BarbaraAllison7911

In October we will be staying in Sultanahmet at the Amira Hotel. We would like to take a boat ride on the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn. Can anyone recommend the best way to do this.........doesn't have to be a structured guided tour, but if that is the best bang for your buck we are in. All experiences are welcome!

wintersp

The public ferry. Go to the end. Wander around and get refreshments. Get on ferry and back to Sultanahmet. Can also get off at mid-stops and come back by bus?? Lots of options.

tower

public ferry..nice ride, stopping on both sides of the Bosph. Get off at last stop Anadolu Kavagi, nice little town with restaurants for lunch. A few hour wait for the next ferry south to end the trip at Sultanahmet. Also well worth hiking a kilometer or two (easy going) from Anadolu Kavagi to the old fort ruins on the hill overlooking the Bosph and the entrance to the Black Sea..dramatic view. You could take a picic lunch and enjoy it sitting on the hill. I'll post some Bosph ferry pics below. Just scroll down through Istanbul until you reach he ferry pics.

tower

https://picasaweb.google.com/stuartt...nesOfIstanbul#

jdc26

Winter so and tower. Great information. Adding to my 2015 trip to Istanbul. Waiting for the pics tower.

jdc

tower

http://picasaweb.google.com/stuarttower/ScenesOfTurkey

No need for guide in my opinion. I've included scenes here from around the country..wonderful month long trip on our own.

jdc26

Beautiful pics tower.

I'll be in Istanbul for 4 days and am hoping to do it very leisurely and without a guide. Glad to know it can be done.

jdc

SportyMom23

Four girlfriends, we did this...stayed at a fabulous boutique hotel in Istanbul Celal Sultan...walking distance to everything...
Re the Bosphorous, just take the local ferry, it goes up and down the Bosphorous, you can stop and get off at a number of stops...we got off on Prince Island, toured around in a horse and buggy, had lunch, then hopped back on the ferry back to Istanbul, and had delicioius fish lunch underneath the Galatica bridge !! Dont forget to do that...

suec1

There are shorter trips, private companies. I had read a post on, I think, the Tripadvisor board that made a strong case that the shorter cruise was enough - along the lines of who wants to be on a slow noisey boat for an extended period, so we did the shorter trip. BAD choice - I so wish we had done the longer, public ferry version. It is so interesting to see the lovely structures lining the Bosphorus - the first part are some magnificent palaces and mosques, then it changes to more private residences. Yes do the long version and enjoy lunch at the mid-point.

kja

You can also take a separate ferry (local) along the Golden Horn - lovely!

geetika

We took the 90 min Turyol ferry ride on the Bosphorus, lots of locals and families with children. As suec1 says you get to see some lovely palaces and buildings along the shore, though this is a round trip and you can't get off the ferry. The trip costs 12 TL/pp, you can also rent an audio-guide before boarding. If you have the time I'd take the longer tour though.

http://www.turyol.com/en/seferlisteleme.asp

BarbaraAllison7911

Thank you everyone for your input. It seems the public ferry is the most popular for seeing the Bosphorus.

BarbaraAllison7911

Oh just one more question, where do you get the public ferry?

otherchelebi

Some summary info :

- The public tour ferry, the Uskudar, Kadikoy & Bosphorus commuter ferries leave from Eminonu just opposite the tram station, before Galata Bridge.

- The Golden Horn ferry and the Turyol Bosphorus Tour ferry leaves from the pier on the other side of Galata Bridge (Golden Horn side) so you would have to take the underpass to get over. Do not cross the bridge to Karakoy!

- The public tour ferry goes all the way to the last stop before the Black Sea and waits there. According to the season, you may need to stay there 90 or 180 minutes, dining, hiking, reading, getting bored, climbing to the somewhat old fortress, whatever.

- You may get off the ferry on the European side at Rumeli Kavagi, before the last stop for better dining and the flexibility of getting back by bus or minibus (dolmus) any time you wish.

- The tour ferry does not make many stops and costs 7-8 times the regular commuter ferry or bus.

- Getting of the tour ferry on the European side and coming back by 25E or 40E bus from Sariyer (not dolmus) will give you chance to get off at Emirgan for Sabanci Museum and/or at Rumeli Hisari for the fortress built by Mehmet the Conqueror in 1452.

- You can also walk to the upscale fun and residential area called Bebek from Rumeli Hisari for coffee, tea or ice cream, or whatever at a very pleasant location.

- Taking one of the commuter ferries in the evening will be cheap, but the first leaves Eminonu at 5 PM and the light may not be good for photography depending on the season and length of day.

- You can take tram to Kabatas, last stop and take the 25E bus anywhere you like up the Bosphorus and take the criscross ferry that stops at Arnavutkoy, Bebek, Emirgan and Istinye on the European side and at Kanlica (interesting yoghurt), Anadolu Hisari (small old fortress and small stream) Kandilli (excellent restaurant next to pier), Cengelkoy (interesting village with a life of its own, restaurants, shops, cafes and hikes up the hill to see old mansions)

This ferry starts making the rounds at about 10 AM and continues till about 5 or so.

- The Princes' Islands ferries take off from the piers at Kabatas.

- Schedules for all the public ferries are at www.sehirhatlari.com they also have it all in English.

- The ferries to Yalova, Mudanya (Bursa?) and Bandirma are operated by IDO and the closest ones leave from Yenikapi, not far from Sultanahmet. These may require advance booking on weekends.

tower

OC...as usual a bundle of information for your Turkish visitors. The hospitable thing to do is to invite them all to your home. Waiting for "you-know-who" to chime in!

wtm003

Great information! Thanks for asking the question Barbara.

LancasterLad

Just to add a little to OC's excellent posting.

I've done the 6 hour Bosphorus cruise a couple of times. Both times the ferry was packed. Check beforehand whether there are any cruise ships alongside in Istanbul. If there are then there'll be no room whatsoever on the Bosphorus ferry, and so doing a ferry trip to Princes Islands might be a more comfortable alternative.

Kabatas is the terminus for the tram that runs through Sultanahmet. At Kabatas you can get the funicular up through the a tunnel in the hill to Taksim [and Istiklal Caddesi]...

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=is...w=1024&bih=653

otherchelebi

tower, the unnamable, who was never there, is trying to make amends to my wife on FB for forcing chopped liver with week old onions at 2nd Ave. deli almost two years ago.

Only apotropaic individuals who can communicate by using glossolallia will be invited to our Istanbul home. Simple Sciolists are welcome to the Iznik home if they are well-versed in jazz, and pyrrhonists will be allowed at the Chicago condo.

BarbaraAllison7911

WOW is all I can say to all this information Otherchelbi, I can only hope to see 1/4 of what you have mentioned! Many thanks from Canada! If all Turks are as informative as you our visit should prove to be a wonderful experience!

otherchelebi

Thanks Barbara.

here's something else you may use because it will be fish season in istanbul when you arive, in case you missed it:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...n-istanbul.cfm

A note : all portion sized Fish are usually served complete on your dish. If you do not like it staring at you with feeling, you may ask your waiter to de-bone it (for bonito, blue fish, sea bass, sea bream) For finger length horse mackerel, punish them for staring at you and eat the head also with the eyes and all, but still remove central bone.