We are independent travellers (couple) arriving in Istanbul in about a week. I was wondering about the value of hiring a local guide for a day or 2, whether it’s a good idea, any recommendations on guides and how much it might cost? We are in Istanbul for 5 days. Thank you 🙏
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Atlanta, GA
837 posts
We hired Serhat Engul (https://istanbulclues.com) for 1.5 days of our 5 day stay in Istanbul in 2021. About half the time was for Sultanahmet and the other half was for Fener and Balat.
Serhat was very good, and I would use him again. My vague recollection is that we paid around 250 Euros total over two days, which we split between the two of us. (Of course, inflation is high in Turkey and prices are probably not the same now.) I had been to Istanbul before, and so I could have done Sultanahmet without a guide, but my travel companion really appreciated the extra context. I really appreciated his guidance in Fener and Balat because he was able to arrange entry into churches and mosques that are not ordinarily open to the public. Also, he was able to offer a lot of advice and tips about things we could do on our own without a guide.