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Istanbul · Turkey
Private Guided Exploration of Istanbul Old City
Starting From
From $67.20 per person
Current Project Expedition rate
Experience inventory, live availability and secure booking provided by
Project Expedition
The Experience
What your day looks like
Discover Istanbul on your own terms with a fully personalized private walking tour led by a professional local guide. Rather than following a fixed itinerary, you'll create the day around your interests, whether that means exploring world-famous monuments, wandering through bustling markets, uncovering hidden gems, or experiencing local life beyond the typical tourist routes. This flexible experience allows you to see more of what matters to you while benefiting from the expertise of a knowledgeable guide who can reveal the stories, history, culture, and traditions behind every corner of this extraordinary city. Perfect for first-time visitors and returning travelers alike, this tour offers the most authentic and personalized way to experience Istanbul.
Highlights
Why travelers choose this experience
- Design your perfect day in Istanbul with a fully customizable private tour tailored to your interests.
- Explore iconic landmarks, hidden neighborhoods, vibrant local markets, and authentic culinary hotspots with your expert guide.
- Enjoy the freedom to set your own pace, spending more time where you want and skipping what doesn't interest you.
- Gain insider knowledge, local recommendations, and fascinating stories that bring Istanbul's rich history and culture to life.
Your Itinerary
Your day, step by step
Day 1
Istanbul
Sightseeing at Hagia Sophia. Meaning Divine Wisdom, Hagia Sophia was the largest building on earth barring the Egyptian Pyramids or the Great Wall of China. Today's Hagia Sophia was built by the Emperor Justinian in 537AD. It was the religious center of the city during the Byzantine period. It was used as a church for 916 years and as a mosque for 481 years, In 1934, by the order of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, it was converted into a museum and has since been open to the visitors.
Continued
Istanbul
Sightseeing at Sultan Ahmed Mosque. Built by the Ottoman Sultan Ahmet I in the year 1616, it is located opposite the Hagia Sophia. Blue mosque today is one of the most famous landmarks of the old city with its famous six minarets and magnificent dome. Although it is officially named Sultanahmet Mosque, the (nıck) name Blue Mosque was given to it by the visitors because of the amazing blue tiles decorating the interior walls.
Continued
Istanbul
Sightseeing at Topkapı Palace. As well as being the imperial residence of the Sultan, the palace was also the seat of government for the ottoman empire. It housed the ottoman sultans for nearly 400 years until the Dolmabahçe palace was built. In 1924 it was converted into a museum. Today it is famous with harem, royal treasury, and holy relics sections
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Istanbul
Archaeological Exploration at Hippodrome Of Constantinople. Built by the Roman Emperor Septimus Severus in 203AD, during the Roman period hippodrome was the civil center for the people of the city where once 100,000 spectators could be held. Located in the heart of Sultanahmet surrounded by Blue mosque, Hagia Sophia and Topkapi palace, today it is home to The Egyptian Obelisk (Dikilitaş), The Serpentine Column(Burma sütun), The Constantine Column and German Fountain.
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Istanbul
Sightseeing at Basilica Cistern. is the size of a cathedral; it is 143m long and 65m wide and can hold up to 80,000 cubic meters (or 17.5 million gallons) of water. There are 336 giant columns (mostly Ionic or Corinthian in style) supporting the structure in 12 rows of 28 columns.
Continued
Istanbul
Local Flavor at Spice Bazaar.
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Istanbul
Local Flavor at Grand Bazaar, Istanbul. With 18 entrances and more than 4000 shops it is one of the greatest bazaars in the world. It was built between 1455-1461 by Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror. Today, shops selling the same kind of merchandise tend to be congregated in their own streets or inns as it was the original Ottoman system.
Planning Details
Before you go
Included
Personal Tour guide in your own language
Not Included
Admission fees to attractions Lunch (optional) Personal expenses
What to Bring
-You can include the entrance tickets for the sites you wish to visit in your tour by selecting them as an “add-on” option. -If your hotel is located outside the Sultanahmet area or if you are arriving by cruise ship, you can include the “vehicle option” in your tour through the add-on section. Once this option is selected, a vehicle will be arranged for you.
Meeting & Pickup
Hotel: Your tour guide will meet you at your hotel. Port: Your tour guide meets you at the Istanbul Port
Planning Notes
Minimum age: 1 Hotel pickup offered: Yes Confirmation: Manual By Business
Traveler Impressions
What travelers are saying
2025-10-23
5.00 / 5
Our guide was professional and knowledgeable. We asked a lot of questions and he patiently answered them all. He suggested an excellent restaurant for lunch that had fantastic views of the mosques. Our tour was the highlight of our time in Istanbul.
2025-09-12
5.00 / 5
OUR GUIDE made this a wonderful experience. We were able to come up with an custom itinerary and were able to see the sights on our own timing spending as much, or as little, time at each site based on our level of interest. Our guide was prepared to get us in to each site with 'skip the line' access and that was very valuable---who wants to waste time standing in line. OUR GUIDE was very knowledgable and a great communicator. Having a private tour was terrific.
2024-11-21
5.00 / 5
We had the most amazing tour guide in Istanbul!! If you are ever in Istanbul, ask for Korhan Korkmaz! He was our tour guide with Exemplary Travel Advisors and Project Expedition and we had scheduled a private 8 hour tour. He is unbelievably knowledgable on Istanbul, Turkey and many other places as well!. He was very personable and took us to a local lunch place with delicious food at a reasonable price. He worked with us to tailor our tour to our wants and provided good advice on the goods we wanted to purchase. Highly recommend this fantastic guide!! ????????????
2024-10-04
5.00 / 5
Onur was amazing, very knowledgeable and fun!
2023-08-31
5.00 / 5
The guide was amazing and he gave us a wonderful insight into Istanbul and managed to be one step ahead of the crowds so we avoided any long lines. Very informative, willing to answer all types of questions and made a phone call to book a dinner reservation and another for an hammam. Highly recommend him.
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