Üsküdar pier: Bosphorus tours, ferries and the Maiden's Tower boats

Üsküdar pier is the one place on the Asian side where you can simply turn up and take a Bosphorus tour. Dentur Avrasya runs its own hourly loop from here, the municipal Şehir Hatları tours stop on their way up the strait, and the commuter ferries to Beşiktaş, Kabataş and Eminönü leave every few minutes. Walk south along the shore and you reach Salacak, with the boats to the Maiden's Tower and the steps where locals watch the sun go down behind the Old City.

Which landing is which

Three companies share the waterfront, each with its own pier:

• Şehir Hatları (the municipal ferry company): commuter boats to Eminönü and Beşiktaş, the Golden Horn line, the Anadolu Kavağı line, and the calls of the Long and Short Bosphorus Tours.
• Dentur Avrasya terminal, next door: ferries to Beşiktaş and Kabataş, and the starting point of Dentur's Bosphorus tour (Boğaz Turu).
• Turyol, at the Eski Balaban pier: city lines to Karaköy and Eminönü. Turyol (a co-operative of boat owners) also says it runs scheduled Bosphorus tours from Üsküdar, but publishes no times or prices; ask at its booth.

South along the shore are Salacak, with the Maiden's Tower visitor centre and its boats, and then Harem, with the Sirkeci–Harem car ferry and a Dentur pier.

Ferries from Üsküdar and what they cost

The İBB (municipal) fare table, valid since 20 July 2026, is the same on Şehir Hatları, Turyol and Dentur boats:

Pay with an İstanbulkart (165 TL for the card) or a contactless bank card, which is charged 120 TL per ride. There is no cash on board, children under 7 ride free, and fares double from 00:30 to 05:30. Beşiktaş–Üsküdar is the cheapest crossing of the lower Bosphorus. More in the public ferry guide.

Bosphorus tours from Üsküdar

Dentur Avrasya's Boğaz Turu is the easy choice: a non-stop loop of about 75 minutes that runs up the European shore past Dolmabahçe, Ortaköy, Bebek and Rumeli Hisarı, turns at the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, and comes back along the Asian shore past Anadolu Hisarı, Küçüksu, Kuleli and Beylerbeyi. It leaves every hour from 12:30 to 19:30 (sometimes later at weekends), costs 250 TL at the booth or 200 TL online, children up to 10 ride free, the booth takes cards, and announcements are in Turkish and English. There is no hop-on hop-off. Times and online tickets are on denturavrasya.com.

The Şehir Hatları tours start at Eminönü but call here, so you can board on the Asian side:

• Short Tour: calls at Üsküdar at 14:55, then Ortaköy, then sails up the strait without stops and back, about 2 hours. 340 TL for foreign visitors, 170 TL for citizens.
• Long Tour: calls at 11:05 on its way to Anadolu Kavağı, near the Black Sea mouth, and back at Üsküdar about 16:10. 640 TL for foreign visitors, 320 TL for citizens, return.

These are the winter timetable times; check sehirhatlari.istanbul or the booth on the day. Sit on the left going north for the European palaces, on the right coming back. For the sunset, Dentur's last loops are the ones to catch from autumn to spring; compare them with the boats in the sunset cruise guide.

Maiden's Tower boats and the Salacak shore

The Maiden's Tower (Kız Kulesi) stands about 200 m off Salacak. Its boats leave the Salacak visitor centre at 09:30, 10:30, 11:30 and 12:30, then every half hour from 13:00 to 17:00; the last boat back is at 17:45. The boat costs 110 TL and entry €27; the Museum Pass covers entry but not the boat. Boats also run from Karaköy, and weather can cancel them. Check kizkulesi.gov.tr before you go.

The same shore is the launch point for the canoe trip to the Maiden's Tower: about 50 minutes of paddling, at most 14 people, a life jacket, a briefing and tea afterwards. It costs $30 booked direct with Istanbul Workshops, or from $35 on GetYourGuide; no under-16s, pregnant women or people with back problems. Confirm the meeting point when you book. See the canoe and kayak guide.

At sunset, Salacak is free: locals sit on the steps with tea facing the tower and the Old City. In December the sun drops behind the Topkapı and Hagia Sophia skyline, in mid-October behind Süleymaniye, and in June and July far to the right over Beyoğlu.

Getting to Üsküdar pier

• Marmaray trains run under the strait from Sirkeci (by Eminönü) to Üsküdar.
• The M5 metro starts at Üsküdar and runs to Sultanbeyli.
• By ferry from Beşiktaş, Kabataş, Ortaköy, Eminönü, Karaköy or Kadıköy (see the table above).
• North along the shore, İETT bus 15 runs from Üsküdar to Beykoz; Beylerbeyi Palace is a short bus or taxi ride.

Around the pier: mosques, Çamlıca and Beylerbeyi

The Mihrimah Sultan Mosque (1548, by Mimar Sinan) is right by the pier, and the small Şemsi Pasha Mosque (1580) sits on the shore. Also worth a look: the Atik Valide Mosque (1583, Sinan), the Ayazma Mosque (1760) and the modern Şakirin Mosque. Visits pause around prayer times. The fish market is beside the pier.

Up the hill, Grand Çamlıca Mosque is free; Çamlıca Tower, on a different hill, sells its enclosed terrace for 900 TL to non-citizens in 1.5-hour slots, with no tripods or backpacks allowed.

Beylerbeyi Palace (800 TL, closed Mondays, ticket office 09:00–17:00) is north along the shore by the 15 July Martyrs Bridge. Guided walks pair Üsküdar with Kuzguncuk; the Asian side guide compares them and the full-day tours.

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

Practical notes

• No hotel pick-ups here. Platform cruises collect only from central European-side hotels. Staying in Üsküdar, the Dentur loop on your doorstep is the simplest cruise; for anything else take the ferry to the meeting point. See all the piers.
• Lodos and fog. Winter gales (worst in December) cancel exposed lines; Eminönü–Üsküdar was among those suspended on 3 January 2026. Marmaray is the fallback. Fog is mostly a morning problem.
• Busy water. This is the crossing zone between the two shores. On 19 September 2025 a Beşiktaş–Üsküdar passenger boat collided with a cargo ship off Salacak; 8 to 12 people were injured. There has been no major tour-boat disaster in recent years, but listen to the crew and stay seated when asked.
• Combine it. Üsküdar to Kadıköy is one ferry (62.70 TL); see the Kadıköy pier guide.