I'll start with WOW and go from there. I've done a few of the free walking tours with the…read moreSandeman's folks and they did a great job in Edinburgh and Prague but they're not in Istanbul so I turned to Yelp and found these folks. Meeting by the Cistern, we walked a solid 20,000 steps (according to my Fitbit) through a half dozen of Istanbul's best known sites including the Topkapı Sarayı, the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome and Hagia Sophia. Along the way, we made several stops and there were a good number of spots where our super tour guide gave us time to explore on our own. When she led us around, she had constant knowledge of the sites and the city of Istanbul and of Turkey. A vast and deep knowledge. I was impressed. Our tour was well organized and well run. The lunch spot was excellent. A couple of tips. - Bring a backpack and a bottle or two of water. - An umbrella is a good idea as the tour runs even if it's raining. - Sunscreen! - Comfortable walking shoes that have a good tread. Istanbul's streets are smooth stone and you don't want to slip and fall. - For the Blue Mosque, you'll be expected to dress appropriately. There are free head coverings. - Extra batteries for your phone/camera. You will take a lot of pictures in six hours! - Pay attention to the meet up spots after the self-exploration. A certain Yelper *cough* Bruce K. *cough* got himself separated from the tour and was nearly stuck on his own until he spotted the green umbrella!

In the past year I've had some pretty fun adventures all over the USA, in China, Korea, Australia,…read moreNew Zealand, Canada, Germany, the UK, Spain, the UAE, and now Istanbul. While I've had a lot of fun in all those places, I can say unequivocally that my Istanbul Classics small group tour with Metin has been the best $90 USD I have ever spent on any activity in any of those places. If you are considering a tour of Istanbul and questioning whether you should do it with Daily Istanbul Tours, with some other tour organizer, or on your own, I can assure you that the best decision will be to book with DIT and be sure to request Metin as your guide. I won't bore you with details of the sites we saw, since you can get all of that information from their website. What I'll do instead is share a little about why this tour ended up being the highlight of our holiday: * It's easy enough to find and get into the sites, but there is so much information out there about them that it's really hard to distill it all into useful material. Metin is an expert on each site and knows exactly what the most interesting and relevant details are; he'll definitely help you make the most of your time at each place you go. Going on our own would be been stupid; we would have wasted hours wandering around, not really knowing what the more significant parts were or what we were looking at, etc. With so little time and so much to see, it was important to use our time efficiently, which we definitely did. * There can be something intimidating about being in a foreign country, especially if you are easily recognizable as a foreigner, don't speak the language, and aren't traveling with a group. Spending a day with Metin lets you truly relax and focus on the amazing sites without having to constantly watch your back or worry about getting screwed (which is a concern in any major city). With Metin, there's no pressure to buy any random crap, no worries about cultural faux-pas, and nobody bothering you at all when they see you are with him. If someone does approach you, he will dispatch them quickly. * Whatever random questions you have, I guarantee Metin will be able to answer them. Want to know what material a wall was built from? Metin knows its chemical composition. Want to know what year a building was constructed? He can tell you when each part of it was created, how long it took, how it was made, who made it, how many times it has been destroyed, where the materials came from, etc. Curious about some Turkish or Islamic history? Metin knows the years, the people, the hows, and the whys. And don't worry about being able to understand him and communicate easily; his English is fantastic, with a slight British accent on some words, which is an extra bonus for us Americans who don't get to hear real English very often * Metin is very personable and took a sincere interest in making sure we had the best possible time in Istanbul. When I mentioned that I really wanted to smoke some narguile, he made sure we were able to get some after our lunch. While we were hanging out at the café, several of his friends happened to be passing by or were around, so he introduced us to all of them and we ended up having some very interesting conversations. We had such a great time on the tour but didn't have any plans later for our last night in Istanbul, so Metin invited us to meet up with them later since they would be hanging out along Istiklal near our hotel. We ended up spending another few hours together that evening and into the early morning hours talking about all sorts of interesting topics, exploring some really fascinating areas that we would otherwise have missed, and meeting more people. This was advertised as a 4 to 6-person small group tour, but due to the season and perhaps people's irrational fears about coming to Turkey, it ended up just being me, my dad, and Metin. This definitely helped contribute to the awesomeness of the experience, but I have no doubt that a group of any size would get great value out of a tour with him as well. We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Daily Istanbul Tours and Metin for making our trip to Turkey so memorable.

Amazing Tour, cant even express how much fun I had on this tour! I went on this tour on 10/29/2020…read more I had a great tour guide Sakir. He gave great detailed information at every stop we went to. He was also an awesome photographer. As a so traveler its great to have a guide that is also happy to help you capture your moments while on tour. He introduced me to my first Turkish Meal which was so delicious at a restaurant near The Grand Bazaar which completely filled me up. I had my first Turkish Tea during a Turkish Rug presentation. We made visits to everywhere listed on the itinerary including the Hippodrome, Egyptian Obelisk, The Blue Mosque and Sofia Hagia . He gave me a special option to either visit Topkapi Palace or to take a Bosphorus Cruise Tour. I chose the Cruise Tour and was so thankful for that choice. I was able to see so many great sights while on the cruise. After the cruise we visited Turkish Delights and sampled quite a few delicious pieces. I was given free time to visit the market square to indulge in the Turkish culture at the spice market. When I came back Sakir offered me a pistachio Turkish Coffee that was so surprisingly delicious. What an amazing day! I landed in Istanbul the day before this tour and I absolutely recommend this tour to be the first thing you do when you get to Istanbul. Everything you need to experience all in one day! Ask for Sakir because he has to be the best tour guide in Istanbul. He will give you suggestions of other things to check out in Istanbul such as Hammam which is a Turkish Bath which is also a must do in Istanbul. Thanks to Istanbul Daily City Tours Adore Travel

From the owner: We make Istanbul City Tour and private guided Istanbul Daily City Tours, Bosphorus Cruise Tour,…read moreSightseeing Istanbul, Shopping tours and historical religious tours. You can discover History of Istanbul, Princes Islands, Bursa, Istanbul two Continents tour, Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar, Turkish Night Tours on Boat on the Bosphorus with us. Our Istanbul Airport Transfer Service is cheaper then Istanbul Airport Taxi Price to Taksim, Sultanahmet. Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport Transfer and Istanbul Ataturk Airport Transfer Service is our Bussiness. Istanbul Airports Transfer, Istanbul Airport transfers are safely makes by our Company.Istanbul Flughafen Transfer is available for our German Guests. Easily Istanbul Shuttle Service and Istanbul airport transportation are our duty.

The day cruise on Bosphorus River is almost a must do tour by many tour group. This cruise display…read moremany buildings and historic landmarks along river. The cruise is about 1 hour. The ship did a stop near Asia side Istanbul. Then head back to the original port. If you join the second tour to Asia side of Istanbul, you will get off here. I decided to head back to the Europe side Istanbul. The cruise allows you to see the long suspension bridge that cross under. You also can see some landmarks on the top of the hill. Palaces mostly on the riverside.

The Bosphorus cruise is a must do in Istanbul…read more The Bosphorus is where Europe and Asia flirt shamelessly across a narrow strip of water. This strait, slicing Istanbul in half, has been causing geographical identity crises since forever. Want to sip tea on one continent while judging the traffic on another? The Bosphorus says, Sure, hun. Historically, it's been the watery red carpet for empires including the Byzantines, Ottomans, and now Instagram influencers. Fun fact: the current flows two ways because one direction just wasn't dramatic enough. So yeah, even the water here is extra. In short: it's blue, it's historic, it's chaotic, just like your life.

We took a ferry from Kadikoy to Eminonu and it was just easy as pie. First of all, you need to…read morefind the terminal to go to, since there are many destinations across the Bosphorous. We found the one for Eminonu and using our IstanbulKart, we got into the area for the specific ferry we wanted...between the two towns there are ferries like every 5-10 minutes...so it's easy to get on at a convenient time. The ferries are huge and most have an upper deck and a lower deck. Some have a triple open deck. We sat on the second deck and admired the sights as we went from one side of Istanbul to the other. It took about 30 minutes and the cost was less than a $1. All these ferries have lavatories and a coffee shop. Once they arrive to port, it takes them like 2-3 min to empty the passengers and they are ready to load the next group to go back....Amazing...

The TurYol bosphorous "cruise" is 12 TL, and leaves every half hour. Be there a half hour…read morebeforehand for boarding, and if you can, snag a seat on the port (left side) of the boat for the best views. The announcer only discusses the sights you're passing in Turkish, and the PA is very difficult to decipher so if you're not Turkish-fluent, don't expect a lot of guidance. Tour guides can get on for free, though, so if you have a guide with you you're golden! Great opportunity for some nice photos of all the riverside palaces in Istanbul, and to get a sense of just how permeated this landscape is with history. You will be packed in, though, with tons and tons of families and plenty of rowdy children... So if crowds aren't your thing, spend the extra cash and go on a more private Bosphorous excursion.

We went a little crazy during out time in Istanbul. We did 3 food tours! The Turkish breakfasts…read morewere our favorite and one of the only similar things we ate during all the tours. Two markets, two continents: Our guide Goncha was amazing!! She was very knowledgeable and passionate about Turkish food and culture. She taught us so much in a short time that we really felt connected to the city and culture. All the food was incredible and she went out of her way to ensure we were having a great time (despite the torrential downpour). She also answered questions and gave us suggestions of other things to do/eat during our stay. Because of her we booked two more tours! Bazaar Quarter: Our guide Katarina really knows her history and taught us a lot about the history and culture of Istanbul. She guided us through the Grand Bazaar and back alleys to delicious bites all over. We had such a great time that we booked a 3rd tour! Cosmopolitan Kurtulus: Ibrahim our guide is such a jolly and fun person. This ended up being a private tour through minority neighborhoods with even more tasty and interesting foods. He did a great job getting the locals to do the talking and explain everything to us. We had a great time exploring and sampling new foods in a new area devoid of tourists. Each guide brought their own unique perspective and led us around perfectly. I can't wait to do more Culinary backstreets tours in other cities! I have two suggestions that I think would improve the tours a little more: 1. Offer more drinks at all stops, where possible. 2. Kurtulus tour: The meeting place should be the subway station. To get to the meeting point we needed to take a tram, subway, and bus (bus stops are not obvious) from the Blue Mosque area to get there. We ended at the subway stop, so just to make it easier thats where it should start IMO.

Ok, where do I start in saying thank to Gonca and her staff at at Culinary Backstreets in Istanbul,…read moreTurkey. This trip, tours, food exposure, history lessons and suggestions deserve the highest praise I can give. I have never used this company before, but feel not booking them on future endeavors would be shame on me. The thought that we went to a Jewish breakfast at a families house, the walking through neighborhoods that our guides had personal relationships with the vendors, the food markets and sampling fresh fruits / veggies, the tour of a small farm and breakfast under the farmer's mulberry trees, made this this an intimate experience in a different culture and allowed us to see the Turkish people in their surroundings. A chartered yacht on the Bosphrorus River was another highlight. Being a small group of only 12, coupled us with others of similar interests. The tour did give us ample time to explore areas on our own. The two half days of cooking with a well published Turkish chef, Ozlem Warren was a treat. Always being their to answer questions, point us in the right direction, helping us with spice markets to avoid, airport transportation or immediate medical needs, left us with minimal worries. The first nights dinners was a total show stopper and a phemonal way to kick off our journey. The master making homemade baklava and sitting tableside with the pit master for kabobs was definitely memorable and delicious. I felt like we saw real Istanbul and it's beauty with the people's spirit and culture. Gonca, Ugur and the team completely exceeded expectations. The value here is definitely undervalued for what you get. If you are traveling in Istanbul, you must call Culinary Backstreets to organize your adventure. Gonca, Ugur and the team will make it your best trip ever. These individuals and organization will make Istanbul a memorable experience. A sincere and heart felt, thank you.

Great walking food tour with stops on both the European and Asian side. Ayse provided great…read moreoverviews of the city, food, culture, ... Each stop was educational and enjoyable, with a wide variety of food and drinks. This a fantastic way to get a good intro overview into the city and culture.

Great food and history combined. Guide was very nice and accommodating. Definitely go hungry and…read morepace yourself.