Walking Tours in Istanbul . Turkey
Guided
Group Walking Tours and Sightseeing
Guaranteed Departures
Guaranteed
Departures
An excellent value-for-money full-day small-group guided walking tours
of Istanbul's major historical sights.
It
may just be the most efficient way to see all the main sights in a single
day (including even the Grand Bazaar).
The
full-day tour is actually two half-day tours , the morning tour, break
for lunch on your own , then the afternoon tour .
Our
local rep. will pick you up from your hotel or cruise ship pier at 08:00
sharp, please be ready as the coach will not wait .
Start our day with a visit to Topkapi Palace, the Sultanahmet (Blue)
Mosque, and the Hippodrome.
At
noon we break for lunch, of course the guide will be on hand to answer
any questions you may have about restaurants. Then we start again around
1 pm, for the afternoon tour, which begins with a visit to Ayasofya
(Hagia Sophia), followed by visits to the Milion stone, the Basilica
(Sunken Palace) Cistern (Yerebatan Saray Sarniçi), Ottoman imperial
tombs on Divan Yolu, Burnt Column (Çemberlitas) and the Çemberlitas
hamam (Turkish bath), and the Grand Bazaar (Kapali Çarsi). The
tour ends around 16:30 (4:30 pm) in the Grand Bazaar, allowing you time
to wander and/or shop on your own. Return to hotel (s) on your own,
to allow you as much time as you want at the Bazaar, the guide will
be on hand to show you where to pick a taxi or the public bus to go
back to your hotel or next destination .
Compare
that list of sights to any other walking tour, and you'll see the difference—and
the value.
You get to choose where you wish to have lunch.
For
lunch, the tour stops at Sultanahmet's famous Lâle Restaurant—world
famous in Hippie days as the Pudding Shop. The Lâle is a good
choice as it is right at the eastern end of the Hippodrome, much nicer
than in its Hippie days, with a good selection of ready foods (you can
choose just by pointing at what looks good), free wi-fi, soft drinks
.
You
choose whatever you'd like for lunch, or you can go somewhere else,
or you can bring your own picnic and have it while sitting on a bench
in the Hippodrome—your choice.
With
us you see more in this walking tour of Istanbul : more sights and more
time to see them.
For
example, many tours don't allow time for you to explore the Harem at
Topkapi Palace; and some—especially those that take you to the
Grand Bazaar—schedule tour stops at particular shops. The entire
tour group goes into the shop, sits for an hour or so, inspects the
goods, and the tour operator is paid a commission on purchases made
by tour participants. Nothing wrong with this, except that prices may
be higher and ... you're sitting in a shop rather than seeing the sights!
Why pay a tour company a fee for shopping? You can go shopping on your
own. You don't need to pay a tour company to park you in a shop for
an hour. More...
The
good news is that on our tour there is no forced shopping stop. Your
guide will make suggestions if you ask, and can introduce you to good
shops if you like, but you won't be parked in a shop for an hour when
you should be out seeing the sights.
This
Walking Tour operates every day, though you must keep in mind that Hagia
Sophia is closed on Monday, and Topkapii Palace is closed on Tuesday.
This tour is perhaps the easiest, half-day (4-hour) program to take
you on a 1-1/2-hour
TurYol Bosphorus public ferry cruise and to introduce you to the Golden
Horn district of Eminönü and its historic mosques and markets.
The
tour van picks you up from your hotel after lunch : 1:30 PM , and takes
you to Eminönü on the Golden Horn, where you visit the Egyptian
(Spice) Bazaar, Hasircilar Caddesi market street, the huge Yeni Valide
Mosque, and the exquisite Rüstem Pasha Mosque, and take a TurYol
boat on a Bosphorus cruise, the tour van will bring you back to the
hotel around 6 PM .
Istanbul
is located along the shores of Bosphorus which has some of the most
splendid views in the world. Apart from the natural beauty of the straight
separating Europe and Asia, both sides house the Imperial palaces, kiosks,
pavilions, gardens and today's million dollars mansions, you will cruise
on the Bosphorus by public ferry boat and your guide will always be
with you and the group at all times , the tour also includes a visit
to Rustem Pasha Mosque where the last samples of Ottoman Imperial tiles
are exhibited. Then, you will visit the Egyptian Bazaar (Spice Market)
the last stop of Silk Road where today ,the various types of spices,
Turkish delights, Turkish coffee, herbal teas and souvenirs continue
to be available. Return to the hotel about 18:00.
The
Excursion includes professional tour guidance, transportation and cruise
by public ferry.
Eminönü
is a former district of Istanbul in Turkey, now a neighbourhood of Fatih
district. This is the heart of the walled city of Constantine, the focus
of a history of incredible richness. Eminönü covers the point
on which the Byzantine capital was built. The Galata Bridge crosses
the Golden Horn into Eminönü and the mouth of the Bosphorus
opens into the Marmara Sea. And up on the hill stands Topkapi Palace,
the Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Camii) and Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofya). Thus
Eminönü is the main tourist destination in Istanbul. It was
a part of the Fatih district until 1928, which covered the whole peninsular
area of old Istanbul within the medieval city walls - that area which
was formerly the Byzantine capital Constantinople .
The
Excursion includes professional tour guidance, transportation and cruise
by public ferry.
Pick
you up at your hotel, after breakfast 08:30 AM , drive along the 4th-century
Byzantine City Walls, stop for a visit to Yedikule (Fortress of the
Seven Towers), then continue to the Kariye Museum (Church of the Holy
Savior in Chora), where you see the splendid Byzantine mosaics.
Then
drive you to the Pierre Loti café on a hilltop overlooking the
city and the Golden Horn, for a glass of tea or cup of Turkish coffee.
From
the café you can walk downhill through a historic Ottoman cemetery,
or you can take the cable car down to the shore of the Golden Horn and
visit the Eyüp Sultan Mosque, one of Istanbul's most beloved and
historic. (It was here that the sultans of the Ottoman Empire were invested
with the Sword of Osman, the equivalent to a European imperial coronation.)
From
Eyüp, you drive along the shores of the Golden Horn to the Greek
Orthodox Patriarchate in Fener for a visit before continuing along the
Golden Horn to the Egyptian Spice Bazaar, where you can browse the shops,
or board a TurYol Bosphorus public ferry for a 1-1/2-hour Bosphorus
cruise. Or you can skip the Spice Bazaar, stay in the vehicle and be
dropped in Sultanahmet, as you wish.
Total
tour time is 3-1/2 to 4 hours. The tour operates every day except Wednesday
(when the Kariye Museum/Chora Church is closed.)
A
licensed guide accompanies you to explain what you are seeing and make
sure all goes smoothly, You pay for any personal expenses such as drinks,
snacks, lunch, etc.
This
tour gets you to these sights (Yedikule, City Walls, Kariye Museum,
Pierre Loti café, etc.) that are the ones most difficult to reach,
and least visited by organized tours.
The
Chora Church, City Walls & Golden Horn tour departs daily except
Wednesday, just after breakfast, and takes about four hours.
Rate
includes : .
- Guided
sightseeing
- Private
air conditioned vehicle for pick up in the morning , as well as return
to the hotel ( when listed in the tour.
- All
entrance fees.
- Cable
car, ferry cruise
tickets , where applicable.
Rate
doesn't include :
Back
to Turkey Tour List
Turkey
by Coach: Up Close and Personal
You’re
travelling in Turkey. You see deluxe air-conditioned coaches carrying
locals in complete comfort all through the country. You suspect they’re
reasonably priced, and you crave the chance to climb aboard and rub
shoulders with locals, and perhaps make more than a passing, superficial
acquaintance of the kind so common in well-frequented tourist spots.
But
you don’t speak the language. You have no idea of where or how
to buy a ticket, and what will happen once you reach your destination.
So you’ll probably settle for the tried-and-true solutions of
booking an escorted tour with a guide who speaks your language.
Unless
. . . you choose Travel in Style.com
We
have arranged programs that include overland travel by the same air-conditioned,
comfortable coaches used by wise middle-class locals to get from place
to place , without cutting out any of the attractions, while offering
an authentic travel experience second to none.
This
is not a no-frills experience of roughing it just for the sake of travel.
You’ll stay in charming boutique hotels—feel free to check
them out online—dine at restaurants offering refined Oriental
cuisine, and choose where to shop and when to relax on your own schedule.
You’ll travel the same routes that chartered tour vehicles take,
through fascinating landscapes of olive groves, across green fields
backdropped by snow-capped peaks, and along winding roads offering tempting
glimpses of ancient Greek ruins, hidden beaches, and the blue Mediterranean.
We’ll
make your reservations, for your coach and accommodations along the
way, as well as tours and other services of your choice at each of your
stopping-points. Our partners will always be just a phone call away,
ready to serve you in your own language, should you need to make any
changes or directions, or simply to provide reassurance.
More
intriguing details
•
Our Turkey by Coach itineraries make the best use of Turkey’s
ground transportation system. In some cases, we’ll suggest domestic
flights to avoid backtracking, or to avoid especially long segments.
•
You’ll find that long-distance services are comparable to the
comforts of an escorted tour. In addition to air-conditioning, there
are scheduled rest stops.
•
Our selected hotels offer comfort and charm with private bath, often
in family-run establishments where you’ll be received with warm
hospitality.
•
You’ll have a number to call for assistance at every stopping-place,
at any time of day.
•
We’ll arrange local excursions and tours in air-conditioned vehicles
with superior guides, just as on fully escorted tours.
•
You’ll meet our local representative upon arrival, just like a
family member coming home! And of course, he or she will see you off
as well.
It’s
a different, down-to-earth experience of Turkey, on your own or with
friends or family, for first-time travelers and for seasoned globetrotters,
for the young and the experienced.
See
Turkey from a whole new perspective when you travel with the locals!
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