Bosphorus Strait (Bosphorus Cruise)

From the Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea, the Bosphorus stretches for about 31 kilometres. Its narrowest point, below Rumeli Fortress, measures around 700 metres across. Today three suspension bridges and two tunnels span it or pass beneath it, while ferries still take hundreds of thousands of commuters back and forth between Europe and Asia each day. For visitors, the strait is less a single sight than a journey past palaces, fortresses, wooden mansions and fishing villages on both banks.

Key facts

Along the way

Sailing north from Eminonu, you pass:

• Dolmabahce Palace, then the Ciragan Palace, which is now a hotel, both on the European side.
• Ortakoy Mosque, right at the water's edge below the first bridge, the 15 July Martyrs Bridge, opened in 1973.
• Beylerbeyi Palace, on the Asian side directly beneath that bridge.
• Yali mansions: wooden houses on the water at Arnavutkoy, Bebek, Kandilli and Yenikoy, some dating to the 18th century.
• Rumeli Fortress facing the Anatolian Fortress across the narrowest stretch, under the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge of 1988.
• Sariyer, Rumeli Kavagi and Anadolu Kavagi, fishing villages close to the Black Sea, with Yoros Castle on the hill over Anadolu Kavagi.
• The Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, from 2016, at the northern end.

Coming back, you see the Maiden's Tower off Uskudar just before the Golden Horn.

Public ferry or private boat?

The long public Bosphorus tour costs little, moves slowly and gets crowded in summer. It stops for about three hours at Anadolu Kavagi, time to walk up to the castle and have a fish lunch. Short round trips from Eminonu last 90 minutes and turn back at the second bridge. Commuter ferries across the strait, for example Eminonu to Uskudar or Kabatas to Kadikoy, cost as much as a bus ticket and give you 20 minutes afloat.

A private boat is more expensive but sails where and when you choose. Our 2-Hour Private Bosphorus Yacht Cruise starts at US$600 for the whole group, includes a guide on board, and picks you up from your hotel or Galataport. The Istanbul Combo: Classic City Tour and Bosphorus Cruise spends the morning in the Old City and finishes on the water, six to eight hours in all. To see it all from the air, the Istanbul Private Helicopter Tour over Bosphorus takes 30 minutes.

When to go

From late afternoon to sunset the light is warmest on the European shore and its palaces. Mornings are calmer and less busy. In spring (April and May) the Judas trees bloom on the hills, and autumn can bring dolphins, mostly in the north. In summer choose a seat on the shady side; in winter the open deck is cold even when the sun is out.

Tips

• Heading north, the European shore, with its palaces, is to your left.
• Tankers pass constantly, and ships longer than a football pitch come close to the ferries.
• At Eminonu, ignore street touts offering cheap "Bosphorus tours" that finish at shops.
• Get off at Bebek or Arnavutkoy and spend an hour walking along the water.
• Dinner cruises with shows at night are another thing altogether, closer to entertainment than sightseeing.

Our Istanbul destination page has more ideas for the city's waterside.

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