Eminönü pier: where each Bosphorus boat really leaves

Eminönü pier is where most first-time visitors start a Bosphorus cruise, because it sits at the foot of the Old City, between the Galata Bridge and the Spice Bazaar. The problem is the name: "Eminönü" on a ticket can mean any of three boarding points, run by three different businesses, at prices from about 6 dollars to 640 TL. Knowing which one is yours saves a lot of walking and keeps you away from the street sellers.

The three boarding points at Eminönü

The two sides are about 300 m apart, with the bridge approach in between. Just east of the Şehir Hatları piers is the Sirkeci–Harem car ferry, which is not a tour.

Two agencies run their own check-in: Sea & Land checks guests in at its office in Hobyar, a few streets inland, and walks them to its boat near Eminönü, and Travels in Istanbul meets at "Eminönü Pier". Their vouchers say where to meet; follow them rather than the crowd.

How to get to Eminönü pier

At T1 Eminönü you can change to the T5 tram towards Alibeyköy; Sirkeci connects to Marmaray and the T6 line. Karaköy is across the Galata Bridge, roughly 470 m from the Şehir Hatları pier in a straight line.

Şehir Hatları: the public Bosphorus tours from Eminönü

The municipal ferry company sells its two tours at the Bosphorus-tour booth east of the Galata Bridge. Which of its two berths the boat uses can change, so ask at the booth.

• Long Tour at 10:35, all the way to Anadolu Kavağı near the Black Sea mouth, back at 16:40. 640 TL return for foreign visitors (320 TL for citizens).
• Short Tour at 14:40, about 2 hours, via Üsküdar and Ortaköy. 340 TL for foreigners (170 TL for citizens).
• Moonlight tour on summer Saturdays only, boarding at Eminönü at 18:25 and back at 00:10. Not running now.

Times are the winter timetable; check sehirhatlari.istanbul or the booth on the day. Full details, including what to do at Anadolu Kavağı, are in our public ferry guide.

The commuter ferries from the same waterfront are a cheaper way onto the water: Üsküdar–Eminönü costs 58.52 TL and Kadıköy–Eminönü 65.21 TL with an İstanbulkart (contactless bank card: 120 TL a ride). From the Boğaz pier, the occasional Bosphorus commuter line zig-zags up to Anadolu Hisarı or Sarıyer.

Turyol: the hourly tour and the cheap platform cruises

On the Golden Horn side, Turyol's boats leave roughly every hour from about 10:00 into the evening for a loop of about 90 minutes to around the second bridge and back. Turyol does not publish the price; the latest reported booth price is about 300 TL. Turyol is a co-operative of boat owners, not a single company; see our Turyol review.

The same pier serves several platform products:

• GetYourGuide's cheapest Bosphorus cruise, Sightseeing Cruise with Sunset Option (from $5.61), sells seats on an hourly tour boat here with an app audio guide. Its 16:00 and 17:00 "sunset" departures only catch the sunset in autumn and winter.
• Tiqets sells a QR ticket for Turyol's hourly boat. "Skip-the-line" means you skip the booth queue at the turnstile, not the boarding queue.
• Headout's Essential Sightseeing Cruise starts from the same Eminönü point as Sea & Land's boats.

These are big shared boats with indoor saloons, not yachts, and the "audio guide" is an app on your phone: bring headphones. The upper deck fills first, so board early.

On 16 October the Headout listing was the cheaper of the two, but the GetYourGuide one has thousands of reviews against a handful; boat, time and inclusions may differ.

◐ Daytime

GetYourGuide2 h

Istanbul: Bosphorus Sightseeing Cruise Tour with Audio Guide

4.6 (6,260)

from $8Check dates

◔ Day or sunset

GetYourGuide2 h

Explore Istanbul: Guided Day&Night Bosphorus Boat Cruises

4.8 (27)

from $11Check dates

◐ Daytime

Headout

From Istanbul: Princes' Islands Round-Trip Ferry to Kinaliada and Buyukada with Guide

No reviews yet

from $22Check 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

Princes' Islands boats from Eminönü

Turyol's islands boat leaves the Golden Horn-side pier 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, then Kınalıada, Burgazada, Heybeliada and Büyükada. Return sailings leave Büyükada from 14:15 to 18:15 (19:15 at weekends). The fare is 230 TL per leg at the booth.

The round-trip "ferry tickets" on GetYourGuide, Headout and Tiqets are for this same Turyol boat, sold with a QR code:

Headout's version cannot be cancelled once booked. In winter, the Mavi Marmara co-operative also runs a tourist boat that calls at Eminönü at 10:00 and 12:00 on its way to Heybeliada and Büyükada; the municipal Şehir Hatları island ferries leave from Kabataş, not Eminönü, outside summer. More options in our Princes' Islands guide.

Touts, timing and what is nearby

• When to go: platform listings note that the boats fill up in the afternoon, especially in summer. A morning departure is calmer.
• Weather: in winter, lodos wind can cancel ferry lines; ask at the booth before you buy.
• Money: carry Turkish lira for the booths and avoid paying in $50 or $100 notes.
• Nearby: the Spice Bazaar is 2–3 minutes from the piers and pairs naturally with any Eminönü departure. The Grand Bazaar is closed on Sundays.

Dinner cruises do not leave from Eminönü. The nearest is Turyol's Bosfor dinner ship from Karaköy pier, across the bridge, at 20:30. For the dinner boats that leave from Kabataş, see the Kabataş pier guide and our dinner cruise comparison. All seven piers are compared on the piers overview.

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