I have seen postings with great recommendations for private tours. We are looking for a good group tour that you can recommend.

Thanks in advance

All group tours are really about the same. Most forumists have only taken only one tour and that is what they recommend.

It really depends on what you wish to see and how much information you want on the tour.
And the most important, how many are going to be on the tour to be herded here and yon.

istanbul is very suitable for DYO, because most of the must see sites are within easy walking distance of each other (in fact, it would be impossible to drive to some of them by bus)

That leaves the Bosphorus cruise, which again does not need a guide.

However, if you do not feel like reading a guide book, and yet are deeply interested in the history and the hidden gems, i recommend Fez Travel, which you can find on the web.

I could not agree more with otherchelebi, with one caveat. I wish I would have hired one of the on-the-spot guides at Hagia Sofia. I just think I would have gotten more out of it that "wow, grand building." Everything else was more than manageable independently. I read a lot about city before I visited though.

We hired a guide through our hotel for 1/2 day. He took us through Hagia Sofia, Blue Mosque, etc. Well worth it!

You better ask different agencies but they probly give you same itenaries. How long do you want to stay in Turkey?

Thank you All!

Kitamura

We will be staying for 5 days

I do not agree with Kitamura ,Otherchelebi ..Reading a guidebook or the signs(most of them are not correct in Turkey) is not a good way to explore Istanbul . What would you do when you enter the Topkapi Palace ? Read hundreds of signs on the walls? or listen to a professional ? I would do the second one.
And one more disadvantage is '' Books do not answer questions''
And instead of a travel agency why don't you hire a guide by yourself...agencies are middlemen and keep most of wnat you pay for themselves and do not pay the guides well. That is what I always do. And I highly recommend http://www.istanbulprivateguide.net '' Private Istanbul Guides'' ...if you use them ,send a report after please.

Calledman007's first post and wants a report if you use his recommendation. Looks like advertising.

I definitely agree with otherchelebi on this: "It really depends on what you wish to see and how much information you want on the tour.
And the most important, how many are going to be on the tour to be herded here and yon."

Either do it on your own with a good guide book or hire a private guide for a half day.

for a book, Rick Steves "Istanbul," written by two Istanbul natives, provides diagrams and descriptions of Topkapi, the Blue Mosque, Aya Sofia, etc.

What you prefer is up to you. Some people would prefer hearing to reading. There was a recent thread about this and a woman hired a guide and was happy with her tour. If you do a search for "guides in Istanbul" you might find it.

When we were in Istanbul, we did a combination of lots of exploring on our own plus a guide for part of the time. Here is a link to SRM Travel, who were wonderful: http://www.srmtravel.com/istanbul.html

Lale, our guide, was excellent, a wealth of information and a delightful sense of humor. She has been guiding in Istanbul and Turkey since the age of 18 and is passionate about sharing her beautiful country and its history with visitors.

<<Lale, our guide, was excellent, a wealth of information and a delightful sense of humor. She has been guiding in Istanbul and Turkey since the age of 18...>>

The names on the web site looked familiar so I checked my Rick Steves "Istanbul." Lale and her husband are the tour guides who wrote it.

If you believe that you need a guide, I'd go with them.