Best Bosphorus Tours

Running 31 kilometres between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea, the Bosphorus explains the layout of Istanbul best when you see it from a boat. The tours here put you on the water in several ways: lunch on a shared boat, an evening cruise with dinner and entertainment, a day with a private guide and a cruise built in, or an entire yacht just for your group.

Shared cruises

Shared boats with pick-up from your hotel are the cheapest way onto the water. Our shared lunch cruise on the strait takes three hours and costs $60 per person, with lunch served on board, a licensed guide and every entrance fee; lunchtime drinks cost extra. For $90 per person, the luxury dinner cruise with a show lasts roughly six hours with transfers, covering dinner, soft drinks and a programme of folk and belly dancing. Other groups travel on both boats, and the dinner cruise is meant to be loud.

Private guided days with a cruise

For a guide who explains the Bosphorus instead of simply showing it, choose a private tour with a cruise included. The Istanbul combo of a city tour plus a cruise costs from $200 per person and covers the old city in the morning and the water in the afternoon. Also from $200 per person, our Dolmabahce and Bosphorus day with a private guide pairs the Spice Market and a cruise with Taksim and Dolmabahce Palace. On both tours the usual cruise is on a public or shared boat, and you can add a private yacht.

Dolmabahce Palace is shut every Monday, which means the Dolmabahce tour runs on other days.

Your own yacht

The private two-hour yacht cruise costs $600 per group and includes a licensed guide plus tea or coffee on board. No other yacht option here comes with a guide. Hourly charters on our yacht tours list include crew and a captain but no guide, from $190 per hour.

On a layover, try the private layover tour of Istanbul. It starts at $550 per person, slots a Bosphorus cruise in after the Spice Market and before the Grand Bazaar, and includes airport transfers in both directions.

Sights along each shore

Going north from Eminonu, the European side passes Dolmabahce Palace, Ortakoy Mosque beneath the first bridge, Bebek and Arnavutkoy, two old villages, and then Rumeli Fortress, whose walls guard the narrowest point. On the Asian side are Beylerbeyi Palace, Kuzguncuk and the timber mansions of Kandilli. Standard cruises last two to three hours, and most boats turn back near the second bridge instead of going on to the Black Sea.

Heading north, take a seat on the left for the European palaces; the right-hand side suits the Asian shore. On the way back, boats generally follow the other side.

Timing

The water is calmest in the morning. From May to September, sunset cruises sell out first. In winter, even on a sunny day the open deck is cold, and the covered decks of shared boats are more pleasant. Our guide to the lunch cruise sets the $60 cruise against other choices, and our list of evening tours and shows covers the hours after dark. For the geography of the strait in depth, read our guide to the Bosphorus Strait.