Overall a very good experience. Our guide was friendly and helpful including giving tips for places to visit in Istanbul. The only slight negative was the level of interaction with the local family. I had hoped for more of a 2 way conversation (albeit translated).

Ms. Karen M., Istanbul, 18 Oct 2018

A very beautiful experience :=)

Ms. KERRI R., Istanbul, 04 Apr 2018

Tolga was an excellent guide. Knowledgeable, personable and willing to adjust the tour to suit the participants. The walk was at a good pace and I finished the tour with an excellent understanding of the main sites in Istanbul.

Mr. Eric C., Istanbul, 19 Mar 2018

My guide was very informative and spoke excellent English - he willingly and helpfully answered all my questions and queries. I learnt a lot as a result of the tour, and would like to visit Istanbul again. The tour had really educated me into the history, culture and architecture -the cost of the tour was a small price to pay for such extensive knowledge! Most enjoyable.

Ms. Shao W., Istanbul, 22 Sep 2017

I thoroughly enjoyed my personal guided tour with Emre. He was professional and shared his knowledge of Istanbul's history and places in a friendly manner. We went from place to place smoothly and easily. I difinitely saw and learnt more than if I'd attemped to do these sites alone. At the end of the tour he asked me where I planned to go next. I said the Galata Tower as we were near the bridge. Emre said he was crossing the bridge and would show me the shortcut, so we crossed the bridge together and he left me with a direct route to the tower. This was great as I then went onto the Tower and enjoyed the stunning views of Istanbul. Thank you for a great day out!

Ms. Joan B., Istanbul, 22 Aug 2017

We had a great time with this one, our guide involved us in everything, answered our questions, at our request took us to a wine bar for us to try some local wine varieties and cheeses. An excellent evening with an excellent guide - don't loose him.

Mr. Keith M., Istanbul, 20 Aug 2017

Our guide was great, showing great passion for the tour and Istanbul. We learned a lot from him. The tour was to be 9 hours but fell short, some proposed locations were closed for the day, alternatives found (eg Cisterns) explored but still finished short. Doing spice market was discussed but other tour members were doing it the next day. Was good but we'Ve been on better UrbanAdventures tours.

Mr. Keith M., Istanbul, 12 Aug 2017

Excellent experience, exactly as I expected. My only wish was to have had some time to meet and interact with the Olive Tree clients themselves, such as the students or cooks ... rather than just sort of stand around. Could've made origami or help cook too, etc! But the dinner was phenomenal and the conversation with the leadership team was wonderful. I had such a great time.

Mr. Christopher M., Istanbul, 12 Jul 2017

So ... I was expecting a full 9 hour tour. We definitely covered everything as promised in the itinerary, and it wasn't rushed at all (it was only me on the tour after all), but then with the extra time (about 2.5 hours) from my expected ending at 5:30pm, I was expecting us to do some other sights. All this said -- I had a great time. Salih was a phenomenal guide -- it was liking having an old friend show me around Istanbul. So easy to talk to and connect with, and Salih knows his stuff. He also was very frank and candid about everything going in in Turkey, which also added another level of insight to everything too. I think the tour would benefit from going one level deeper than just the main sights in Sultanahmet. Throw in some elements of the Picnic on Two Continents tour, like the ferry ride, or perhaps add in a bit of Karakoy/Beyoglu, or another mosque or ruin. Something off the beaten path. The grand bazaar almost isn't worth it since it's just shops and we weren't there to shop so we just kind of breezed through it after a cup of coffee (which was great, as I wasn't looking to buy anything). All in all -- I wasn't disappointed, just wish we'd done a bit more since we'd had the capacity to do so.

Mr. Christopher M., Istanbul, 12 Jul 2017

I was pleased to see my old friend, Baba Tolga! He always has great knowledge to share and comes up with interesting places to see.

Ms. Denise C., Istanbul, 08 Jun 2017