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Private Istanbul Tour: Customized City Experience
4.9
88 Ratings
Fatih
Experience a personalized, private guided historical tour in Istanbul with an Istanbul-born professional tour guide. Explore the city’s highlights at your own pace and immerse yourself in its rich history, culture, gastronomy, and shopping.
Experience a personalized, private guided historical tour in Istanbul with an Istanbul-born professional tour guide. Explore the city’s highlights at your own pace and immerse yourself in its rich history, culture, gastronomy, and shopping.
Duration:
7 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Blue Mosque - Explore one of the most stunning Ottoman mosques, adorned with blue Iznik tiles that are over 400 years old.
- Hippodrome - Discover the remaining monuments of the Hippodrome of Constantinople, where Roman chariots once raced. This ancient stadium was larger than any modern soccer stadium, with a capacity of 100,000 people when…
- Blue Mosque - Explore one of the most stunning Ottoman mosques, adorned with blue Iznik tiles that are over 400 years old.
- Hippodrome - Discover the remaining monuments of the Hippodrome of Constantinople, where Roman chariots once raced. This ancient stadium was larger than any modern soccer stadium, with a capacity of 100,000 people when the city’s population was 400,000.
- Topkapi Palace - Gain valuable insights into Ottoman history at their traditional palace, which served for four centuries. The palace features exhibition halls showcasing Ottoman jewels, ceremonial weapons, clocks, kitchenware, and more. A must-see in the old town.
- Hagia Sophia Mosque - Visit Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia), one of the oldest and most magnificent places of worship. Explore the sections of this church/mosque that served both Romans and Ottomans. Built in the 6th century by Byzantine Emperor Justinian, it is an architectural marvel.
- Basilica Cistern - Tour the spectacular 6th-century water reservoir of the Romans, a testament to advanced Roman architecture with its 336 ancient columns resembling a sunken palace.
- Kapali Carsi - Experience the oriental shopping style in Europe’s oldest and largest indoor shopping mall, nearly six centuries old, with 4,000 shops and 21 entrance/exit gates. The famous bazaar!
- Galeyan Restaurant - At a convenient time, enjoy a lunch break and savor the exquisite Turkish cuisine at either Deraliye or Galeyan, or opt for a simple cafeteria lunch at the Pudding Shop.
What's Included
- Professional licensed guide
- Professional licensed guide
What's Not Included
- All Fees and Taxes
- Lunch
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- Basilica Cistern Entrance Fee
- Hagia Sophia Entrance Fee
- Gratuity
- Topkapi Palace Entrance Fee
- All Fees and Taxes
- Lunch
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- Basilica Cistern Entrance Fee
- Hagia Sophia Entrance Fee
- Gratuity
- Topkapi Palace Entrance Fee
Additional Information
Offering personalized private tours tailored to your preferences in the city, the operator is thrilled to share their extensive knowledge and experience with you. Enjoy a unique private tour through the streets of Istanbul, where you can set the pace and choose to see or do more or less. With pre-purchased tickets, you will bypass the ticket lines,…
Offering personalized private tours tailored to your preferences in the city, the operator is thrilled to share their extensive knowledge and experience with you. Enjoy a unique private tour through the streets of Istanbul, where you can set the pace and choose to see or do more or less. With pre-purchased tickets, you will bypass the ticket lines, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in the city’s rich history, culture, gastronomy, and shopping. As a professional tour guide born and raised in Istanbul, the operator is dedicated to ensuring your comfort and helping you enjoy the vibrant life, history, cuisine, and shopping the city has to offer.
- Not recommended for travelers with wheel chair or serious walking difficulties
Location
German Fountain
At Meydanı Caddesi
German Fountain, Hippodrome, Sultanahmet area, old city. In the pick up point I will hold a sign with the travelers' name.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(88 Ratings)
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H2089zfrobertk
Oct 4, 2025
Great 2 Days in Istanbul - We had a great 2 days with Sel!! The knowledge and history he shared as we toured various Sites made the experience that much more interesting and exciting Skip the line tickets saved significant time His choices for both lunches were delicious!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Global12204586946
Sep 13, 2025
A day in Istanbul - We had a great tour of Istanbul today. The city is amazing. Even more amazing was our guide, Elif. She was very knowledgeable, considerate, funny and made sure we saw everything we wanted to see, and then some. I highly recommend this tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Canderla
Aug 26, 2025
Wonderful Custom Tour - What a fantastic tour! Sel was not only informative, but his passion for Istanbul was over the top. I would recomend this tour to anyone that has a day to explore the city, and we could not have asked for a better guide experience. Thank you!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jennifer
Jul 25, 2025
Amazing Walking Tour - With Our Guide, Sel! - Our first morning in Istanbul began with Sel, our incredible guide of 29 years, who made the city’s layers of history come alive.
We started at the Blue Mosque, where Ottoman grandeur meets Islamic artistry, its blue Iznik tiles shimmering like the sky. Just steps away, the Hippodrome whispered stories of Roman chariots and Byzantine emperors, a reminder that this city has been the heart of empires.
Then came the awe of Hagia Sophia—once a cathedral of the Eastern Roman Empire, later an Ottoman mosque, and now a symbol of the crossing paths of Christianity and Islam. Only non-foreign Muslim men are allowed on the first floor. We arrived at the noon prayer time, where we were blessed to listen to the call to prayer. Standing beneath its massive dome, you feel the weight of centuries where Romans and Ottomans shaped a city at the crossroads of continents and faiths.
What a way to start our journey in Istanbul!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
X1669ugjillc
Jul 18, 2025
- Sel was an amazing tour guide. He was very easy to get along with, showed us all the great sites. He spoke excellent English and was very flexible and easy to be around.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Eeeeeem2024
May 28, 2025
A great day with Sel - Sel was the most wonderful guide. I would recommend him to anyone who is looking for a very knowledgeable guide, who can explain Istanbul’s history and culture superbly and clearly and in a way that made it exciting and comprehensible for both the adults and the kids in our group. Sel took us around at the perfect pace and adjusted the day according to the kids’ needs for breaks and entertainment and the adults’ interests in history and handicrafts. If you are looking for a guide, do not hesitate to book Sel - highly recommended, and a great communicator to plan the day ahead of time! Thank you, Sel, we all had a wonderful time!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Z9758skdavidh
May 13, 2025
Touring Istanbul with Selcuk - My tour was arranged thru Celebrity cruise and honestly, it would be hard to imagine a more knowledgeable and gifted tour guide than Selcuk to take you thru Istanbul over the course of 2 days. His clear, thought provoking comments thru out the tour were well paced, well researched and spoken with a commitment that demanded our attention. And he has a pretty wily and dry sense of humor which surfaces from time to time. I left feeling like I truly had more than a tourist visit and hope others will be encouraged to look him up if the are lucky enough to get the chance.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Global284414
May 13, 2025
Elite tour guide - Sel is savvy, knowledgeable, and kind. He customized the tour for our group to fit our time schedule and preferences. He chose an essential set of historic sites, and incredible local restaurant, and a curated list of shops for us in the bazaar. You can tell that he has been hosting tours for many years. He helped us steer clear of scams and find great deals on extra special items in the shop. I would recommend Sel to anyone.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Phillipmats
May 4, 2025
Recommendation - We just completed our guided tour with Sel (Selcuk Sebilcioglu) of old town Istanbul and so glad we choose Sel, being just the two of us.
Sel was very knowledgeable, not only of the historical sites that was the subject of the tour, but could provide all the back ground stories that are associated with historical sites. Even an old limestone wall had history which Sel could explain, provide answers and make the guided experience such a pleasure. Istanbul is full of history and Sel made sure all our points of interests were covered and explained in the most interesting way.
I highly recommend Sel as your tour guide.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kelly
Apr 25, 2025
Fantastic 2 day tour with Sel! - My husband and I were blown away by Istanbul’s beauty and culture. There was so much to see and experience. Sel did such a great job. He was knowledgeable and informative. Just as important for us, he was a super nice guy and we enjoyed spending time with him. He thoughtfully organized and customized our tour to maximize our time and experience. He respectfully answered all my questions about cultural norms and expectations such as how/when to cover my head in the mosque. We enjoyed our tour enough that we booked another tour with him for October 2025!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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