A cruise on the Bosphorus is probably the most overlooked Istanbul tourist attraction. Understandable, with such an abundance of historical sightseeing spots in Istanbul and too little time to squeeze them all into your short holiday. But take my advice and set a few hours aside to take an unforgettable Bosphorus tour. Certainly if you’re in town between May and September. You won’t regret it — at least if you follow these simple guidelines.
Stay Clear of Private Bosphorus Tours
I see this scene unfold almost every day: poorly informed tourists willing to take a Bosphorus tour, walking on the docks of Eminönü in search for a Bosphorus cruise. Private companies can spot this kind of behavior from a mile away and offer them a seat on their Bosphorus cruise boat. But please, don’t get tempted by the offer these ‘hustlers’ make. Their tours are overpriced (double and more), shorter and on boats that can barely be called seaworthy.
IDO/Şehir Hatları Offers the Best Bosphorus Tour Experience
One of the many palaces on the Bosphorus shores.
Istanbul Deniz Otobüsleri (IDO) / Şehir Hatları are Istanbul’s official sea bus, fast ferry and regular ferry companies. They offer three great Bosphorus tours: Short Circle Bosphorus Cruise, Full Bosphorus Cruise and the Full Bosphorus Cruise by Night. Unfortunately, the availability of these tours change according to the season. So do keep on reading and check out the respective links for the most up-to-date departure times.
The IDO/Şehir Hatları Bosphorus lines sales offices are located on the right docks of Eminönü when coming off the Galata Bridge.
Short Circle Bosphorus Cruise (Kısa Boğaz Turu)
First up is the brand new non-stop Short Circle Bosphorus tour. This one is great for people who are pressed for time but don’t want to miss a genuine Bosphorus experience. This tour is available every day in summer time (April 1st until October 31st). The cruise takes you from Eminönü to Istinye (well past the second bridge that is), and back. The ferry leaves the Eminönü docks at 14:30, arrives at Ortaköy around 14:50 to pick up more people, and then continues its two hour non-stop tour. The price per person is 10 TL. For the latest updates, check the official timetable.
Full Bosphorus Cruise (Uzun Boğaz Turu)
The Full Bosphorus Tour offers a great Bosphorus experience and will take several hours in total. For a mere 25 TL this cruise will take you from Eminönü all the way to the Black Sea, and back. Each way takes about 90 minutes since the ferry makes 5 short stops to let people on and off. You must get off the ferry in Anadolu Kavağı, the last harbor before the Black Sea. This gives you the opportunity to grab a (late) lunch in one of the town’s fish restaurants located on the shore and/or visit the fortress.
The ferry does a few complete tours a day, so check the official schedule with the latest timetables. On board you can use digital guides explaining over 70 points of interest along the way, in 10 different languages (Turkish, English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Persian, and Arabic). The price for a round trip is 25 TL.
Full Bosphorus Cruise by Night (Mehtap Gezi)
Dolmabahçe Palace by night from the Bosphorus.
It offers the exact same tour as the regular Full Bosphorus Tour, but you get to see Istanbul at night! The ferry leaves before dusk providing great Istanbul sunset views. It again stops in Anadolu Kavağı for a bit over two hours so people can enjoy dinner in the fish restaurants at the shore. Around 22:30 the ferry departs again for a moonlight cruise on the Bosphorus — a unique experience!
Unfortunately, the Full Bosphorus Tour by Night is only available on Saturdays in July and August. The good news is that it still only costs 20 TL. Needless to say you better buy your tickets in time.
{ 75 comments… read them below or add one }
In addition to the above cruise options, we were delighted to find that it is also possible to rent your own boat in Istanbul, in our case a private yacht, which should also be mentioned as another wonderful cruise option if looking for something more special as we were.
We found this possible using Zoe Yacht, a very efficient and well organized company. They gave us a fabulous yacht, spacious and well-looked after and we enjoyed an excellent drinks service during our sightseeing cruise. It’s wonderful to be able to spend time with those you love, listening to some great music on the water, enjoying the sights and drinking some delicious cocktails – It was probably the most relaxed we felt in Istanbul! (You can see the Zoe Yacht we used at http://www.bosphorusyacht.com)
The Bosphorus scenery is truly spectacular in June not to mention the historic and geographic importance and was certainly should not be missed – it was a highlight of our trip.
We are on a Holland America cruise and will be in Istanbul afternoon 10 June 2012 and would like to know the cost of the Full Bosphorus Night Cruise and dinner please.
Or just Bosphorus Cruise and what time it leaves.
Cruise ship does not dock at Istanbul until 4pm. 10th. June
Thanks, Mary
Nicholson
Dear Mary,
Just as mentioned in the article, the Full Bosphorus Night Cruise doesn’t start until July. Moreover, it doesn’t serve dinner on board. Since you’ll be in Istanbul in June, I advice you to take the full daytime Bosphorus tour. You can find more information in the article on that.
Kind regards,
Erlend
Hi,
I am planning to travel to istanbil in MAY.
Unfortunately,IDO/Şehir Hatları dont operate Night Bosphorus tour in May.
Is it like only they dont operate or no agenyc does teh night tour in may?
Is there any other agency? I am not inclined towards night bosphorus cruises offered by private agencies which include dinner + belly dancers.
I am only interested in the Bosphorus tour.
Thanks,
Vaibhav Saxena
Hi Vaibhav,
You’re right that IDO/Şehir Hatları does not have a nightly Bosphorus tour in May. On one hand that’s unfortunate of course, but the biggest reason for that are probably the weather conditions. Although Istanbul may have nice, sunny days with very comfortable temperatures, at night (and certainly on the water) it will get chilly (not to say cold). Even in summertime, when it’s 30C during the day, and over 20C at night, the nightly trip on deck requires a sweater.
But there are certainly a few privately held boats that will offer night tours, with or without drinks, food and belly dancers. But it goes beyond the scope of this blog to list all private Bosphorus tour companies. The best advice I can give you is to ask the bellboy of your hotel upon arrival, which is the safest option. If they can’t help you (which I would doubt), then just walk to the Eminönü pier and ask around.
Kind regards,
Erlend
Please send us the prices for Bosphorus Cruise Tour for short Cruise and for Full Cruise and
for Cruise by night.we are planet to come in Istanbul on April from 13 to 17 /2012.
Thanks,
Lidija
Dear Lidija,
As mentioned in the article and in a previous comment, there are no night cruises in April. They’re only in July and August. As for the prices, please follow the links in the post, select the tour (short or full) you would like to take, and then click on fares.
Have a nice stay.
The two of us will be in Istanbul for 4 days beginning April 4, 2012. We would like to join the Full Bosphorus Cruise (Uzun Boğaz Turu).
Question: we would like to know the schedule for the that period. What boat to look for at Eminonu, ie. the name of the company? The link you provided above is not working [not found in the server].
Thanks
Dani
Hi Dani,
You’re right, the IDO/Şehir Hatları company’s website is currently experiencing problems and undergoing changes. This is out of our hands unfortunately. Since they’ll move to the summer schedule on April 1st (but timetables are not yet available), please check here again at that date, or inquire at their sales booth in Eminönü. It’s located on the right-hand side, when standing on the Eminönü pier facing the Galata tower.
Have a nice stay.
We are traveling to Istanbul in May and would like to take a full day cruise but I would like to have an actual guide,not a pre-recorded tour. Can you recommend a tour company that provides relatively small group tours with very informed English speaking guides?
Many thanks
Hi,
Unlike (international) quality brand stores, good guides come and go. A great guide last year, may have chosen a different route this year, or do Turkey wide guidance instead of just focusing on Istanbul. Because of that we don’t recommend ‘personal’ guides here. Check with your hotel’s front desk who’s rocking these days.
Have a nice trip.
Is it possible or necessary to book in advance for the short cruise in May? Thanks
Hi Kristina,
As far as I know, there is no possibility to make reservations. But what I always do is go early in the day, buy my ticket, continue doing what I had planned for that day, and then show up 15 minutes before departure time.
Will be in Instanbul ( 3 of us) the night of the 30th of June 2012, will there be a night cruise scheduled for that date?
Hi Eva, yes it should be. Here’s a link to the night tour timetable.
Thank you for this article, very inspirational… We’ll try to add the “short bosporus tour” to our list when visiting Istanbul on July. Hope everything works out well. Thanks again, best regards form the Czech republic!
Thanks a lot Lucie. Comments like yours make it all worthwhile.
I wish you a happy stay/holiday.
Kind regards,
Erlend
Hello,
I will be in Istanbul on Saturday, August 11th. I was hoping to do the night cruise picking up from Eminonu. Do you think I will be able to buy tickets or will they be sold out? Is there any way to buy a ticket online? Thanks.
Are there any night cruises on the Bosphorus in November? I will be sailing on the Celebrity Equinox leaving Rome on November 5?
Hi Elaine,
Too soon to tell. Normally they only run in July and august, but this year they started earlier. Cross fingers.
Thanks Erlend for the information on the private tours. I was totally going to book with one (which includes dinner, etc) but their prices are ridiculous compared to this as you said. I would have been another tourist getting ripped off without you! Thanks so much. We will be travelling to Istanbul for a week starting Thursday! So excite
I’m going to keep reading!
Thanks a lot Nicki, very nice of you.
I hope you will have a great time.
Erlend
can any one tell me the ticket price of moon light full bosphorus tour for one person in turkish leira
It says so in the article Shahid, 20 TL per person.
Hi Erlend – Your articles are very informative and interesting. I wanted to ask you whether there are any changes in the Bosphorous Cruise schedules on account of Ramadan Bayrami? I would be in Istanbul during 18th – 20th August 2012 and wanted to go on a Bosphorous tour. Also, do I need to make early reservations on account of it being Bayrami holidays? Thanks in advance for your help.
Hi Pritam, thanks.
Well, I can’t tell for sure. But to be honest, I don’t think so, since it’s a private company. Here is some more info on the Sugar Feast.
As for reservations, you may pay them a visit the day before and ask if you can get tickets for a later day, but to my knowledge they don’t do that. And given the fact it is a religious holiday and nice weather, I’d go in time just to make sure, or even in the morning.
Have a nice stay,
Erlend
Thanks for the information Erlend. Hope everything truns out to be just fine. I had just one more un-related question. I would be travelling from Istanbul to Cappadocia, then to Pamukkale, Selcuk, Canakkale and then back to Istanbul all between the dates 10th – 16th August. This would again be the month of Ramadan, however not Bayrami per se. So do I still need to book bus tickets in advance or I can get the tickets one day prior to my respective travel date at the otogar? I am a bit apprehensive since I read that lot of people travel during the Ramadan Bayrami. What I am not sure is whether lot of people also travel during the week preceeding it as well in which case getting seats may become a problem. Any insight would be very helpful.
Regards,
Pritam
Hi Pritam,
No, normally the big travel happens during the Bayram itself.
Kind regards,
Erlend
Hi Erlend, I loved your articles there very helpful , but i have a question , since it’s very crowded in Istanbul during Bay-ram or Eid time do you suggest any place tourists can go away fro this crewed , i’m coming with my family to Turkey for the first time at Aug 18 2012 , and i’m running away from the crewed & traffic of my country Kuwait during these days .
Thanks for your help
Khulood
Hi Khulood,
Thanks for the nice comment.
You may want to read this article about the Sugar Feast marking the end of Ramadan.
May I suggest a trip to the islands and/or a Bosphorus tour?
Have a nice trip,
Erlend
Well met Erlend -
Thank you for the excellent articles. I am planning a trip to Istanbul and they have helped me decide what and how to see the sights. I have a question regarding the night cruise and hope you may be able to provide an answer as I cannot find a definitive answer on the night tour site.
I start my travel from the U.S.A on 31 August and arrive in Istanbul on September 1st. I understand from your information above that the night tour runs weekends July to August. I wondered if the Saturday that I arrive counts as the last weekend of August (and will have a night tour) or since it is indeed technically September, if I’ll miss the opportunity.
I’m assuming the latter, but would be pleasantly surprised to find a night cruise operating that weekend. If you know either way and wouldn’t mind passing along the information, I would be grateful.
Thanks again for this excellent site and you efforts that ease the way for visitors to Istanbul.
All the best to you -
– Thomas
Hi Thomas,
Thanks a lot for the compliments.
You’re in luck, according to the latest information I have, they will continue the tour until September 16th.
Have a nice trip,
Erlend
Hi Erlend -
Many thanks! You just made my day. I’m looking forward to this trip very much.
Thanks again and all the best -
- Thomas
And what is the cost of short circle cruise and the full cruise? Thanks.
Anna, have you tried reading the last two sentences of every paragraph in this article?
Hello Erlend,
We will be in Istanbul on the 31st of August for 3 days and plan on taking the Full Bosphorus Cruise by Night, on the 1st Sept (Saturday), Since we will be staying in Sultanmet and going by the timetable at http://www.sehirhatlari.com.tr/en/timetable/mehtap-gezisi-415.html, it would seem that the pickuppoint would be from EMINONU(18:35) and our return would be at 00:10,
Question: I would like to know what mode of safe transport we could use to reach our hotel from EMINONU late in the night
thanks
Thanks
Hi,
Just stop a taxi, and you should be fine. Do make sure you have the correct directions to your hotel and have the hotel’s phone number with you.
Hi Erlends,
I will be in Istanbul from 06 to 08 sep 12.We want to take Bosphorus cruise full day/night? Which is better? We want to see Belly dance & have dinner on board while on the cruise.Please advise from where to start,cost per person with fish/fruits/non alcoholic drinks & return to Hotel in Taxsim.Thanx.
Hi Grover,
The Bosphorus tours I mentioned are the official ones and don’t offer belly dancers or dinner. Only private companies offer these kind of tours. Ask your hotel’s concierge, he should be able to help you out.
Hi Erlends,
Can you recommend good sight seeing tour for two days in Kusadasi & for three days in Cappadocia in September 2012.is it safe to take hot air ballon trip?
Thanx
Hi Grover,
I’m afraid my knowledge and advice is restricted to Istanbul.
Hi, can you purchase refreshments on the standard ferry trips? If yes, does this include beer and wine or not? Thanks,
Craig
Hi Craig,
Yes you can buy refreshments normally, but no alcohol. Keep in mind that it is also not allowed to smoke on the ferries.
Thanks, would we be permitted to take along a bottle of wine or would that be forbidden?
Hi Erlend,
thanks for nice and informative article, finally I discovered details about official night cruises. But still have one question. You wrote several times, that night cruising is possible just from July till August. I visited official website of provider today and there is still time schedule for night cruising even today is 12th of September. Is that means, that night cruising still running or it’s just non update information? I tried write to costumer service, but I doubt, they’ll answer.
So thanks again for sharing and best regards from Prague!
edit: Question solved, summer time schedule is till 16th of September.
Thanks Eva, I’m sure you helped a lot of people with this info!
We took the full 25TL tour on Thursday (13th September). While I do recommend the river cruitse, I would not recommend do the trip all the way to the end. Other than the fort one is pretty much ‘trapped ‘ in the small town and at the mercy of the local restaurants. This was the only place in Istanbul where we were charged for bread and forced to pay a 10% service charge. The Mezze was very dissappointing and the fried calamari tasteless. The service was the worst we had on our trip and the staff were extremely grumpy. In retrospect I would either have done the shorter loop trip or, if doing the full trip I would have disembarked at the second last stop. There is a wonderful swimming beach and I am sure the eateries are a lot less entitiled!
Hello Erlend,
I’m travelling to Istanbul this coming December, early December to be precised. Are there any river cruise services in December (both short and long cruises)? TQ
Hi Farikica,
Both the short and the long Bosphorus tours should be available then. To my knowledge, only the night cruise does not run in winter.
Have fun,
Erlend
I will be in Istanbul Nov 1-12. You said there were several Full Bosporus Tours each day and that one must get off at the last stop. How long does it stop? Is it possible to go out on one ferry and come back on a later one? One writer complained about being trapped in a small town and the food being not so good…what do you think? I would like to see the fort and anything else that is interesting. Is it better to pack a picnic?
Hi Amy,
In wintertime, you have to be careful, since they don’t make as many runs as they do in summertime. Just play safe and take the morning one from Eminönü at 10:35, which will take you to the furthest point by 12:10. That gives you almost a three hour window to eat and do some sightseeing, before the last ferry leaves again at 15:00. Keep your ticket with you for the return trip. Do check the timetables through the link provided in the article for the latest updates.
In all honesty, the food is rather average, except for the fish maybe. Certainly in summertime, since people only have/had a 45 min window to eat. In winter you have more time, so maybe they take more pride in their cooking.
Have a nice trip,
Erlend
We will be visiting Istanbul for 2 days in during the last week of March. I would love to take one of the cruises, but because we are there for such a short time we would have to give up something else. I am worried about weather conditions on the ferry – is it still worth it at that time of year to take the ferry? Also, if I only have time for the short ride, is that still worth it? I thought the greatest part of this cruise would be to go to the Asia side, and it looks like the short ferry stays in Europe. Please advise. Thanks.
Hi Jill,
In March we may already have a few nice afternoons. If that’s the case, I would try to fit in a short cruise. If the weather is mediocre to bad, I would focus on visiting other things.
Kind regards,
Erlend
I will be at the Witt in early June what is the easiest way to set up a full bosphorous cruise? Do they run on Wednesdays?
Hi Joanne,
I can’t tell for sure since by then they’ll be running on the summer schedule, which they will only announce a few weeks before. But no need to worry, there is no need for reservations. If you’re staying at Witt, just ask the front desk to help you set it up upon arrival. They’ll gladly look into all the options available.
Kind regards,
Erlend
Hi, thanks for the great information that you provide on Istanbul.request if you could please advise which are the good, convenient and safe areas to stay in…our travel is planned for end April…….
Hi Manoshi,
This is not the first time people ask me this question, so I plan a full post on that this month. If you can’t wait for that, then I’d go for a hotel in Beyoğlu (Taksim/Cihangir).
Kind regards,
Erlend
Hi Erlend,
Thank you for this informative info. I’ll be travelling from Malaysia and was looking around for the Bosphorus Tour without using the private tour. Definitely will try your suggestion during my upcoming visit end of February 2013. Thanks a lot for other beneficial info as well.
Well done. Linda
Hi Nik Linda,
Thanks for the compliments. I’m glad I could be of assistance.
Kind regards,
Erlend
A round of applause for the blog post. Truly thank you! Excellent.
Hi Erlend,
That you for such a nice and detailed information that you have out up. We are in Istanbul in first week of April and want to do the night cruise of Bosphorus . We will be staying in Sultanhemet area. Which will be the closest dock station for us to catch the boat. We will be arriving in the afternoon and hence will be looking for something in the evening, around 5pm. Please suggest something.
We are also planning for a day drip to Prince’s island. Any pointers/suggestions on that will be very helpful.
We do not want to go with the private tour operators for both the trips. Also keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for a good weather when we visit. Looking forward to your reply!
Thanks,
Ruchi
Hi Ruch,
I’m afraid the night Bosphorus cruise will not yet operate in April. They only start these tours in summertime. But you can still take the full Bosphorus daytime tour if you wish, which will be much warmer that time of the year.
As for a trip to the Princes’ Islands, the closest harbors are Eminönü for the (slower) conventuals ferries and Kabataş for the quick sea ferries.
Kind regards,
Erlend
Many thanks for the reply Erlend!
Should we buy online tickets (from IDO website) for the full Bosphorus daytime tour or should we buy it directly from the dock when we are there? Same question for Prince’s island.
We reach Istanbul in the afternoon and will be at our hotel by evening 5 , which is in Sultanhemet. What should we plan for that evening?Please suggest. Since we are there only for 3 days, I do not want to waste any time
Hi Ruch,
You can buy the tickets on the dock. If you want to be sure, you can buy them in the morning ahead of time.
Kind regards,
Erlend
Hello,
I will be in Istanbul on 24th April. I was hoping to do the short cruise by sehirhatlari. Do you think I will be able to buy tickets or will they be sold out? Is there any way to buy a ticket online? Thanks.
Hi Dell,
You should have no problem finding them the day itself.
Kind regards,
Erlend
Hi! Erlend
I would like to know whether October/ November are good months to travel to Turkey. We are planning a 8 day trip.
Regards
Namrata
Hi Namrata,
Nobody can predict the weather of course. Maybe check out this post on best times to visit Istanbul.
Regards,
Erlend
Many thanks Erlends! the link did help.
I have gone through lonely planet to check out must see places in Turkey. However, they have listed so many that one gets confused. Can you suggest must see places in Turkey?
Regards
Namrata
Hi Namrata,
I’m glad to hear the link was useful. Bare in mind though that this blog only offers information on Istanbul. I’m afraid I can’t give you a list of things to see in Turkey.
Kind regards,
Erlend
Hi Erlends,
I found your information concerning Bosphorus cruises very enlightning. However, you seem to focus on the Sehir Hatlari line. Do you have any information on IDO? On several websites they advise using them and give prices as lowe as 5 TR, but have no detailed information on the stops or schedule. I visited their website but found it rather confusing. Do you know if they have a Bosphorus cruise as well, and if it is possible to get off and back on at several stops to visit the smal towns or villages?
Kind regards,
Goedele
Hi Goedele,
IDO is a company that used to organize these Bosphorus tours, but no longer provide the real experience. They now focus on the quick sea buses.
About hopping and on off, it’s best to ask before boarding, because their policy changes a lot. Also, very important, make sure you don’t miss the last boat.
Kind regards,
Erlend
We only have a short time in Istanbul and my huband wanted to go to the beach. I know there are the more popular beaches that are not close to Istanbul but I have heard of a beach by the Black Sea. First is this right and two will the full Bosphorus tour take us there where we can stay for a couple of hours?
Second I am still confused about where to buy ticket for the Whirling Dervishes in Istabul. The names are confusing to me. Are the recommneded places in Istanbul?
Hi Rebecca,
Bosphorus cruises will not take you to a beach. The closest beaches to the Istanbul city center are located by the Black Sea or at the Princes Islands. I have no clue when you plan to come, but the seas will be rather cold (they take a long time to heat up) until mid July.
If you are only a short time in Istanbul, a beach would be at the bottom of my to-do list.
Kind regards,
Erlend