Private Istanbul Tour with a Licensed Guide

Istanbul with your own guide

A private tour is the best way to see Istanbul if you want to go at your own speed, ask all your questions and skip the crowd of a group. A licensed local guide meets you at your hotel, at the airport or at Galataport, travels with you in a private car with driver, and shapes the day around what interests you, whether that is Byzantine mosaics, Ottoman palaces or simply the best photo of Hagia Sophia.

Most guests choose our classic full-day tour of the old city, or a half day if time is short. We can also plan days in Fener and Balat, Beyoğlu and Galata, or the Asian side, and combine any tour with a private yacht cruise on the Bosphorus. Travelling as a family or a group of friends? A private tour often costs little more per person than a group tour.

Private tour highlights

• Only your groupYour own licensed guide and a private car with driver.
• Pickup where you areFrom your hotel, the airport or the cruise port.
• Your pace, your interestsSpend longer where you like and skip what you do not.
• Lunch and ticketsLunch with soft drinks and all entrance fees on the full-day tour.
• Any languageEnglish as standard, other languages on request.
• Add a yachtFinish the day with a private Bosphorus cruise.

Full-day private tour: Ottoman and Byzantine Istanbul

About 7 to 8 hours. After pickup, your guide starts at the Hippodrome, the heart of the East Roman capital, then visits the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, the largest church in the world for almost a thousand years. After lunch in a fine restaurant, you continue to Topkapı Palace, the home of the Ottoman sultans, then go underground into the Basilica Cistern with its Medusa heads, and finish in the Grand Bazaar with its 4,000 shops.

1. The Hippodrome
   The obelisks and the story of 2,500 years of the city.
2. The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia
   The two great domes of Sultanahmet, face to face.
3. Lunch
   A Turkish lunch with soft drinks in a fine restaurant.
4. Topkapı Palace
   The courtyards and pavilions of the sultans above the Bosphorus.
5. Basilica Cistern
   The 6th-century underground water palace and its columns.
6. The Grand Bazaar
   Jewellery, carpets, leather and lamps in the covered market.

Half-day private tour

About 4 hours, ideal for a morning or an afternoon, or for cruise passengers with a short stop. Your guide takes you to Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome and the Grand Bazaar, the essential sights of the old city, with private transport from and back to your hotel or the port.

Other private tours we can plan

• Islamic Istanbul TourEyüp Sultan, the tombs of the Sahaba and great mosques
• Istanbul Food TourBreakfast to dinner across the city
• Dolmabahçe Palace and the BosphorusThe 19th-century palace of the sultans
• Shore Excursion from GalataportPlanned around your ship's schedule
• Private Bosphorus Yacht CruiseAdd the water to your day

We also plan walks in Fener and Balat, with their colourful houses and Greek and Armenian churches, and in Beyoğlu and Galata, the 19th-century European quarter. Tell us what you would like to see.

What is included in the private istanbul tour

Good to know before you go

• Topkapı Palace is closed on Tuesdays and the Grand Bazaar on Sundays; on those days we replace them with another sight, such as the Basilica Cistern, the Archaeology Museums or the Spice Bazaar.
• Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque are working mosques. Visits pause during prayer times, and women should cover their hair; men and women should cover shoulders and knees.
• Museums and bazaars close on some national and religious holidays, such as 1 January, 29 October and the first days of the Eid holidays. We adjust the plan if your date falls on one.
• Children up to 4 years join for free; children from 5 to 8 years get 30% off.

What our guests say about our cruises

Booking, payment and cancellation

1. RequestSend your date, group size and wishes. No prepayment.
2. Your plan and priceWe reply with a tailored itinerary and a written price, usually within the hour.
3. On the dayPay in cash in euro, US dollar or Turkish lira.
4. 24+ hours beforeCancel or change your date free of charge.
5. Under 24 hoursLate cancellations and no-shows cannot be refunded.

If a cruise is cancelled because of bad weather or an official warning, you choose a new date or cancel at no cost. These terms are for guided tours and shared cruises; private yachts have their own private tour terms.

Private Istanbul tour FAQ