Istanbul Half Day Morning Tour: Explore Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Hippodrome & Grand Bazaar

Discover Istanbul’s rich culture and history with our experienced guides. Skip the museum ticket queues with your guide.

Visit Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, and enjoy a brief handicraft presentation next to the Grand Bazaar (optional, guests may choose to explore the bazaar on their own) in a half-day tour.

Duration: 3 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Hagia Sophia Mosque - Pick up from the hotel and join the group. We begin our tour with a visit to Hagia Sophia Museum, which is considered one of the Eight Wonders of the World, occupies a unique place in the history of architectures one of the rare works of this size and age that still survives.
  • Blue Mosque - Our next visit will be The…
What's Included
  • Museum Tickets
  • All Fees and Taxes
  • In-vehicle air conditioning
  • Professional Licensed Guiding
  • Pick up & Drop Off from centrally located hotels on the European Side
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities (optional)
  • Please review the additional notes on your ticket for the appropriate dress code for mosque visits
Additional Information
  • Not recommended for travellers with walking difficulties
  • Please note that this tour includes visits to Hagia Sophia & Blue Mosque. You will be required to have a dress covering the shoulders and above the knees during these visits (for both man & women). Guests whose dress doesn’t cover the shoulders or above the knees, can purchase a single use…
Location
Hagia Sophia Mosque
Sultan Ahmet, Ayasofya MeydanI No:1
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.7
(47 Ratings)
5 stars
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1 star
Ceknauer
Sep 26, 2025
Get to the heart of Istanbul with this tour - I have met the mayor of old town Istanbul. Our guide’s name? Mehmet Sakir Karadibek. He made this visit to Instanbul amazing. Great knowledge, great personality and just a great person. Absolutely worth the value and more. More importantly, we’re already thinking about how we come back for another visit, and Sakir is a big reason with both big and small stories to tell about a city he obviously loves.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Christine_b
Sep 11, 2025
Stunning in every way - Excellent guide who gave much information that we would have missed out on if we had gone alone. Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque are so overwhelmingly beautiful and inspiring. Warning: dress code is very strict..my dress was below knee when still but considered unsuitable when walking so had to purchase a full length coverall with hood for TL3.00 before I could enter Mosques. I appreciated there was an option as would have been devastating to miss out. Pick up was easy, straight across road from the terminal exit. Most of the tour is walking. The Grand Bizarre is another fabulous experience, but be prepared to say no to the many sales people who approach you...not aggressively though. We loved this tour, and thought Istanbul was amazing
Review provided by Viator
Laucarney
Aug 24, 2025
Great option if you’re short on time - A great way to explore some of the locations in Instabul. The guide was extremely knowledgeable and moved at a fast pace to ensure we saw lots. It was great not having to queue at any location.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Valg
Aug 19, 2025
Wonderful tour ❤️ - The tour was just amazing - 3 top Istanbul attractions and thanks to our super knowledgeable guide and bus driver we learned a lot ❤️❤️❤️
Review provided by Viator
William_h
Jul 13, 2025
Great tour - Excellent and informative - done at the right pace to make sure all could stay ing group - very accommodating
Review provided by Viator
Pura
Jul 4, 2025
A Turkish Delight - This half day tour was so informative and more than we expected! Istanbul is a beautiful city with friendly people and we wish we had more time. This was a cruise port stop so had only a few hours to enjoy this vibrant city. I'm glad we did it early in the morning so it wasn't too hot yet. The heat and humidity of Mediterranean summer can bog you down, and we were relieved our bus was well-airconditioned! Our guide, Mr Sakir, was exceptional! Very presentable, spoke English very well and clearly. Talked about the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque in a concise, interesting way. It was a brief but interesting description; just right to keep the attention of our group w/c included young children. Mr Sakir was also very kind and accommodating. He gave us time for photo ops and buy ice cream. And the Grand Bazaar is indeed a feast for the eyes! The carpets were so lovely that I ended up buying one! And they conveniently ship it straight to the US at no addl cost. We all so wished we had another full day to enjoy both the bazaar and the spice market. The Turkish delight we tasted at the spice market was delicious we all bought some! Also, we were on a week-long cruise that started in Italy and I had in mind to purchase a leather jacket in Rome but didn't find any to my liking. Well, I found it in Istanbul; even better than what I had in mind! This half day tour is well worth it. Because our group was a large one, it was just us on the tour and were able to tailor our experience, w/ Mr Sakir's help. I haven't mentioned yet how gracious he is- I accidentally left my Turkish delight purchase and didn't realize it until I was in Greece already. Mr Sakir graciously arranged to send it to the US! He went above and beyond his duty. How's that for Turkish hospitality?!! Read more about - Half Day Morning Istanbul Old City Tour - https://www.viator.com/tours/Istanbul/Half-Day-Morning-Istanbul-Old-City-Tour/d585-61488P5?mcid=56757
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Pura_m
Jun 30, 2025
A Turkish Delight! - This half day tour was so informative and more than we expected! Istanbul is a beautiful city with friendly people and we wish we had more time. This was a cruise port stop so had only a few hours to enjoy this vibrant city. I'm glad we did it early in the morning so it wasn't too hot yet. The heat and humidity of Mediterranean summer can bog you down, and we were relieved our bus was well-airconditioned! Our guide, Mr Sakir, was exceptional! Very presentable, spoke English very well and clearly. Talked about the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque in a concise, interesting way. It was a brief but interesting description; just right to keep the attention of our group w/c included young children. Mr Sakir was also very kind and accommodating. He gave us time for photo ops and buy ice cream. And the Grand Bazaar is indeed a feast for the eyes! The carpets were so lovely that I ended up buying one! And they conveniently ship it straight to the US at no addl cost. We all so wished we had another full day to enjoy both the bazaar and the spice market. The Turkish delight we tasted at the spice market was delicious we all bought some! Also, we were on a week-long cruise that started in Italy and I had in mind to purchase a leather jacket in Rome but didn't find any to my liking. Well, I found it in Istanbul; even better than what I had in mind! This half day tour is well worth it. Because our group was a large one, it was just us on the tour and were able to tailor our experience, w/ Mr Sakir's help. I haven't mentioned yet how gracious he is- I accidentally left my Turkish delight purchase and didn't realize it until I was in Greece already. Mr Sakir graciously arranged to send it to the US! He went above and beyond his duty. How's that for Turkish hospitality?!!
Review provided by Viator
David_c
May 26, 2025
Good tour - Great hotel transfers, good tour. I would recommend, four hours in total. Easy to do. Nice itinerary although bazaar wa closed on Sundays.
Review provided by Viator
Kartheepan_s
Dec 13, 2024
Amazing! - Ali our tour guide was great. This tour hit all the major attractions in the short time I had in Istanbul. We were in the off season so there weren't lines but the skip the line pass would've been critical during busier seasons.
Review provided by Viator
Wayne_l
Nov 29, 2024
Wonderful - We had a great time on this half day tour. We got to see the sites that we really wanted to. Our tour guide's name was Ali and if you can, I would recommend that you request him. He is very knowledgeable in every place we visited as well as Turkish history and culture. What a wonderful experience.
Review provided by Viator
From $70
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).