Best of Istanbul: 1, 2 or 3-Day Private Guided Istanbul Tour

Visit highlights of Istanbul with your private tour guide in 1, 2 or 3 days with a flexible itinerary.

Day 1 - Highlights of Topkapi Palace Museum, Byzantine Hippodrome / Sultanahmet Square, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Grand Bazaar.

Day 2 - Bosphorus Cruise by Public Ferry, Dolmabahce Palace, Taksim Square, Istiklal Street, Cicek Passage, Galata Tower (from outside), Spice Market.

Day 3 - Suleymaniye Mosque, Fener and Balat Districts, St. Stephen Church (Iron Church), Pierre Lotti Panoramic Hill by Cable Car, Rahmi Koc Museum (or alternative sites).

Important Notes:

- Skip the line service is not available for active mosques - there is a queue for the entrance.

- If one of the mosques is not visited, Basilica Cistern will be visited as a replacement.

- For the tours that start later than 11 am, kindly note that you may have to skip one/a couple of sites as the sites are closed by 7 pm. Your guide will adjust the program according to your priorities.

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: Sultanahmet District, Istanbul 34122 Turkiye

Sultanahmet District

Duration: 15 minutes

Stop At: Hippodrome, Binbirdirek, Sultan Ahmet ParkI No:2, Istanbul Turkiye

Hippodrome Square / Atmeydanı
Hippodrome; where the chariot races were held in the Roman Empire times, Egyptian Column from Byzantine Empire time and today German Fountain is the main cornerstone of the square of Ottoman Empire.

Duration: 15 minutes

Stop At: German Fountain, Hippodrome Square, Istanbul 34122 Turkiye

Germa Fountain / Alman Çeşmesi

Duration: 15 minutes

Stop At: Sultanahmet Square, Istanbul Turkiye

Sultanahmet Square

Duration: 15 minutes

Stop At: Hagia Sophia Mosque, Sultan Ahmet, Ayasofya MeydanI No:1, Istanbul 34122 Turkiye

Hagia Sophia Museum / Ayasofya / Santa Sofia
Built in the 6th century by Emperor Justinian, played a very important role in the Christian and Islamic World. After the Ottoman conquest the bells, altar, iconoclastic, and sacrificial vessels were removed, and many of the mosaics were eventually plastered over to convert the church into a mosque then a museum and now it’s a mosque for the second time. The most important stop of an Istanbul tour is operated in Old City Istanbul / Constantinople.

*Please note that as it's not a museum anymore, tour guides don't have skip-the-line priority there. You may need to wait in the security line, in order to avoid queues we suggest departing at 8:30am or 9:00am.

Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Topkapi Palace, Cankurtaran Mahallesi Gulhane Park, Near Sultanahmet Square, Istanbul 34122 Turkiye

Topkapi Palace Museum / Topkapı Sarayı
More than just an Imperial Residence of Ottoman Sultans, it was the seat of the Supreme Executive and Judiciary Council for almost 400 years long. Topkapi Palace is a great monument of Oriental architecture which resembles the power of the Ottoman Empire.

Duration: 2 hours

Pass By: Basilica Cistern, Alemdar Mahallesi, Yerebatan Caddesi, No:1/3, Istanbul 34410 Turkiye

Have to skip one of the mosques to save time to visit the interior of The Basilica Cistern.

A former water storage chamber and one of Istanbul's greatest surviving Byzantine sites.


Stop At: Grand Bazaar, Grand Bazaar, Istanbul

Grand Bazaar / Kapalı Çarşı
One of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world with over 4, 000 shops with colorful products of ceramic, leather, rugs, carpets, handicrafts, clothes, silver, and gold.

Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Bosphorus Strait, Istanbul 34122 Turkiye

Bosphorus Cruise by Public Ferry or Private Cruise ( if option is chosen)
Take the public ferry for Bosphorus Cruise to see both Istanbul’s European and Asian sides, Galata Tower, Dolmabahce Palace, Beylerbeyi Palace, the Rumeli Fortress, old Ottoman villas, Bosphorus bridges, mosques. Your best Istanbul tour memories will definitely include the Bosphorus.

Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Dolmabahce Palace, Visnezade Mahallesi Dolmabahce Cd, Istanbul 34357 Turkiye

Dolmabahce Palace / Dolmabahçe Sarayı
Elegance and beauty with the most luxury decoration, chandeliers, rugs, crystals, ceramic fireplaces. Beautiful palace, right on the Bosphorus with gorgeous furnishings, paintings, porcelains made in particular to Dolmabahce.

Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Taksim Square, Gumussuyu Mh., Istanbul 34435 Turkiye

Taksim Square / Taksim Meydanı
A great place defining modern Turkey which witnessed important historical moments. Close to Istiklal Street (Istiklal Caddesi) and Galata Tower along with embassies of European countries in Taxim. Cicek Passage has very good food joints, cafes, shops, bars, night clubs around Taksim.

Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Blue Mosque, Sultanahmet Mah At Meydani Cad No 7, Istanbul 34122 Turkiye

Blue Mosque / Sultanahmet Camii
Built in the early 1600s for Sultan Ahmet I of the Ottoman Empire, the Blue Mosque is truly a magnificent masterpiece of architecture with amazingly delicate proportions for a building of such massive scale.

Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Istiklal Caddesi, Istiklal Street Taksim Beyoglu, Istanbul Turkiye

Istiklal Street is the modern and colorful face of Turkey with churches, modern art galeries, embassies, pubs, cafes and shops selling different kind of products.

Duration: 45 minutes

Stop At: Galata Tower, Buyuk Hendek Cad. 2, Istanbul Turkiye

We will see the tower FROM OUTSIDE, due to the regulations unfortunately tour guides don't have skip the line priority here so it takes long time to wait queue. Your tour guide will make you explanation about tower.

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Misir Carsisi (Spice Market), Rustem Pasa Mahallesi, Erzak Ambari Sok. No:92 Eminonu - Fatih, Istanbul 34116 Turkiye

Spice Market / Mısır Çarşısı
Egyptian Bazaar is a colorful indoor bazaar and has lots of shops offering a variety of spices, purses, flavored teas, Turkish delight, nuts, as well as ceramics, and small souvenirs. Spice Bazaar is located in Eminonu Square which is the connection point of Bosphorus and Golden Horn.

Duration: 45 minutes

Stop At: Cicek Pasaji, Huseyinaga Mh Beyoglu, Istanbul Turkiye

Cicek Passage / Flower Passage
Originally named as Cite de Pera, a combined structure of traditional and modern construction methods and architectural style by Ottoman Empire is reflected and today we see the small shops and cafes here.

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Suleymaniye Mosque, Prof. SIddIk Sami Onar Cd. No:1 Süleymaniye Mah, Istanbul 34116 Turkiye

Suleymaniye Mosque / Süleymaniye Camii is the largest mosque in Istanbul and is as impressive on the inside as it is on the outside. In the garden behind the mosque, the Suleymaniye terrace offers lovely views of the Golden Horn and Bosphorus.

Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Balat, Istanbul Turkiye

Fener-Balat Neighborhood backstreet walk
Continue exploring Istanbul’s rich religious history with a stop at the Church of St. George. Since the 1600s, the church has been the location of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and is recognized as the spiritual leader of the Eastern Orthodox Religion.
Balat District; lines of drying laundry stretch across steep, winding streets. Century-old Ottoman houses lean against each other in a combination of reds, blues, and greens. And art galleries and design shops dot the area along the water.

Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Fener Rum Patrikhanesi, Dr. SadIk Ahmet Cd. No:44 Yavuz Sultan Selim Mahallesi, Istanbul 34083 Turkiye

Orthodox Patriarch

Duration: 45 minutes

Stop At: Historic Areas of Istanbul, Istanbul Turkiye

Historic Areas of Istanbul

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Pierre Loti Tepesi, Idris Kosku Cad. Eyup, Istanbul 34050 Turkiye

Pierre Loti Hill and Cable Car are some of the most popular sights to visit since it offers great views for visitors. Take the cable car to reach the top and enjoy the beautiful scenery while sipping your Turkish coffee or tea.

Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: Rahmi M. Koc Museum, Haskoy Cad. No: 5 Beyoglu, Haskoy, Istanbul 34445 Turkiye

Rahmi Koc Museum is on the northern part of Golden Horn, here we visit industrial and cultural museum built by famous family of Koc who were the leading power of Turkish Republic in industrial field since early period of 20th century.

Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes

Stop At: Halic, Istanbul Turkiye

Golden Horn region which is one of the oldest settlements of the city of Constantinople.

Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Balat Mahallesi, Murselpasa Cd. No:10, Istanbul 34087 Turkiye

St. Stephen Church; Located on the shore of the Golden Horn, the church is also known as the Iron Church due to the fact that it’s made entirely of prefabricated cast iron in 19th century.

Duration: 45 minutes

You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start time of the experience.