The 4 Best Istanbul Tea Tours

1.Istanbul Highlights: Guided Tour with Turkish Tea or Coffee

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 278 reviews · 4 hours (approx.) · from $60Our pick

Spend four hours walking Istanbul’s Old City with an English-speaking guide. Visit Hagia Sophia, the Basilica Cistern, Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, and Grand Bazaar, with Turkish tea or coffee along the way. Guides such as Muhammed, Salih, KC, and Jayson are praised for clear explanations and flexible pacing. Entry fees are extra.

“My tour guide, Muhammed, is wonderful. Our pace was good and we took time for a chai tea break. His knowledge wisendless and he has a sense of humour that translates across cultures and language. There was no question left unanswered. Highly recomend him!”

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2.Istanbul: World Teas & Turkish Tea Brewing, Tasting Workshop

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 29 reviews · 1h 30m · from $33

Spend 90 minutes tasting five teas with an English or Turkish-speaking instructor such as Zeynep, Kamran, or Abdullah. You will brew Turkish tea in a double teapot, Chinese tea in a gaiwan, sip from thin-waisted glasses, sample treats, and take home a personal blend.

“I had a lot of fun learning about tea with my instructor Zeynep! The tea experience was just myself and Zeynep, and she made the experience enjoyable for just one. Highly recommend!”

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3.Card Game and Afternoon Turkish Tea with Local Grandma

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 7 reviews · 2 hours · from $18Best value

Spend two relaxed hours in a Beşiktaş home with Anane, a witty 93-year-old Turkish grandma, her family, and a tiny group of up to three people. Learn a Turkish card game, drink çay, enjoy coffee, biscuits, and snacks, and expect plenty of teasing and laughter. Baver and his family help explain the game in Turkish and English.

“I don't know how to describe this experience, or if there is a way to describe as it's more about the feelings.. The grandma, the family, they are all making you feel like you are a part of the household. Engaging with a 95 year-old grandma, sometimes being mocked, sometimes being the distant relative whom the cute grandma just wants to keep offering things to you, with everything, this was one of the coolest experiences I joined..”

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4.Handmade Charm Jewelry Workshop in Galata with Turkish Tea

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 6 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $28

At Highlights in Istanbul Workshops in Galata, you spend about two hours making personal jewelry from metal and stone. An expert artisan introduces Grand Bazaar techniques while you design a modern or Ottoman-inspired piece, enjoy Turkish tea, and take home a necklace, charm, or gift of your own making.

“Thanks Zeynep for a lovely jewellery workshop! Now a have a very specıal necklace with meaningful charms 😍”

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