Walking 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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!

We met our tour guide Necla right on time who proceeded to ask us a few key questions and, based on the our interest and preferences, designed a 3 hour walking tour of Beyoglu District.

We wanted to acquaint ourselves with how contemporary Turks live, eat and relax in this historic yet very residential neighborhood. She led us through backstreets, covered passage ways, a local fish market, the city's oldest Turkish Delight purveyor, a subterranean wine bar, and a 16th C caravan sarayi designed by a Genoese that currently serves as a workshop coop for repairmen, machinists etc. We received great recs for bfast, lunch, and dinner. Nothing touristy and extremely reasonable. Hands down, one of the best eating out experiences we had was at Zubehir Ocakbasi. Can't thank Necla enough for her patience, kindness, and hospitality. Our vacation would not have been the same without it.

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

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.

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.

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!

Four of us were given a tour by Necla thru the Beyoglu District (we were based right next to the Galata Tower) and had a delightful time with her. She has a wonderful sense of humor, clearly knows the out-of-the-way places for food and shopping, and enjoys showing off 'back street' Istanbul. She showed us a subterranean wire bar which we of course returned to the next day - great selections. Recommended Subehir Ocakbasi for dinner - off-the-chart delicious and great fun. We also had a terrific breakfast a few days later at the restaurant where she worked and plan to stay in touch. Highly recommended.

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.

Our guide was knowledgeable, accommodating and friendly. We enjoyed getting a taste of the rich history and not spending the entire day doing it.

We’re well traveled and enjoy seeing the highlights of any spot we visit but we’re not interested in dragging things out unnecessarily. Our guide picked up on that and got us to the best spots with maximum efficiency. He even accommodated our schedule change graciously due to a mix up on our part.

Would absolutely recommend!