Bosphorus Guide: Ferries, Tours and What You'll See

Short answer: skip the dinner cruises and the touts with laminated menus. Take a public boat run by Şehir Hatları, the city ferry company, from Eminönü. It's cheaper, it goes further, and you share the deck with Istanbul families.

The long Bosphorus tour

The Uzun Boğaz Turu leaves Eminönü every morning from the pier by the Galata Bridge marked Boğaz İskelesi, and runs the whole length of the strait. It calls at Beşiktaş, Üsküdar, Kanlıca, Sarıyer and Rumeli Kavağı, and ends at Anadolu Kavağı, a fishing village near the Black Sea. There's a break of about three hours there before the boat heads back in the afternoon. Walk up to the ruined Yoros Castle for a view of the Black Sea opening out, then eat grilled fish by the harbour. It takes the whole day, which is the point. Check the timetable on the Şehir Hatları site, since winter and summer schedules differ.

The short tour

With less time, the Kısa Boğaz Turu is an afternoon loop from Eminönü that calls at Üsküdar and Ortaköy, with the palaces and the first bridge from the water. Check the Şehir Hatları site for the current route before you go. Private operators such as Turyol run similar loops from Eminönü, often more frequently.

The commuter option

An ordinary ferry from Eminönü or Beşiktaş to Üsküdar, or from Karaköy to Kadıköy, costs a single Istanbulkart fare. You only see the southern end of the Bosphorus, but at sunset, with the old city's domes behind you, it's one of the loveliest twenty minutes in Istanbul. Order a tea from the man with the tray.

What you pass

Heading north, the European shore is on your left: the long white façade of Dolmabahçe Palace, then the baroque Ortaköy Mosque right under the first Bosphorus Bridge, then Rumeli Hisarı, the fortress Mehmed II built in 1452 to cut off Constantinople. On the Asian side, look for Beylerbeyi Palace and the tall Kuleli Military School. All along both banks are yalı, the wooden waterfront mansions of old Ottoman families, some with their boathouses built right into the water.

At Kanlıca, the ferry stop sells thick yogurt dusted with powdered sugar, a local tradition. On the way back, switch sides so you see the other shore properly.