56 Best Local Tours in Istanbul

Necla was a very intuitive guide on our day out and about in Istanbul. She communicated with us prior to the day to ask of our interests,preferences, diet specifications etc and planned the day accordingly. Her insights were fascinating and it was a real pleasure to experience life here through her eyes. She provided further tips on things of interest to do and see and we could highly recommend this day that was well considered and enjoyed.

Aysenur's love for Burgaz Island originates from having an Aunt whom lives on the island, a place she visits often to soak up the calming energy, the car-free roads, the pristine air and the local cuisine at the hill top Kalpazankaya Restaurant. I can't wait to share Burgaz Island with my wife and kids on our next trip to the region. Thank you Aysenur, we will keep in touch.

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!

The tour was a perfect way to start our trip to Istanbul. Very well though through, very tasty, very representative. I would definitely recommend it to a friend and I would also advise to eat everything (!) That Necla offers!!

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.

My experience of our trip to Istanbul was transformed by this tour with Duygu. At one point, when we were spending a lot of time at one spot, I expressed concern about that, and Duygu said not to worry, that we would finish the tour no matter how long it took. I didn't really time the tour after that, but I can say that we did finish the tour, and we were relaxed and enjoyed every artisan we visited.
There was no mention of us buying anything anywhere. I did buy a beautiful small glass vase at the glass making place, which was not expensive. The man there did a demonstration for us, which happened at several places. Sometimes we talked about the political situation as well as the crafts they were doing. All of them were glad to see Duygu and us, and they were friendly and welcoming, including one place where the man treated us with tea.
We visited a man restoring tin interiors to copper bowls for a restaurant, a glass craftsman, father and son wood carvers, a woman who makes a Turkish musical intrument, a metal artist, a man who gold leafs frames and furniture, and an architect who is restoring a large, interior court area and former orphanage to be a ... we'll have to go back to see! He showed us many things including beautiful architectural features that he has collected over the years. There were three similar things he was not sure of, and I was able to identify them as parts of stations of the cross from a Catholic church. That was a special encounter for me, and there were several such.
The last artisan we visited was not in when we got there, so while we waited for him to return to his shop, we went for lunch at a nearby restaurant that Duygu knew. It was excellent. We returned there a few days later and had another delicious meal.
Duygu is quite knowledgeable and informative. She is a gentle spirit who is well received by the people we visited. She freely shares her knowledge and gladly answered all our questions about the city.
If I return to Istanbul, I might do this same tour again. I would certainly do another tour with Duygu.

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

What a fantastic way to start our Istanbul adventure, it set up our eating and cultural experience for the rest of our stay. Traveling and meeting people and learning about food and culture is our idea of an amazing holiday. We were looking for an authentic food experience and we got so much more.
Duygu loves her home and its rich culture and it was truly a pleasure to meet her. She gave us an authentic experience that enriched our lives. We were visiting Turkey for ANZAC day and when we told Duygu why we were visiting she expressed her true understanding, and said that she really admired us for honouring our ancestors. This made us feel completely welcome and established a beautiful connection right from the beginning. She went out of her way to give us the best tour possible to meet our needs and changed the tour to suit our personal taste.
We ate amazing food from artesian food producers, went to trendy and traditional cafes and modern and traditional restaurants. This experience set up our stay and we returned to nearly all of the establishments we visited and had a lasting food experience.
Make this the first thing you do in Istanbul, you will not regret it.

There are many sights to see in Istanbul of course but if you want to have a more personal encounter with its citizens, I’d highly recommend the Artisans tour with Duygu in the Beyolglu District. It was a refreshing change from the tourist venues as we had a chance to have conversations (with Duygu frequently acting as our translator) with Turks who don’t often interact with Americans. They are involved in trades which are vanishing. Some had been in their businesses for over 50 years and were eager to tell us how they went about their work and their history in the area. (One seemed so interested in talking to us that he bought us tea, which was promptly put before us!) Duygu seemed to have a special rapport with them so it was a very enjoyable time.

Duygu was an amazing resource not only in telling us about the artisans but answered questions about the city, its history and what is current in Turkish politics. She is friendly, and has a warm, thoughtful way of talking. It was so great to spend some time talking to her about her experience in Istanbul. She made the tour quite special. I was resistant to spend so much money on a tour but it was money well spent!

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 spent a fantastic afternoon with Necla who showed my husband, his parents and myself all around the the Beyoglu area. Necla had so much knowledge about the area and her English was excellent. We were staying in Beyoglu and did the tour on our very first afternoon and were so glad that we did as we felt less like tourists and more like locals after this! Istanbul is such an enormous city it was lovely to feel like we could confidently walk around and knew where were the safer areas and which to avoid at night. Necla took us to a range of shops selling ceramics and other homewares as we requested and showed us many restaurants we could return to later. Necla even showed us how to buy a travel card so we could easily travel around using the tram later during our week in Istanbul. We did the 3 hour Orientation to Beyoglu tour and did a lot of walking which we enjoyed. The tours can be tailored depending on your level of fitness. I would highly recommend this tour if you are staying locally, thank you Necla!