Istanbul

Top Istanbul landmarks

Circle Istanbul (Extraordinary Istanbul)

Name: Circle Istanbul (Extraordinary Istanbul)
Brand: Circle Istanbul
SKU: 153858P1
Price: 200.00 USD
Rating: 5.0 (349 reviews)

Badge of ExcellenceIstanbul, Turkey

11 hours (approx.)
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

If you’ve already seen the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, this Circle Istanbul tour will take you beyond the most-visited sights to discover Istanbul’s lively neighborhoods, vibrant culture, and tasty cuisine. Visit the districts of Karakoy, Kadikoy, and Balat, cross over to the Asian side of the city, and take a scenic cruise along the Bosphorus. Along the way, enjoy delicious Turkish meals and a traditional Turkish bath experience.

Extended tour: pack in a full day of exploring from 9am to 9pm
Experience a traditional Turkish bath like a local
Try delicious Turkish cuisine: breakfast, lunch, and dinner included
Intimate tour with a small group of up to six people

What's Included

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Snacks
Turkish Bath. Its a "must do activity". Once you are here, you must try traditional traditional bath
Transportation
Guiding service from a pro licensed tour guide

Alcoholic Beverages
Gratuity for tour guide and Turkish Bath staffs

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Gümüşsuyu, Tak-ı Zafer Cd. NO:3/1, 34437 Beyoğlu/İstanbul, Türkiye
Meeting point is front gate of The Marmara Hotel Taksim. It is located at Taksim Square .

Start time

09:00 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Not recommended for travelers with back problems

No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
The destinations we are going to visit are mostly closed for traffic so the only way to see this beautiful city is walking. Circle Istanbul tour contains a lot of walking.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 6 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

5.0

349 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 349 reviews

A five star day!

shirlene_a, Apr 2024

This is one of the best Tours I have ever done and I have been to over 40 countries. Our guide Kerem really gave us a experience that open the window into what it’s like to be a local and to see things from a local point of view. He gave us just enough information about the history of the culture without overwhelming me and my guest. We Especially loved the Turkish breakfast and going to a real hamam and having a true Turkish hamam bath experience. But honestly, I enjoyed all of the experience. It was just really a wonderful day from start to finish. I would definitely recommend the store and ask for Kerem. He was an amazing Tour Guide. I’m not sure the experience would’ve been the same without him. Five stars for sure.

Metin - So Glad We Met Him

Anonymous, Feb 2024

Where to start? - We met Metin at Taksim Square and he asked me how I was, I was honest and said I wasn’t great as I’d lost my passport the day before. I’d spoken to 3/4 places I’d been to and none of them had it. He immediately asked where the last place was and after telling him very confidently said “I know these guys, I’ll call them for you and I think we’ll get it back” It’s a strange way to start a review I’ll concede, but it’s an example that from our very first interaction Metin couldn’t do enough for us to help. The tour itself can be best described by my partner when she said “it’s like spending the day in Istanbul with an old friend” - the enthusiasm with which Metin went about showing us the city was a beautiful thing. The highlights of the tour are rightly the breakfasts and the Hammam bookending your day what isn’t accurately measured is pit stops for authentic snacks and the flexibility with which Metin adapts the time between to match your interests. I’m an avid review reader, I read dozens of reviews for this tour before deciding to book. I won’t ruin the details of it by over describing each step, but what I will say is our guide was known by almost everybody, put your faith in him and say yes to as much as you can fit an unforgettable experience. To finish - before the Hammam Metin spoke to the shop I potentially had left my passport at, it turns out they’d found it and returned it to a police station. He took us to the station (which without notice had moved to a complete new location) and helped us with the over worked and busy Turkish police officers to quickly get my passport back. This tour is probably worth more than the price you pay, you get food and drinks, your walked about like a local, see history and culture and best of all you feel like it’s done with a friend. Cannot score it any higher

We had a great day being...

Caylie_H, Jan 2024

We had a great day being taken through the city - shown hidden treasures, learning some of the history, and tasting great food! It's a long day with a fair amount of walking, but it's paced well with the various stops/eating/sitting throughout the day. A perfect way to preview several sites, experiences, and neighborhoods throughout the city.

Great day!

Bernie_O, Oct 2023

Ayse was a wonderful guide! Fun time! So glad we did it! Enjoyed getting beyond the typical tourist attractions. So much fascinating history.

Best Tour Ever!

Donna_B, Oct 2023

Our day with Ayse was phenomenal from start to finish! A visit to Istanbul would not be complete without this comprehensive tour. Each food stop was delicious and gave us a look into the delicious food available in Instanbul. The traditional turkish breakfast was incredible as well as the shawarma (although everything was delicious!). We truly felt like we got to experience the perfect snapshot of Istanbul in one day. Loved the ferry rides on the Bosporus as well as the visit to the Turkish Bath, also enjoyed that we were able to experience multiple modes of transportion (taxi, tram, bus, ferry). We highly recommend this tour as a must do, and well worth every penny! Our tour guide Ayse was an absolute delight! This tour delivered everything in the tour description and exceeded our expectations and then some!

Istanbulers for a Day

Art, Sep 2023

Travel, eat and relax like a local! This tour is part food tour and part historical tour. Our guide Metin really immersed us in the local culture. From breakfast, to lunch til dinner we ate like Turks. We used public transportation and felt how it was to live a day in the life of a local in Istanbul. We rode the metro, ferry and the tram. Metin brought us to the neigbirhoods of Cirjangir, Kadikoy, Fener and Balat. We appreciated the local shops, cafes, restaurants and markets where Istanbulers go. To top it all, we experienced how it was to be pampered in a Hamam. I highly recommend this tour and our guide Metin.

Outstanding tour & a terrific tour guide!

Minh_V, Sep 2023

Our tour guide, Ayse Ozge was beyond excellent! Ayse is very knowledgeable about history, art, culture, religion & she did an outstanding job at showing us the extraordinary side of Istanbul beyond the overwhelmingly crowded tourist sights. We visited all the sights (both on the European & Asian side of Istanbul) that are listed on the website & my husband & I truly enjoyed the tour. Besides explaining in depths about each sights, Ayse also took us on a food fare which included a delicious traditional Turkish breakfast, lunch & dinner, as well as snacks in between . Ayse is extremely friendly & has an open communication style with us, as well as with anyone she meets. She is genuine & well perceive by many local business owners. For instance, one of the cafe that we visited for snacks did not have a public WC, but she was able to convince the owner to let us use their own personal WC. Another example, she was able to convince the owner to allow us to take a photo of their beautiful restaurant with a romantic backyard without eating there. Ayse is very attentive & kind. She often check with us every moment to ensure we were comfortable & if her pace was not too fast for us. Ayae has an aesthetic eye for photography and often points out the beautiful unique areas to take pictures.. She offered to take our photos & all the photos that she took of us were artistic & vibrant; they captured the essence & beauty of the specific areas that we visited. Ayse is energetic & very enthusiastic. From hearing her talk, we can tell right away that she's is very passionate about her job & her city, We enjoyed her ability to "connect the dots" in history to more fully understand the important lessons that history has taught us & the struggles of the "movers & shakers" that came before us, as well as having a unique perspective about her community & the world. Overall, Ayse is an awesome tour guide! She is extremely knowledgeable, fun, flexible & considerate. She did an outstanding job & we highly recommend her to anyone. We wish there is a tour guide like Ayse in every county that we visit.

Best Day Tour of Istanbul

Donna_W, Sep 2023

We loved the variety of experiences on this tour. We saw real neighbourhoods and areas that gave us an excellent overview of Istanbul other than the museums and other must do’s I would recommend this tour to anyone wanting to discover this wonderful city. Having an experienced and local guide such as Ayse enabled us to feel safe while enjoying our day.

Circle Istanbul

karen, Jun 2023

Had an amazing tour with Ayse….wonderful food, we loved exploring local neighbourhoods and interesting commentary. Our highlight was the Turkish bath experience… such a fun thing to do. Would highly recommend this extensive tour. Ayse was incredibly knowledgeable and fun to lead us on this journey.

Best tour and guide ever!

Jo_R, May 2023

Ayse was the best guide! She was fun, informative and the whole day was a delight. We saw wonderful, off beat areas and ate some amazing food. Definitely a must-do tour when in Istanbul.

Fun and informative

Anna_K, Apr 2023

Ayse was a wonderful guide and was able to show us so many experienses in one day. Wandering through different neighbourhoods of Istanbul and trying different foods was fun and informative.

Amazing and well-curated tour

Manas_S, Nov 2022

This was an amazing day! They purposely keep the groups small to make it a personalized experience and we were lucky to get our incredible guide, Metin, all to ourselves for our tour. We felt like we were being shown around the city by a friend. Metin is incredibly knowledgeable about the history of Istanbul + added his own views and personal stories of the sights that we were seeing! And we stopped multiple times throughout for food and snacks at places that he vetted and locals loved. I would highly recommend taking this tour early in your trip- the places we covered were unique and different than the typical tourist sites and Metin became a personal friend showing us the city.

Best tour to discover Istanbul

caroleseguin, Oct 2022

We walked around areas we would never have found, tasted Turkish delights through the day and experienced local customs. Metin is energetic, enthusiastic, funny and knowledgeable about his city. He even walled us back to the metro so we didn’t get lost. Above and beyond. We should have done this tour when we first arrived. And HAS TO BE WITH Metin 😄

Book Alim if you get a chance!

Michael_R, Jul 2022

Alim is a great guide! He was very conscientious by giving us detailed directions from our hotel to our meeting point and back and picked out some fantastic eateries where enjoyed local unique baklava, delicious flatbreads, Turkish coffee and so much more! What I appreciated most was Alim’s willingness to augment our tour and add things as substitutions in place of sites we’d already seen on a prior tour. This truly made our booked tour customized to what we wanted to do. Critical to the success of our trip was his speaking with vendors to help my group negotiate with vendors and help us navigate signage at the various transport depots. Alim was invaluable and helped us enjoy our time in Istanbul.

Another great viator tour worth doing

Mark_H, Jul 2022

I had Emily again witch i had on another tour witch was funny. I got along with her and she was knowledgable and had a great day again with her. The turkish baths was an interesting expirience and yes it is very hot. Had great food toos and beware, the raki is very strong.

Amazing hight recommend this tour

natysar82, Jul 2022

The whole tour was amazing. Emily was a great tour guide she was great at explaining everything. This tour didn't feel long at all. I really enjoyed this tour.

Incredible tour and guide

Sharon_B, Jun 2022

This was the best! Included everything I wanted to see and do in one package. Such a wonderful treat! Great food, tea, turkish coffee and his company. Learned so much about the history, types of areas and was NEVER HUNGRY. This is an incredible tour and Metin was an energetic and caring guide. I was also lucky to be the only participant. He was an amazing jewel--encouraging, supportive and 10 stars helpful when I was desperate to retrieve a forgotten credit card within hours of closing the shop and me leaving the area at a time of "no taxi available" and heavy traffic. In addition, he recommended places to find good clothing deals, and an excellent restaurant to accommodate my vegan diet. Always wanted to go to a hamam, and never would have if it had not been included with his tour. So happy to add that experience to my life. I raise a glass of Raki to this man!