Day trip

Istanbul: Full-Day Small Group City Highlights Tour

4.2 / 5

80 reviews

Activity provider: Tour Altinkum
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    Day trip

    Istanbul: Full-Day Small Group City Highlights Tour

    Activity provider: Tour Altinkum
    Save up to 15%

    From US$ 51.33 US$ 43.63 per person

    Explore Istanbul’s most visited places such as the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Hippodrome, and Grand Bazaar. Enjoy a full-day experience with a knowledgeable guide in a small group.

    About this activity

    Free cancellation
    Cancel up to 24 hours in advance to receive a full refund
    Covid-19 precautions
    Special health and safety measures apply. Learn more
    Reserve now & pay later
    Keep your travel plans flexible—book your spot and pay nothing today. Learn more
    Duration 8 hours
    Check availability to see starting times.
    Skip the ticket line
    Live tour guide
    English
    Pickup included
    Your centrally located Istanbul hotel.
    Wheelchair accessible

    Experience

    Highlights
    • Enjoy a customized full-day group tour with your own local guide
    • Visit Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and Sultanahmet Square
    • Experience shopping with locals in world-famous Grand Bazaar
    • Learn the history of the Byzantines, Ottomans, and modern Turks
    • Enjoy lunch in a local restaurant
    Full description

    Get to know some of the best sights of Instanbul with a local guide on this trip to Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, Sultanahmet Square, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, and the Grand Bazaar. Enjoy included pickup and drop-off and skip-the-line entry privileges.

    Start your day with pickup from your hotel, then hop in an air-conditioned vehicle and set off on your journey to see Istanbul’s greatest landmarks. First, head to Hagia Sophia, meaning divine wisdom.

    The Hagia Sophia 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 visitors.

    Next, visit Topkapi Palace and enter inside. As well as being the imperial residence of the Sultan, this palace was also the seat of government for the ottoman empire. In 1924 it was converted into a museum. Today, it's famous for its harem, royal treasury, and holy relics sections.

    Continue to Hippodrome of Constantinople (Sultanahmet Square), built by the Roman Emperor Septimus Severus in 203 A.D. During the Roman period, this square 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 the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, and Topkapi Palace, today Hippodrome is home to the Egyptian Obelisk (Dikilitaş), the Serpentine Column (Burma Sütun), the Constantine Column, and the German Fountain.

    Next up on the itinerary is the Blue Mosque. This mosque was built by the Ottoman Sultan Ahmet I in the year 1616 and is located opposite the Hagia Sophia.

    Today, the Blue Mosque is one of the most famous landmarks of the old city with its famous six minarets, dome, and blue tiles decorating the interior walls.

    Visit the Grand Bazaar. Featuring 18 entrances and more than 4000 shops, the Grand Bazaar is one of the greatest bazaars in the world. Stroll through the unique shops and experience the atmosphere of everyday local life.

    At the end of the tour, sit back and relax as you're driven back to your pickup location.

    Includes
    • Full-day sightseeing tour
    • Guide
    • Lunch in a local restaurant
    • Hotel pickup and drop-off from central Istanbul hotels (Taksim and Sultanahmet)
    • Transportation by air-conditioned vehicle
    • Topkapi Palace entry fee (260TL per person)
    • Drinks with lunch
    • Tips (optional)
    Not suitable for
    • Wheelchair users
    Covid-19 precautions
    Safety measures in place
    • All required protective equipment is provided
    • All areas that customers touch are frequently cleaned
    • You must keep social distance while in vehicles

    Select participants and date

    Participants

    Date

    Important information

    What to bring

    • Comfortable shoes
    • Passport or ID card for children
    • Cash

    Know before you go

    • Topkapi Palace is closed on Tuesdays
    • The Blue Mosque is closed on Fridays until 2:00 PM (you will only visit the garden after this time)
    • The Grand Bazaar is closed on Sundays
    • Admission fees(per person): Topkapi Palace: 260TL
    • The tour guide will have pre-paid skip-the-line tickets for the Topkapi Palace to avoid ticket lines. The cost of the entry fee can be paid to the tour guide in cash (US dollar, Euro, or Turkish lira)
    Customer reviews

    Overall rating

    4.2 /5

    based on 80 reviews

    Review summary

    • Guide
      3.6/5
    • Transportation
      3.8/5
    • Value for money
      4/5
    • Safety
      4.8/5

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    Our guide Chiidam, was brilliant. She showed us the most important historical places such as the blue mosque, hagia sofia museum and Topkapi palace at a leisurely pace. She explained the significance of the places in Byzantine and ottoman history. She was able to relate to all members of our small group. I would highly recommend the small group historical tour. As all the places are within walking distance of each other we never felt tired.

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    November 10, 2019

    D
    Durga – United Kingdom Verified booking

    Helpful?

    Good day

    Tour guide very informative and friendly. Lunch was not great, food tasteless, rushed service, also doesn’t help your energy for the afternoon. Would have been nice for longer time as grand bizar. Driving around istanbul is crazy lots of traffic and tight gaps. Not worth the money paid. Would have gone alone and been more value for money.

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    October 20, 2019

    G
    GetYourGuide traveler – United Kingdom Verified booking

    Helpful?

    super guides

    i was fortunate enough to get a very very small tour group which gave me a unique & unexpected experience. i believe my guides were knowledgeable and i learned a lot. the pickup from my hotel was prompt and i enjoyed me day. there was a bit of the tour that was ‘not to my taste’. i didn’t enjoy the prelunch shop as it was one store and i felt like the experience was a bit like a timeshare experience. as i was the only one there, and 4-6 staff members (can’t remember) trying to sell me stuff i didn’t want or need. also, the lunch was a terrible experience in a city full of fantastic & inexpensive food. that said, i would recommend the tour and the company. just know what you are getting. the tour sites are so beautiful and you walk right into all of them. there was free time at each location for me to look around on my own after learning from my guide. it was a great day. one suggestion is to drive guests from the last site to the grand bazaar. it was quite a hike to get there. hot!!!

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    August 31, 2019

    G
    GetYourGuide traveler – Canada Verified booking

    Helpful?

    Product ID: 203017