Enjoy a cruise on the Marmara Sea to the Princes' Islands with the leading ferry company in Istanbul!
The ferry will bring you safe and secure in 75 minutes to the Princes' Island (in Turkish called Büyükada).
On the way to the Island you can admire the never ending skyline of Istanbul at the open air deck, enjoy refreshments from the kiosk or listen to stories about the Bosphorus in our audio guide app on your smartphone, do not forget your headphones.
- IMPORTANT INFORMATION -
TO SAVE TIME, you should have the audiotour downloaded on your phone BEFORE you arrive at the Meeting Point.
In order to download this application and use it properly, you must have a device with at least android version 10 or later.
From Kabatas Pier, across tram line T1 , the taksim funicular F1 and Maiden Tower ferry line B1 , or 2 minutes walk from Dolmabahce Palace.
Directions:
Rebooking & Cancellation Policy:
You have missed your departure time? No problem, you can come to our next meeting time or day. You want to cancel? No problem, you can cancel your reservation anytime and get your refund.
Princes' Islands Istanbul
If you want to spend a calm day far away from the hustle and bustle of Istanbul, this excursion to Princes' Island is perfect!
In the times of Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Empire the islands were used as exile sites and as a monastery region. Today only 4 of the total 9 Princes’ Islands are open to public settlement. Your boat will bring you to the most famous and most beautiful of these islands called Büyükada. The name is meaning Big Island and the size of the island is 5,4 km2 and has 7.300 inhabitants. Except fire brigade, police and ambulance only mini-buses and bicycles are allowed here.
What you can do:
Take a walk through the center and get used to the silence that reigns on the island.
See the Merkez Eczanesi, a pharmacy from 1870, and feel like beeing in a time tunnel.
Go to the Hamlaci Street 4 and see the ruin of the villa, in which Trotsky lived in exile between 1929 and 1933, writing his autobiography and the three volumes on the "History of the Russian Revolution".
Rent a bike and take a round trip on the island. Along the way, admire the magnificent old villas lining up the streets.
Explore the Greek Orthodox St. George Church on top of the island's talles hill
Enjoy fantastic views of Istanbul, the Marmara Sea and the neighboring islands.
Stop over and visit the former Greek Orphanage, Europe’s largest and the worlds second largest wooden house.
Have a delicious lunch in one of the many restaurants around the harbour.
Go to one of the public beaches (halk plaji) or beach clubs for swimming and sunbathing or keep on exploring the island.
If you like hiking, you can also walk the island tour.
We wish you a wonderful day at the Princes' Island!
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.
Your Istanbul Welcome Card Team
Please leave a review to let us know how we are doing and to share your experience with others.
Büyükada
Very nice island to relax. Good contrast program to the city trip in istanbul.
Great experience
Buying tickets through Istanbul welcome card on line was easy. Confirmation email Came with great instructions where to collect tickets and board ferry. Helpful staff and hassle free trip. The Princes islands are well worth a visit
Very good trip. It could be great if boat will leave later the island. 15.30 pm for the way back is too soon.
Nice and convenient cruise
A touristic cruise is the easiest way to reach Büyukada, which is the main island of the Princes´Islands. The boat ride takes about 75 minutes and you can return to Istanbul at 2:30 oder 3:30 pm. We explored the island by foot and used the audio guide app. The map in the app does not work without mobile internet, so we had some trouble finding some of the sights and did not find the lost orphanage. If you are fast and do not want to have lunch on the island, you can take the boat at 2:30 pm. Unfortunately the lookout at the old watch tower on the hill was closed. It is not really worth hiking up when its closed and there was a lot of rubbish at the smaller lookout next to the church.
Too many people!
We were on the islands on a Saturday and there were just too many people on both the ferry and the island at once. But the islands themselves are gorgeous and definitely worth a visit.