I HAVE FOUR DAYS IN ISTANBUL

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This is a great itinerary for those who have four days in İstanbul.

This private tour takes you to the must-see sights of historical İstanbul as well as the local gems of the modern city.

Your private professional tour guide and driver will pick you up from the hotel every morning and take you to different parts of town.

Highlights:

Explore the most significant sites from the Ottoman and Byzantine era with an expert of both empires’ history who will bring each storied structure to life

Skip the line at The Underground Cistern and Topkapı Palace getting ahead of the crowds will help you appreciate the cistern even more.

We recommend exploring the modern side of the city with panoramic views on the first day to orient yourself better. Finest way to orient yourself is to go on the private yacht tour along the Bosphorus. This is the most relaxing and informative way to learn about İstanbul. Your guide will tell you all about the city during this yacht tour as you take photographs of the beautiful monuments and houses along the Bosphorus.

Following the yacht tour, you will explore the modern face of the city where you will be walking around the most picturesque neighborhoods along the Bosphorus as well as the up-and-coming ones around Taksim Square & Galata neigbhorhoods. You will have a chance to appreciate the antique stores around Çukurcuma, visit the first museum dedicated to a novel (Museum of Innocence) and wander among the designer stores of Galata neighborhood.

On the following days, you will visit the must-see sights like Hagia Sophia, Topkapı Palace, Grand Bazaar in the historical peninsula.

4 Full Days

Istanbul Tours

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Tour

Destination
Sultanahmet, Eminönü, Beyoğlu, Bosphorus & Fener & Balat
Excluded
VAT / Museum entrance fees / Meals / Personal expenses / Tips
Included
Private guidance by a professional tour guide / Luxury vehicle with A/C / Professional driver / Parking fees

Sights

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DAY 1

DAY 1: MODERN ISTANBUL DAY: Taksim Square: So called ‘center of the city’, famous with the ‘Statue of Independence’ Galata Tower: Finest panoramic view of the city Galata Neighborhood: Historical neighborhood that has been gentrified with youngsters and designer stores Cukurcuma neighborhood: Up and coming neighborhood with historical buildings & antique stores Museum of Innocence: First museum in the world that is dedicated to a novel (optional visit) Private yacht tour: Best way to start exploring Istanbul is from the water Arnavutköy neighborhood: Picturesque neighborhood with historical wooden houses and narrow streets Bebek neighborhood: Upscale, residential neighborhood by the Bosphorus

DAY 2:

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE HISTORICAL PENINSULA, PART I: Hippodrome: Former city center where the Byzantines had horse races and games Blue Mosque: Famous 17th century mosque with beautiful blue İznik tiles Hagia Sophia: Once the biggest church in the world, Hagia Sophia has been the cathedral of the Byzantines, imperial mosque of the Ottomans and now is a museum Underground Cistern: Biggest and best preserved underground cistern of the Byzantines where they stored water for emergencies Grand Bazaar: First shopping mall of the world, built in the 15th century, the bazaar is the biggest covered one in the world. Here is where the locals buy gold and silver jewellery, rugs, leather goods and more.

ClaireJourneys

2023-07-15

Incredible Start to Finish Truly perfect! I love collaborative travel planning with local experts. So, while TripAdvisor forums provide a good start for research, it's invaluable to have a professional like Eda hone an itinerary. My husband and I are active luxury travelers in our 50s. We had a week to spend in Turkey, and Eda devised a very personalized itinerary for 4 days in Istanbul and 3 in Cappadocia. Questions? Eda responded quickly three months out, and instantly mid-tour. She handled our airport transfers, selected private guides that were a great fit for our personalities and interests, private boat tour, private driver, restaurant recommendations and reservations, feedback on hotel options, advice on schedules, etc. We ended up staying at the JW Marriott Bosphorus for walkability in Istanbul, and the Argos Hotel in Uchisar for its beauty. Our guide Nilgun in Istanbul has incredible knowledge and insight on the history and current politics of this city. She began with an overview via private Bosphorus boat tour and walk around our New City hotel neighborhood on our arrival day. Then two full days of walking tours -- balancing each day with a mix of history, sites and shopping. Our guide Nihat in Cappadocia provided us with two full days exploring the region's historic sites and delicious restaurants. A true foodie greatly appreciated by both of us. Best of all, he knew exactly how to circumvent the crowds and heat. Happy to give our highest recommendation to work with Istanbulite and Eda -- to you on TripAdvisor and to our personal friends who've already heard our rave review.

blacar77

2023-06-20

Amazing stay! I just wanted to thank Istambulite for an amazing service and organization, our stay in Istanbul was magnificent. Also congratulate you for having Umran as part of your team, she is a wonderful guide and made every moment special. Again many thanks and will happily recommend you to anyone visiting Turkey. Until next time.

Greg W

2023-05-30

Istanbul experts with friendly and knowledgeable guides Instabulite did a fantastic job designing a tour for us. It was our first trip to Istanbul and we had two days to see a limited number of sights. They tailored their tours to suit our interests. Our tour guide - Neli- was personable and knowledgeable. She was fantastic at navigating the crowds and long lines at some of the more popular sites. She was a great ambassador for such a wonderful city.

whitecl0ud

2023-05-22

Great tour with Emrecan We booked a day tour with Istanbulite to the old city of Istanbul. Our guide Emrecan was a great guide. She gave us a lot of information about the city and the sites we visited. She was warm and welcoming. She had a lot of patience to all our needs. The Topcapi palace and the Underground Cistern are very beautiful and special places to visit.

Randy S

2023-05-12

Trip of a Lifetime to Istanbul!! Just wow! Can't say enough good things about Eda, Selena, and our guide Nilgun on our recent trip to Istanbul! The planning detail was very tailored to meet our interests and needs, and everything went smoothly and on time with absolutely zero problems. This was our first time doing a personalized tour and I can't imagine not doing it this way going forward thanks to the experience with Eda and Istanbulite. Very responsive, reasonable price, first class accomodations and transportation - their hard work and attention to detail made this a trip to remember. Thanks to the whole team for a GREAT experience!!!!

Stan - Retired Guy

2023-05-12

Great short visit to Istanbul Had a great visit in Istanbul recently. The agency put together a great customized tour, focused on the things we wanted to see and do. We were only there 3 full days, and pieces of 2 other days. Our guide Nilgun was awesome. Very pleasant and very knowledgable about the history and the sites of ancient Istanbul. So much history! Our driver was great, always showing up timely and navigating the narrow streets. Traffic in the old city is brutal at best. the private yacht tour was one of the highlights. The crew provided a high level of service to us. All round, a great, short visit to a city with so much to do, we'll have to go back! Thanks to Eda for putting it all together for us

Jet818217

2023-04-17

I cannot wait to come back! There are not enough words to describe the incredible service provided. Eda prepared an itinerary and experience that was completely in line with what we were looking for. The astounding knowledge of our tour guides Süreyya and Elvan, the skill of our driver, Jusuf, and the luxury of our hotel and dining, allowed us to enjoy the true beauty of Turkey's history, culture, environment and most of all its beautiful people! We look forward to returning to Istanbul, and will certainly call upon the team at Istanbulite when we do so! Many thanks to you all for helping to create a wonderful memory for our family.

sarahlburns23

2023-04-14

Terrific tours of Istanbul! Best tour guides! Eda and her team set us up with three separate tours in Istanbul - all three tour guides were terrific and we loved the tours. We did a half-day four tour on the Asian side and two full-days of exploring the historic parts of the city, including Hagia Sophia, the hippodrome, the Topkapi Palace, other mosques, the Grand Bazaar and Spice Market and the Basilica Cistern, among other sights. Our family of four was always engaged and the guides were knowledgable and lovely in each case. We would definitely work with them again and would highly recommend them to anyone visiting Istanbul!

Lenoretravels

2023-04-12

Amazing Experience thanks to Eda! Eda was amazing to work with. Being in the travel industry with access to many colleagues, I must say that Eda surpassed my expectations in providing an amazing agenda for my trip to Turkey. Eda is attentive, aware of her client needs, and takes time to understand the expectations of her clients. We were able to experience Turkey at its finest thanks to Eda. I strongly recommend her services and expertise.

Sara K

2023-02-13

The Best Guide Service I can't recommend more highly Eda's services. I got connected with her through an acquaintance and one of the reasons why my trip to Turkey was so memorable is largely because of the quality of the guides she matched us with. I used Eda's services on three different occasions: 1/2 day tour of Istanbul, 2 day tour in Cappadocia, and a one day tour in Asia side of Istanbul.

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