Combos

Combo (Save 7%): Blue Mosque Guided Tour + Basilica Cistern Skip-the-Line Tickets with Audio Guide

Name: Combo (Save 7%): Blue Mosque Guided Tour + Basilica Cistern Skip-the-Line Tickets with Audio Guide
Start: 2025-11-19T14:00:00
End: 2025-11-19T15:00:00
Location: Istanbul

Aerial view of the Blue Mosque Sultanahmet with minarets in Istanbul, overlooking the sea.

Blue Mosque courtyard with visitors, Istanbul, part of guided tour and skip-the-line tickets combo.

Medusa head column in Basilica Cistern, Istanbul, part of Blue Mosque & Basilica Cistern tour.

Tourist exploring the ancient columns of the Basilica Cistern in Istanbul.

Open today

Explore at your pace

Choose your entry time, stay as long as you like

Audio guide

Enhance your experience with multilingual audio guide

4.2/5

(3,689)

Peter

Sep 2025

Verified booking

5/5

Buying the tickets was easy and convenient. Unlike other services, the tickets from Headout were delivered electronically right away rather than requiring me to go pick up tickets at a meeting point. The Headout app on my phone worked great to show the digital tickets and download the audio guide. (Be sure to download the guide before actually entering the Cistern as there is poor Internet below ground.) As for the Basilica Cistern itself, it was absolutely amazing--well worth cost of admission.

Tina

Oct 2025

Verified booking

4/5

Istanbul is an amazing city. So much to experience you get sensation overload! The Cistern is breathtaking and I wouldn't miss going to experience this. Lineups are quick and efficient so don't let that dissuade you. Haigia Sofia is beautiful however please note the audio tour is confusing. The flow of walking through does not align with how each landmark is noted in audio. I would get the audio ready and simply listen to each station as you approach it.

Anna

Oct 2025

Verified booking

5/5

When we arrived at Basilica there was a really long queue... I'm very impatient so I decided to check if there is a fast track and we bought it. We skipped the line very fast, in 4 minutes we were inside basilica cistern. It was amazing! Beautiful, good audio guide. The most important fact is that a minute after we entered the rain started, so if we were in the line we wouldn't make it, so I really reccomend this fast track.

Get 13% off and see Blue Mosque's minarets on a guided tour, then skip the long lines at Basilica Cistern to marvel at its 200+ columns with an audio guide.

No long detours—just a short walk between these two wonders gives you more time to soak in the beauty of Istanbul.

Spend 3–4 hours on the Blue Mosque and Old Town tour, then visit the Basilica Cistern in about 1 hour on the same day or any other day you prefer.

Blue Mosque

1-hour guided tour of the Blue Mosque

Entry to Blue Mosque

Expert English-speaking licensed guide

Walking tour around Old Town

Istanbul Old Town map

Basilica Cistern

Skip-the-line entry to Basilica Cistern

Audio guide in English, German, French, Italian, Russian, Spanish & Turkish

These tickets can't be cancelled or rescheduled.

4.2
3,689 reviews
How do we collect reviews?
These ratings include verified reviews from both Headout guests and our trusted partners who operate this experience locally. All reviews come from real travelers who've taken this experience.
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Guests from Spain, Italy, United States and over 10 countries have loved this experience
What our guests say
Céliane
Nov 2025
Verified booking
3/5
All three monuments are well worth a visit. However, for the price I paid, I was expecting a much more detailed audio guide, especially for the Topkapi Palace, where there is no audio guide for the harem. What's more, in November, there was no real need for a line-up of tickets, so it would have been better for me to take my tickets on the spot. On the other hand, the guide to Saint Sophia is very comprehensive.
Martin
Nov 2025
Verified booking
5/5
We really enjoyed our visit to the Blue Mosque! Our guide, Faik, was amazing — he shared so much interesting information about Sultan Ahmed’s reign, how he commissioned the construction of the mosque, and why it has six minarets. He also explained the architectural design, the different sections of the mosque, and some fascinating historical details. It was an insightful and memorable experience — definitely recommend!
Antonio
Nov 2025
Verified booking
3/5
Correct tickets, but I had problems with the audio guide. Difficulty to share it, since I bought tickets for more people and secondly, impossible to reproduce it "offline" as we were informed. I would also like to point out that when you make the purchase, at no time is informed that to enter the palace there are set times. Even so, the guide informed us very well.
Armand
Nov 2025
Verified booking
5/5
Simple, effective and with no surprises. For St Sophie, enter directly outside TopKapi. No need to queue. Same for the cistern. The queue breaker is very pleasant. For TopKapi, it's very easy to find the place to meet the person who's letting us in. There's nothing to worry about, and it's a stone's throw from the site in a charming alley. I sincerely recommend it.
Patricia
Nov 2025
Verified booking
5/5
Buying tickets in advance avoids a long queue. Although there is one, it is shorter. Santa Sofia impressed me with the antiquity of its construction but it is in pretty bad shape and only the second floor can be visited. I highly recommend the cistern for its history and the work that has been done to make your visit enjoyable!

Blue Mosque

Istanbul's past is brought back to life on this guided tour of the Blue Mosque and the Old Town. Inside the mosque, marvel at over 20,000 handmade Iznik tiles in shades of blue, arranged in floral and geometric patterns. Gaze up at the grand central dome, supported by four towering “elephant foot” pillars, as sunlight streams in through under 260 stained-glass windows. Then, follow your guide through Istanbul Old Town and pass by Sultanahmet Square, once the Hippodrome of Constantinople, where ancient Egyptian obelisks and the Serpent Column still stand. Stroll past Ottoman-era fountains, the German Fountain’s golden mosaics, and lively street vendors selling warm simit and Turkish tea.

Basilica Cistern

Avoid the queues and descend into the beautiful Basilica Cistern, a 1,500-year-old underground water reservoir built by Emperor Justinian I. Walk along wooden pathways over shallow, eerily still water, where the soft glow of orange lights highlights 336 marble columns, each standing 30 feet tall. Listen to your audio guide reveal secrets of this ancient structure, once supplying water to the Great Palace of Constantinople. Seek out the famous Medusa heads—one upside down, the other sideways—mysteriously placed at the base of two columns. The hushed atmosphere, cool air, and gentle sound of dripping water make this an unforgettable experience.

Basilica Cistern

Monday	09:00am - 10:00pm	last entry 06:30pm
Tuesday	09:00am - 10:00pm	last entry 06:30pm
Wednesday	09:00am - 10:00pm	last entry 06:30pm
Thursday	09:00am - 10:00pm	last entry 06:30pm
Friday	09:00am - 10:00pm	last entry 06:30pm
Saturday	09:00am - 10:00pm	last entry 06:30pm
Sunday	09:00am - 10:00pm	last entry 06:30pm

Blue Mosque

Monday	09:00am - 06:00pm
Tuesday	09:00am - 06:00pm
Wednesday	09:00am - 06:00pm
Thursday	09:00am - 06:00pm
Friday	09:00am - 06:00pm
Saturday	09:00am - 06:00pm
Sunday	09:00am - 06:00pm

What to bring

Blue Mosque

Bring your walking shoes, water bottle, hat, sunglasses, and snacks for comfortable exploration.

Bring local currency or your preferred payment method for meals, souvenirs, and extra delights not covered by the ticket.

Basilica Cistern

Stay ahead of the game; download the audio app beforehand to dodge any network glitches at the location.

Don’t forget your trusty earphones for an immersive audio guide experience.

Accessibility

Basilica Cistern

This experience is wheelchair accessible.

Additional information

Blue Mosque

If you do not have a scarf or body cover, you can buy them at the entrance (a scarf is 1€ and a body cover is 3€).

While you can breeze through the ticket lines, security screening is standard for all guests. Be prepared for wait times of up to 60 minutes during peak travel periods.

Due to the Friday prayer, the Mosque will be closed to tourists from 12pm to 2pm. For a smoother experience, it's recommended to visit after 4pm to avoid the lengthy security line anticipated between 2pm and 4pm.

Your voucher will be emailed to you instantly.

Please display the same at each ticket redemption point along with a valid photo ID.

Meeting points

Please check your final voucher for the meeting point details and specific instructions.