Tour guide for istanbul

[pearly girl]

We will be in istanbul the beginning of nove 2011. Does anyone know of a really good tourguide for company for tours? This is our 1st trip. thanks, debbie

[Zukini]

We will be in istanbul the beginning of nove 2011. Does anyone know of a really good tourguide for company for tours? This is our 1st trip. thanks, debbie

 

Debbie,

 

We were in Istanbul in May, 2011. We had arranged a "combo" tour through EphesusDeluxe that included both Ephesus and Istanbul. It turned out they didn't really have guides in Istanbul, so they subcontracted to an independent guide there.

 

The guide was Fatih Copuroglu, and he was excellent. Though Istanbul is easily doable on your own, having a good guide can make it a really rewarding experience.

 

Fatih met us with a nice van and driver. The van was set up with facing rear seats, so he was able to talk with us easily as we drove to the sites. We started at the Topkapi Palace, where we viewed the Palace and the Harem. After the palace, we visited the Aya Sofia, the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome, and the Basilica Cistern. Our lunch stop was at one of the two restaurants Fatih recommended ("The Pudding Shop"), and was quite good. Fatih encouraged us to go to a carpet demonstration, which we initially balked at, but it turned out to be an interesting stop, at a place called Nakkas. It wasn't really what I'd call high-pressure (just a little good natured arm twisting), but the carpets are beautiful and worth seeing and touching. If you have either the means or the need for a carpet, you'll be sorely tempted to succumb.

 

While we didn't purchase a carpet, we did buy a hand painted Iznik style plate downstairs at the attached ceramics shop. If you absolutely are set against visiting a shop, I'm sure Fatih would comply with your wishes.

 

Fatih was exceptionally knowledgeable, very friendly, and spoke English fluently. He seemed to know the history of every site we saw inside and out. We enjoyed touring with him immensely, and I can recommend him without reservation. If you're interested, I would recommend you bypass Ephesus Deluxe, and contact him directly. His email is fatih at copuroglu.com.

 

If you click the link to my review in my signature, you can see some photos we took during the trip.

[wantocruisemore]

Although we have not been to Instanbul yet, the company we used for Kusadasi is actually based in Instanbul. It was Kosagen Tours and we were extremely pleased! I don't have their website handy but you can google it.

[eh2zed]

We used Ekol Travel in Istanbul and twice in Kusadasi. Very satified. www.ekoltravel.com

[junglejane]

Although we have not been to Instanbul yet, the company we used for Kusadasi is actually based in Instanbul. It was Kosagen Tours and we were extremely pleased! I don't have their website handy but you can google it.

 

You mean Kagan Kosagan. We just used him in June for both days in Istanbul, and also his colleague Yelda Celik in Ephesus. His website is tourguidesinturkey dot com. Kagan and Yelda were both first rate. Search for his name (correct spelling is Kosagan) on this board and you will find lots of positive recommendations.

[wantocruisemore]

You mean Kagan Kosagan. We just used him in June for both days in Istanbul, and also his colleague Yelda Celik in Ephesus. His website is tourguidesinturkey dot com. Kagan and Yelda were both first rate. Search for his name (correct spelling is Kosagan) on this board and you will find lots of positive recommendations.

 

 

Thanks for clarifying. I'm awful at names and spelling!

 

But I can HIGHLY recommend his company. I'm trying to talk my husband into Instanbul next year since he really liked Turkey. Yelda made it extra special.

[JaneBP]

Here are some suggestions for exploring and enjoying Istanbul.

 

http://www.parlafood.com/a-guide-to-istanbul/

[deepblueseas]

We will be in istanbul the beginning of nove 2011. Does anyone know of a really good tourguide for company for tours? This is our 1st trip. thanks, debbie

 

Hello

 

I double this question as our princess cruise will stop in Istanbul. After reviewing some of the posts here,2 days ago i decided to e-mail Ekol company for our private tour but did not get an answer till now.

 

Any thoughts??:confused:

[Zukini]

Hello

 

I double this question as our princess cruise will stop in Istanbul. After reviewing some of the posts here,2 days ago i decided to e-mail Ekol company for our private tour but did not get an answer till now.

 

Any thoughts??:confused:

 

In case you missed it, check out my post #2 above.;) The tour guide was Fatih Copuroglu, and he can be contacted at fatih @ copuroglu DOT com

[jmlh]

Another vote for Kagan Kosagan. He is very knowledgeable and speaks perfect English. In addition, he made the history of each of the venues visited very interesting! A very enjoyable 2 days.

[Dunmore2]

We can highly recommend the company allaboutturkey.com

We have used their company on four separate occasions, both in Istanbul and Izmir. The owner of the company, Burak, will email you until you are satisfied with your customized itinerary. The tour guides have all been professional, personable and fun. Their English was great too. It is great to tour,eating local snacks, going to out of the way places, avoiding crowds, and seeing the amazing sites. Turkey has a lot to offer.

[porsena]

And I can recommend iexploreturkey.com, where they offer shore excursions aimed at the cruise market along with longer tours. We've used them only once and were given an excellent guide.

[Gamin2008]

Will probably do Istanbul on my own. Read that Topkapi Palace is closed on Tuesdays and that the Harem section is by guided tours only.

So, will I need a guided tour in order to enter main attractions or are they walk-ins?

[5326jan]

Another vote of confidence for Kagan Kosagan http://www.tourguidesinturkey.com/kagankosagan.html

Wonderful day with him!

[nana541]

Another vote of confidence for Kagan Kosagan http://www.tourguidesinturkey.com/kagankosagan.html

Wonderful day with him!

 

Thanks for the great info. Was in Ephesus and used Ekol and our guide was wonderful.....the price was about the same as the ships tour only we had just 4 of us and a guide and driver annnnndddddd a wonderful air conditioned van. Very personal attn and we avoided the crowds and hoards of cruiseship passengers. Going to Istanbul tnis mext April and will consider the quoted agency.... But for Ephesus I am going back to Ekol

Happy adventures.....

[Top Dog 1]

We are using Viator tours. We will let you know how good or bad they were

at the end of OCT.:)

[Top Dog 1]

We are using Viator tours. We will let you know how good or bad they were

at the end of OCT.:)

[mimbecky]

We are using Viator tours. We will let you know how good or bad they were

at the end of OCT.:)

 

Hope you are still subscribed to this thread. We have booked Viator for full day in Istanbul...I think contracted out to Neon. Was yours the same? If so, how was it?

[Marvalous]

We had visited Istanbul before so when I was preparing for a port stop there in May my husband couldn't understand any reason to hire a private guide since most attractions are in walking distance from each other. But, I have some difficulty walking long distances so I hired Ekol Travel for our day there since they would provide a guide and a driver. At the end of the day my husband and I decided it was a great decision. Valentina, their Sales Executive, was wonderful in helping us plan a perfect day. She was always so nice and prompt with her answers. Our guide, "Sammy," was our best guide ever! He greeted us with a big smile as we exited the port terminal and went out of his way to insure we enjoyed our day re-visiting Istanbul. Sammy was able to get us in the sites ahead of the big lines from the tour buses. He provided us with wonderful information and then gave me ample time to photograph the beautiful places. Our driver was great, too, and was always there when we needed him. The price of our private tour was about what the ship's excursion would have been, but instead we were treated to a view of the city by someone we feel became a new friend in Istanbul. I would highly recommend Ekol Travel -- and ask for Sammy if you do!:)

[zqvol]

We will be in istanbul the beginning of nove 2011. Does anyone know of a really good tourguide for company for tours? This is our 1st trip. thanks, debbie

 

 

We used EKOL and had a very nice guide and driver.