Bosphorus Cruise - which one??
 

I will be in Istanbul in early September and plan on doing a Bosphorus cruise. I am a little confused on which one I should do...from the information that I have, there is the ferryboat cruise that makes several stops with the final stop being at Anadolu Kavagi. This cruise supposedly take 6 hours round trip. There is another on a faster boat (TurYol Cruise) that does the round trip in 1 1/2 hours with no stops. Do you see the same things on the shorter cruise? I don't need to stop for lunch but if the town is interesting that might make the longer trip worthwhile. I would be interested in recommendations from anyone who has done either of these trips.

Kettamic,

I'm sorry I don't have an answer to your post, however, I will be in Istanbul at the end of September and I am interested in seeing some of the responses you get to this question.

Our family took the local ferry when we were in Istanbul and it was great. I believe it took a couple hours to come and go the distance but the the people,sights and food for sale on board were very interesting.

You can hike up the trail to the Byzantine castle at Anadolu Kavagi, and enjoy gorgeous views of the European side of Istanbul.

And FYI- I could be wrong- but we were told that the shorter boat takes 3 hours roundtrip.

kettamic:

By all means take the longer local...and take the time for lunch and the hike to the castle in Andalou...you will get a fabulous view of the Bosphorus connecting to the Black Sea..great photo ops.

Many fish restaurants in the little town..then take the next boat back . If I recall, it's about a two and a half hour wait. The day was one of our highlights in Istanbul. People watching on board is priceless, especially when everyone is served tea while standing on deck. Do it.

Stu T. (I have pre-digital photos of the ferry cruise...just write and I'll attached the scanned [email protected])

I too will be in Istanbul in early September and was actually looking for a day cruise that goes past Anadolu Kavagi out into the Black Sea for a ways but can't seem to find anything that fits the bill. Anyone aware of anything like this that is available?

Also for the regular "slow" ferry - the guides I'm reading indicate that I can't get on & off at different stops on the same ticket. So I'm assuming that if I want to stop at more than one place, I just buy multiple tickets?

This is the Turyol website:
www.turyol.com.tr/indexeng.asp
The traditional ships are run by IDO (www.ido.com.tr).

Dear Travellers,

If you have time (One day) I would recommend you have Bosphorus tour with REGULLAR FERRY (www.ido.com.tr). Buy ticket and go untill ANADOLU KAVAGI. You can have LUNCH (I recommend you eat fresh fish very cheap) visit the castle on the top of hill and see the black sea entrance of Bosphorus then use same ferry company come back to Sirkeci. Departure 10.30 from Sirkeci on the way to Anadolu kavagi Stops some places, from Anadolu kavagi there are 2 departures 15.30 and 17.00.

If you use PRIVATE BOAT turyol you will have 2 or 2.5 hours Bosphorus tour, but boat sail until RUMELI KAVAGI which is half way of Bosphorus and you can miss some other part of Istanbul. They depart when they fill the boat. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS tour

Have a nice trip in Turkey

Sinan Akdeniz

There is no need in my opinion to take a tour operator for this trip. Just take a ticket for the ordinary public transport ferry and go up the Bosphorus till where you want to be. If you have enough time and are interested to see the Rumeli or Anadolu Castle, then go and do it; the Rumeli has very nice views on the Bosphorus and is interesting in itself. If you are a bit shorter on time, then Bebek can suffice as your turning point; you will see a bit less of the impressiveness of the natural aspects of the Bosphorus, but you'll have all the sights of the most important buildings when coming closer to Karaköy or Eminonu.
Another nice trip, around 06:00 am, is the ferry trip to Kadiköy on the Asian side, coming back directly for seeing the sun rise on the Topkapi Palace.

Using the public transport ferry also gives you the possibility to be with the people from Istanbul, and mingle. You'll always find someone who speaks english.

Sinan, are snacks, coffee, etc. served aboard the ferry? I have printed out the map and schedule from the web site you posted. Thanks!
We depart Sept 3 for Turkey!
Jane

I noticed an error in my e-mail address aboe...OP kettamic already wrote to me, but he figured out the mistake and I was able to send pix to him

correct address:

[email protected]

I'd be happy to send pix to anyone.
Stu T.

Jane,

There are some foods on ferries and I also recommend you EAT KANLICA YOGURT.

Have a nice trip in Turkey

Sinan

On the traditional ferries, waiters come round with trays of glasses of tea. This is what most Turkish people drink. There will be other drinks for sale. The trip takes an hour and a half each way, and each port of call has a choice of restaurants, so there's no need to eat aboard the ship.

Thanks to both of you for the "food update".

Thanks for the responses. It sounds like the local 6 hour cruise is the way to go.
I'll let you know in a few weeks if it was the right choice.

ttt

I've heard you can take the ferry to Anadolu Kavagi, do lunch and a castle tour and then bus back to Istanbul. Has anyone tried this?

My family (wife and 1 year old son)and I will be in Istanbul in October. Please let me know how your Bosphorous cruise went as I am keen on doing the same.

Regards

I'm in Istanbul now. We took the 10:35 IDO ferry to the end of the line, ate deep fried mussles, and returned at 3pm. It's a mad=house getting a seat near a window or on the outside going up, but coming back, there are not nearly so many people aboard. Most passengers get off before the last shop and return on a bus or with their tour.

There was only one option of time for returning==3pm==and this time is posted on the ferry terminal wall as you exit. The ride is about 2 hours each way.