FREE TOUR ISTANBUL

The tour starts from the Sultanahmet Square, next to the decorative pool. It ends in front of the Little Hagia Sophia Mosque.

When you arrive at the meeting point, please look for our tour guides carrying a red umbrella.

No. There is no need to pre-book for our free walking tours in Istanbul. Just come to the meeting point before the tour is due to begin. Yet, you are welcome to pre-book this Istanbul tour on our website. Recommendations; let us know in advance if you are coming with a big group (10+ people). If you are interested in personal tours and/or boat tours in the city, advance booking is required.

Our free tour is approximately 2,5 hours.

All of our Istanbul walking tours include a break during which you can rest and you will have the chance to use the washrooms and get a couple of drinks.

The tour is free. It does not cost anything. You are free to participate. At the end of the tour, you are free to tip your guide depending on your enjoyment of the service and budget.

Our tours in Istanbul run every day in all weather conditions, sun or rain. Please come prepared!

Our free walking tour of Istanbul are designed to be suitable for people of all ages and anyone.

Our free tour in İstanbul is wheelchair accessible. Bear in mind: We are always ready to arrange private tours geared towards the travelers’ needs and wishes!

Yes. We offer private tours in English and Spanish languages. Please contact us for further information and details.

You can find your photos of your walking tours from our social media accounts.

Additional info: Our Istanbul walking tour is free of charge. We offer expert tour guides for our guests who wish to see the city on foot. In this way, they will explore the history of Istanbul and leave their footprints while feeling home thanks to our hospitality and care. Do not hesitate to leave your reviews regarding free Istanbul free tours.

The Free Tour concept has been around for some time, but it is a fairly new method of exploring cities than the conventional tour model, with a far longer history. Most younger travelers today would probably be aware of free tours, as they have become extremely common and still present in major destinations especially in recent years.

Misconceptions about Free Tours

“Free” is an obvious appeal to budget-conscious travelers, but it is also a term that may trigger an alarm; especially in connection with anything that is typically very costly and constitutes a significant component of a specific industry, such as guided tours. Yet free does not mean that free tours are worthless. On the contrary, it is a philosophy that really does offer something enjoyable, worthwhile and satisfying for all kinds of travelers comparing to conventional paid tours.

How does it work?

One of the concerns regarding free tours is “How can tours be free?” ”. The tours are ‘free,’ as there is no fixed price, no defined charge to pay for the tour, irrespective of the tour experience itself. You are free to ‘tip’ your guide after the tour depending on your satisfaction.

This may be a “strange” notion, but there are many explanations why this kind of tour has become a successful and common way to explore towns and cities. Since the guides get no other money to lead such tours (from any particular company or agency), they must earn their tip. The income of the guides is always fluctuating from tour to tour and so they are eager to deliver a high-quality experience, which leaves much less space for complacency than if they were paid for a tour with a fixed amount. For the idea to work, the tour itself must be fantastic.

Tipping: Something to Think about on a Free Tour

Moreover, at the end of your tour, tipping your guide implies that you have the control. Though not mandatory, you determine what the tour’s worth is, or, what you can afford. You determine the price-performance ratio. So there is no risk of being ripped off or feeling that you have not got your money’s worth.

Advice for tips: If you decide to tip, be sure to bring your maximum tip budget to a smaller denomination. This way you can give your guide the right amount they are entitled to, determined by you (after the tour), without worrying about the tip being too little or offering a larger bill to ask the change back.

Behind the Free Tour

Tour guides weigh the risk factor because they count on tour participants to give them a tip, even if they do not have to do so. Fortunately, the growing popularity of free tours and the growing number of free tours providers worldwide is a proof that this “unconventional” style of tours work. People see the value in the concept, appreciate the unique experience it offers, realise they receive high quality tour experiences and tip their guides accordingly while saving much on their own.

Tour guides providing free tours are, in the great majority of cases, freelance tour guides. They are young people as free tours encourage them to operate freely and the guides keep their tips rather than getting charged a fee to gain an appropriate income for their efforts. These independent freelance guides often add their own style to their tours to give you a true local experience, show you their town and make your best trip.

The guide normally enhances the experiment instead of depending solely on a structured ‘tour’ or ‘script.’ This makes the experience of a place, history and culture more real, enthusiastic and rewarding. Some Free Tours in a particular city are arranged and managed by local guide collectives.

Alternatively, others are facilitated by free travel organizations that actively promote or assist independent local guides. This takes place in exchange for a fairly low advertisement charge through successful promotional services through a multitude of platforms and alliances, thus maintaining the consistent quality of guides and tours provided by them.

Why Free Tours Work

The whole idea of free tour is for the tourist and the local guide a win-win situation. Having authentic city tours open to all, irrespective of budget, are fun way to explore cities, while saving a lot of money and monitoring everything you spend on a city tour, apart from helping dedicated local guides and businesses.