Istanbul Private Foodie Tour

My two travel companions and I have been lucky enough to have visited Turkey before and so wanted to try a bit of an off the beaten track look into Istanbul and the food that really inspires the locals... we couldn't have selected a better company or guide - knowledgeable, insightful and happy to accommodate our requests. We found awesome neighborhoods, definite spots to return too, great places to shop and a number of haunts that are frequented by the current crop of cool-kids, but that we felt welcome in regardless. All-in-all, we should have done this tour at the beginning of the trip so that we could have made use of all of our new found knowledge. If you have any doubts - this was worth every cent twice over.

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.

Necla was a very good guide. She was knowledgeable, interesting and friendly without being too much of any of these things! She took us to places we would never have found without her - and was canny enough to order half portions so we were able to try lots of different delicious foods without exploding! She also adapted the tour to suit our requirements, including a Turkish Delight shop, and an authentic Turkish coffee cafe. She even helped us bargain in the Grand Bazaar! I would thoroughly recommend this tour - although go with an empty stomach.