Private Tour: Basilica Cistern and Topkapi Palace Exploration with Fast-Track Entry

Embark on a private tour of Istanbul’s Basilica Cistern and Topkapi Palace. Explore the underground marvel of the cistern and delve into the opulent world of Ottoman sultans at the palace. Fast-track entry included!

Duration: 3 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Basilica Cistern - After you meet your tour guide at the entrance of Basilica Cistern where Privileged Entry. Start to explore the ancient underground world of the Basilica Cistern on this private guided tour. Built in the 6th century, this mysterious subterranean chamber once held water for the city’s palaces and gardens. Now, you can wander…
What's Included
  • Guided tour of the Basilica Cistern
  • Services of a professional licensed tour guide
  • Topkapi Palace guided tour
What's Not Included
  • Hotel pickup
  • Entrance fees
  • Entrance fees
Additional Information

Discover the captivating history and architectural wonders of Istanbul with our tour that takes you on a journey through the mysterious Basilica Cistern and the opulent Topkapi Palace. Our tour begins at the breathtaking Basilica Cistern, an underground marvel that dates back to the 6th century. Discover the ingenuity of Byzantine engineers who…

Location
Basilica Cistern
Yerebatan Caddesi
Meet your tour guide at the entrance of Basilica Cistern ( We will contact to you before your starts for more information )
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(199 Ratings)
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1 star
Lyd
Oct 16, 2025
Excellent Guided tour of the Basilica Cistern and Topkapi Palace - Erdem our guide was so knowledgeable and made the tour so interesting. It was also done at a comfortable pace with time to look around and ask questions. I highly recommend him as a tour guide
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rminnc
Oct 15, 2025
Fantastic experience with Erdem! - Erdem was a phenomenal guide! His knowledge of the Basilica Cistern and Topkapi Palace is amazing and he was very easy to build a nice rapport with. We were thrilled with our experience and recommend this tour 100%!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ali
Oct 11, 2025
great experience! - Erdem was a great guide and we were very happy that we booked this experience. We didn't have to wait in any queue and the process was very smooth
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Donna_g
Oct 11, 2025
Bascillica Cistern and Topaki Palace - It was a very interesting tour. Heusian was an excellent tour guide. He let you set the pace and was very knowledgeable.
Review provided by Viator
Barry
Oct 10, 2025
Fun history Day - Erdem was great. Very knowledgeable, friendly and interesting to listen to the history. Highly recommended. At the end he even walked us over to the Grand Bazaar to help us find his favorite spice shop. He went over and above Great guide
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Johnmc3230qx
Oct 6, 2025
Great tour with Huseyin of Basilica Cistern and Topkapi Palace. - Great tour with Huseyin, who led us on a leisurely walk through the Basilica Cistern and Topkapi Palace, skipping lines at both entries. He was most informative about the history of both locations, as well as of Istanbul and gave us a much better appreciation for and understanding of the roles these buildings played in the past. Highly recommended.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Schuette2018
Oct 4, 2025
Highly informative your of the cistern and Topkapi - Experienced a very informative tour of the Cistern and Topkapi courtesy of Erdem. He prepped us with a little background before we saw each highlight and then filled in more details as we went. I am a history buff and yet he was able to answer all of my detailed questions as well as keep my wife captivated as well. We highly recommend Erdem for this tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Christoph_l
Oct 1, 2025
Exceptional Tour Guide! - We had a great experience with our tour guide, Erdem. Our situation was very unusual in that my mother fell five minutes into our tour and had to be driven to the hospital for stitches. Erdem stayed with us the entire time, securing a taxi to follow the ambulance to the hospital, and acting as translator and advocate with clinic staff to get updates on Mom's condition. When Mom was released from the ER, Erdem helped is at the pharmacy and then found another taxi to drive us back tour hotel. (He had to run up the street, asking no fewer than three taxi drivers before he found someone willing to take us!) After we got Mom back to the hotel to rest, Erdem worked hard to salvage the remainder of the day. He joined us for lunch and then modified the planned tour so the rest of us were still able to see the Tokpapi Palace. Erdem's English is excellent and his knowledge of Istanbul/Turkish history is exceptional. He took time to answer our many questions and gave an enjoyable and informative tour of the entire palace complex. We are all so grateful for his patience, professionalism, and assistance with a very stressful day. He really turned it around for us!!
Review provided by Viator
Brian
Sep 30, 2025
Excellent guide and interesting tour. - Evrum was an exceptional guide taking us through crowds with ease and providing extensive information throughout the tour. He spoke excellent English and gave us much insight into the history of the Basilica Cystern and Topkapi but also the social background of importance. We would strongly recommend this tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Peter_j
Oct 15, 2025
Very good guided tour - You have to buy your tickets on the day of the visit - cistern by credit but Topaki with cash. Murat was an excellent guide. Knowledgeable, organized and happy to answer questions.
Review provided by Viator
From $23
up to 7 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).