Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swim 2027: Date, Entry and Race Week

The date of the 2027 Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swim has not been announced: on 6 November 2026 the race's official website, run by the Turkish National Olympic Committee, still showed the 2026 edition as its latest. Every race since 2021 has been held on a Sunday in the second half of August, most recently on 23 August 2026, when 2,500 swimmers from 64 countries swam the 6.5 km course from Kanlıca in Asia to Kuruçeşme in Europe. If you plan to enter in 2027, the safest approach is to keep the last two weeks of August free, book flexible flights and hotels, and wait for the official date. When you have it, a short stay such as our 4-day Istanbul tour package with hotel and Bosphorus cruise, from $699 per person, covers the race week around it.

This page sets out what is known, what the 2026 entry rules were, how race week works hour by hour, and where to stay near the finish. Everything about the race comes from the official site, bogazici.olimpiyat.org.tr, its 2026 competition rules and its 2026 Swimmer's Handbook. Treat the 2026 figures as a guide; the organisers may change them for 2027.

The 2027 date: what is known

The 2027 race would be the 39th edition. Until the Committee announces it, these are the facts to plan with:

Two things stand out. The race day has settled on a late-August Sunday, and the registration window moves from year to year: in 2023 and 2025 it closed at the end of March, while in 2026 it opened in late April. For 2027, watch the official site's notices page from January.

One more date matters. Istanbul hosts the European Games in 2027, which the Olympic Federation of Ireland lists for 16 to 27 June 2027, and the race organisers mentioned the Games in their 2026 volunteer briefing. Nothing announced so far moves the swim, but June hotel prices and availability in Istanbul will be affected, which is a reason not to combine the two trips without checking. Our European Games Istanbul 2027 travel package page covers that event.

Entry rules for international swimmers (2026 edition)

These were the rules for 2026, from the official competition rules page:

• Quota. 1,250 places for foreign swimmers, with a limit of 350 per country. In 2025 more than 4,000 swimmers from 80 countries applied, so places go quickly.
• Entry fee. €650 or $750, paid by credit card when you apply. The fee is not refunded, transferred or sold in any circumstances, including if the race is cancelled for reasons beyond the organisers' control.
• Individual registration only. Every swimmer applies personally on the official website. No travel company, including us, can register you or sell you a race place.
• Licence. From 2026, every swimmer must hold a valid swimming or triathlon licence. Without one you cannot enter.
• Age groups. Twelve categories each for women and men, from 14-18 up to 70+.
• Documents to upload by the deadline (15 July in 2026): a passport-size photo, a copy of your passport, a copy of your licence valid for the current season, a swimming ability letter signed by a swimming coach with a copy of the coach's diploma, and a health report signed by a doctor. Swimmers aged 65 and over also need a cardiology clearance including an exercise stress test, and under-18s need notarised parental approval.
• Result of your application. In 2026, accepted swimmers could check their status online from 17:00 on 20 July.

Turkish swimmers earn their places through timed 800-metre pool trials around Türkiye; international swimmers qualify through the document route above.

The course: Kanlıca to Kuruçeşme

The race runs about 6.5 km from Kanlıca ferry pier on the Asian shore, just north of the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, south and across the strait to Kuruçeşme Cemil Topuzlu Park on the European shore. The Bosphorus current runs from the Black Sea towards the Sea of Marmara, which is why the course goes south, with the flow. On the way you pass the waterfront villages of the European shore below Rumeli Fortress and finish just north of the Ortaköy Mosque; our guide to the Bosphorus Strait describes both shores.

What the 2026 handbook says about the swim itself:

• The start. Swimmers are taken from Kuruçeşme to Kanlıca on two ships. You leave the ship onto a floating barge, cross magnetic timing carpets and enter the water. The start horn sounds at 10:00. Your time starts when you cross the carpet, so there is no advantage in rushing.
• Equipment. Textile swimsuits only. Rubber and neoprene suits, wetsuits included, are banned and lead to disqualification. Goggles, nose clips and ear plugs are allowed; watches, cameras and dangling jewellery are not. A safety buoy, provided by the organisers, is compulsory and must be tied at the waist.
• Navigation. Follow the flags on the referee boats and the lead boat. Inflatable safety boats stay with the swimmers; raise a hand or wave your cap if you need help.
• Time limit. Two hours after the last swimmer enters the water. Swimmers still on the course are picked up and taken to the finish.
• The finish. You climb a ladder onto a floating barge and step on the timing carpet. Return your ankle chip to collect your finisher kit; digital certificates appear in your online account after the race.

Race week, day by day

The 2026 handbook set accreditation from Thursday to Saturday, 10:00 to 19:00, at Kuruçeşme Cemil Topuzlu Park, with a last window on race morning from 07:00 to 08:30. At accreditation you collect your numbered cap, RFID ankle chip, safety buoy, swimmer's badge, T-shirt and slippers. None of it can be replaced if lost. Built around that, a sensible plan looks like this:

• Wednesday: arrive. Land, transfer to the hotel, an easy walk and an early night. Do not plan anything strenuous.
• Thursday: accreditation. Collect your race kit at Kuruçeşme in the morning, when queues are shorter. Look at the course on the screens in the park.
• Friday: see the water. A Bosphorus cruise lets you look at the strait from water level, the currents and the shipping lanes between Kanlıca and Kuruçeşme. Never try to swim in the Bosphorus outside the race; it is a busy shipping channel with strong currents. Spend the afternoon on an easy old-city visit; our list of things to do on the Bosphorus has gentler ideas for the shore.
• Saturday: rest. Short sightseeing at most, carbohydrate-rich meals, plenty of water, no alcohol and nothing new to eat, as the handbook advises.
• Sunday: race day. Venue opens 06:30, cloakroom 07:30, boarding the ships 07:30 to 08:40 by cap number, start 10:00, awards from 11:30. Boarding closes at 08:40, and late arrivals are not taken.
• Monday: celebrate. A guided day in the old city, a hammam to ease your shoulders, or a sunset boat on the course you have just swum. Our page on the Turkish bath in Istanbul compares hammams and prices.

Where to stay for the race

You need to be at Kuruçeşme early on a Sunday morning, so the closer the better.

• Ortaköy and Kuruçeşme. Walking distance to the start area. Few hotels and they fill early for race weekend.
• Arnavutköy and Bebek. Just north along the shore, a short taxi ride to the park, with waterfront restaurants for the evening before.
• Beşiktaş. A larger choice of hotels and good transport, a short drive along the shore road to Kuruçeşme.
• Taksim and Galata. The widest range of hotels and prices, and a sensible base if you also want to see the old city. Allow more time on race morning.

Sultanahmet is the best base for sightseeing but the furthest from the race. If you choose it, book a car for race morning instead of relying on taxis at 06:00. Our guides to Bosphorus view hotels and where to stay in Istanbul compare the areas.

Getting to Kuruçeşme on race morning

• On foot from Ortaköy or Kuruçeşme hotels. The simplest option.
• Private car. A driver collects you at a fixed time, which removes the 06:00 taxi hunt. Our private car with driver in Istanbul works for race morning as for any other day.
• Taxi. Possible, but book through the hotel the night before.
• What to bring. Your badge, swimsuit already on under your clothes, goggles and a bag for the cloakroom. The handbook recommends putting on your ankle chip and swimsuit before entering the swimmers' area. There are no toilets on the ships.

The ships to Kanlıca are boarded through a barrier with detector scanning and referee checks by cap number, so they are for swimmers only. Kuruçeşme Cemil Topuzlu Park is where friends and family should wait for the finish.

What we can arrange, and what we cannot

To be clear: we do not sell race entries, and nobody can register for you. You apply personally on the official site. What a licensed operator can do is everything around it:

• Airport transfer from Istanbul Airport to your hotel, timed to your flight.
• Hotels near the finish or in the centre, booked once the date is announced.
• A private car on race morning and for the days around it.
• A Bosphorus cruise or private yacht on the Friday or the Monday.
• Guided sightseeing on rest and recovery days.

If you are travelling with family or a club team, our Istanbul tour packages for families page and the Bosphorus yacht rental guide explain how group bookings work. Clubs comparing local operators can also look at our sister site, Get Istanbul Tours.

Tours that cover this

• Istanbul tour package: 4 days and 3 nights with hotel and Bosphorus cruise: from $699 per person.
• Istanbul Airport VIP transfer in a private Mercedes Vito: from $60 per group.
• Two-hour private Bosphorus yacht cruise with guide: from $600 per group, to see the course from the water.
• Private Istanbul tour with a licensed guide, 1 to 3 days: from $199 per group, for the recovery days.

All our boat trips are on Bosphorus tours, and the Istanbul destination guide helps with the rest of the trip.

Frequently Asked Questions