Most tour guides in Istanbul will waste your time—but the right one will change the way you experience the city forever.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Istanbul's Best Private Guides
When exploring a city as vast and layered as Istanbul, having the right guide can make all the difference. A private Istanbul guide doesn’t just show you the sights—they connect you to the soul of the city, revealing its history, culture, and hidden gems in a way that’s deeply personal.
Last year, we hooked up countless travelers with incredible guides, and based on their feedback, we’re bringing you an updated list for 2026. If you checked out our previous blog post on Private Istanbul Tour Guides, you know we take this seriously.
This list is built purely on the performances of the guides we worked with in 2024 and how happy our clients were with them.
And just like before, we’ll be updating this again next year—because finding the right guide is everything. Here’s who made the cut for 2026!
5 Expert Guides We Recommend for 2026
Ömer Çelik - The Cultural Connector
Whether you’re interested in history, food, photography, or off-the-beaten-path adventures, here are five expert guides we highly recommend for 2026.
The lead guide of The Other Tour, Ömer blends academic depth with big-hearted warmth and humor. Born in Sivas and trained in Tourist Guidance, he’s also studying Art History, which feeds into his rich storytelling on Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, Jewish, Armenian, and Rum (Greek Orthodox) heritage.
Guests love how he reads the group’s mood instantly—shifting effortlessly from deep historical conversations to food stops, nightlife, or even a full match-day football experience—so every tour feels like exploring Istanbul with a brilliant, funny local friend rather than a scripted guide.
Damla Arslan - The Academic
Damla Arslan is a professional English-speaking tour guide in Istanbul with over 15 years of experience. She holds a degree in History from Bosphorus University and a graduate degree in Cultural Heritage from Koç University. Her expertise encompasses Turkey‘s diverse history, archaeology, and cultural landscapes.
Fluent in Greek and Latin, Damla has participated in archaeological projects across Anatolia, including work at Zeugma, renowned for its Roman mosaics. Licensed since 2009, she has guided a variety of groups, tailoring insightful experiences that blend historical knowledge with cultural immersion. Known for her excellent taste in restaurants and passion for art, she enriches her tours with culinary delights and artistic insights.
Duygu Sınırtaş is a licensed Istanbul tour guide with an archaeologist’s eye, blending her academic background in prehistory and archaeology at Istanbul University with tourism guiding studies at Marmara University and hands-on excavation experience at the Tepecik-Çiftlik Neolithic site.
Fluent in English and also speaking high-level Korean and intermediate Japanese, she connects with a wide range of international guests on a deeper cultural level.
Her tours weave archaeological insight with everyday life: from museum halls and Neolithic ruins to street food, coffee tastings, and her beloved Golden Horn coastline, as well as history-rich neighborhoods like Beyoğlu and Kadıköy and sites such as Troy.
In 2025, Duygu guided many of our clients—ranging from archaeologists and captain pilots from the USA to families from India and couples from Scandinavia—and without exception, they raved about her warmth, depth of knowledge, and the way she reveals a version of Istanbul most visitors never get to see.
Burak Plakay is one of those guides who doesn’t just show you Istanbul – he seems wired into it. Born and raised in the city in a close-knit Albanian family, his connection to Istanbul comes from the streets, markets, and neighborhoods rather than from guidebooks, and you feel that lived-in intimacy the moment you start walking with him.
Licensed for the Marmara Region, Burak prefers going deeper rather than wider: he knows the Byzantine relics and Ottoman landmarks, but also the backstreet tea gardens, odd little shortcuts, and the kind of local gossip that never makes it into official histories. The Other Tour His English is the product of thousands of late nights with strategy games, documentaries, and YouTube rabbit holes, which is why he comes across like a sharp, funny friend who also happens to be a historian – able to turn topics like Ottoman tax systems into stories you actually care about.
Improvisation is basically his superpower: he reads a group instantly and adjusts — amping things up for loud families, slowing down and finding the poetry for quiet couples, or sparring playfully with retired professors using niche references. Guests laugh, cry, invite him to weddings and all the way to The States; he’s the guide people keep in their lives, not just in their photo albums.
Unlike many guides who are watching the clock, Burak happily stays as long as the energy is good, matching your pace and turning the tour into a real conversation instead of a monologue.
In 2025 he’s guided a wide mix of our travelers — from intensely curious solo guests to multigenerational families — and the feedback has been unanimous: everyone raves about his “human Google of Istanbul” brain, his intuition, and the way he makes you feel like an old friend discovering the city together.
Ezgi Tilki is one of those rare guides who feels like the city itself trained her. Born and raised in Istanbul, she holds a national guiding license covering all seven regions of Türkiye, but her true playground is Istanbul’s streets, ferries, mosques, markets, and backstreets.
Her energy is famously endless – the kind of guide who finishes a full-day tour still smiling, still joking, and still checking if her guests had the best possible experience. Guests describe her as warm, positive, and incredibly easy to talk to: she adjusts her tone seamlessly whether she’s chatting with a shy teenager, a retired historian, or a jet-lagged family seeing the city for the first time. History with Ezgi never feels like a lecture; she blends dates with neighborhood gossip, cultural nuance, and her own lived experience so it feels like walking with a brilliant local friend.
Ezgi builds fully private, flexible tours around each guest: classic Old City routes through hidden-street photo walks in Balat, Fener, Karaköy and along the Bosphorus (she’s a keen photographer herself); food-focused days built around simit, menemen, lokanta, street food and meyhane stops; and “two continents in one day” itineraries that weave together the European side with Kadıköy or Üsküdar.
With a background guiding thousands of guests for one of Istanbul’s best-known agencies before joining our more intimate style of touring, Ezgi understands different cultures, expectations, and comfort levels deeply.
Book them now
Book any of the guides above through us. Just say hi and we’ll take care of the rest!
Hot Questions
And even hotter answers 😎 Let’s go!
How Much Does a Private Tour Guide Cost in Istanbul?
The cost of hiring a private tour guide in Istanbul varies based on experience, language skills, and itinerary complexity. On average, expect to pay between €200 to €300 per day for a high-quality, licensed guide.
How Much to Tip a Private Tour Guide in Istanbul?
Tipping is not mandatory but is appreciated. A general guideline is to tip 10-20% of the total tour cost or around $50 for a private tour. But let’s be real—tipping is kinda expected. If your guide just did a solid job, $50 is decent. But if they absolutely blew your mind, consider tipping up to $100.
Are Private Tour Guides Worth It?
Absolutely! A private guide provides a personalized experience, deeper cultural insights, and access to hidden gems that group tours often miss. Whether it’s historical landmarks, food adventures, or off-the-beaten-path exploration, a private guide enhances your experience significantly.
But here’s the catch—we’ve been in this industry for 24 years, and honestly, about 90% of guides are a complete disaster. The key is finding a great guide—and that’s exactly what we’re here for!
Is It Worth Doing a Guided Tour in Istanbul?
Absolutely—but only if you choose the right guide or company. Istanbul‘s vast and layered history can be overwhelming without proper guidance. A great guide doesn’t just show you around; they bring the city to life with expert insights, seamless navigation, and insider knowledge that turns a regular visit into an unforgettable experience.
But much like the tour guides—90% of tour companies are just plain bad. They herd you around like cattle, feed you generic facts, and waste your time. Worse? They drag you to so many shops for kickbacks that by the time you’re heading back to your hotel, you’ll be kicking yourself for even booking the tour. And the food? OMG, just sad. Bland, tourist-trap meals you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. And don’t even get us started on the drinks—because they’re never included!
But that’s not how we do things. We believe a tour should feel like an adventure, not a scam. And that’s exactly what we deliver.
Why Are Private Tours So Expensive?
Private tours cost more due to their customization, expertise, and exclusivity. Unlike group tours, private tours are tailored to individual interests, ensuring a unique experience. Licensed guides undergo rigorous training and have years of expertise, making their services valuable.
Get in Touch for a Private Istanbul Guide
If you’re looking for an unforgettable Istanbul experience in 2026, any of these guides will ensure a journey beyond the usual tourist trail. Get in touch with us to book your private tour!
