Istanbul Ferries: Timetables, Fares, and the Routes Worth Taking

Here is the honest truth about getting around Istanbul: the best ride in the whole city costs about the same as a bottle of water, and it doubles as the prettiest view you will pay for all trip. I mean the public ferries, run by Şehir Hatları, the white-and-blue boats that cross the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn all day long. Tourists queue for pricey cruise tickets while locals do almost the same loop for the price of a transit fare. This guide tells you how the system actually works in 2026: the piers, the fares, the timetables, and the routes I would put you on first.

Where do the ferries leave from?

The whole network hangs off a handful of major piers, with around ten that matter most to a visitor. On the European side you have Eminönü (right by the Galata Bridge and the Spice Bazaar), Karaköy, Kabataş, and Beşiktaş. On the Asian side the two big ones are Üsküdar and Kadıköy. Across the city Şehir Hatları runs roughly 48 piers and a couple of dozen lines, but you only ever need to know your start point and your end point. Pick those two, and there is almost always a boat that links them.

Eminönü is the one to remember. It sits next to the tram, the Spice Bazaar, and the Galata Bridge with its row of fishermen, and most of the famous routes either start or pass through here. If you are staying in the old city around Sultanahmet and its hotels, Eminönü is a flat ten-minute walk or one tram stop downhill.

How do you pay, and what does a ferry cost?

Get an IstanbulKart. It is the single rechargeable card that works on ferries, trams, the metro, the Marmaray, and the buses, and it is the only sensible way to travel. You buy the card from the yellow machines at any pier or station. At the time of writing the blank card costs around 165 TL as a one-time, non-refundable fee, and then you load credit on top. Tap on as you enter the turnstile and you are done. Cash is not really a thing on the ferries anymore.

Fares are distance-based and genuinely cheap. Here is roughly what a single ferry hop costs in 2026 with an IstanbulKart (prices nudge up with inflation, so treat these as close estimates, not gospel):

• Üsküdar to Eminönü: around 53 TL
• Karaköy or Beşiktaş to Kadıköy: around 59 TL
• The Golden Horn (Haliç) line and the longer Bosphorus line: around 70 TL
• Kabataş, Beşiktaş, or Kadıköy out to the Princes’ Islands: around 137 TL

A few practical notes. The card is shared, so two of you can travel on one card by tapping twice. Transfers within a couple of hours are discounted, which adds up if you are chaining a metro ride to a ferry. And if you are doing a lot of sightseeing, one of the city passes can be worth it: see how the Istanbul Tourist Pass and the Istanbul E-Pass bundle attractions and transport, then do the math against how much you will actually use.

The two kinds of ferry: commuter vs. tour

This is the part most guides skip, and it is the part that saves you money. Şehir Hatları runs two very different products.

The first is the ordinary commuter ferry, the everyday line locals use to cross between districts. Kadıköy to Eminönü, Üsküdar to Eminönü, Beşiktaş to Kadıköy, the Golden Horn line up to Eyüp. You pay the normal transit fare (the numbers above), you sit on the open deck, you get a sesame simit and a glass of tea from the onboard seller, and you cross the Bosphorus with the skyline sliding past. It is not marketed as a cruise, but it absolutely is one. My honest advice: a 20-minute Kadıköy to Eminönü crossing at golden hour gives you 80% of the postcard for about a tenth of the price. I broke down exactly how to chain these crossings into a do-it-yourself Bosphorus cruise on the public ferry if you want to skip the tour boats entirely.

The second is the dedicated Bosphorus Tour, a longer sightseeing loop that goes much further up the strait. That is the one people travel for, and it is worth its own section.

The Şehir Hatları Bosphorus Tours

These run from Eminönü and head north up the Bosphorus past the palaces, the wooden mansions, and both bridges. There are two versions.

Short Bosphorus Tour (about 2 hours). A round trip up the lower strait and back, departing Eminönü daily at 14:40, calling at Üsküdar (14:55) and Ortaköy (15:10) on the way out. At the time of writing the fare is around 170 TL for adults and 85 TL for children for residents, and foreign visitors pay roughly double that, so closer to 340 TL round trip. It is non-stop in the sense that you stay on the boat, so it is the quick option if you just want the views and a couple of hours on the water.

Long (Full) Bosphorus Tour (about 6 hours). The proper expedition, departing Eminönü at 10:35 and cruising all the way up to Anadolu Kavağı, the old fishing village near the mouth of the Black Sea, with stops including Beşiktaş, Kanlıca, Sarıyer, and Rumeli Kavağı along the way. You get roughly three hours at Anadolu Kavağı to climb up to the ruined Yoros Castle, eat fried fish at a waterfront table, then the boat carries you back to Eminönü by late afternoon. Resident fares run about 320 TL round trip (160 TL for children), with foreign visitors paying around double, near 640 TL. There is also a one-way option if you want to come back by bus.

Pro tip: prices and exact departure times shift with the season, and winter cuts the frequency, so check the official Şehir Hatları site (sehirhatlari.istanbul) the day before. If you want something more curated than the public boats, there are smaller Bosphorus sightseeing cruises built for tourists, with commentary and fewer crowds. And if you would rather have the whole deck to yourselves, a private Bosphorus yacht tour from Su Yatçılık lets you stop where you like and skip the timetable entirely.

Which ferry route should you actually take?

If you only do one, take the Kadıköy to Eminönü crossing, ideally late in the afternoon. You sail off the Asian side, past Maiden’s Tower and Topkapı’s gardens, and dock under the old-city skyline as the call to prayer starts up. Pair it with a wander through Kadıköy’s market and restaurants on the way out and you have a near-perfect half day.

A few more I send people on:

• Eminönü to Üsküdar, a quick hop to the Asian side and a great-value sunset run.
• The Golden Horn (Haliç) line up to Eyüp, drifting past Fener and Balat with their painted houses, then the Pierre Loti hill at the end.
• Out to the Princes’ Islands for a car-free day of pine forests and old wooden mansions. Read the Princes’ Islands guide before you go, and aim for an early boat in summer so you are not fighting the crowds for a bike.

Whichever you pick, sit on the upper open deck, get a tea from the cart, and just watch the city go by. For most visitors this is the cheapest, easiest, and frankly best thing you will do in Istanbul, and it leaves every few minutes from a pier near you.