Bosphorus yacht cruise with a stop on the Asian side

The Bosphorus yacht cruise with an Asian side stop is the standard 2-hour yacht loop with one addition: the boat ties up at Kanlıca, a village on the Asian shore, and you get off for about half an hour. It is the easiest way to set foot in Asia without planning a separate trip, and the stop breaks up a cruise that can otherwise feel like two hours of photographing the same kind of palace.

Be clear about what it is not. It is not a tour of the Asian side, and it is not a palace visit: 30 minutes is a coffee, a bowl of yoghurt and a look at the waterfront. If you want Üsküdar, Kadıköy or Çamlıca Hill, see the Asian side guide. If you want more time on the water and no stop, a sunset cruise is the better buy.

Kanlıca: what the 30-minute stop is like

Kanlıca sits on the Asian shore just north of the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, the second of the three Bosphorus bridges. The boat lands at the village pier, which opens onto a small square with an old plane tree. Around it are the cafés: İsmail Ağa Kahvesi is the one the tour guides point to, for Turkish coffee and the local yoghurt.

Kanlıca yoghurt is the reason the stop exists. It is eaten with powdered sugar (pudra şekeri) sprinkled on top, sometimes with honey. It is always at your own expense: the listings say so, so carry some Turkish lira in cash. Thirty minutes is enough for one bowl and a coffee by the water, not for a walk through the village. Reviews of these cruises often say the stop felt short. That is a fair description.

From the water, Kanlıca is worth looking at too. Its waterfront mansions (yalı) include the Amcazade Köprülü Hüseyin Paşa Yalısı, built in 1699 and the oldest surviving yalı on the Bosphorus, though only its reception hall still stands. On a Sunday in late summer, Kanlıca is also the start of the Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swim, about 6.5 km down to Kuruçeşme on the European side.

The route: up the European shore, coffee in Asia, back past the palaces

Most of these yachts leave from Kabataş and follow the usual yacht route north along the European shore: Dolmabahçe Palace, Çırağan, the Ortaköy Mosque framed by the 15 July Martyrs Bridge, Arnavutköy, Bebek Bay and the fortress of Rumeli Hisarı at the narrowest point of the strait, about 700 m wide. Then under the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, across the shipping lanes, and into Kanlıca.

After the stop, the boat runs south along the Asian shore: Anadolu Hisarı, the Küçüksu Pavilion, Kandilli, the twin towers of Kuleli, Çengelköy and Beylerbeyi Palace at the foot of the first bridge. Some boats swing past the Maiden's Tower before crossing back to Kabataş. The landmarks guide names everything in order.

Two small tips for the seat. Going north, the European shore is on your left; coming back, the Asian shore is on your right, so you see both without changing sides. And the light matters: morning sun lights the European palaces (Dolmabahçe, Çırağan) on the way up, afternoon sun lights the Asian ones (Beylerbeyi, Küçüksu) on the way back.

Prices: GetYourGuide, Headout and Tiqets

Four listings dominate, and most cost the same as or less than a shared sunset yacht:

GetYourGuide and Headout are almost level on price today for this kind of cruise; the boat, the time slot and the group size may differ, so read the meeting point and inclusions before choosing. GetYourGuide's advantage is the usual free cancellation up to 24 hours before and reserve now, pay later. Headout sets cancellation per listing, so check the line under the price.

Tiqets 976939 is the one listing that names its supplier: Bosphorus Tour by Velena Travel, a Sultanahmet agency (see our Bosphorus Tours review). It boards at Kabataş pier (arrive 20 minutes early), runs 2.5 hours with a licensed English-speaking guide, and includes a savoury pastry, fruit, tea and Turkish coffee with lokum (Turkish delight). Free cancellation until 13 hours before. Velena's own websites ask €40–50 for the same morning or afternoon cruise, so Tiqets is cheaper here (its own site).

Kanlıca or Beylerbeyi: the GYG 65506 option

GYG 65506 lets you choose a stop at Beylerbeyi instead of Kanlıca. Beylerbeyi Palace, the Ottoman summer palace at the Asian foot of the first bridge, is a real visit, but check two things before picking it:

• Is entry included? The palace ticket is 800 TL for foreign visitors (gardens alone 100 TL), and half an hour is not enough to see the rooms. Ask whether the option includes the ticket and how long you stay.
• What day is it? Beylerbeyi is closed on Mondays, like Dolmabahçe and the other National Palaces; the ticket office is open 09:00–17:00 (official palace page).

If the palace matters to you, a Dolmabahçe and Bosphorus combo gives more time inside a palace than any stopover cruise.

Yacht or boat: the cheaper "Asian side" options

At $11, GYG 854046 looks like the bargain of the category, with 1,588 reviews. It is run by Travels in Istanbul, an agency that sells five 2-hour boat tours a day from Eminönü pier, each €10 on its own site, with a live English-speaking guide. Its own pages call it a boat tour, not a yacht, and they do not describe the Asian-side stop; the stop is an option on the GetYourGuide listing, and its place is not published. One guest mentions about an hour ashore. Good value if you want a guided boat from Eminönü; not the same product as a 30-guest yacht from Kabataş. See our Travels in Istanbul review.

Two more listings carry an Asian-side break but few reviews: GYG 10824, a 3-hour boat tour with a 1-hour break (3.8 from 32 reviews), and GYG 1424237, a 3-hour sunset cruise with an Asian-side visit and hotel pick-up (3 reviews). Fine if your dates do not fit the others, but they are not proven.

On Headout there is also a full-day guided walk through the Yedikule dungeons and Fener–Balat that ends with a private yacht and a Kanlıca stop; it has no reviews yet and Chora entry and lunch are extra.

Our picks for a cruise with an Asian-side stop

1

Best value, first-timers

4.9 from 1,503 reviews at about $22, with GetYourGuide's 24-hour free cancellation.

◐ Daytime

GetYourGuide2 h

Istanbul: Bosphorus Yacht Cruise & Visit to the Asian Side

4.9 (1,503)

from $22Check dates

2

Travelers who want a live guide and a named operator

Velena's 2.5-hour yacht from Kabataş with an English-speaking guide, pastry, fruit and Turkish coffee, cheaper on Tiqets than direct.

◐ Daytime

Tiqets2 h

Istanbul: Bosphorus Yacht Cruise with Snacks

4.7 (23)

from $39Check dates

3

Palace lovers

The only listing with a Beylerbeyi option; confirm the entry ticket and avoid Mondays.

◐ Daytime

GetYourGuide2 h

Istanbul: Bosphorus Yacht Cruise with Stopover on Asian Side

4.9 (978)

from $45Check dates

4

Budget, starting from Eminönü

A €10-class guided boat rather than a yacht, with an optional stop on the Asian side.

◔ Day or sunset

GetYourGuide2 h

Istanbul: 2–3 Hour Day Cruises with Optional Asian Side Stop

4.6 (1,588)

from $11Check dates

◐ Daytime

GetYourGuide2 h

Istanbul: Bosphorus Yacht Cruise & Visit to the Asian Side

4.9 (1,503)

from $22Check dates

◐ Daytime

GetYourGuide2 h

Istanbul: Bosphorus Yacht Cruise with Stopover on Asian Side

4.9 (978)

from $45Check dates

◔ Day or sunset

GetYourGuide2 h

Istanbul: 2–3 Hour Day Cruises with Optional Asian Side Stop

4.6 (1,588)

from $11Check dates

◐ Daytime

Tiqets2 h

Istanbul: Bosphorus Yacht Cruise with Snacks

4.7 (23)

from $39Check dates

◔ Day or sunset

GetYourGuide2 h

Istanbul: Morning or Sunset Cruise with Guide and Snacks

4.5 (96)

from $51Check dates

◐ Daytime

GetYourGuide2 h

Istanbul: Guided Bosphorus Cruises & Iconic Landmarks

4.7 (15)

from $11Check dates

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

Doing it yourself: Kanlıca by public ferry

Kanlıca has a public pier on the Şehir Hatları Bosphorus line, so you can reach it without a tour. The catch is the timetable: the commuter sailings up the Bosphorus are few and mostly at rush hour, and the public Long Tour calls at Kanlıca only once each way (northbound 11:35, southbound around 15:40 on the winter timetable). Check sehirhatlari.istanbul or the Eminönü booth on the day.

The DIY route suits a slow day: the public ferry guide has the lines and fares. For a first visit, the yacht is simpler.

Practical tips: pier, timing, weather

• The pier. Most Kabataş yachts board at the private landing by the Kadoil petrol station on Meclis-i Mebusan Caddesi 34, opposite the tram stop, signposted on tickets as "Dolmabahçe Mosque". It is not the ferry terminal. The Kabataş pier guide shows the strip. Some listings send the exact spot only by WhatsApp or in the voucher.
• Morning or afternoon. Velena runs morning (10:30–13:00) and afternoon (from 14:00) departures. Mornings put the sun on the European palaces; afternoons light the Asian palaces on the way back.
• Cash. Bring Turkish lira for the yoghurt, coffee and tips; card payment at the village cafés is not something to count on.
• Pick-up. Hotel pick-up, where offered, covers only central European-side hotels.
• Weather. In winter the lodos, a strong south-westerly wind, can make the strait rough; the captain decides whether to sail, and platforms rebook or refund under their terms. Bring a layer: the deck is windy even in summer.
• Access. Tiqets marks its yacht cruises as not wheelchair accessible, and the others give no access details; ask before booking if anyone in your group has limited mobility.

For comparing this with the other cruise types, see how to choose a Bosphorus cruise.