Public ferry Bosphorus cruise: Şehir Hatları, Turyol and Dentur tours

A public ferry Bosphorus cruise costs a fraction of a platform tour and often shows you more of the strait. Three different organisations run the boats: Şehir Hatları (City Lines), the municipal ferry company of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB); Turyol, a co-operative of private boat owners; and Dentur Avrasya, a private ferry company. All three run ordinary commuter crossings and dedicated sightseeing tours, and the commuter fares are identical on all three.

The catch: the tours price foreign visitors at double the citizen fare, timetables shrink in winter, and nobody on the boat explains what you are passing unless you pick Dentur's loop, which has Turkish and English announcements. If you want a guide, a drink in your hand and hotel pick-up, a $6–9 platform boat is the better deal. If you want the longest stretch of water for the least money, nothing beats the vapur (the Turkish word for the classic city ferry).

The five public options at a glance

Two more boats look public but are not part of the city network: the Galataport boat (700 TL, about 70 minutes, every 30 minutes from 13:30 to 20:30, music and one ice cream but no commentary) and the Maiden's Tower boats (110 TL plus €27 tower entry). Both are covered below.

My short version: for a first look at the palaces and bridges, take the Dentur loop from Kabataş. For a full day on the water, take the Long Tour. Skip the Short Tour unless its 14:40 slot fits your day better than an hourly loop.

Şehir Hatları Long Tour: timetable, price and the Anadolu Kavağı stop

The Long Tour is the classic public Bosphorus cruise. A big municipal vapur leaves Eminönü at 10:35 every day, zig-zags up the strait calling at both shores and stops at Anadolu Kavağı, the last village on the Asian side before the Black Sea. You get about two and a half hours ashore, then the only return sailing leaves at 15:00 and docks at Eminönü at 16:40.

Fares: 640 TL return for foreign visitors, 320 TL for Turkish citizens, 160 TL return for children under 12, free under 7. Buy at the pier booth. Do not count on paying with an İstanbulkart on the tour boats.

What you see: the whole strait, about 30 km, including the stretch north of the second bridge that 2-hour cruises never reach: Emirgan, Yeniköy, Tarabya, Sarıyer and the third bridge in the distance from the castle hill. Sit on the left side going north for the European shore, and on the right on the way back.

The stop: Anadolu Kavağı has fish restaurants lining the pier, and the ruined Yoros Castle on the hill above, from where you look out over the mouth of the Black Sea. Two and a half hours is enough for the climb, the view and lunch. The path is steep and muddy after rain, so wear real shoes, and the hill is a military zone: stay on the path and do not photograph installations. More in our Anadolu Kavağı guide.

The Long Tour does not sail into the Black Sea. It turns at Anadolu Kavağı, where the strait opens out. If you want a swim stop at Poyrazköy and lunch on board, look at the private Black Sea cruises, which start at well over $100 a head.

Times shown are the winter timetable, which runs from early September to late June. Şehir Hatları's own site blocks automated checks, so confirm on sehirhatlari.istanbul or at the Eminönü booth on the day.

Short Tour and the summer Moonlight tour

The Short Tour leaves Eminönü at 14:40, picks up at Üsküdar (14:55) and Ortaköy (15:10), then sails up the strait without further stops and returns, about 2 hours in all. An extra 16:45 sailing runs on public holidays. Foreign visitors pay 340 TL, citizens 170 TL, children under 12 85 TL, under-7s ride free. Şehir Hatları does not publish where it turns.

Honest assessment: it is the same city ferry as the Long Tour, without commentary, at one fixed time a day. Dentur's loop covers a similar stretch for 200–250 TL, leaves hourly and announces the sights in English. The Short Tour makes sense if you are already at Ortaköy at 15:10, or if you simply prefer the big old vapur.

The Moonlight tour (Mehtap Gezisi) runs only on Saturdays in the summer timetable (late June to early September). It starts at Bostancı at 17:30, calls at Kadıköy 18:05 and Eminönü 18:25, sails to Anadolu Kavağı and gets back to Eminönü at 00:10. Fare 730 TL for foreigners, 365 TL for citizens. It does not run now. For an evening on the water outside summer, see night cruises.

Dentur and Turyol: the hourly Bosphorus loops

If you want the classic 1.5-hour Bosphorus view without a fixed slot, these two are the public-boat answer.

Dentur Avrasya Boğaz Turu (the best value)

Dentur's official tour is a non-stop loop of about 75 minutes. It runs up the European shore past Dolmabahçe, Çırağan, the Ortaköy Mosque, under the 15 July Martyrs Bridge, past Bebek and Rumeli Hisarı, turns at the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge and comes back along the Asian shore past Anadolu Hisarı, the Küçüksu Pavilion, Kuleli and Beylerbeyi Palace to the Maiden's Tower. Announcements are in Turkish and English. Seating is free; a buffet runs in season.

• Kabataş: 10:30, 12:40, then hourly 13:40 to 19:40, extra sailings possible at weekends
• Beşiktaş: 10:40, 12:55, then hourly to 17:55
• Üsküdar: hourly 12:30 to 19:30
• Price: 250 TL at the booth, 200 TL online (prices from 14 August 2026); children up to 10 free; cards accepted

There are no hop-on hop-off stops, whatever older blogs say. Buy ahead at weekends and on holidays through Dentur's own booking site pereme.com.tr, the tour brand of the company, or check the times on denturavrasya.com. This is also the boat inside the Istanbul Tourist Pass and most Headout ticket-plus-cruise combos. How to find the right Dentur landing is on our Kabataş pier page.

Turyol hourly tour from Eminönü

Turyol's boats leave roughly every hour from about 10:00 into the evening from its pier on the Golden Horn side of the Galata Bridge, next to the fish-sandwich boats. The loop takes about 90 minutes to around the second bridge and back. Turyol publishes no price; the latest reported booth price is about 300 TL. This is the boat inside the Istanbul E-pass, and Tiqets resells a QR ticket for it with an app audio guide. "Skip-the-line" on that ticket means skipping the booth queue, not boarding first.

Turyol is a co-operative of boat owners and says it carries about 90 % of the travel-agency groups on Bosphorus and islands tours. The cheapest platform cruise and the islands ferry tickets board at this same pier. Our Turyol review separates its public boats from its dinner ship.

Do it yourself: commuter ferries with an İstanbulkart

The city's ordinary crossings are the cheapest boat rides in Istanbul and they work as mini-cruises. Ferries are priced per route and the same fare applies on Şehir Hatları, Turyol and Dentur boats on the same route. Fares with a full-price İstanbulkart (İBB tariff valid from 20 July 2026):

Three rides worth doing:

• Kabataş or Beşiktaş to Üsküdar for about 51 TL: twenty minutes across the strait with Dolmabahçe behind you and the Maiden's Tower in view. From Üsküdar, walk south to Salacak for the free sunset view of the tower and the Old City skyline (see Üsküdar pier).
• The Boğaz commuter line from the Eminönü Boğaz pier zig-zags Beşiktaş, Kuzguncuk, Beylerbeyi, Çengelköy and Anadolu Hisarı; other runs go to Sarıyer or Rumeli Kavağı. Sailings are few and mostly at rush hour, so check the timetable first.
• The Golden Horn (Haliç) line from Beşiktaş, Kabataş or Karaköy to Kasımpaşa, Hasköy, Sütlüce and Eyüpsultan, about 45–50 minutes for 76.90 TL; some sailings call at Fener. It is the only boat that sails the whole Horn, and the Pierre Loti cable car starts next to the Eyüp pier. Details in our Golden Horn guide.

Princes' Islands: Şehir Hatları boats from Kabataş take about 1 hour 30 minutes to Büyükada (151.23 TL with İstanbulkart). Turyol's islands boat leaves Eminönü hourly from 09:40 to 13:40 (plus 14:40 at weekends) for 230 TL per leg at its booth, and the cheap "ferry tickets" sold on the platforms are for this Turyol boat. The fastest route is the 35-minute Mavi Marmara boat from Bostancı on the Asian side. Full comparison in our Princes' Islands guide.

Galataport boat: a separate commercial tour from the cruise-terminal pier at Tophane, every 30 minutes from 13:30 to 20:30, about 70 minutes past Eminönü, the Maiden's Tower, Üsküdar, Beylerbeyi, Ortaköy and Beşiktaş, 700 TL with an ice cream, background music and no commentary (galataport.com). At more than three times the Dentur price, it is for convenience if you are already at Galataport.

Maiden's Tower boats: from Salacak (Üsküdar) about every 30 minutes from 09:30 to 17:00, or from Karaköy at 09:30, 11:00, 12:30, 14:00, 15:30 and 17:00; last boat back 17:45. The boat is 110 TL and the tower entry €27; the Museum Pass covers the entry but not the boat.

Sea taxi: İBB's Deniz Taksi charges per boat, 500 TL to start plus 750 TL per nautical mile (tariff of 26 June 2025). It is a transfer, not a tour.

İstanbulkart, bank cards and paying at the pier

İstanbulkart is the city's rechargeable transport card. The card costs 165 TL; you top it up free at chain supermarkets (A101, BİM, CarrefourSA, Migros, ŞOK), through bank apps or the İstanbulkart app. With it, a cross-strait ferry costs 50–65 TL. Official prices are on istanbulkart.istanbul.

Contactless bank cards work at the ferry turnstiles, but a ferry counts as two passes, so a bank card pays 120 TL per ride against 50–65 TL with the İstanbulkart. From the third crossing on, the card has paid for itself.

Other rules worth knowing:

• No cash on board or at the turnstiles. The tours (Long, Short, Dentur, Turyol) sell tickets at their own booths: carry Turkish lira, though Dentur takes cards.
• Children under 7 ride free on the city tariff.
• Rides between 00:30 and 05:30 cost double.
• The 50 % transfer discount between lines only works with a registered (personalised) card, which a tourist card is not.
• The tourist "İstanbul City Card" (1 day 855 TL up to 15 days 6,540 TL) is pass-limited, not truly unlimited.

The $51 "Public Transportation Card with Hotel Delivery" on GetYourGuide is a reseller's delivered tourist card, not the 165 TL city İstanbulkart. It saves you a trip to a machine and nothing else.

Public ferry or a $6 tour boat: which is worth it?

The cheapest platform cruises cost about the same as the public tours and add things the vapur does not: an audio guide on your phone, tea or soft drinks, sometimes snacks, and departures you can book days ahead with free cancellation. They are big shared boats with indoor saloons, not yachts.

The cheapest GetYourGuide listing (Bosphorus Sightseeing Cruise with Sunset Option, from $5.61) sells seats on an hourly tour boat from the Turyol pier at Eminönü with an app guide. Its "4 or 5 PM for sunset" slots only catch the sunset in autumn and winter. Sea & Land's audio-guide cruise from Eminönü is the better-reviewed version, with unlimited tea and coffee. The same kind of product on two platforms:

Headout's listing was cheaper on 16 October but has only a handful of reviews; boat, departure time and inclusions can differ, so read the meeting point before paying. For more on these boats, see Bosphorus sightseeing cruises.

◔ Day or sunset

GetYourGuide2 h⚓ Kabataş

Istanbul: Bosphorus Sunset & Day Time Cruise, Drinks & Snack

4.7 (4,600)

from $8Check dates

◐ Daytime

Tiqets2 h⚓ Balat

Istanbul: Mega Lufer Sightseeing Cruise with Audio Guide + Soft Drinks

No reviews yet

from $12Check dates

◐ Daytime

Headout1 h

Istanbul Unlimited Public Transport Card

1.0 (1)

from $51Check dates

See everything on GetYourGuide →See everything on Headout →See everything on Tiqets →Prices checked on October 17, 2026

When the public boat wins: you want the whole strait (Long Tour), you are on a tight budget, you like local life on board, or you are travelling with children (Dentur: children up to 10 free). When the tour boat wins: you want commentary in your language, drinks included, a sunset slot in summer, or a booking you can cancel. For the sunset itself, see our sunset cruise guide.

Which pier, and how to avoid the touts

Eminönü alone has three different boarding points. The Şehir Hatları tours sell at the Bosphorus-tour booth east of the Galata Bridge. Turyol's hourly tour and islands boat leave from the Golden Horn side, about 300 m west. Our Eminönü pier guide walks you to each one. At Kabataş, the Dentur terminal is about 200 m north of the Şehir Hatları pier, and Dentur's tour boats also use a separate wooden pier along the same road.

Weather, seasons and cancellations

Lodos, the strong south-westerly wind, blows from October to April and peaks in December. It cancels ferry lines, especially the exposed island and Marmara routes. On 3 January 2026, for example, Şehir Hatları suspended 17 lines in one day. Fog is mostly a morning problem and can close the strait to shipping; ferries are then cancelled line by line. Şehir Hatları posts cancellations on its website.

Practical rules:

• Do not put the Long Tour on your last day in Istanbul in winter. Keep a spare day for it.
• In winter, the Şehir Hatları tours run once a day and the Moonlight tour stops.
• Decks are cold and windy even on mild days: bring a layer.
• Holidays: İBB ferries are normally free on bayram (religious holiday) days, which makes them the most crowded days of the year, especially to the islands.

Spring adds the Judas-tree tour (erguvan, roughly mid-April to mid-May) and a tulip-festival boat to Emirgan; ask Şehir Hatları for dates in spring. Autumn is the sweet spot: sea still warm, sunset at a normal hour. For month-by-month advice see the best time for a Bosphorus cruise, and for operator details our Şehir Hatları review.

FAQ