Five sights you can walk between, in half a day, with the guide talking only to your group. Hagia Sophia, the Basilica Cistern, the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome and the Grand Bazaar. Topkapı Palace is not on this one, it needs a day of its own.
Tour highlights
Hagia Sophia, the Basilica Cistern, the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome and the Grand Bazaar in one half day
Priority entrance, so the ticket lines are somebody else's problem
Entrance fees are in the price, so there is nothing to buy on the day
Your guide comes to your hotel or the cruise port and starts from there
A licensed guide to yourselves, so you can linger where you are interested and skip what you are not
Half a day is enough for the old city if you do not waste any of it. This tour takes the five sights that sit within walking distance of each other in Sultanahmet and gives you a licensed guide who is talking to your group and nobody else.
Topkapı Palace is not on this one. It needs several hours of its own, and squeezing it into a morning does it no favours. If you want the palace as well, take the full day Ultimate Old Istanbul tour instead.
Because it is private, the start time is yours and the pace is yours. Stop for tea when you want to. Skip the bazaar if shopping is not your thing and spend the time inside Hagia Sophia instead.
The plan
Your guide meets you at your hotel or at the cruise port and confirms the plan with you before you set off.
A tram ride or a walk to the first sight, depending on where you are staying. Cars sit in Istanbul traffic, so this tour avoids them.
Time inside the building rather than a look at it from the square. Your guide sets the order of the day around opening times and where the crowds are.
Down into the Roman reservoir that held the water supply of Constantinople.
The mosque, then the old chariot ground outside it, where the Egyptian obelisk and the Serpentine Column still stand.
The last stop, and the one where the questions get practical. Your guide will tell you what a fair price looks like.
You end in the middle of the old city. Carry on by yourself, or your guide walks you back to your hotel.
The order can change with the weather, the traffic and how busy a site is on the day. Your guide will tell you.
What it costs
The figure covers everyone travelling together. Find your number in the table and that is the price.
| Group size | Total for the group |
|---|---|
| 1 person | €200 |
| 2 people | €330 |
| 3 people | €450 |
| 4 people | €520 |
| 5 people | €575 |
| 6 people | €660 |
| 7 people | €756 |
| 8 people | €824 |
| 9 people | €900 |
| 10 people | €1,000 |
| 11 people | €1,100 |
| 12 people | €1,200 |
| 13 people | €1,300 |
| 14 people | €1,400 |
| 15 people | €1,500 |
| 16 people | €1,590 |
| 17 people | €1,680 |
| 18 people | €1,770 |
| 19 people | €1,860 |
| 20 people | €1,950 |
| 21 people | €2,040 |
| 22 people | €2,130 |
| 23 people | €2,220 |
| 24 people | €2,310 |
| 25 people | €2,400 |
The price is for your whole group, up to 25 people. A larger group can be arranged as two private groups. Children under 6 do not take a place in the group, so they are free. From 6 a child counts as one person, because the sights charge the full ticket price from that age.
Where we meet
Your hotel if it is central, otherwise a meeting point we agree.
Before you book
Worth two minutes before you book, so nothing on the day is a surprise.
Cancel free of charge up to 24 hours before the start time and you are refunded in full. Inside 24 hours we cannot refund. Tell us as early as you can and we will move your date rather than lose you.
Tours run in rain and in heat. If conditions make a tour unsafe we cancel it ourselves and refund you in full, or move you to another date, whichever you prefer.
A glimpse of the non touristy Istanbul We travelled by tram toward the university district, and started our tour of non touristy parts of Istanbul to see some lesser known but equally historically important mosques, a Women's market, the aqueducts, a small significant shop to try some boza and ended at a magnificent viewpoint. Denker was a knowledgeable and engaging guide. Great to get out of the hub-bub to where people who aren't servicing tourists live and work.
Boza-mazing This was a really nice tour, and I'm very pleased I went on it. The regular sites were impressive, such as the Zeyrek Mosque and Monastery of the Pantokrator, the Aqueduct of Valens and the Sehzade Mosque. It was good to have an interesting little break to taste the local boza, and a buryan lunch was very tasty and filling, you certainly won't need a big dinner later. As a Byzantine history fan, I was also appreciative of the fact that we were able to include the Bodrum Mosque and Monastery of the Myrelaion in the programme.
A great walking tour A lovely, leisurely walking tour through some of Istanbul's less visited sights. Salih was a wonderful guide and host, very enjoyable!
Been with us
Wherever you prefer. A review is worth more to the next person than anything we can write about ourselves.
You might also like
The palace the Ottoman court actually lived in, including the Harem, with a private guide who can spend the time where your…
Eight days across the southeast, from Göbekli Tepe to the Tigris, with the food and the history of a part of Turkey…
The old city given the time it actually needs. Everything on the half day tour plus Topkapı Palace, and a lunch stop…
