Istanbul Grand Bazaar Excursion Reviews

Not my cup of tea. Too big and overwhelming. And we really dislike merchants' "in your face" salesmanship.

Provider: Independent Operator

After having been to the Souks in Marrakech, I was a little dissapointed at theis place.

Provider: MSC Cruises

This is pretty cool. You get to haggle for goods, but more than likely, you'll pay too much for cheap stuff.

Provider: MSC Cruises

Too many stores with the same stuff. Have to bargain. Never know if you are really getting a good deal but worth the time to see it

Provider: Norwegian Cruise Line

Too much time at the carpet factory showroom and not enough at the Grand bazaar.

Provider: Norwegian Cruise Line

do on your own if you dare. you will be hassled to death and so confused you will want to flee. I would only shop here with a Turkish friend.

Provider: Holland America Line

Grand bazaar is a touristic happening, but not to be missed. You can bargain quite good.

Provider: Costa Cruises

The Grand Bazaar was fascinating and very colourful. It's a great pity that we were only given 20 minutes to look around.

Provider: MSC Cruises

This was part of our deal of sights in Istanbul but we ran out of time & only had 20 minutes in the bazaar.However we felt it was more important to see Hagia Sofia,Blue Mosque & Topkapi palace.

Provider: Cunard Line

Surprisingly I loved Istanbul. I was not expecting to see this modern, bustling city. Our guide, Sertan, was very informative. We saw a demonstration of how Turkish rugs are handmade.The weaving is done by hand and passed on through generations. Final stop was the Grand Bazaar which has been very modernized. Glass storefronts down endless corridors sold jewelry, leather,clothing,hooka pipes and boxed candy called Turkish Delight. Sheer size of bazaar was intimidating to say the least.Lots of sellers in the streets trying to get you to buy anything and everything.

Provider: Princess Cruises

Great place. No guide provided for Bazaar and easy to get lost.

Provider: Norwegian Cruise Line

Easy to get lost, it is so big

Provider: Cunard Line

The Grand Bazaar was worth seeing but we found it was all a bit rushed and an all abit samey after a while. The jewelery was amazing and had to be seen to be believed. We ventured outside the Grand Bazaar after a while and it was much more interesting. We didn't venture too far though as we were worried we'd get lost and that would have been quite easy.

Provider: Princess Cruises

Enormous array of shops. There are many intriguing specialty shops, although many of the shops sell the same junk. Bargain hard.

Provider: Independent Operator

Too crowded. All the same stores up and down the isles. Merchants are very aggressive.

Provider: Holland America Line

We actually enjoyed the Grand Bazaar a lot. We expected to be bothered by the shopkeepers calling out to us, but these interruptions were few and far between. In the stalls where we bought scarves, ceramics & food, the vendors were very friendly and helpful. The reason we didn't rate this stop above a 3 is because our tour guide took us to a "cultural demonstration" of rugmaking. There was NO demonstration; rather, there was a brief explanation of of the Turkish style of rugmaking and then about 30 rugs were rolled at our feet with the expectation that we would buy something after drinking the proffered tea. When we said thank you and goodbye without purchasing anything, we got cold stares, but no rude badgering to buy, thankfully. Our tour guide should have asked us whether we were interested in buying a carpet; we would have told her no. Luckily it was over in about 30 mins.

Provider: Independent Operator

We were given over 2 hours to spend at the Grand Bazaar which is one of the oldest and biggest covered markets in the world. There were close to 60 covered streets. We spent a lot of time at one store to buy many of those ceramic Turkish dishes, kept bargaining until we got 8 small (2") ones for US$10. Then I bought some silk book marks with Turkish patterns or attractions on for US$1 each. There were lots of stores that sold Turkish costumes like bra and belt sets. My friends bought 2 leather jackets there with instant alterations while they waited.

Provider: Independent Operator

Did this was a private guide and felt like we learn about it's history and got to see more of the athentic vendors. Our kids loved it here. Get some turkish delights here. Our kids enjoyed trying these.

Provider: Norwegian Cruise Line

Do not venture off the main thoroughfare unless you have GPS navigation - and remember, even if you say 'no' you are actually opening a negotiaion - just walk away, they totally expect it and it's not rude.

Provider: Celebrity Cruises

Istanbul took the 8 hour trip off the boat...saw lots of sites. One issue was the tour guide when we where going in for the rug demonstration would not tell us what time we all had to meet back up. After the rug demonstration found out we had to meet back up in 15 minutes....this left me 15 minutes to go into the grand bazaar! My main reason for going to Istanbul. Great disappointment. Kusadasi, this is a must see port. Not enough room here to discuss.

Provider: Princess Cruises

We booked a tour that really gave us a taste of Istanbul and some of it's culture, which was great because it was a port we would never have thought to go to ourselves. The bazaar is unbelievably huge with 4,000 shops and stalls and we would have loved many more hours to peruse and bargain here.

Provider: Princess Cruises