Frequently Asked Questions

You can book directly online from any tour page, or email, call or WhatsApp us with your dates and the size of your group. Whichever way you book, the same Terms and Conditions apply. Get Turkey Tours trades on behalf of Viracocha Travel Turizm, an Istanbul travel agency that holds a licence and belongs to TÜRSAB. Once your reservation is made, we email you a confirmation showing the start time and where to meet. Your place is secured only after full payment, so please double-check the date, guest count and included services before paying.

That varies from tour to tour, so check the Included and Not included lists on the page before you book. A lot of our private walking tours in Istanbul cover a licensed guide plus help skipping the queue at the ticket desk; museum entry, food and a private van are usually not part of the price. Some tours, for example the Private Topkapi Palace, Harem and Cistern Tour, do come with entrance tickets. Almost every tour lists tips as not included. Prices are in US dollars and per person, unless the page states per group (transfers, cars) or per hour (yachts).

A private tour is for your party alone, so the guide moves at your speed and the start time is flexible. A small-group tour is cheaper and follows a set timetable, shared with other travellers. As an example, the Small Group Best of Istanbul Tour leaves from the German Fountain, runs only with a minimum of 4 participants and is priced from $55.25 per person; our private Old City tours begin at $180. A private tour tends to suit families, people who walk slowly and travellers who are short on time.

Yes, on most tours that go further than Istanbul's Old City we collect you from your hotel, and you can check this in the Included list on the tour page. Many private walking tours in Istanbul work differently: the guide walks over to meet you at your hotel if it is central, or at Galataport, the cruise port. If you are staying outside the central area, the meeting point is the German Fountain in Sultanahmet, unless you have booked a private van. Van pick-ups from hotels beyond the central districts, or on the Asian side, cost extra. We ask you to be ready 15 minutes before the tour starts.

Each tour follows the cancellation terms printed on its own page. For most day tours and activities, free cancellation with a full refund is possible until 7 days before the tour; inside those 7 days there is no refund. The person who made the booking has to send the cancellation in writing, with the booking reference, to [email protected]. It becomes valid only after we confirm it by email. Arriving late at the meeting point counts as a no-show, which means no refund.

Once a multi-day travel package is confirmed, our Cancellation Policy charges a share of the total package price that rises as the date gets closer: 10% up to 30 days before the first service, 30% between 29 and 15 days, 40% between 14 and 5 days, 50% between 4 and 2 days, and 100% inside 48 hours or if you do not show up. Hotels booked through us apply their own cancellation terms, and we send these along with your confirmation. Approved refunds are paid back to the method you paid with, normally in 7 to 15 business days.

Visa and Mastercard are accepted. Viracocha Travel Turizm, the company behind getturkiyetours.com, processes the payments, and the charge is in US dollars unless you request a different currency on the page. A tour is confirmed once it is paid in full in advance. Tailor-made trips and multi-day packages come with a written quote that sets out the payment schedule before you confirm. If anything about currency or ways to pay is unclear, contact us before booking.

A licensed local guide leads every tour. Our standard language is English, and licensed guides in Spanish, Russian, Arabic, German and French can also be arranged. Some shared tours have set languages shown on the page; for example, the small-group Old City tours are offered in English, Spanish, French and Chinese. For private tours, let us know your language at booking and we confirm the guide in writing. Less common languages depend on who is free on your dates.

Most tours welcome children, and a lot of package pages list a separate price for them. On several of our Istanbul tours, museum entry is free for children aged 7 and under; staff check ages, so carry copies of their passports. Guests under 18 cannot join wine tasting tours. Airport transfers can come with child seats on request. If you book a private tour with young children, give us their ages and the guide will plan shorter walks and breaks for meals.

It depends on the tour, and where we have the information the tour page mentions it. The Half-Day Istanbul Private Food Tour can be done with a wheelchair or a stroller; the Private Shopping Tour in the Grand Bazaar is not suitable for wheelchairs. Expect uneven stone paths and steps at the historic sites of Istanbul, Ephesus and Cappadocia. Booking a private tour with a private van tends to work best, since the guide can cut walks short and stop for rests. Let us know how far you can walk before booking.

We can. Tell us your dates, how many people are travelling and which places interest you, and one of our planners sends back a daily route with a complete price. The proposal costs nothing and does not commit you to a booking. Routes can join Istanbul, Cappadocia, Ephesus, Pamukkale, Antalya, Gallipoli and other regions, with domestic flights between them plus private guides and transfers. We adjust the plan until it suits you, and we book every service after you confirm.

A lot of package prices are listed without hotels. On the package page you can choose a hotel in each city, and the hotel's price for those dates goes into the total; you can also take the package with no hotel. The page names the hotel we usually work with, for example Medusa Cave Hotels in Cappadocia or Hilton properties in Istanbul, or a hotel of a similar category. Package prices are per person and assume a minimum of two travellers. Separate hotel bookings are possible too, in economy, mid-range and luxury categories.

The whole boat is reserved for your group and charged by the hour, for at least 2 hours. In Istanbul our boats range from Aura, $190 an hour for up to 12 guests, to Corona Tokyo, $1,050 an hour for up to 72. Depending on the listing, you board at a pier such as Eminönü, Bebek, Arnavutköy or İstinye, or the charter comes with hotel pick-up. Hourly charters let you bring your own food and drinks, which the crew serves. Swimming stops require a booking of 4 hours or longer.

Yes. Our VIP Istanbul Airport Transfer runs with a Mercedes Vito or similar, takes 1 to 6 passengers and is priced from $60 per group. Meet and greet, luggage help, flight tracking, parking and tolls are all included, and the service operates around the clock. Depending on traffic and your hotel's location, the ride is about 45 to 90 minutes. When flying out, plan to leave the hotel 4 hours or more before departure. Child seats can be requested. For other routes, private cars with a driver are priced on request.

We are available daily between 09:00 and 21:00 Istanbul time (GMT+3). Emails normally get an answer within a few hours, and never later than 24 hours. If something urgent comes up on your tour day, phone or WhatsApp +90 545 307 67 88; this number also appears in your confirmation email. When asking about a tailor-made trip, give us your dates, the size of your group and the places you would like to see, so our first reply can include a route and a price.