Escape the airport: see Istanbul on your layover

We had a wonderful experience with Burak. We saw the major sites in Sultanahmet, stopped at a nice cafe, visited the Spice Bazaar (as it was Sunday the Grand Market and was closed), then made our way to Karikoy and Taksim Square. The tour was well paced, customized to our interests, and Burak did a great job of explaining in a way that kept my 12-year-old engaged. He gave us a great lesson in the history, geography, politics, and culture of the area and interesting details about the various sites we saw. Burak was helpful and flexible in getting us a transfer from the airport as part of the tour cost, meeting us at the hotel, and giving us time to freshen up after the flight. He had many great suggestions for how to spend our little time in Istanbul and a lot of great inspiration for when we return. Excellent experience and would highly recommend it for first timers as their first agenda item when visiting this spectacular city.

Ipek was extremely knowledgeable, personable, helpful, and accomplished. She created an itinerary based on my desires and time frame, and then accommodated when I realized I had asked for too much in the time I had. We laughed, drank coffee, i learned an amazing amount of history in just a few hours. I would definitely recommend City Unscripted!

The guide was very pleasant on time and knowledgable with history he speaks fluent english and organize his tour in a smooth fashion way. He is honest and does nlt waste any time . Thank you.

Right from our first emails I knew we were in good hands. Tugba was so organised and accommodating! When our flight got moved to an earlier one, and even when that flight arrived earlier than planned, she was there to greet us right on time! We got through everything on our list of must-dos in Istanbul, got a good souvenir deal and when we ran out of energy, Tugba brought us back to the airport well on time, without us having to any thinking or walking. Perfect day!

I was so lucky to get to spend my layover with Feruza! She showed such amazing knowledge and passion for the city that it was infectious! She met us at the airport, took us up to olde towne where we got to see the bazaar, the blue mosque, a subterranean museum, and got to enjoy the local cuisine. If you have the time get out and see the city with an amazing and passionate guide Feruza!!!

Our guide Feruza was excellent! She picked us up straight from the airport! We got to see the Grand Bizarre, several historic sites, and sampled the local cuisine! She got us back to the airport in ample time to make our connection!