Private Shopping in Grand Bazaar with Local Friends

WOW! What an incredible experience! Gokay has clearly taken the time to get to know the best and kindest vendors at the Grand Bazaar and it made for such a smooth time for my husband and I on this tour. We had so much seeing the shops, learning the history and getting help with haggling! Definitely recommend for anyone who is looking to shop at the bazaar or who might be overwhelmed by the bazaar in general.

We had a wonderful time exploring the market place with our guide who was knowledgeable and accommodating

We were met on time and explored the many shops with no pressure to buy. The most fun was conversing with the shop owners and being offered apple tea and cookies. They treated us like family. Our wonderful guide volunteered to ride on the tram with us to get the port with no hassles. We very highly recommended this excursion. You won’t be disappointed

Excellent tour would really recommend. Gökay was a brilliant, kind and very informative guide - took me to all be best places I would never have found myself . He was incredibly proactive making sure the tour was targeted and flexible to what I wanted to see . Definitely a must do tour - I going to recommend to all my friends and family.

Great for first time if short in time to navigate. Savval was incredibly kind and showed us many places at the same time letting us wander sbout. Thanks for taking us to the bakery for amazing cookies!

Gokay was great, he navigated us around the bazaar to find exactly what we were looking for and was great with his info.ation about the bazaar and Istanbul.

Gokay was great. Sweet guy, fluent inEnglish and Turkish. Lawyer by day, shopper guide with connections on days off! He reached out via WhatsApp immediately. Asked before hand what we were interested in shopping for, let us know what else we could see if we were interested. I honestly don’t know how you would find the stores we went to without guide. From outside they looked like junk shops or empty, but until owner takes you into back room you don’t see the good stuff.

I tested in vintage jewelry specifically and he knows a great place. Also shopped for table linens and bags. Would definitely use Gokay again next time in Istanbul. He even put us on right tram when we ended tour.

Incredible experience. We had the most special day with Gökay. We were very clear that we did not want to shop knockoff designer items but instead wanted to focus on well made, locally sourced, Turkish crafts and craftsman (examples: jewelry, pottery, lamps, scarves, towels, rugs, etc). He totally delivered. He took us to the most unique shops with the kindest vendors. No one was pushy, everyone was generous with their time and resources, and of course, we ended up buying even more than we expected because of all of that! We absolutely loved it and if you want a quality experience with a guide who is fun, intelligent, helpful, and speaks English well, book this one!

Gokay met us exactly on time and exactly where he said he would. He had messaged us prior asking what we were looking for. He really delivered! I got a beautiful piece of fabric for making a dress and friend got an antique pocket watch for her husband. We also got some lovely pottery and original art. I was so glad he was there because I would have been quickly overwhelmed. The place is huge. Thank you, Gokay!!

Absolutely amazing tour of the market! I had a list and we saw everything that interested me! I left with some very unique treasures that I’m certain I could not have found in my own. I will definitely book again next time I visit Istanbul.

I went on a solo trip to Istanbul in June and on my last full day, I wanted to get my souvenir shopping done at the Grand Bazaar. I knew I’d be overwhelmed because I don’t enjoy shopping but Gokay made the experience quite enjoyable. He reached out to me shortly after I booked the experience and asked for my shopping list which helped him curate the experience perfectly.

Gokay provided tips on negotiating prices with vendors and took me to trusted places where I never felt pressured to purchase anything.

I’d love if this experience was offered outside of the Grand Bazaar as the prices are lower outside of the mall but I also viewed it as a tourist experience so it was all worth it.

I’d definitely book Gokay again for any other tours he offers.