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  We enjoyed a beautiful fall day with our tour guide, Ceren. She met us at our hotel lobby and we took a taxi over to the Old City for what... read more would be a very informative but relaxing tour of Istanbul's major historic sites. The tour was paced well and there was plenty of opportunity to stop, sit, and just enjoy the surroundings. Ceren was very knowledgeable about the history of all the sites we toured. She was friendly and personable. I liked that we got to know her as a person too. We had lunch at a local restaurant where the food was delicious and tasted home-cooked. The staff at the restaurant were very attentive and hospitable. We enjoyed shopping at the Grand Bazaar and with local state-sponsored artisans outside of the Bazaar. We never felt rushed with Ceren- in fact, we went over the 8hrs! Overall, I would highly recommend a private tour of the historic sites, unless you yourself are a history buff and know all the history already. Even if that, a tour guide can assist you in getting comfortable with the layout, customs of Istanbul so that you feel comfortable exploring on your own! looking forward to returning to Turkey and seeing more of the country.

  Oscar (Ozgur) was a phenomenal tour guide. He met us at our hotel early and commenced our tour across the old city. He was extremely knowledgeable, kind, and patient. He... read more gave us so much historical and modern context to the sights that enhanced our experience. We were never bored and kept us engaged in all of the history. He was a great photographer for us as well, frequently asking to take pictures at the best spots. Near the end of our tour, a few places were closed that we wanted to see, so to fill that time he used his own tram card and took us to the best Baklava place in Istanbul because my wife mentioned it was her favorite Turkish dessert. Best tour guide we’ve ever had across many countries we have been to!

  Semih is the best, very knowledgeable and super friendly help us Customize what we want to see and work with our time. Thank you so much Semih!!

  Asli was an excellent guide. She was prompt, nice, funny, and very knowledgeable. The tour itself was super informative. We saw nearly all of the “must-sees” in Istanbul and I... read more learned a lot about the history of Turkey, Istanbul, and Islam. In addition, having someone around that spoke Turkish made everything much more seamless when trying to navigate and negotiate our day. Further, having a private tour made me feel much more comfortable in the COViD era. The value for this tour is excellent and I cannot recommend it, and Asli, enough.

  Istanbul is worth to visit. In this time of the year there were no waiting lines. The tour guide did a fantastic job to tell us about all visited place... read more e.g. Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace or Basilica Cistern. Many thanks!

  I used Guided Istanbul Tours for a private, customized, 9-day tour. Mehmet handled the pre-arrival planning. We had almost daily email communication for weeks during planning. His responses were... read more always timely and informative. He listened carefully to my feedback to create a personalized itinerary to meet my needs. After weeks of planning to come up with the desired itinerary, I received notifications of several flight changes/cancellations impacting my itinerary. I was ultimately forced by the flight schedule changes to shorten the length of my stay in Turkey. I feared there would not be time to see all of the desired sites, and I considered canceling the trip. Mehmet, however, came up with alternative itineraries based around the new flight schedules, and he was still able to incorporate all of the desired activities despite the shorter length of stay. Tayfun was the tour guide assigned to me upon arrival. He was, perhaps, the most knowledgeable guide I have ever had. He is passionate about learning and teaching the history of his country. He allowed me to set the pace for our activities. He added bonus sites to the itinerary when time allowed. I visited various parts of the country (Istanbul, Pamukkale, Ephesus, Mt. Nemrut, Cappadocia), and Guided Istanbul Tours did something unique. I am accustomed to being assigned different guides at each destination when I fly to various regions in a country. You use a guide in one city/region and pick up another in the next city/region. However, Tayfun was my assigned guide for the entire trip, and he accompanied me on all domestic flights. It provided nice continuity. The drivers used in the program were punctual. The vehicles were well-kept and comfortable. I have only one complaint. Given the uncertainties with travel during the pandemic, I spent extra time and effort ensuring that all hotel booked offered a free cancellation period. I sent a list of my chosen hotels for Mehmet to review. I specifically asked if any of the choices raised concerns, and he expressed no concerns. Onnly when I arrived in Turkey three weeks later was I advised that one hotel was too far away and that it needed to be changed. By then the penalty-free cancellation window had elapsed, and I lost money on the canceled reservation. The loss could have been avoided if the company had advised the change when I sent the list instead of waiting three weeks. Still it was a lengthy planning process. The itinerary involved multiple flights and transfers. It was amended several times to accommodate the ever-changing flight schedules. It required great knowledge of the local tourism industry to create an alternative itinerary on short notice. It took creativity to figure out how to compress 10 days of activities into eight days. So many things could have gone wrong, I am certain more would have had I chosen a lesser company. I can strongly recommend Guided Istanbul Tours for any of your Turkey travel needs.

  My wife and I came to Istanbul for three days as sort of a last minute trip from the US. We cannot say enough great things about the tour... read more that our tour guide, Hakan, but together for us! He met us in our hotel lobby at Soho House, had a taxi waiting for us and we began our tour right away. He is a true historian and food and was able to explain the history of the sites we visited in detail without boring us at any point. He speaks great English among other languages and was kind enough to recommend and join us for lunch at a "locals-only" kebab spot in Sultanahmet. He went so far as adding an additional stop (Spice Bazaar) for my wife. If I had it to do over again, I would have booked additional days with Hakan to get an even better feel for this vibrant city. Thanks again, Hakan.

  Our family went on a private two day tour of Istanbul. Our guide, Ugur Kilerci, was fantastic! He planned out our itinerary with us and was willing to separate... read more our two days so we did Monday and Wednesday, since we were unable to do them consecutively. Ugur is incredibly knowledgeable on Istanbul history and information on each site we visited! We saw Topkapi palace, Hagia Sophia, Suliyamanye Mosque, Dolmabahce Palace(my favorite!) Spice Bazaar, Grand Bazaar, A Bosphorous cruise, and some unique food places to try local foods. Our teenagers had so much fun learning and seeing all the history and trying new foods. Ugur was a wonderful guide who knows and love his city! We would highly recommend him for your trip to Istanbul!!

  No questions left unanswered. Perfect start to Historic and cultural fabulousness of Istanbul! Ozgür went above and beyond and continued to send us recommendations of the best flavours, baklava’s, views... read more and experiences. Couldn’t recommend him more highly!