Small Group Tour: Essential Istanbul

My tour was during the pandemic and I was the only member in the group, therefore had the benefit of moving at my own pace. My tour guide was Ozlem. She knew a lot about the places we visited, had sound knowledge of the history and information about good places to taste Turkish food :) All in all, a great experience!

This trip was in the midst of the pandemic so your mileage may vary. When you say “small group” tour, it’s really small....it was just me lol. My tour guide Semih messaged me about 30 min before the meeting time that he was there, but that I can take my time as it was just me. We walked down the street to the hippodrome, followed by the Blue Mosk, Hagia Sofia, and onto Topkapi palace. He was very knowledgeable about the history and the culture with excellent command of English and gave me perspectives that cannot be obtained from a guidebook or an audio tour. We grabbed lunch then went Onto the Grand Bazaar then the spice market where we ended the tour. I would highly recommend the tour, especially early in your course of stay in Instanbul as he can point you to other attractions in town besides from the highlights in Sultanahmet area.

Since this was during a pandemic, you may have a slightly different experience. My experience of pretty much a private tour was great. There were hardly any tourists around. My tour guide Semih met me at my hotel. He was early but he told me to take my time as I was the only one in tour. As I was staying down the street from the sites, We walked down to the hippodrome then to the Blue Mosk, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi palace, then to Grand Bazaar then we had lunch at a place I wanted to eat, then off the planned route but went on to the Spice Market. Semih’s command of English was excellent and I had a great day exploring Sultanahmet area. He was knowledgeable about the history and culture and gave me a great perspective of the sites we visited that you couldn’t just get from a guidebook. Highly recommended.

Great day tour of Istanbul with tour guide semih kzk, he is very knowledgeable, intelligent, helpful, I learn alot from him he was GREAT,, tour around Istanbul to see to most important sites like hagi sophia and blue mosque was a dream come true I am very greatful to tour guide semih and city tour of Istanbul was GREAT.

Amazing tour guide, very freindly and amazingly helpful throughout the trip. Was really good as it was basically a private tour even though we paid for a group tour.

The tour was very enjoyable and the guide had a lot of knowledge and patience and took us to all the best places.

This was an amazing tour that covered the highlights of Istanbul perfectly. I felt that I got a great taste of the city and all it had to offer. My guide was kind, knowledgeable, and made it a fantastic experience.

Very friendly and knowledgeable guide, the sights of Istanbul were amazing, and the unexpected trip to the pottery workshop was a real eye-opener with some stunning pieces of craftsmanship.

Our guide, Lale, was spectacular... we asked a lot of questions and she answered everything with patience/depth. Also, she was flexible and accommodated us to our preferences.

Simih was an excellent guide with an impressive knowledge of his city and its history. We never felt rushed at any stage and his relaxed manner and excellent English made it an informative and enjoyable tour. Highly recommended.