The Bosphorus on a private yacht

A private Bosphorus cruise, on your own clock

On a public ferry you see the Bosphorus at the timetabled hour, with hundreds of other passengers and always from the same distance. On a private yacht you pick the departure time and the deck holds only your group. If you want to slow down in front of a waterside mansion or circle the Maiden's Tower once more, a word to the captain is enough.

The yacht runs much closer to the shore than the ferry does. You see the mansion façades and the palace sea gates near enough to fill the frame, and whichever shore the view is coming from, you simply cross to that side of the deck.

The route works just as well for a guest seeing the city for the first time as for someone who has lived in Istanbul for years and never once looked at the Bosphorus from the water. Let the captain know at departure who wants to see what.

The hourly rate is paid for the whole yacht, so the bigger your group, the smaller each person's share.

First half of the route: down the European shore to the Maiden's Tower

Arnavutköy and the 15 July Martyrs Bridge

The tour starts at our Arnavutköy pier. As the wooden mansions of the waterfront fall behind, the yacht turns south and within a few minutes passes beneath the 15 July Martyrs Bridge, opened in 1973. You may have driven across it hundreds of times, but its scale only really sinks in from down here on the water.

From Ortaköy to Dolmabahçe

At the foot of the bridge, Ortaköy Mosque rises almost straight out of the sea. Next comes Çırağan Palace, now a hotel, and then Dolmabahçe Palace, where Atatürk spent his last days. To take in the full length of Dolmabahçe's sea façade at once, you have to be out on the water directly in front of it.

Galata, the mouth of the Golden Horn and the historic peninsula

Off Karaköy, Galata Tower appears at the top of the hill. Across the mouth of the Golden Horn lies Sarayburnu, the old Seraglio Point, with Topkapı Palace and the dome of Hagia Sophia rising above it. The Istanbul skyline of the postcards fits into a single glance here. This is also where ferry traffic is heaviest, and the captain sets the speed to suit it.

The Maiden's Tower

The southern end of the route is the Maiden's Tower, on its islet off Üsküdar. This is the place to stop for photographs, with the tower in front and the historic peninsula behind. From here the yacht crosses to the Asian side and turns north along the Üsküdar shore.

Second half: up the Asian shore to the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge

Heading north from Üsküdar, you see the Bosphorus from the other bank this time. Dolmabahçe and Çırağan, which you passed a little earlier, now stand side by side across the water at their full length.

Beylerbeyi Palace and Kuleli

Right beside the Asian foot of the 15 July Martyrs Bridge stands Beylerbeyi Palace with its seaside pavilions, and as you pass in front of it the bridge is directly overhead. A little further north, the Kuleli Military High School, known for its two towers, faces Arnavutköy across the strait. If you are staying on the Asian side, you can board at either of these two piers.

The mansions of Vaniköy and Kandilli

After Kuleli the mansions crowd closer. In Vaniköy and Kandilli the houses line the very edge of the water, each one starting almost before the last has finished. If you want to see them up close, ask the captain to slow down along this shore.

The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge and Rumeli Hisarı

The northern end of the route is the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, opened in 1988. Under the bridge the yacht turns back towards the European shore. Just to the south, at the narrowest point of the Bosphorus, the walls of Rumeli Hisarı, built in 1452, run down the hillside to the water. On the way back you pass the bay of Bebek, and the tour ends where it began, at Arnavutköy.

A Bosphorus cruise of 2 hours, 3 hours or a full day

The captain shapes the route around the time you book:

• 2 hours: a shorter route, with the main sights picked together with the captain. Enough for a small group seeing the Bosphorus from the water for the first time.
• 3 hours: the whole route described above, without hurrying. This is the length we recommend.
• 4 hours or more: a slow run close to the shore, a long table, or an evening that carries on from sunset into the night.
• Full day: 8 hours, from 10:00 to 18:00. With SU it costs 39.500 TL; the same time booked by the hour would come to 50.000 TL.

To book the full day, choose "All Day Bosphorus Yacht Tour (8 hours)" from the list in the search card; the departure times shown are 09:00 and 10:00. A full day means the yacht stays with you from morning to evening, so you can see the Bosphorus once in the morning light and again in the afternoon. You can open the day with breakfast (1.750 TL per person) and carry on with the meal menu at lunch (2.750 TL per person).

Morning, late afternoon or night: the hours of the Bosphorus

Over the day, the light on the Bosphorus moves from one shore to the other. The morning sun comes from the east and falls on the façades of the European shore, so Dolmabahçe and Çırağan look sharpest before noon. Late in the afternoon it is the Asian shore's turn, and Beylerbeyi and Üsküdar catch the warm light head on. Around midday the sun is overhead and both shores look flat and bright; for photographs, that is the weakest light of the day.

For a departure that catches the sunset we have written a separate guide, with times for each month, on the Istanbul sunset cruise page. On a night tour the bridges, the palaces along the shore and the Maiden's Tower are all lit, and the noise of the city stays on land. Tours start any time between 09:00 in the morning and 00:30 at night.

If you would like a table on board, the meal menu is 2.750 TL per person, and on a morning tour breakfast is 1.750 TL per person. Both are prepared at our partner restaurant. Your table is laid before you board, and the food is collected hot from the route about fifteen minutes into the tour. If you want the evening built around dinner, see our Bosphorus dinner cruise page.

For a lighter table, unlimited soft drinks, fruit, nuts and Doritos are 1.275 TL per person. You can also bring your own ready-to-eat food and drinks for 600 TL per person.

Yachts and prices for your group

Prices in the table are for the whole yacht and include VAT, with captain, crew and fuel covered. For a tour for two, a family or a small group of friends, SU or SU Prestige is enough.

For larger groups, SU Orion takes up to 24 guests and SU Royal up to 36. We compare which yacht suits which plan on our yacht rental in Istanbul page.

Which pier do you board at for a Bosphorus cruise?

Our main departure point is Arnavutköy pier, and the tour finishes there too. You can also board at Kuleli and Beylerbeyi on the Asian shore; none of the three charges a docking fee. The piers of Bosphorus hotels such as the Çırağan Kempinski, the Four Seasons and the Peninsula are free with the hotel's permission.

Most piers in the centre charge a fee: Beşiktaş 3.750 TL, Karaköy 3.750 TL, Galataport 4.500 TL. The fee applies to each docking, so if you board and leave at Karaköy you pay it twice. A transfer from your hotel to the pier in an 8-seater Vito is 9.500 TL.

Answers to the other everyday questions, from licences to capacity, are on our boat rental in Istanbul page.

Book your place on the Bosphorus

The card opens with the hourly yacht tour selected; all you add is the date and the number of guests. You see the free yachts with their prices, pick a time, and add a menu, extras or a pier if you wish. Before you pay, the total is itemised in front of you.

Confirm the tour with a 50% deposit or by paying in full, and the rest is paid on board on the day. Each of the 4 yachts takes only one group at a time. If the time you want is taken, the form shows the other free times that day.