Reviews

We setup a full day tour of the Asian side with Abdullah and it was an excellent day from the start. There were 12 in our group so he arranged a van to accommodate us for traveling across from Fatih to Kadikoy. We started a Camlica hill - highest point in Istanbul and from there did a walk in the Moda area of Kadikoy visiting the bull statue. Walked next to the sea of Marmar and viewed the Maiden tower and also went into the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque. From there he took us the Ciya restaurant for tasting local traditional foods ( it was excellent) after lunch we walked down to where the Ferry’s were and took a Ferry ride back to the European side. Once back we went for a short walk in the New town (Galatea area) where he recommended several places for shopping, coffee, dining and a place that had great baklava. We went back later an tried several of these. Abdullah had a great knowledge of history and kept it funny and entertaining for the whole tour, our whole group enjoyed him and the tour immensely. Highly recommend him if you are looking for a tour guide. We plan to use him again if we get back to Istanbul. We enjoyed excellent weather as well in the mid 70’s.

This was my first visit to Istanbul, albeit a work trip for two weeks, I did have a full weekend to use to explore and for that I was grateful and really looking forward to this unique and beautiful experience. A place where East meets West in an exotic fusion of amazing culture and heritage sites, I was not disappointed. At the very good advice of my brother, I decided to hire a tour guide for the weekend being so new to Turkey and it’s intricacies, hidden avenues, alleyways, many dizzying bazaars, markets and restaurants, bars and hotels. It was the best advice I ever took, and I hired Apo. Turkey seems to have a tradition of touring in this way and guides often have easier or preferred access to very popular tourist sites like the Hagia Sophia, Cisterns, Suleymaniye and Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, the Grand Bazaar and Spice Market to name just few of the more well known. We were able to skip ahead in most lines see everything above except the Blue Mosque which was closed temporarily for renovations. I never waited more than 10 minutes at his expert lead.

Apo can craft a tour of his favorites or your must-see locales or a blend of the two. I let him guide me in food and shopping and was really excited and pleased with the tea and Turkish delights shop as well as it’s restaurant above which I never would have found on my own. The kebabs were absolutely amazing, the freshest ingredients, so delicious.

Apo knows an amazing amount of history, philosophy, religion and art and is keen to share his stories and experiences in brief lessons and anecdotal stories like that of the history of the Hagia Sophia and its history as a Christian (catholic) Church/Basilica, turned Mosque but with still visible roots in the pagan Greek and Latin gods! His story telling is funny and eclectic and he’ll serenade you too. I will use Apo’s assistance again when I return one day and will be recommending him to friends coming to visit this fabulous ancient city of Constantinople, and all its history and charm.

Thank you, Apo for an amazing day and half touring 😊 I would give 10 stars to Apo if more were allowed than just our standard 5.

Wow!! Highly recommend! What a wonderful experience we had with Apo as our tour guide. We were a group of 4 visiting Turkey for the first time and had a fantastic time! First of all, as a guide, Apo is professional, incredibly knowledgeable, and communicates complex historical information perfectly and effectively in English and Spanish. He is 100% committed to making sure everyone is happy, satisfied and safe. As an individual, he is fun (with a great sense of humor), interesting, flexible, and my word… does he have endless patience and energy!!! Couldn't ask for a better guide!! Apo was our guide for 9 days. We visited several cities that included air travel and van transport, and he was on top of everything to make sure our travel between cities and check in went smoothly. The tour included visiting historical archeological sites, beautiful mosques, famous landmarks, not to mention… walking the ‘off the beaten path’ streets of Istanbul, that if not for him, we would never have experienced. Apo gave us a solid understanding of the history and cultural importance of each site as well as a ‘local’s perspective’, which I loved!. He made sure to give us time to explore on our own, introduced us to great local places to eat and gave us tips on other spots to explore. Apo was always happy to answer our questions about visiting other neighborhoods (we stayed additional days on our own), or helping us translate in order to resolve currency/atm withdrawal confusion. Thank you Apo! We will never forget our beautiful experience in your beautiful country!

I spent a wonderful day with a tour guide Apo on my visit to Istanbul, exploring both European and Asian side of the city, seeing many sights and tasting different types of Turkish meals and sweets. Apo is no doubts the best tour guide I have met - he is a very attentive person, fully knowledgeable about all things that are happening in Istanbul, ready to answer any of your questions and if needed give you recommendations/ advices. He will walk you through Istanbul explaining interesting details and telling you stories so you can get to know this unique city. I guarantee you that with Apo and Apopedia Travel you will have fun and will get unforgettable memories from Istanbul!

We went on a 3 day Istanbul tour with Abdullah and it was perfect. Went on a historical and enjoyable tour. Brought us to the best kebab and borek stall too! He guided us into the great aisle in grand bazaar to get good stuffs. Abdullah's vast knowledge on history has peeked my interest when I first made a booking with him and during the 3 days, he more than delivered. Exceeded our expectations and we learnt a lot. Abdullah was also patient with our active 5 year old boy and we enjoyed the whole trip a lot. Thanks Abdullah! 🙂

Between September 30 and October 15, 2022 our group of six travelled, by road, through many cities and towns in Turkey. The itinerary for the whole trip was created by Abdullah who had also made arrangements for a very comfortable van, and a wonderful driver, Hasan. For our group the entire trip was a magnificent and an educational experience. We had first hand experience of Turkey, it's culture, cuisine, history and the warmth of the Turkish people. Abdullah is an engaging tour guide with a wealth of knowledge of history and philosophy that adds much needed context to understand the many civilizations that have existed in Turkey the over the centuries, and to adds to the historical significance of the sites that we visited.
Abdullah is also a very caring person and a problem solver, he made sure that we were taken care of at all times during the entire trip. Due to the length of the trip some changes to the itinerary were inevitable which Abdullah and Hasan handled with patience and understanding.
Thank you Abdullah and Hasan for really wonderful trip !!

During a recent trip to Istanbul with my way, my son and his fiancé, we wanted a fun evening experience. Abdullah (Apo) had it for us. He was great in walking us through hidden neighborhoods while tasting local meals and drinks. He took us in a boat to the Asian side of Istanbul. The view of the city in the “blue hours” was amazing. Apo is very friendly and flexible. He has great knowledge of modern Istanbul and it’s history. He is a fun person to spend a good time with. We had a blast !

There is only one way to see Istanbul- with Apo! He was so much fun and brought the whole city alive with his anecdotes and stories . His historical knowledge added layers to understanding the city. And he knows the best food joints too! Thank you Apo.. we will surely be back for more

We toured with Hero a total 3 days, and each day was an amazing experience. Hero’s knowledge of the history and each place we visited was extensive, and was very interesting in his manner of relating the knowledge. I honestly couldn’t get enough, and hated for each day end which was why we kept asking for another day. He is very busy or we would have taken more of his time. Hero speaks perfect English and is very easy to understand.
The restaurants he took us to for lunch were all places we never would have found on our own. The one on the Asia side was our favorite, so if you go there with him, it will be the best place can have authentic food.
My favorite experience of all was when we were booking a bath and I asked if his wife might go with me. The baths can be a bit intimidating to a woman who has never been. She and I had an amazing time together despite of our language differences.
If you are looking for a great guide and some behind the scenes experiences, I highly recommend booking Hero. Do it in advance as he does fill up. He suits up and shows up on time and your days will be very full.

Sightseeing is one thing. Exploring and feeling Istanbul the way Kahraman will make you experience it, it's another. I will always be grateful to him for the magic I felt here, unexpected and humbling. I will be back. Thank you Kahraman.

We had a 3-hour tour with Apo which was amazing. He gave us a historical perspective of how Istanbul, Hagia Sophia & Sultan Ahmet Mosque (aka Blue Mosque) came into being by going back to the human evolutional paths, which added value to his tour, not found in many. He also brought us to the infamous Grand Bazaar. The overall speed of the tour was both good & relaxing. He is friendly & accommodating. Thank you for the good experience, Apo.

Apo was hands down the best tour guide we ever had. This was our first time visiting. We were speechless walking through the big city of Istanbul. Apo's tour of the city exceeded our expectations as he took us EVERYWHERE, including the hole in the wall places that always end up being the best!! He made us feel so comfortable and at home in this big city we have never been in. We went to some of the best restaurants and had amazing food and drinks. He even got us a private boat all to ourselves which was breathtaking. I HIGHLY recommend booking Apo as your tour guide. He really is a walking encyclopedia and taught us so much about Istanbul. He is such an amazing and down to earth person. We are so glad that we met him and had the pleasure of having him accompany us on our trip. My wife and I became great friends with him and we will cherish our memories with him in Istanbul forever! Thank you SO much Apo for everything. We will definitely be revisiting Istanbul because of you!!

We were so excited to travel to Istanbul and see as much as we can, fortunately we booked a tour with Apopedia Travel it was amazing, pick up on time, friendly, knowledgeable, he can answer any question, funny, took lots of pictures of us, explained every part of the tour very good, delicious lunch, this was the tour we enjoyed the most. We recommend it a 100% we had it in Spanish ( perfect). Mis amigas y yo estabamos muy entusiasmadas de viajar a Estambul y conocer lo más que pudieramos, afortunadamente, compramos el tour con Apopedia Travel fué realmente increíble, nos recojió a la hora indicada, muy amigable, educado y respetuoso, sabe mucho de la historia te explica y cuenta con detalles y responde a tus preguntar, almuerzo riquízimo, reímos, nos tomo fotografías, etc , este fué el tour que más disfrutamos en Estambul. Recomendamos el tour al 100% tomamos el tour en español.

Kahraman was an absolutely amazing tour guide! He knows his history and brings the culture alive when walking you through all the hotspots while taking the road off the beaten path. Shows you to the best spots in grand bazaar and is an honest man, explaining what it’s worth to get from there and then informs you of other areas you can visit on your own for other goods that would be unnecessarily expensive at the grand bazaar. He is very acccomodating as well. He gives you time to walk around on your tour and explore and tells you where to meet him so you can explore the wonders and haggle on your own, then ask his advice on the quality of what you’re considering purchasing. The tour was supposed to start at 9, we requested for 9:30 and met us at the lobby of our hotel. We came down and he insisted we have breakfast before leaving and it was worth it (shoutout to royan suites). Discuss with him what you want to see and he can also accommodate to your needs. Gives great recommendations for where to eat, took us to the best doner we’ve ever had (fyi spicy isn’t actually spicy). Also even better price if you request another day to continue the tour!
Don’t miss out and make sure you choose him!

My husband and I booked our Istanbul tours with Apo. He is so knowledgeable and fun that we ended up adding an additional fifth day tour in Istanbul. Apo made Istanbul so much fun and we had the best experience. I highly recommend Apo to make your travel experience unique.