43 Best Local Tours in Istanbul

The wife And I did a full day tour and it was great! We got to see a lot of the main attractions and the guide did a great job telling us about the past of each area and building. He lead us to several key areas of the city and then took us to areas we might had no idea had such history. The tour was well worth it and a great time.

Our guide was a sweetheart! I was travelling with my mom and the guide was very attentive to her, which made it an easy and memorable trip. He also definitely knows a lot about the city and told us a great deal about Istanbul while we were on the island. This is perfect for companies of 3-5 people. Excellent experience!

The tour is exactly what it is marketed as - a trip off the beaten track. We saw the non-mainstream sights with a very knowledgeable guide, who was both attentive and informative while letting us enjoy the sights on our own a little bit. Fantastic way to finish off your Istanbul experience!

It was a great experience. We had a very competent guide, very knowledgeable and attentive to our questions and needs. This is an ideal option if you are travelling with family (3-5 people), keeps it very personal and entertaining. Definitely would recommend it to a friend!

If you have the time, definitely do this class! You don't need to have a special background in art, anyone can do it. It's a one-in-a-lifetime memory. I am framing my art that I made :)

Eyup was a great source of information as he showed us round the main tourist attractions. Friendly and engaging we had a fanatic day exploring and left as good friends.

This is what you call an actual dervish ceremony. The one you see at bosphorus tours is just for fun. This was actually spiritual. Loved it.

i had the most fun learning Ebru with bettul and her husband. theyre both really lovely people and very good teachers.

This is definitely worth your time and money. An enchanting spectacle and unusual unforgettable music.

If you want to experience Whirling Dervishes Ceremony like a local then don’t miss that one.

I have always wanted to visit Turkey, and feel so blessed that a friend of a friend gave me Ertunga’s name. I am not a large-group-tour-bus person, so was thrilled to find someone who could be my private guide for an affordable price. Ertunga was great to work with from the beginning. He responded to my emails within 24 hours, came up with a wonderful itinerary which I was able to tweak, was flexible with my dates, and willing to answer any and all questions.

The big question everyone wants to know: is Turkey safe? For the 2 and 1/2 weeks that I was there, I never felt in the slightest danger. (I feel in some ways our country is much more dangerous as 96 Americans die from gun violence every day. And we think Turkey may be unsafe?) The people were warm, friendly, hospitable, and always willing to help.

We visited biblical ruins, Roman ruins, Greek ruins, Hittite ruins, Lycian ruins, Byzantine, and Ottman buildings, bascillicas, and mosques. We viewed a sunken city on the Mediterranean through the glass bottom of a boat. We saw whirling dervishes. I had a Turkish bath. I’ve always wanted to take a hot air balloon ride – Ertunga arranged one for me in Cappadocia over volcanic “fairy chimneys”. Istanbul lives up to it’s fabulous reputation. We traveled 2,500 miles together, which allowed me to ask all kinds of questions about his amazing country — about it’s history, culture, and people. Turkish guides are extremely well qualified, and Ertunga was able to answer everything. It was the trip of a lifetime, and I am so grateful that I found him and his travel company.

We had Gökhan show us around Istanbul on our first day in town and are really glad we did.

Prior to the tour he asked what we were interested in seeing and doing. We were interested in getting a feel for the city, seeing some of the things locals do on the weekend and finding some good places to eat. I said we didn't want to visit a heap of Mosques and museums as we're not big history buffs. He came up with a plan and also said he'd bring his wife along which worked out well.

On the day they were at our hotel on time and we set off for our walking tour. Things my wife and I liked about the tour:
- as we walked he told us about the things were passing
- he'd clearly thought about a plan for the day based on what we wanted to do
- showed us how to use public transport and we used it to quickly move between areas
- tasted a few local specialities
- showed us things they like to do on the weekend in Istanbul
- explained some of the major areas

After the tour he was more than happy to message us to answer questions and give more advice.

Gökhan is relatively new as a tour guide but we really enjoyed our experience with him. We felt like we could enjoy the city without having to check google maps every 2 minutes. He offers the tours because he is proud of Istanbul and likes to meet new people and it really shows through. I'd strongly recommend booking a tour with him

We just got back from Istanbul and the I booked the marbling class for the last day. I was not expecting to have such experience. The artist talked about the whole process then walked us through step by step allowing us to creat more elaborate are as we went. I have very little talent but even so I was proud of my work. My daughter, on the other hand, is very talented and caught on right away. Even though the lesson was supposed to be a couple of hours, Ali worked with my daughter for double the amount of time. The attached picture shows what you can creat having never done this before. After we finished working we were welcome on the terrace for tea and cookies. I don't think there is a better view in all of Istanbul. We had to allow the paper to dry so we took a walk to the spice market to do a bit of shopping for kitchen items. When we walked back to the studio our artwork was dry and ready to take home.

The day was certainly not spent waiting on long lines to view tourist attractions rather experiencing something fun and unique.

An A+ company giving A+ experience.

We had the privilege of this being our second visit to the blessed Sahabe of Istanbul. The blessings received are priceless. I would totally recommend anyone visiting this beautiful city not to leave without doing ziyaret of the blessed Sahabe.
This company is thoroughly professional & it is commendable that they are keeping alive the history of the blessed Sahabe in Istanbul . This is not something that can be done without guidance as most tombs are scattered around the city,some in obscure locations.
Time was allocated at each place for respectful contemplation & prayers.
We had the full benefit of Dervish Erol's expert knowledge & spiritual insight. He brought the stories of the Sahabe alive with great eloquence. His words were poetic, translated with great care from Turkish by Hakan, who was amazing.
Many thanks for a memorable day.
May Allah bless you with every success in your endeavours.

the tour captured all the aspects that one was expecting although i added hagia sophia to the itinerary it did not deter from it.

our guide was very fluent in his understanding of the history and way of life of istanbul and offered incredible insight to this beautiful city full of history.

thinking back to our day spent with him brings back wonderful memories. he offered us local's insider which we greatly valued and needed as we were planning a shopping trip the day after.

my one major critisism with like a local is that i still havent received money that i booked another tour prior to booking this one on the 14th May 2018; that tour was full at the time and i was sent an email notifying me that the funds will be returned to my bank account, this has not yet happened and today is the 30th May 2018.
other than that, the like a local is a brilliant idea

kudos

Top sites half day tour with Emir
I got back from Istanbul with some wonderful memories!
They started with my first tour on the first day of my arrival.
I met Emir, the tour guide, at the pudding shop.
He was punctual and friendly on introduction.
Then went on to Hagia Sophia, I was impressed with the level of knowledge he had and the ability to share his sense of humour alongside an awesome tour!
Honestly this was my favourite tour of the city and top sites.

I would highly recommend this tour early on in your visit because you get fast track entry to the sites so you're not waiting around in the long queues.
Whether you're travelling alone or in a group, definitely book the tour with Emir! You really got a sense of him being proud of his city and how he loved sharing his knowledge with others!

Wishing him all the best to his future!
Until the next visit!

We did the "Real istanbul" on our first morning in the city. Emre, our guide was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the city and was able to quickly get us orientated. He was passionate about sharing the culture, traditions and religion which have played their parts in shaping the city and its people. The tour took place in the main sites but also gave us a taste of some of the more quieter and hidden areas just a few steps from the tourist trails.
Emre bought some local teas, pastries and organised a hookah at a traditional cafe and later provided baklava. we used bus and ferry too to go old greek district and to come back from there to Eminonu

This is great tour to do on your first day. The tour started at 9 am and finished about 5pm and was well paced for the guests.

We planned a visit to Turkey and Greece with another couple. We did a lot of online research to come up with a short list of well regarded private guides who are knowledgeable about the biblical sites in each country. Ertunga Ecir responded to our inquiries with detailed recommendations, based on his extensive experience leading tours to Istanbul and the "seven churches of Revelation". No choosing from Tour 1, Tour 2 or Tour 3.

Ertunga put together an outstanding 10-day itinerary. We were constantly impressed by his knowledge and by his love of the country. He was also quite flexible and creative as our interests were piqued, or our energy was flagging...

I highly recommend Ertunga for tour planning and as a private tour guide.

I've just returned from a short trip to Istanbul where I wanted to see as much as possible. I decided to get some assistance, so I booked myself on Real Istanbul Tour. The tour started with Hippodrome, the Blue-Mosque and Hagia Sophia. After which, we had leisure time in a hookah cafe to enjoy shisha smoking, drink Turkish tea and eat delicious food. Our guide then showed us Istanbul off the beaten path, visiting colorful areas, listening to Turkish music and tasting local deserts. We returned back by ferry, to end the journey in the grand Bazar to do some shopping.The tourguide was easygoing and was not rushing us. I absolutely loved my weekend escape to Istanbul!