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.
Private Bosphorus Tours
Private Bosphorus cruises are great value for your money if you do them with reputable and trustworthy companies such as Zoe Yacht. Check out my review of a private Bosphorus cruise I took.
Unfortunately, there are also a lot of less trustworthy options. I see these scenes 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. Such 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 often on boats that can barely be called seaworthy. Moreover, there is nothing private about a boat you share with 50 to a 100 or more strangers.
Şehir Hatları Offers the No-Nonsense Bosphorus Tours
Şehir Hatları is Istanbul’s official ferry company. It offers 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 Şehir Hatları Bosphorus lines sales offices are located on the left docks of Eminönü when coming off the Galata Bridge.
Scenic River Cruise Tours on the Bosphorus
Basic €20 — Diner Entertainment €55 — Evening Sunset €55 — Private Yacht €350 per group
Easy cancellation with a FULL REFUND up to 24 hours in advance
Short Circle Bosphorus Cruise (Kısa Boğaz Turu)
First up is the 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 (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 12 TL, 6 TL for children under 12. 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)
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 on the Ferry 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.
Aviv says
Hey, can you bring whatever you want to the cruise? (drinks, food, and the like) are the prices on board reasonable?
Erlend says
Hi Aviv,
On the public cruise boats you can bring your own drinks and some snacks. Keep in mind that alcoholic beverages may not be allowed.
Imran says
How can i buy advance ticket for long bosphorus cruise or ensure that tickets are not totally sold for the day?
Erlend says
Hi Imran,
For the tours organized by Şehir Hatları you can only buy tickets the same day. You can go in the morning to get tickets for the evening though.
Hope this helps.
vivien barton says
What is the exact location of your office/ticket office? I don’t want to go on a different company, how do I find your ticket counter?
Erlend says
Hi Vivien,
I’m not a travel agent, so I don’t have an office. I just share my Istanbul experiences and advice to help tourists make the most out of it.
Helen Pourouna says
Can you buy tickets for full boat cruise on the day of the cruise for the morning cruise. So in other words can you just turn up to ticket office and buy a ticket for the cruise
Erlend says
Hi Helen,
Yes, you can.
Kedar Dixit says
Is it worth buying Istanbul tourist pass or venture on your own?
Erlend says
Hi Kedar,
Unless you plan to do all they offer in the time frame you picked, I think you’re better of on your own.
Hope this helps.
Dana says
Hello!
I have read your articles and they are very useful. tank uou for your effort and time to write them!
I have a few questions on the cruises a tourist can take:
1. For long Bosphorus Cruise, I found on googlemaps more names for the docks, such as: Eminonu Pier / Eminönü İskelesi and Terminal Feribot Eminönü (Ş.Hatları; Üsküdar & Boğaz). Could you, please, help me with the correct one where I should go to buy tickets and embark?
2. I want to take a cruise on the Golden Horn, too. On Sehir Hatlari website I found a departure point from Karakoy (ferry coming from Uksudar and stopping to Eyup). On the other hand, I found info that there is a ferry going to Eyup from Eminonu Halic Iskelesi (this is the name I found on googlemaps). I don„t know if this is still available in 2019. Is it possible to help me with correct and updated info?
3. Istanbulkart. It is clear it can be used by up to 5 people. When they all use it first time, they will have a discount fare (around 2,60 TL instead of 5TL, as it is a standard ticket). At the first transfer, all of them get discounts?
Thank you in advance for your help,
Dana
Erlend says
Hi Dana,
1. The Şehir Hatları docks are on the right side of the Galata Bridge with your back to Eminönü and looking at the Galata Tower. It should write Boğaz Turları and the brand name, Şehir Hatları.
2. The one you found starting in Üsküdar and ending at Eyüp is the official Golden Horn line (Haliç Hattı). Keep in mind that Karaköy is only just across the bridge from Eminönü, a very enjoyable walk.
3. No, only the first one of all people on the same card will get the discount. Personally, I don’t recommend more than three people on one card.
Have a nice stay.
Camilo says
Hello,
I will arrive in Istanbul next Friday for in the afternoon at 6PM. I will be there until Saturday at 8 AM, as I checked, my only option to visit something typical in Istanbul is the Bosphorus Cruise by Night (Mehtap Gezi). Or do you suggest me another plan?
1. What time start the cruise at night?
2. How much is it?
3. Where I could buy the ticket?
4. How long is the cruise?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Camilo
Erlend says
Hi Camilo,
If you land at 6 PM, I’m afraid you won’t make it in time. I suggest you have a nice dinner overlooking or by the Bosphorus.
Hope this helps.
Dana says
Thank you so much, Erlend, for the details!
One more question – may I use Istanbulkart for the Long Bosphorus Cruise? Or the cost of the cruises are not included?
Thanks again!
Erlend says
Hi Dana,
No, you can’t use your Istanbul Kart.
Have a nice stay.
Rumana says
Hi
I am right now in Istanbul with my husband and two toddlers for a week. Can you please suggest me what we can do in Istanbul for around three days and for the remaining days we wish to explore places around Istanbul.
Thank you
Erlend says
Hi Rumana,
Have you had a look at the articles 15 things to do in Istanbul and fun activities with kids?
Hope this helps.
Aqeel says
Hello
First of all your post helped alot to understand the Bosphrous Tour Thanks for that.
My question is
what i am seeing in the schedule provided by Şehir Hatları that
Full Bosphorus Cruise is departing from EMINONU and we also have ticketing office located on the left docks of EMINONU. So its a win win you go to EMINONU get the ticket and enjoy the cruise. Ok.
Now the issue is for Full Bosphorus Cruise by Night we’ll take the tickets from docks of EMINONU but the cruise is departing from BOSTANCI according to
” http://en.sehirhatlari.istanbul/en/timetable/sunset-cruises-415.html ” this link.
What is that??? Are you getting my point?
2) Second thing is you said ” For the tours organized by Şehir Hatları you can only buy tickets the same day. You can go in the morning to get tickets for the evening though ”
Then what if i wanna go in the morning as i am seeing the schedule for Full Bosphorus Cruise the morning cruise will depart from EMINONU at 10:35. Will i easily get the ticket if i reach at the ticket office at lets say 9:30 or 10:00 ? I mean is it really hard to get the ticket or you can easily get the ticket if you reach an hour before departing the Cruise?
Do respond
Regards
Erlend says
Hi Aqueel,
The boat starts it’s trip in Bostancı, then sails to Kadiköy and picks up people there, then sails to Eminönü where you’ll get on the boat, etc.
Yes, you can buy your tickets in the morning to make sure the boat isn’t sold out by the evening.
Hope this helps.
Sara says
Hey, I went on a Bosphorus cruise tour from Ortaköy, Beşiktaş. The one that costed 25 TL and lasted around an hour. It said “ Bogaz turlari” where we took the boat from. Is there any way to find out who was working on the boat/ cruise that we were on? Meaning the ones selling snacks, tea and so on. Thank you
Erlend says
Hi Sara,
I’m afraid that would be very difficult.
Sorry I can’t help you for that.
John Fitzgerald says
Is it reasonable to target the 1:30 departure from Eminonu with an arrival at Ataturk scheduled for 11:20? I don’t have any concept of the time needed to get through immigration and the taxi ride to the dock. Since we won’t buy the ticket until we are at the dock, the only question is whether it is reasonable to plan for that? Thanks.
Erlend says
Hi John,
First of all, you probably will not fly on Atatürk, because Atatürk Airport has been closed down a few months ago. You’ll now land at the new Istanbul Airport. Typically it takes just over one hour to get out of the airport, and depending on the means of transportation you choose and amount of traffic, it’ll take one to two hours to reach the city center.
Assuming you’ll want to check in at your hotel first to at least drop your luggage, I think it’s very unlikely you’ll make it to the docks on time.
Hope this helps give you an idea.
Jaco Havenga says
Hi, thanks for your very informative articles. Me and my wife are visiting Istanbul from Sept 8th to 13 Sept. Would you suggest booking any tours or we rather do our own thing. Its like all the operators use the reason for booking with them is to skip long queues. In terms of the Sehir Hatlari Bosphorus cruise (Full Cruise), when disembark at the last harbor for lunch is the ferry waiting or do you catch a different one back. And is this cruise cover all the important sites along the river or are there other cruises as well.
Regards
Erlend says
Hi Jaco,
There are often long queues, but that’s most of the time to buy tickets. You can avoid that buy buying the museum pass or buy buying these skip the line guided tours. The latter also have the advantage that these are mostly guided tours. You can buy those online, you’ll find their ads on my site. And last but not least, you can buy a complete package with Istanbul Tourist Pass. I always used to go in with a book in hand, but I recently enjoyed the added value of a guide.
As for the cruise, it depends a bit on the day, but normally it’s the same ferry. Please safe, and take the 10:35 ferry to the last stop in the morning, and ask there when the return ferries depart. There is always a return ferry at 15:00, but the second one is either at 17:00 or 18:00, depending on the day.
Have a nice stay.
Mustafa says
Went on Saturday for a night cruise with Şehir Hatları but the office was closed and I was told that Şehir Hatları has only one cruise on Saturday but that’s in the morning (or maybe they said afternoon..can’t recall).
So we took the BigBus tour (they share the same booth with Şehir Hatları. The cost originally was 400 TL for 4 adults but after some negotiations it went down to 350 TL. It was very good. Not crowded at all. It was close to the evening so we started with a day light and also managed to see the sunset and Istanbul in night lights. Tour was with commentary at points of interest.
Food drinks onboard are expensive. Bring your own snacks.
Erlend says
Hi Mustafa,
It’s correct that Şehir Hatları only has the sunset cruise on a Saturday. Maybe you were too late to catch it (it’s at Eminönü at 18:25) or it already sold out earlier in the day. Glad to hear that the other cruise worked out for you.