Turyol Bosphorus tours, islands boat and Bosfor dinner cruise: review

Turyol is a reliable, no-frills choice for the hourly Bosphorus tour and the islands boat, and its Bosfor dinner cruise is good value, but book the dinner through a platform, because direct tickets cannot be refunded. The co-operative was formally founded in 1993 by private motor-boat owners and pools its revenue. It runs 60 passenger ships, 8 sea-tourism ships and 15 piers. By its own account it carries about 90 % of the foreign tour groups that TÜRSAB travel agencies bring onto the Bosphorus and to the islands, so many agency "Bosphorus cruises" are in fact Turyol boats.

The boats and the piers: three different boarding points

Turyol's boats are big passenger ferries: its fleet list gives 380 to 850 seats per ship (Emin İnandı carries 850, Altınkaya-1 716, İlyas Kan 380). Which pier you need depends on the product:

• Eminönü, Golden Horn side of the Galata Bridge (Rüstem Paşa, across from the Spice Bazaar, next to the fish-sandwich boats): the hourly Bosphorus tour (signposted "Boğaz Turu İskelesi") and the Princes' Islands boat. This is about 320 m west of the Şehir Hatları piers, on the other side of the bridge. Our Eminönü pier guide has a map.
• Karaköy, Golden Horn side of the Karaköy end of the bridge (Rıhtım Cd. 17): the Bosfor dinner ship. Not Eminönü. See the Karaköy pier guide.
• Üsküdar (Eski Balaban), Kadıköy Metro pier, Beşiktaş: city lines on the normal İstanbulkart fare, which is the same as on Şehir Hatları for the same route (for example Üsküdar–Eminönü 58.52 TL, Kadıköy–Eminönü 65.21 TL).

Use turyol.com for the company; turyol.com.tr does not work.

The hourly Bosphorus tour from Eminönü

This is the simplest walk-up way to see the lower strait: no booking, no timetable to plan around. Boats leave roughly every hour from about 10:00 into the evening, take about 90 minutes, and go up to the Fatih Sultan Mehmet (second) Bridge and back. Turyol publishes no price; the latest reported booth price is about 300 TL. Buy at the booth on the pier, and carry some Turkish lira in cash.

The same boat turns up under other names. The Istanbul E-pass cruise is this Turyol tour, and the Tiqets "Bosphorus Cruise from Eminönü Ferry Station" is a resold ticket for it with an audio-guide app. It is not the Şehir Hatları tour, even though both leave from "Eminönü". The cheap GetYourGuide sightseeing boats from the same Eminönü pier, such as the $6 hourly cruise with sunset option, are the same type of boat. For how this compares with the municipal tours and Dentur's loop, see our public ferry guide.

Sit on the left going north for the European palaces, on the right coming back.

The Princes' Islands boat

Turyol's Adalar boat leaves Eminönü at 09:40, 10:40, 11:40, 12:40 and 13:40 (plus 14:40 on Saturdays and Sundays), calls at Karaköy five minutes later and at Kadıköy Metro pier, then Kınalıada, Burgazada, Heybeliada and Büyükada. Return sailings leave Büyükada at 14:15, 15:15, 16:15, 17:15 and 18:15 (plus 19:15 at weekends). The fare is 230 TL per leg at the Turyol booth. Whether İstanbulkart works on these boats is not published, so plan to buy at the booth.

Most platform "Princes' Islands ferry tickets" are seats on this boat:

The platforms are within a dollar of each other today. The Headout ticket cannot be cancelled; the Tiqets one adds a phone audio guide, but its description still mentions horse-carriage tours, which were banned on the islands in 2020. Buying at the pier is simplest if you have lira. Full planning is in our Princes' Islands guide.

The Bosfor dinner cruise from Karaköy

Turyol's dinner ship is the Bosfor: 49.84 m long, licensed for 601 passengers, sold as "Turyol Bosfor" on bosfordinnercruise.com. It sails every night.

With the alcohol package, drinks are unlimited local alcohol: beer, rakı (the anise spirit), vodka, red and white wine, gin. With 601 seats, expect a cabaret-hall atmosphere, not a yacht dinner. From mid-August to early May the whole cruise is in the dark. The dervish act is a stage performance, not the religious ceremony.

Prices: direct vs platforms

The GetYourGuide dinner cruise sold as Turyol Bosfor is rated 4.8 from 14,511 reviews. Its "from" price is the base option; check the drinks and transfer options before comparing with the direct 80 USD.

These three listings are similar evenings but not the same boat: the Tiqets one is Velena's cruise from the Dentur landing in Kabataş and includes only two drinks. GetYourGuide is the cheapest today and the only one tied to Turyol.

My advice: book the Bosfor through GetYourGuide for the 24-hour free cancellation, unless you want the direct package with free transfer and are sure of your date. Direct tickets allow one change of date at least 48 hours before; an "open" ticket must be re-dated within 15 days.

What to check before you book

• Which pier: Eminönü for the tour and islands, Karaköy for dinner.
• Drinks: soft drinks or the alcohol package; imported brands are not part of "unlimited".
• Table: shared tables are standard; the private table upstairs costs 10 USD more direct.
• Pick-up: free with direct dinner tickets, from central European-side hotels only. Be in the lobby 10–15 minutes early.
• Weather: lodos (the strong south-west wind) can cancel sailings, especially in winter; the captain decides, and platforms rebook or refund under their terms.

Alternatives

For the hourly loop, Dentur Avrasya runs a 75-minute non-stop tour from Kabataş for 200 TL online. For the full strait, the Şehir Hatları Long Tour goes to Anadolu Kavağı. For dinner, Mega Lüfer sails from Kabataş with a private table in the base price. All dinner boats are compared in our dinner cruise guide; every operator is on the operators page.

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