We did the 10 day Turkey Specialist Tour which included 1.5 days of tours in Istanbul; 1 full day walking tour right from our hotel and half day tour of Bosphorus Cruise and Spice Market. The walking tour day was very full and beautiful. Our guide kept us on time and gave us a great historical overview then time to take photos before meeting again. The half day was very different. We were given no preparation for what was happening but taken from our hotel to a central meeting place for all the buses. People were then moved from bus to bus according to which hotel they were staying in and maybe by which tour they had booked. Our native guide then talked about local issues as we were bussed to Spice Market which we loved--so much more fun than Grand Bazaar---and then we took the Bosphorus Cruise. It was a beautiful day so very enjoyable but we were disappointed that it went only west from the dock so we did not get to seeother points farther east that we had really been looking forward to seeing from the water's perspective--like Topkapi Palace. We were also very happy we had booked an extra day in Istanbul to explore more on our own and revisit our favorites. Our tour planner, Okan Kutlu, had given us a list of suggestions including travel directions! We took the tram easily but avoided taxis due to all the bad publicity they have received. Sultanamet is very walkable.
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