- Best Bosphorus cruise
- The long city ferry tour to Anadolu Kavağı, or a private boat on your own timing
- Long city tour
- Daily from Eminönü; about six hours with a long break ashore
- Starts from
- Mainly Eminönü, three T1 tram stops from Sultanahmet
- Length of the strait
- About 31 km, from the Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea
- Bridges
- Three: 15 July Martyrs (1973), Fatih Sultan Mehmet (1988), Yavuz Sultan Selim (2016)
- Bring
- A windproof layer, since it is always breezier on the water
Private tours from €150 per group, per day
Licensed local guide, private car and driver, and skip-the-line priority entrance. The day runs at your pace, and the plan stays yours to change.
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The best Bosphorus cruise for most visitors is the one that goes the whole way up the strait: the city ferry company's long Bosphorus tour from Eminönü to Anadolu Kavağı, near the Black Sea, or a private boat if you want your own timing and a guide aboard. Shorter circle cruises show you the palaces of the lower strait in an afternoon, and a sunset cruise is about the light.
Which Bosphorus cruise tour in Istanbul is best?
Five options, and they do different jobs:
| How far it goes | Time ashore | Timing | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Bosphorus Tour (city ferries) | The full strait, Eminönü to Anadolu Kavağı | About two and a half hours | One departure a day | A slow, good-value day |
| Short Bosphorus Tour (city ferries) | The lower strait, via Üsküdar and Ortaköy | None | One afternoon departure | An afternoon with little time |
| Circle cruises (private companies) | Typically up to the second bridge and back | None | Set by each company | The palaces in under two hours |
| Sunset cruises (private companies) | Varies, so ask how far north | Usually none | Timed to the evening light | Evening light on the old city |
| Private boat with our guide | As far as you like, up to the Black Sea mouth | Your choice | Whenever you choose | Families, small groups, port days |
Our honest ranking: with a free day, the long tour is the best value on the Bosphorus. If you want the strait explained, or your day has a hard end, take a private boat. Circle cruises suit a spare afternoon, but they turn back before the upper strait and its villages.
Is a Bosphorus cruise worth it?
Yes, and we would put it in anyone's first two days. On foot, Istanbul is hills, traffic and crowds; from the water its logic snaps into focus. A strait of about 31 kilometers joins the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, Europe on one bank and Asia on the other: the only sea route out of the Black Sea, which is why the empires that held the city fortified these shores. The one caveat: a cruise is worth it in proportion to how far north you go. The palaces come first; the fortresses, wooden mansions and villages come later.
The long Bosphorus tour to Anadolu Kavağı
Istanbul's municipal ferry company, Şehir Hatları, runs its Long Bosphorus Tour (Uzun Boğaz Turu) every day, summer and winter. The ferry zigzags between continents, calling at Beşiktaş, Üsküdar, Kanlıca, Sarıyer and Rumeli Kavağı before tying up at Anadolu Kavağı, a village on the Asian shore near the Black Sea end. Each way takes a little under two hours, the break ashore is about two and a half, and the round trip about six. There is one departure a day, in the late morning, and one-way tickets are sold too.
Use the break well: the harbor is lined with fish restaurants, and a steep walk uphill brings you to Yoros Castle, a Byzantine fortress later held by the Genoese, built to guard the strait's northern entrance, with the Black Sea and the third bridge in view. Parts of the site can be fenced off for restoration.
The short tour and the summer moonlight tour
The same company runs a Short Bosphorus Tour (Kısa Boğaz Turu), an afternoon round trip from Eminönü calling at Üsküdar and Ortaköy, with no break ashore. In summer it adds a Saturday moonlight tour (Mehtap Turu) with live music, from Bostancı and Kadıköy up to Anadolu Kavağı. Timetables change twice a year.
What you see on a Bosphorus cruise
Heading north from Eminönü, roughly south to north:
- The Maiden's Tower, on its islet off Üsküdar, where the strait meets the Sea of Marmara.
- Dolmabahçe Palace, six hundred meters of white marble waterfront, built for Sultan Abdülmecid I between 1843 and 1856, when Topkapı had begun to feel old-fashioned.
- Çırağan Palace and Ortaköy Mosque, the mosque at the water's edge beneath the first bridge, the classic Bosphorus photograph.
- Beylerbeyi Palace, the sultans' summer palace on the Asian shore, from the 1860s.
- Rumeli Hisarı and Anadolu Hisarı, facing each other at the narrowest point, about 700 meters across. Mehmed II built Rumeli Hisarı in roughly four months in 1452. The current runs hard here, and you can feel the boat work.
- The yalıs, wooden waterside mansions in ox-blood red, cream and gray. The oldest known, the Amcazade Hüseyin Paşa yalı near Anadolu Hisarı, dates from 1699; only its reception hall survives.
- The upper strait: Sarıyer, the two Kavağı villages facing each other, and the Black Sea opening out ahead.
On the long tour you pass under two bridges, the 15 July Martyrs Bridge (1973) and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge (1988); the third, Yavuz Sultan Selim (2016), spans the northern mouth beyond Anadolu Kavağı.
Public ferry or private boat?
The public ferry is the classic Istanbul way: tea in a tulip glass, gulls following the wake. The trade-off is a fixed timetable and no guide beside you, so you see beautiful things without knowing what they are. A private Bosphorus boat tour costs more and runs on your terms: you set the departure, go as far north as you like, stop for lunch, and your guide names every palace and fortress as it passes. On a port day it is the most flexible option; see our shore excursion guide.
The cheapest Bosphorus view of all is no tour: a commuter ferry from Eminönü or Karaköy across to Üsküdar or Kadıköy on an ordinary Istanbulkart fare. That crossing is built into our Two Continents in One Day tour.
How much does a Bosphorus cruise cost?
We don't print prices, since they change too often. The city tours have their own tariff, separate from an ordinary ferry ride. Foreign visitors pay a higher fare than residents, children under 12 pay less, and children aged six and under ride free; the current figures are on the Şehir Hatları fares page. Private companies set their own prices for circle, sunset and dinner cruises, and a private boat is priced by the boat and the hours, not per person. Traveling with children? Boats reliably revive tired legs; see Istanbul with kids.
Where does a Bosphorus cruise start?
Most leave from Eminönü, at the old-city end of the Galata Bridge, a few steps from the Spice Bazaar. The long city tour also calls at Beşiktaş and Üsküdar, so you can board on either continent, and other boats leave from piers such as Kabataş and Karaköy. From Sultanahmet, the T1 tram reaches Eminönü in three stops; our guide to public transport in Istanbul explains the Istanbulkart.
When to go, and which side to sit on
Time of day: late afternoon gives the best light, and a sunset return with the old city in silhouette is one of the great sights in travel. Mornings are quieter. For seasons, see the best time to visit Istanbul.
Which side: heading north, Europe is on your left, with Dolmabahçe, Ortaköy and Rumeli Hisarı; the Maiden's Tower, Beylerbeyi and Anadolu Hisarı are on the right. Swap coming back.
What to wear: it is windier and cooler on the water than ashore in every season, so bring a layer. The strait is generally calm, though the stretch near the Black Sea mouth can get choppy in a northerly wind.
Adding the Bosphorus to a private day
A cruise is the natural second half of a day that began in Sultanahmet, and it anchors day two of our two-day Istanbul itinerary. We can arrange a private boat with a guide aboard, timed to the last light before sunset, go as far as Anadolu Kavağı for lunch, or build a public-ferry leg into a walking day; a boat, like entrance tickets, is quoted separately. Private tours start from €150 per group per day with guide and car. Browse our Istanbul tours or tell us your dates.
Bosphorus cruise — frequently asked questions
Is a Bosphorus cruise worth it?
Yes. The strait is the one sight in Istanbul that shows you how the whole city fits together, and it rests your legs between monuments. It is worth more the further north you go: the palaces come first, then the fortresses, the wooden yalı mansions and the fishing villages.
How much is a Bosphorus cruise in Istanbul?
Prices change too often for us to print them. The city's Şehir Hatları tours have their own fares: foreign visitors pay more than residents, children under 12 pay less and children aged six and under ride free. Private companies set their own prices, and a private boat is priced by the boat and the hours rather than per person.
Which is better, a Bosphorus cruise or the public ferry?
The city's long tour is the best value and covers the full length of the strait, but it keeps to a fixed timetable with no guide aboard. A private boat costs more and lets you choose the time, the turning point and the lunch stop, with a guide naming everything as it passes. For the simplest taste, a commuter ferry across to Üsküdar or Kadıköy does the job on an ordinary Istanbulkart fare.
Where does the Bosphorus cruise start from?
Mostly from Eminönü, beside the Galata Bridge and the Spice Bazaar, three stops from Sultanahmet on the T1 tram. The city's long tour also calls at Beşiktaş and Üsküdar, and other boats leave from piers such as Kabataş and Karaköy.
How long is the Bosphorus ferry tour?
The city's long tour takes about six hours round trip: a little under two hours each way between Eminönü and Anadolu Kavağı, plus about two and a half hours ashore. Circle cruises run by private companies typically last an hour and a half to two hours. On a private boat you set the length yourself.
What is the best time for a Bosphorus cruise?
Late afternoon into sunset gives the best light, with the old city in silhouette on the way back south. Mornings are quieter on deck. In summer the city ferries also run a Saturday moonlight tour to Anadolu Kavağı with live music.
Bosphorus cruise in pictures
See it with a private local guide
Every tour we run is private and tailor-made — you choose the places, your licensed local guide plans the day with you, and a private car is always included.
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