How to avoid crowds and get good seats on a Bosphorus ferry or boat cruise in Istanbul?
Based on 1 discussion with 7 participants · Last activity: 2 days ago
TL;DR
On popular evening cruises (e.g. Turyol sunset tour, ~300 TRY) arrive at least 30-40 minutes early or you'll be stuck with bad seats. Regular city ferries from Eminönü can be delayed or even cancelled in the early morning if there aren't enough passengers.
What the community said
On the Turyol sunset cruise (300 TRY), good seats are already taken by 19:15 and it gets packed later — grab seats early if you want a clear view of the route.
2 days ago Turyol, 300 TRY, sunset cruise
To some beaches or spots you can walk about 15 minutes (partly uphill) instead of waiting for the shuttle boat, which can sit at the pier for up to 20 minutes collecting passengers before leaving.
2 days ago
A boat leaves from the Bostancı pier in the morning to a beach, with the transfer included in the beach entrance fee; the return trip is at 17:00 — a convenient option with no separate transport cost.
2 days ago Bostancı pier, return at 17:00
A direct city ferry from Eminönü to the Arnavutköy pier takes about 40 minutes — the simplest route if you start from there.
2 days ago Eminönü to Arnavutköy, ~40 minutes
An early ferry from Eminönü (around 8:40) may not depart if there are too few passengers (only about 10 people showed up) — everyone gets moved to the next one at 9:40, which is often still half-empty. Leave early and build in extra time.
2 days ago Eminönü, 8:40 / 9:40 ferry