Istanbul Private Grand Bazaar and Spice Market Half-Day Tour

I have selected all ratable focus areas for rating and gave an overall outstanding. Every aspect of this tour met and exceeded my expectations. The guide was knowledgeable, personable and eager to please. Her willingness to modify the tour to accommodate our physical limitations was glaringly apparent by the extensive pre-tour communications and her choice of vehicle (we couldn't have been more pleased. she stayed close as promised and assisted us in securing the mementoes from reputable merchants at a fair price. She allowed us to sit when we were tired and to provide an ongoing dialog even while we rested. This guide made our tour special as well as memorable. Sofie gets a heartfelt thank you from my entire family and especially from my wife and I. She truely knows her subject matter and is more than capable of sharing that knowledge.

I am a travel agent who specializes in organizing group tours and always travel with the groups to ensure that they receive the best experience possible. Having dealt with hundreds of guides over a period of 12 years I must say that Safiye was my favorite tour guide ever! Safiye immediately bonded with the people in my group and continually wowed them with the places she took us at the Grand Bazaar (our mission). Safiye is the most delightful person as well as such an intuitive, knowledgeable guide. All our arrangements were well organized and everyone not only raved about our tour but absolutely loved Safiye! If you want the best tour guide in Istanbul, look no further!

Robert M.United States

Safiye was a charming and expressive guide. She led us to the shops that sold exactly what we wanted. She also provided a lot of history and education as well. This was the second time we toured with her, and we would do it again.

Our tour with Safiye of the most important sites in old Istanbul was wonderful. Her knowledge was extensive adding a great deal to our understanding and enjoyment. We also had a chance to ask a lot of questions about Turkey and its culture which was as helpful since my wife and I are very interested in how regular people live. Finally, having a licensed guide helped us to get into each area more quickly. That alone was an important benefit. I would happily and unreservedly recommend Safiye.

Safiye was charming and knowledgeable. She adjusted our bazaar tour to include the Sulieman mosque (since we missed it earlier), and her recounting of the history/stories added much to the experience. An expert guide through the maze of the bazaar, Safiye helped us find quality items we were interested in, while giving us pointers on when and how to negotiate. Very engaging personality, willing to adjust /customize the experience, and lots of fun. We highly recommend her and would use her again.

Within the first hours of our stay in Istanbul, Safiye guided us through the Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque, the Cistern and helped me finding the two things I really wanted to buy in Istanbul amongst thousands of shops at the Grand Bazaar. In addition to that, we also had delicious food and went to the spice market, a pottery shop and a carpet shop. I can honesly say that this was well worth the money, and I can highly reccomend Safiye to anyone wishing to go to Istanbul.