Imperial Istanbul Half-Day Tour: Hagia Sophia, Basillica Cistern and Grand Bazaar

Had trouble contacting guide. Was told we needed to contact to organise hotel pick up. We got motel to ring and suppose to ring us back but never did. Motel rang again on day of activity and after getting recording up until 9.30 am (supppose to open at 9 am) finally told they would pick us up. Actual tour of sophia basilica and the cistern was good. However, did NOT appreciate wasting time/unscheduled half hour 'carpet rug' sales pitch. We were hoping for bit of a refreshment stop and told we were, only to have to sit through a sales pitch from local rug trader and only offered tea of coffee (I was dying for cold drink), This was then followed by rush through the bazaar and were almost subjected to another sales pitch by some local china bowl trader but we 'pulled the plug' and said we had had enough. Guide was informative and enjoyed the cistern and sophia hagia, bazaar was rushed and whole thing only took about 3-4 hours (at our request though as didnt want another sales pitch). Found this very annoying and not to viator standards, dont mind even 10 mins of trader promotion but to spend half hour or more was very annnoying, and we needed a proper refreshment stop.

This tour was quite a bit of a disappointment. The visit to Hagia Sophia was a nice visit and the only real saving grace of the tour. However one should be aware that the time the guide shares information about the place is NOT substantial, and you are then left to your own devices. In many ways, I could have easily gone there on my own. The Basilica Cistern would have been fine... except the guide only shared some urban legends and did not bother sharing the true historic reasons for many of the things found in the cistern. Then came the uncomfortable part... a historic demonstration of turkish carpet weaving at a carpet shop. A poor excuse for what was in essence an extended sales pitch that took the better part of an hour. I had read earlier reviews so was prepared for it, but it did not make things any less uncomfortable for our entire group. The only saving grace was the air conditioning which provided some comfort from the heat. But this was easily the longest part of the entire tour and to have an entire sales team try to pressure you into buying a carpet is NOT the reason I booked it. The guide even warned us not to go back there alone later... if that means he wont get a commission if we do or if there is a more sinister reason, I have no idea... but hardly a good sign in any event. And finally the grand bazaar... this could have been a nice visit if not for our tour guide. At first he was nice and even showed us the way to shops... but he very deliberately tried to separate us even when we explicitly told him that we wanted to stay in a small group, something that frustrated him greatly it is easier to pressure someone into buying if they are separated after all. And when he showed us the way to shops he criticised us if we did not buy things immediately and could not accept that we would not buy anything in a store he had brought us to. In short, I do not recommend this tour and would suggest that if you want to see the Hagia Sophia and the other sites you do so on another tour or even on your own.

It was a good tour the guide was informative. The historical references and the magnificent architecture at Hagia Sophia, Basilica Cistern leaves you spellbound. Good to book with a definite skip-the-lines experience. Long queues mostly at these popular monuments. Sadly, Grand Bazaar was closed being Sunday, however, the guide took us to the spice bazaar, more commonly called an Egyptian Bazaar.