city with a local. Jamal was amazing. Very communicative, knowledgeable about history, landmarks, and current events. He customized the tour to our interests. It was such a great way to see so much of the city and get a taste of Istanbul in 8-hours.

Jamal was excellent. Very professional and Interesting. He really cared to made it a great day. He was showed me the part of the city I wanted to see and Kept it a great day. if you get Jamal he will make it special for sure.

Guide met me at 7am as I requested I only had 3-4hr. She was very informative. Changed the itinerary to what I wanted to see and I told her I walk fast and she kept up lol. Even had time to eat and grab a beer. Great layover tour

Aylin was an amazing guide. I was able to see all of the city in such a short amount of time. We did everything I could’ve dreamed of and more. She was so informative and very accommodating to my needs

My flight got to Istanbul at 5:30 a.m. Despite the company's normal tour start time of 8:00 a.m., my guide Feruza picked me up at the airport at 7:00 a.m., giving me an extra hour in Istanbul. Feruza is knowledgeable about the city, personable, and thoughtful. In addition to sharing with me information about the Blue Mosque and other historic sites, she talked to me about Turkish history, culture, religious practices, and daily lives of the locals. Although my time in Istanbul was short, I had a good introduction to the city.

IT IS Personal! IT IS Private! My guide Céline is awesome. Even though we had a little bit difficulty finding each other, as the phone number listed with the company was not updated, we found each other. I found 4 hours well spent. I’ll be back to Istanbul, will tour more in Turkey!😊

Had a wonderful trip with my guide Feruza. She is an excellent hostess with tons of knowledge about the city. I highly recommend her service. I would like to visit again and will use her service.

I had a short stay in Istanbul and decided to visit the great city. Feruza, my guide made the experience excellent in every way. She is a superb host and very knowledgeable about the city. She navigated through the constraints of time, traffic and daylight to maximize my visit in every way. I highly recommended her services if you want to visit Istanbul. I’ll definitely use her services again for my next visit.

our tour guide was excellent. she shared much of the history behind the sights we visited. she was excellent!

What an amazing tour! I had a 12 hour layover in Istanbul during my travels and decided to book the tour to break up my travel day. Feruza was the most incredible tour guide! I was left with a deep desire to come back and see more. Feruza walked us through old town, to Hagia Sophia and took me for local food. It was an amazing time!

When we arrived in Istanbul we had so much trouble just getting out of the airport that I was almost ready to cancel our tour all together. Once we met our guide I was frustrated and tired. However, our guide Feruza completely turned our whole evening around. She gave us the best tour of Istanbul that I could have imagined. She turned it in to a city and food tour, as she recommended all the best places for us to try local food and we loved it. She is so knowledgeable about the city and nice and flexible with whatever you want to do. She took plenty of pictures of us and just went above and beyond my expectations. Thank you Feruza for making our short time in Istanbul memorable. I would come back only to tour with you again on the Asain side this time! Thank you so much!!

Feruza is mindful and cautious of my needs. She helped a lot during my tour. She is an awesome informative guide. It was fun to learn about the culture and food with her.

Absolutely wonderful! Feruza went above and beyond the call of duty as our host! She met us at the airport, showed us the sites in Istanbul while providing detailed information and context, introduced us to some delicious foods, brought us back to our hotel and made sure we didn't overpay for our taxi ride back to the airport the next day. She is also one of the most pleasant, kind, and generous people I've ever met. This tour turned out to be indispensable to us because there is no way we would have been able to navigate our way through Istanbul on a 1-day layover by ourselves and see all that we got to see. Thank you, Feruza and City Unscripted!

Atilla was great. Handled our needs and shaped the day to met our wishes. He listened and adjusted plans per our wishes.

If you can get Atilla as your tour guide, you will be nothing short of blessed. The time spent with him flew by. It was as if we were life long friends and he was just showing me around his city. He took me to some well known places, but my favorite parts were the ones that were unknown gems. He was very knowledgeable, bright, caring and had a heart of gold. He knew all the right places to go and made me wish that I had longer than a 14 hour layover in Istanbul. WHEN I go back again, I will be sure to book with him again. He was just that good. You won’t regret it.

Having Atilla as a tour guide was an absolute blessing! We were in touch beginning a few days prior to my arrival, and he planned a fantastic, fun filled tour that made my 14 hour layover really fly by. Even though I was so exhausted from the plane ride and barely sleeping prior to that, I looked forward to everything we did. He was so knowledgeable about his city and you could tell that he was proud of his heritage. We went to so many places like the Hippodrome, Hagia Sofia, Blue Mosque, as well as little known places off the beaten path. The whole time, it seemed as though I was walking around Istanbul with a friend, rather than just a tour guide. Our conversations were easy, there were no lulls and he is the absolute sweetest. He took to many cafes to Turkish coffee, teas, etc. but my absolute favorite place he took me to was a rooftop cafe that overlooked the entire city. You could see the Asian side of Turkey on one side and Europe on the other. For the finale of the tour, he took me to his favorite restaurant where he ordered some of the best food I have ever had. When he took me back to the airport, it was as if I was saying goodbye to a friend. WHEN I come back to Turkey, I will be sure to have Atilla show me around again and this time for longer than a day. He is simply the best. You will not regret a second of your time with him.