- What a Princes' Islands tour costs
- From €150 per group per day — not per person; the ferry and shuttle fares are small municipal fares, added at cost
- Duration
- 8–9 hours door to door, about 2½ hours of it on the ferry
- Weekday or weekend
- Go on a weekday. On summer weekends and holidays the ferries, piers and lanes are packed with Istanbul families doing the same day; on a spring or autumn weekday the islands are a different, far better place
- Weather
- A strong wind can delay or cancel sailings; we check the forecast the evening before and move the day if we must
- Getting around
- No private cars: on foot, by bicycle or by electric shuttle; the horse carriages were retired in 2020
- Walking
- About 5 km, with a steep cobbled climb to Aya Yorgi that you can skip
This tour 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.
Get my free quoteTÜRSAB-licensed agency No. 15746 · nothing to pay to ask · a real person replies within 24 hours, usually the same day
What it costs, in full
From €150 per group — not per person
- Licensed local guide for the whole day, on the ferry and on the islands included
- Private car and driver to the Kabataş pier and back, hotel pick-up and drop-off included
- Planning: the ferries, the islands for your date, the weather check included
- Ferry, electric-shuttle and bicycle fares small municipal fares, at cost
- Entrance tickets none on the islands
- Lunch, drinks and anything you choose to buy not included
- Tips for your guide and driver customary, entirely up to you
Two people or six, the guide and the car cost the same: it is the day you are hiring, not a seat. The ferry and shuttle fares are the only part that grows with your group; they are set by the city and change often, so we print no lira figures here and add them to your quote at cost. Nothing is paid in advance: you pay in cash, in euros, after the tour.
Every tour is priced individually: your quote is calculated for your travel date and season, the number of guests, and your starting and finishing points.
Get your quoteHow the day runs
Timings below are the ones we actually use, not a brochure. Everything here is movable — it is your day, and your guide will happily rebuild it over breakfast.
- 08:15
Pick-up and the drive to Kabataş
We collect you from your hotel and drive to the ferry pier at Kabataş, beside Dolmabahçe Palace. The car leaves us here: no private cars are allowed on the islands, which is half the reason for going.
- 09:00
The ferry out
The ordinary city ferry, the one islanders commute on: tea and a simit from the canteen, the Maiden's Tower and the old city sliding past, then the open Marmara and the smaller islands one by one, Kınalıada, Burgazada and Heybeliada. About an hour and a half to Büyükada, a little more on the slower boats. If the weather allows, we sit outside on the open deck.
- 10:30
Büyükada and the mansion streets
Off the boat by the clock tower and uphill on foot, into lanes of nineteenth-century wooden mansions with verandas, shutters and overgrown gardens, built as summer houses by Istanbul's Greek, Armenian, Jewish and Turkish families. Your guide knows whose house was whose, and which garden wall hides the best bougainvillea.
- 11:30
Up to Aya Yorgi
An electric shuttle or a bicycle takes us across the island to the foot of Yücetepe, the highest hill, and from there it is on foot: a steep cobbled path, about half an hour up, to the monastery church of St George. Inside, a small Greek Orthodox church; outside, the whole archipelago, the Asian shore and, on a clear day, the city on the horizon. Tea at the simple café at the top comes with the best view on the islands. The climb is optional; the shuttle and a garden bench are a fine alternative.
- 12:45
Lunch by the water
Back down to the harbor for a long lunch: grilled fish and meze, or a plate of köfte, at a table a few steps from the sea. As on every day we run, your guide suggests a few places at different prices and leaves the choice to you.
- 14:00
A short hop to Heybeliada
The ferry back toward the city calls at Heybeliada about ten minutes later, so we get off there. This is the quieter island: a small harbor town, then pine woods over the hills, and the Holy Trinity monastery on the hilltop above it all. We walk into the pines, or hire bicycles for an easy loop if you prefer.
- 15:30
The ferry home
From Heybeliada back to Kabataş, a little over an hour, with the islands behind you and the domes of the old city ahead. On a busy summer weekend your guide picks the boat that beats the queue; on some days we take the much shorter crossing to Bostancı on the Asian side instead, and the car meets us there.
- 17:15
Back to your hotel
The car is waiting at the pier and drives you back to your hotel, or drops you wherever you would like dinner. About nine hours after we set out, and the quietest day of your trip.
What's included
- A licensed local guide for the whole day, on the ferry and on the islands, in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Russian, Italian or German
- Private air-conditioned car and driver to the ferry pier in the morning and from the pier in the evening; no private cars are allowed on the islands
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off
- Skip-the-line priority entrance for anything with a ticket that you add, such as Dolmabahçe Palace beside the Kabataş pier on a shorter island day, with the tickets bought before you arrive
- The planning: which ferry and which islands for your date, the forecast checked the evening before, and where to eat
Not included
- Ferry, electric-shuttle and bicycle fares — small municipal fares, mostly paid by Istanbulkart; we can have the cards ready and add the cost to your quote with no markup
- Entrance tickets — the islands have none; anything you add is bought at the gate price, with no markup
- Lunch, drinks and ice cream
- Candles or a donation at Aya Yorgi, if you wish
- Tips for your guide and driver — customary, but entirely up to you
- Anything you decide to buy
Priority access · included
Skip the line at every gate
The islands have no ticket offices, so on this day there is no queue to walk past: the mansion lanes, the church on the hill and the pine woods are free, and the ferry is paid by travel card. The priority entrance goes with you on the rest of your trip instead. Put the islands on your third or fourth day, and on your old-city day your guide meets you at Topkapı and Hagia Sophia with the tickets already bought, at the Ministry's own price with nothing added.
- Skip-the-line tickets — bought before your day, never at the gate with you standing in the line
- Fast pass at the busiest sites — the priority lane wherever a site operates one
- Priority entrance in every region — Istanbul, Ephesus, Cappadocia, Pamukkale and everywhere else we guide
- Nothing added to the tickets — we add nothing on the fast-pass tickets. You pay exactly the official price charged at the entrance, set by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism or the administration that runs the site
To be precise about what this is: we skip the ticket line, not the security check, and no agency can override a site's own capacity limits.
Where we meet, and what happens if plans change
- Meeting point: Your hotel; the car drops us at the Kabataş ferry pier and meets the boat in the evening. Your guide is there before the time on the ticket, not after it.
- Starts: around 08:15 at your hotel, for the morning ferry from Kabataş.
- Ends: about 17:00–18:00, back at your hotel, depending on the ferry home and the evening traffic.
- Group size: private — only your party, never a shared minibus.
- Language: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Russian, Italian or German. Tell us which when you write, and your guide will be licensed in that language.
- Payment: nothing in advance. You pay in cash, in euros, after the tour.
- Cancellation: free up to 24 hours before the tour. Tell us as early as you can and we will move the day or cancel it.
We collect you from your hotel and drive to the Kabataş pier, beside Dolmabahçe Palace, for the morning ferry. The car cannot come to the islands, so it meets the boat again in the evening, at Kabataş or at Bostancı on the Asian side if we come back the short way.
Shopping, if you would like to
Türkiye’s crafts are one of the pleasures of being here, and many guests ask to see a carpet, leather or jewelry atelier while they are in Istanbul. If you would like to, we are glad to include one — we use only established, fully insured workshops of the kind the cruise lines recommend, where you are welcome to watch the craft, enjoy the tea and take as long as you like. Nobody will hurry you and nobody will press you to buy. And if you would rather give the whole day to the sights, simply say so and we will. Read our guide to shopping in Istanbul.
The Princes' Islands tour is a private full day from Istanbul to Büyükada and Heybeliada by city ferry, from €150 for the whole group. For the islands themselves, whether they are worth it, how the ferry works and what each island is like, our Princes' Islands guide has the detail. This page is about the day we run: what we do in eight or nine hours, and when a guide is worth having.
Why take a guided tour of the Princes' Islands?
Honestly, you can do the islands on your own: the ferry is easy and Büyükada is small. What a guide changes is the day around the islands. Which ferry, from which pier, and which island first for your group; when the weekend crowd arrives and how to stay ahead of it; where the electric shuttle stops for Aya Yorgi; where to eat fish without paying for the view alone; and when to give up on the climb because the children have had enough. Then there are the stories that the islands do not tell on their own: the Byzantine princes and empresses sent here to monasteries, which is how the islands got their name, and the mansions built as summer houses by the city's Greek, Armenian, Jewish and Turkish families. A guide reads all of that off the houses as you walk.
The day at a glance
| Stop | What it is | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| The ferry from Kabataş | The ordinary city ferry across the Sea of Marmara | About an hour and a half to Büyükada |
| Büyükada's mansion streets | Nineteenth-century wooden summer houses under the pines | Gentle walking from the pier |
| Aya Yorgi | The monastery church of St George on Yücetepe, the highest hill | A steep half-hour climb, which you can skip |
| Lunch by the harbor | Fish, meze or köfte by the water | Not included; your choice of place |
| Heybeliada | The quieter island: a small harbor town and pine woods | On the way home, ten minutes by ferry |
Weekday or weekend: the decision that makes the day
The islands are where Istanbul goes to breathe, which means that on a summer Saturday or Sunday, and on public holidays, half the city is on the same ferries as you. The boats fill, the lanes around the piers are crowded, and the queue for the ferry home in the late afternoon can be long. On a weekday in spring or autumn the same islands are quiet, green and mild, the best walking weather of the year. Summer weekdays are good too, with a swim if you want one. If your dates leave any choice at all, give the islands a weekday; if they do not, we start early and plan the ferry home with care. In winter the islands are calm and many restaurants close, so we plan it as a shorter, quieter day.
How hard is the day?
Easier than most of our days, with one exception. Plan on about five kilometers on foot, mostly gentle lanes and harbor fronts, and around two and a half hours sitting on the ferry. The exception is the path up to Aya Yorgi: steep, cobbled and about half an hour up, with the reward of the best view on the islands. You can skip it without missing the point of the day. Wear shoes with grip, bring a hat and water in summer, and a warm layer for the open deck in any season.
Getting around without cars, or horses
Private cars are banned on the islands. For more than a century the way round was the horse-drawn carriage, the fayton; the carriages were retired in 2020 and replaced by electric shuttles, so if an old guidebook promises a carriage ride, it is out of date. Today you walk, cycle or take the shuttle, and on our day we use all three. Bicycles are for hire near the piers, and the ring road around Büyükada is the classic ride for anyone who wants one.
What does the Princes' Islands tour cost?
From €150 per group, per day — not per person. Two travelers or six, the guide and the car cost the same. As with every tour we run, the final quote depends on your date and season, the size of your group, and where the day starts and finishes.
| What you are quoted | How it works |
|---|---|
| From €150 per group, per day | Guide for the whole day, private car and driver to and from the pier, hotel pick-up and drop-off, and the planning of ferries and timing |
| Ferry, shuttle and bicycle fares | Small municipal fares, mostly paid by Istanbulkart. They change often, so we print no figure here; we add them to your quote at cost |
| Entrance tickets | None on the islands. Add a ticketed sight, such as Dolmabahçe Palace, and we buy the ticket in advance at the gate price, with no markup. Gezginol is a licensed TÜRSAB agency, number 15746 |
| Lunch and tips | Outside the price. Tips for your guide and driver are customary, and entirely at your discretion |
Shopping on the islands
The shopping here is gentle: ice cream and Turkish delight by the pier, a few small shops in the harbor towns, and the odd antique window on a mansion street. Browse as long as you like. Many guests also enjoy seeing a carpet, leather or jewelry atelier while they are in Türkiye, and we are glad to include one on another day of your trip, at established, fully insured addresses of the kind the cruise lines recommend; nobody will hurry you and nobody will press you to buy. And if you would rather give the whole trip to the sights, simply say so.
Can you change the Princes' Islands day?
Always: the plan above is a shape, not a contract. Some guests give the whole day to Büyükada on bicycles; some prefer Burgazada for a long, local lunch; in summer many add a swim at a beach club. On a three-day trip the islands make a good third or fourth day of our three-day itinerary, and our guide to the best time to visit Istanbul helps you pick the season. If the sea is what draws you, compare the day with our private Bosphorus boat tour or the city's Bosphorus cruises; the ferry passes the Maiden's Tower on the way out either way.
Can cruise guests do the Princes' Islands tour?
Only on an overnight call. The island ferries run to a city timetable, not to your ship's, and with two long crossings in the day we will not risk your all-aboard time on them. On a one-day call we would rather show you the old city or the Bosphorus; see our Galataport shore excursion. On an overnight call, the islands make a lovely, quiet second day.
See all our private Istanbul tours, or send us your dates. From €150 per group per day, a guide who knows the ferries, and the quietest day of your trip.
Princes' Islands — frequently asked questions
Which of the Princes' Islands should we visit?
How much walking or cycling is there on the islands?
What happens if the sea is rough?
Is the Princes' Islands tour good for children?
Is the tour suitable for limited mobility or a wheelchair?
Is there a line to skip on the Princes' Islands?
What you'll see
About the reviews you see here. Every quote on this website is a message a guest actually sent us, printed word for word. We do not write them, we do not edit them, and we do not have a TripAdvisor, Viator or GetYourGuide page to send you to, because we have never sold through those platforms — so there is no star rating for us to show you. We would rather tell you that than put stars on a page and hope you do not check.
Ask us about this day
Tell us your dates and what you would like to see. We reply personally within 24 hours, usually the same day — and if this itinerary is not quite right for you, we will say so and suggest a better one.
Get my free quoteFrom €150 per group · TÜRSAB-licensed agency No. 15746 · skip-the-line entrance · no prepayment to inquire
