Perfect - My husband, 13 year-old son, and I met Nurten at the German Fountain for a fabulous half-day tour of the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Basilica Cistern, and Grand Bazaar. Nurten was so friendly and easy to talk to! She took family photos for us at all of the sites. Along the way, we stopped for tea and treats at a cafe, and she pointed out places that we wouldn’t have otherwise noticed to have lunch and dinner all along our route for later on our trip. She had answers for all of our questions. After giving us a lot of helpful tips for shopping in the Grand Bazaar (including details around handbag shops, etc.) I feel ready to return and do some more shopping on my own. She even stayed on after our tour would naturally end and patiently taught us how to shop for carpets in one shop outside the market and helped us extricate ourselves gracefully when we were not ready to buy. She was funny and smart and never rushed us or directed us somewhere we did not want to go. A good guide can make a tour good or bad and we were so lucky to meet Nurten. Even my son loved the tour and our guide- which says a lot coming from a teenager who doesn’t love museums! Fully recommend!

Cetal made us at home in his home country - Cetalettin (Cetal) was our guide - and was FABULOUS. Visited Hagia Sofia, Blur Mosque, Roman Cisterns and Grand Bazaar. Cetal made us feel at home and even recommended a great restaurant for dinner. Don’t miss this trip!!

Emine made Istanbul FABULOUS! - Emine was our private tour guide through Istanbul and he made it a FABULOUS adventure! Our ship docked after lunch so we just planned the 1/2 day tour. He picked us up at the cruise port and we rode the tram/trolly into town. He guides us through Hagia Sophia, the Roman Cisterns and the Blue Mosque. We had just enough time to breeze through the Grand Bazaar before dinner. He showed us quaint places to grab a bite to eat and pointed out points of interest along the way. I wasn’t all that comfortable going into Istanbul but Emine made us feel at home. I highly recommend a private tour with him!

Amazing Private Tour in Istanbul - This private tour of Istanbul was absolutely outstanding from start to finish. The experience was impeccably organized by Emine, who handled all the planning seamlessly and made everything feel effortless and stress-free. Our guide Ugur was truly exceptional—incredibly knowledgeable, professional, and engaging. He brought Istanbul’s history and culture to life in a way that felt both informative and personal, and he was always thoughtful about pacing and tailoring the experience to our interests. What really set Ugur apart was how generous he was with recommendations. Beyond the tour itself, he shared fantastic suggestions for restaurants, neighborhoods, and experiences for the rest of our trip, which made our time in Istanbul even more special. If you’re looking for a private tour that’s well-planned, insightful, and genuinely memorable, this experience is a must. We couldn’t recommend Emine and Ugur more highly!

Fantastic Half Day Tour!! - We had a fantastic experience during our half-day tour. We visited Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Basilica Cistern, Hippodrome, and the Grand Mosque. Our guide (Ugur) was extremely knowledgeable and provided relevant historical context to the sites. One of our friends only had 3 hours to spend in Istanbul. Emine (the tour operator) and Ugur were able to arrange the tour to allow her to visit 2 of the sites (Hagia Sophia + Basilica Cistern) along with a direct transport back to IST in time for her flight home. I highly recommend this tour operator.

Great Tour of Old Town! - Fantastic tour today with “J” in Old Town. He did a great explaining the historical significance of all the sites visited. It was truly a great learning experience for us on our first visit to Istanbul. Highly recommended this company as the communication from the beginning all the way through the confirmation was super. “J” (Celal) picked us up in hotel lobby and brought us back when finished with the tour. In this case I booked an additional transfer from the hotel to the.cruise port for after the tour and “J” went with us on the transfer and made sure we made it to the Port for our cruise. Again Highly recommend company and guide.

Great Old Town Tour ! - Fantastic half day tour of the old town area. “J” did a great job explaining the history of the area and significance of the places visited. Picked us up in hotel lobby and brought us back when finished. We even managed to get in an extra stop in addition to quick stop Traditional Turkish Tea and Coffee. Highly recommended this company (great communications throughout the booking and confirmation process) and super job on the tour with “J” (Celal)

Enjoyed our half day tour in Istanbul! - Our guide was very impressive and knowledgeable. Remember to bring a scarf to cover your head. Picked us up from our hotel and made the city come alive for us during the tour, we learned so much!

Istanbul 1/2 day Private Tour - Our guide ~Erbil Eraslan from Travel Elephante was very knowledgeable, polite and answered all our questions on this action packed 4 hour tour.

Don't waste your time or money - Completely unreliable! We had a stopover flight that gave us one full day in Istanbul. After reading reviews of Travel Elefante, I booked a private, half day tour of the Sultanhamet Square mosques, Basilica Cistern and Grand Bazaar months in advance. Before we left on our trip, I checked with the agent to make sure everything was set including the purchase of tickets. I was assured all was well. The day came for the tour. The guide was to meet us at our hotel at 10:00 am. We waited in the lobby for an hour. No one showed up. No one called. My emails and texts to the agent were met with silence. After an hour and a half with no word, I ended up booking a last minute group tour for three of the sights which ended up being a forced march with a poor guide. The Travel Elefante agent finally contacted me in the afternoon offering only excuses and apologies, but the one day we had in Istanbul was shot. What I had hoped would be a fantastic day, with a private guide, in a magical city, ended up a disappointing mess. Spend your valuable travel time and money elsewhere.