Private Tour: Custom Istanbul City Sightseeing Tour

Before your tour, your private guide will contact you to discuss what you want to do on your half-day or full-day itinerary.On the day, meet your guide at your hotel or another central location. Hop inside your air-conditioned vehicle or set out on foot, depending on where you’re heading.

Perhaps start at the Blue Mosque, famed for its domes, minarets and blue İznik tiles. Admire the ocean of blue formed by thousands of tiles, and then continue to UNESCO-listed Hagia Sophia. Built as a church in the 6th century, the soaring edifice became a mosque in Ottoman times and is now a fascinating museum.

On your travels, perhaps check out the Hippodrome, the site of a chariot-racing stadium during Istanbul’s days as Byzantine Constantinople. Then, take tips from your guide for the best places to eat lunch (own expense) and dine at your leisure.

If you’ve chosen a full-day tour, maybe devote your afternoon to Topkapi Palace, home to the Ottoman sultans for over 400 years, which brims with treasure. Or perhaps shop for souvenirs in the Grand Bazaar or Spice Bazaar.

Alternatively, relax with a cruise along the Bosphorus, the waters that separate Europe from Asia; or explore Istanbul's charming Asian-side Üsküdar or Kadıköy districts, with their cobbled lanes, mosques and markets. Then, finish at another Istanbul showstopper: the Basilica Cistern. Admire the columns and vaults of the stunning subterranean cistern, built in the 6th century to bring water into the city.

After your explorations, end your tour with a drop-off at your hotel or another central location.