Most of all, this company features knowledgeable and engaging guides. We took their one day in Istanbul tour, street art tour, and the full day trip to Ephesus. We were with a different guide each time, and all three were excellent. Our guides for the Istanbul and Ephesus tours had backgrounds in archaeology. All three guides were friendly, helpful, and very willing to tailor the tours to our interests and needs. Booking was clear and easy, and we received confirmations and updates for each tour the day before. Highly recommended!

Loved our tour guide! She was very knowledgable, easy to understand, and tailored the tour to our needs.

I came across a fantabulous recommendation on Istanbul Tour Studio on a travel blog and wanted a similar experience the writer had during her stay in Istanbul. I reached out to Istanbul Tour Studio right away.

Regarding email correspondences:
Istanbul Tour Studio is on the ball with communication! What I appreciated most was how they were willing to customize set tours on their website to fit our wants and wishes. Thank you for accommodating our wishes Sinan!

Our Tour and guide experience:
I HIGHLY recommend the 'Fener, Balat & Golden Horn'. We were able to customize this tour to include the Eyup neighbourhood. What an experience! I think I was on a complete high right from the start. Yasemin, our guide, met us by where we were staying in Sultanahmed neighbourhood. She is professional, friendly and a wonderful person. It felt like we have known her for years instead of just meeting her for the first time.
We started with a boat ride from the Eminonu port to Eyup port. I can't swim and get sea sickness very easily, but both my husband and I found this boat ride so much fun!! We had taken a Bosphorus cruise the previous day, but found this fishing-boat ride far more fun for sightseeing on the Golden Horn and the overall feeling of adventure and exploration.
Upon reaching Eyup, it was a short walk to the Funicular to the Pierre Loti Café. Mind-blown!!! - The view is spectacular, the famous graveyard is stunning, and the coffee house is oh-so-chic! It was a little busy, however we found a table for three with the perfect view. Yasemin and I got Turkish tea and my husband got Turkish coffee and we had a great conversation overlooking the Golden Horn. There was some construction in the graveyard I think, but even the noise didn't take away from our experience, it was just that spectacular.

I am at a risk of writing a very long essay on our experience so I'll try to keep it short...

We were able to experience the local life with Yasemin. She expertly guided us through the maze of Fener and Balat. We would have been lost otherwise. She was familiar with the local residents, which seemed to have made our presence in those neighbourhoods acceptable by its residents. (I would not want to see strangers walking around my home either, especially with kids around). The Chora museum was an experience in itself because of Yasemin. We had the most delicious lunch at a café were the Dervishes go to talk philosophy. It was so peaceful and atmospheric.
The architecture of the Balat neighbourhood was stunning. The quaint narrow streets oh-so-beautiful . I can't even attempt at explaining our experience of the Patriarchate it was just that incredible. I don't know if it was pure luck or Yasemin's fabulous timing that we reached each of these sites at the perfect time - prayer time at Eyup mosque, the tomb and, especially, the prayer time at the Patriarchate in Balat. The chanting took me away to an "other-worldly" place. We saw the whipping post where Jesus Christ was constricted and flogged (As per the church at least). My husband and I are not religious at all, but this tour was a spiritual experience!

My husband and I were in Istanbul for a week and every day was like a blooming flower filled with new experiences, however, this personalized tour was by far our favourite day. Thanks to Yasemin for being a wonderful guide. And thanks to Istanbul Tour Studio was organizing a wonderful itinerary.

Thank you thank you thank you!