Private 4-Day Turkey Tour

We spent two wonderful days exploring Istanbul with Merve, and she made the whole experience feel less like an organised tour and more like a friend taking us on a journey through her city. From the moment we met her, Merve’s warm personality and gentle, unhurried approach put us completely at ease. Her knowledge of Istanbul’s history is exceptional, but she shared it in such a natural and engaging way that we never felt overwhelmed with facts. She brought every place to life and gave us a much deeper appreciation of what we were seeing. Over the two days, we visited Dolmabahçe Palace, the Grand Bazaar, Spice Bazaar, Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapı Palace and the Basilica Cistern. Merve’s understanding of the history, culture and significance of each location was outstanding, and she was always happy to answer our questions. She also guided us through the local shops, helped us find genuine places to visit and even joined in when it came to bargaining—something we would never have managed nearly as well without her! What really made the experience special, though, was Merve herself. She was personable, thoughtful and genuinely interested in making sure we enjoyed every moment. By the end of our two days, it honestly felt as though we had been exploring Istanbul with a friend. We cannot recommend Merve highly enough. She gave us two unforgettable days and memories of Istanbul that we will treasure for a very long time.

We had a wonderful experience with Tijen Oral the tour guide and Yalcin our driver. We used Izmir as a base from which we explored Ephasus and Pergamon. Tijen is knowledgeable and very personable; she seems to know everyone at the sites we visited. Would strongly recommend her.

My family and I booked a private tour with Istanbul Guided Tours for Istanbul, Cappadocia and Ephesus. The teams in each region was incredibly professional, knowledgeable about architecture, religion the culture of the area. Our tour guides Gürkan in Istanbul, Ünlü in Cappadocia and Tijen in Ephesus were 10/10. They were extremely accommodating to our needs, checked in with us before the tour and during the tour to make sure we were comfortable. The tour company communicated with us though out the experience. Our drivers Murat in Istanbul, Burak in Cappadocia and Osman in Ephesus were also incredibly professional and accommodating, picking us up from the airport at each region and transferring us to our destinations safely. The minivans were comfortable, with A/C and they always had cold water waiting for us. I would highly recommend this tour agency and tour guides for those looking to tour Turkiye!

Based on friend’s recommendation, our family of three booked a private tour with Istanbul Guided Tour directly for 3 full days in Istanbul and 2 full days in Cappadocia. I worked with Hasan to design the itinerary largely based on his recommendation, his suggested itinerary was very thoughtful and he was very accommodating in making a few changes (e.g. adding Asian side of Istanbul to the itinerary) Every pick up and meet up was on time, including the IST airport pick up at 2am in the morning. For both Istanbul and Cappadocia, we were provided a Mercedes van with a driver and a tour guide. We had Enver as our tour guide in Istanbul, and Unluer as our tour guide in Cappadocia. Both guides are excellent, their passion for their country, their region and culture and the Turkish people really shined through. Both were wonderful at showing all the highlights and many spots that are not mentioned in the guidebooks (including my trusty Rick Steves’s book) and we had a great time exploring what Istanbul and Cappadocia had to offer. They were also excellent at recommending local restaurants. Overall, we had a wonderful time in Turkey. Having a private tour and very knowledgable tour guides made a huge difference in our experience in visiting Turkey for the first time.

From beginning to end our trip was amazing! Everything happened on time and in a professional manner! All the drivers were safe in the crazy driving that is Istanbul! Enver, our guide in Istanbul, was absolutely phenomenal! He showed us the highlights and let us add the Basilica Cistern. He took amazing care of my 82 year old aunt every day! Unlu, our guide in Cappadocia, was equally impressive. We saw everything we came to see and more. The flights booked were fabulous - Turkish Air is wonderful! The communication with Guided Istanbul Tours, via email and WhatsApp, was timely and helpful - all our questions were answered immediately! We could not be happier with every aspect of our time in Türkiye! Thank you to the folks at Guided Istanbul Tours for making our trip perfect!!