Best Istanbul Tours

Two to four days covers the main sights without rushing. One full day is enough for the Old City: Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome and the Grand Bazaar. A second day fits Topkapi Palace, the Basilica Cistern and a Bosphorus cruise, and a third can go to Dolmabahce Palace, Balat or the Asian side. Our Best of Istanbul private guided tour can be booked for 1, 2 or 3 days from $199 per group, with about 7 hours of guiding each day.

If you want your own guide, the Best of Istanbul Private Tour covers Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome and the Grand Bazaar in about 7 hours, from $199 per group. If you prefer a shared day with museum tickets and lunch included, the Istanbul Old City Full-Day Tour costs from $199 per person. For a shorter private visit, the Private Basilica Cistern Tour with optional Topkapi and Hagia Sophia starts at $150 per person. Check the Included list on each tour page.

Topkapi Palace is closed on Tuesdays and Dolmabahce Palace on Mondays. The Grand Bazaar is closed on Sundays, so on Sunday our Old City tours visit the Spice Market instead. On Fridays Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque restrict visitor entry around midday prayers, roughly from 12:00 to 2:30 pm. In 2026 museums and bazaars also close on 1 January and during the religious holidays. Our guides plan the order of visits around these days.

On most private walking tours they are not: you pay the ticket office on the day, and the guide helps you with the queue. Some tours do include them. The Topkapi, Hagia Irene and Grand Bazaar afternoon tour (from $150) has the Topkapi ticket included, and the Istanbul Old City Full-Day Tour (from $199) includes museum tickets and lunch. The Private Basilica Cistern Tour (from $150) includes the cistern ticket, and the Dolmabahce Palace Private Tour (from $150) includes the palace ticket. Check the Included list on each page.

There are three price levels. The shared Bosphorus Lunch Cruise costs from $75 per person with hotel pick-up and lunch on board, and the Luxury Bosphorus Dinner Cruise with a show costs from $90. For a private boat, our yachts are rented by the hour for the whole group, from $190 per hour with a 2-hour minimum. The 2-Hour Private Bosphorus Yacht Cruise, with a licensed guide and tea or coffee on board, costs from $600 per group.

Yes, if the layover leaves at least 6 hours outside the airport. The Private Istanbul Layover Tour with Airport Transfers runs 6 to 8 hours from Istanbul Airport or Sabiha Gökçen, costs from $550, and includes the private van, round-trip airport transfer and a licensed guide. The guide chooses sights that fit your flight times. Museum tickets and meals are extra. Send us your arrival and departure times and we will tell you whether the plan works.

A private guide for a full day starts at $199 per group on our Best of Istanbul tour, which is priced per group, not per person, so a family of four pays about $50 each before tickets. The Classic Istanbul Full-Day Private Tour starts at $200 per person, and a private Mercedes Vito city tour with driver costs from $220 per group for 8 hours. Museum tickets are usually extra.

A small group is cheaper for one or two people, and our Hagia Sophia and Topkapi small-group tours include museum entry, from $120 per person. A private tour is better for families, slow walkers, or anyone who wants to set the order and pace. Because the Best of Istanbul tour is priced per group from $199, it becomes the better value once you are three or four people.

For a first visit, yes. Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi and the Grand Bazaar are easier to understand with a licensed guide, who also handles the ticket queue. If you only want to see the city from the water, a Bosphorus cruise from $75 per person needs no guide. Solo travellers can join a small-group tour from $120 per person.

Many do: the Bosphorus lunch cruise, the day trips to Bursa, Troy and the Princes' Islands, and the private tours from central hotels list hotel pickup or a meeting with your guide at your hotel. The afternoon Topkapi small-group tour does not include the return to your hotel, and the street food tour and the whirling dervish ceremony start at a meeting point. Check the Included list on each tour page.

The cheapest options are the whirling dervish ceremony and the Şile Black Sea beach day trip, both from $60 per person. For Old City sightseeing, the cheapest is the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque and Grand Bazaar small-group tour, from $120 per person with the museum ticket included. A Bosphorus lunch cruise costs from $75 per person.