What To Expect

What‘s Included

Reviews

• Perfect Private Istanbul Tour With Tanju

  dorothymc2025,,Dec 2, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  We joined a private tour of Istanbul with our guide, Tanju, and it was an amazing experience. He is extremely knowledgeable, especially about Roman, Ottoman and modern Turkey history, and his storytelling made everything come alive. We entered the museums without waiting ticket line, which made the day even more enjoyable. This wasn’t just a regular tour — it was a mix of history, culture, gastronomy, and local flavors. Tanju is very polite, humble, and genuinely attentive. He took great care of us throughout the day. I would definitely recommend this experience to anyone visiting Istanbul

  

• The Best Guide in Istanbul! Tanju made every sight interesting and had amazing historical insights and hidden stories

  Anastasia T,,Nov 23, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  We had an amazing tour in Istanbul with Tanju! He showed us all the key sights with the perfect balance of history, culture, and fun stories. Every stop became even more interesting thanks to the way he explained the city’s past and connected it to what we were seeing. We also asked him many tricky questions, and he somehow had an answer for every single one of them! Truly impressive knowledge and a great sense of humor. If you want a guide who brings Istanbul to life and makes the whole experience unforgettable, Taju is the one. Highly recommended!

• He made all the difference!

  David E,,Nov 9, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Tanju was excellent. Extremely knowledgeable. It’s a cliche, but he really did make Istanbul come alive. And his personality and friendship doubled the enjoyment of our trip. Get him if you possibly can.

  

• I love coming to Turkey

  328effiey,,Oct 30, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Everything was delightful. This was my second time and they always take great care of me when I visit. Outstanding job!!

• The best guide ever

  alexandranB6801JG,,Oct 30, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  I highly recommend this tour! It’s very interesting. Plus, the guide, Tanju, is amazing because he gets us into many attractions and points of interest without having to wait in line. This makes the day much more dynamic, fun, and engaging. Tanju’s attitude is very friendly and warm, which makes us feel at home and eager to come back to Istanbul.

• Amazing trip

  494federicog,,Oct 27, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  It was an amazing experience!! I would totally recommend it, the food, company and scenery was exquisite!! 10/10 would do it again!!

• Title: The Genie of Istanbul — a Guide, a Friend, a Legend

  Olga C,,Oct 26, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Whenever I travel, I always try to learn about a city through the eyes of a local guide. Finding the right one is often a matter of pure luck — but meeting Tanju in Istanbul felt like something more than luck. Though I’m not religious, I truly believe it was fate. Tanju is not just an outstanding guide — he’s a storyteller, a historian, and a beautiful soul who makes the city come alive. Whether you’re a curious first-timer or a seasoned scholar of Constantinople’s history, he’ll meet you at your level with passion, humour, and astonishing knowledge. Since our first private tour almost five years ago, Tanju has become much more than a guide — he’s become a dear friend and collaborator. Together we’ve even curated events for my clients, because his professionalism and creativity go far beyond traditional guiding. And I cherish this relationship. Tanju is the Genie of Istanbul — he doesn’t just go the extra mile, he’ll swim across the Bosporus for you! He will open the doors to hidden gems, secret courtyards, and unforgettable experiences that you’ll never find on your own. If you want to experience Istanbul in its full magic and depth, book with Tanju — but do it early! He’s the most sought-after guide in Istanbul and beyond for a reason.

  

• Historical!

  139elizabetb,,Oct 22, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Tanju was incredibly informative! We were able to cut the line and get into Hagia Sofia easily. The tour was dynamic! He described the history of the structure and the fascinating insights - encompassing Christian and Islamic history! He also was incredibly accommodating to my 12 year old brother - though I would not recommend this tour to smaller children as they will probably not find the same joy as adults do in the details. 10/10 would recommend his tour!

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

• Amazing Tour with Tanju — The Best in Istanbul - Turkey

  juanlK6301PD,,Oct 20, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  If you are visiting Turkey, do not miss the chance to tour with Tanju from Skip the Ticket Line! He is without a doubt the best tour operator in the country, incredibly friendly, professional, and full of knowledge about Istanbul’s rich history and hidden gems.

• A tour guide who made our stop in Istanbul an incredible experience…

  Rnemail,,Oct 19, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  While planning our cruise to Greece and Turkey we were researching tour guides for our stop in Istanbul. We came across Tanju’s page on Instagram and were impressed with his credentials and testimonials. After reading all the reviews there and on TripAdvisor we reached out to him and were able to confirm a tour for the dates we were making a cruise stop in Istanbul. Tanju was prompt with responding to our messages, understanding our expectations and provided us with easy-to-follow specifics about meeting him upon arrival. All this let us feel very relaxed and confident that we would be in good hands. That was just the preview. From the minute he greeted us outside the cruise port with his beaming smile, sharp professional demeanor, using our names and welcoming us with all the warmth one could expect, we were double sure of the experience ahead. Tanju has an energy about him that is very personable and warm that helps form connections immediately. His extensive experience with American tourists and diplomats, ably supported by his eduction in the US make communicating with him very easy. And, he has a very good understanding of what we would likely enjoy the most. He used that knowledge to realign with us, now in person, to plan the rest of the day to our liking, priorities and constraints. He was quick to customize the plan, understand the pace at which we wanted to explore and led the way. Istanbul turned out to be our best stop through several ports in Greece and Turkey. It was because of the gracious and generous hospitality, the informative insights and interesting tours of sites, a delectable peek into the local cuisine and culture, shopping and hamam experience, and great conversations that were made possible by Tanju, an amazing tour guide. Our day-long interaction also forged a beautiful friendship with this warm, compassionate, knowledgeable and trustworthy human who is no longer only our tour-guide, but also a new friend we now have in Istanbul. I would highly recommend engaging him for whatever your tour needs are as his planning, flexibility and consideration will create the most wonderful experience for anyone seeking his services. Read on for specifics about what Tanju’s itinerary for us involved: We started with the key attractions - Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Basilica Cistern - Tanju got us through the VIP entrances where we could skip long lines and waits. He provided us with great insights and information about the history and significance of each in an easy to follow and interesting manner. In particular, his keen eye for photo ops was an added plus. At the Cistern we captured some of our favorite pictures. We then splurged in the world-famous Turkish coffee and tea with sweets in one of the legendary cafes outside the Blue Mosque. We entertained ourselves with Tanju teaching us greetings in Turkish language - Merhaba, “Teh-sheh-kull-erh Ed-erh-im” and Janam! Next, we wanted to stroll through the historic town and Tanju took us to the University campus while sharing great info about the secular and local culture of Istanbul. The next stop on our request was to experience the best local cuisine, especially kebabs. His pick of restaurant was par excellent and for the wine enthusiasts we are, he also introduced us to the best local wine. This is where we also learned about another of Tanju’s talents…one of our co-travelers was interested in coffee reading. We didn’t have to look any farther as expertise in reading coffee grounds is another of his skills. After this wonderful day touring the beautiful city and its rich heritage, as we were about to wrap up we asked Tanju about the Bosphorus sunset cruise. He connected us with the best yacht service for this experience which turned out to be another highlight of our stop in Istanbul. Before saying our goodbyes I asked Tanju about guidance on local shopping and hamams for the following day. He gave us some great pointers and then went above-and-beyond with what he did next. When we told him we would be interested in shopping the next morning, he made himself available to take us to a couple of the best stores that we would not have found on our own. We found the best stuff and shopped without feeling the usual tourist-pressure at such places. He also pointed us to the best, most exotic and oldest hamam to experience the other thing Turkey is known for.

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