2 Days: Istanbul and Beyond
Two spare days from an Istanbul base cover the two easiest trips on this list, no overnight bag and no flight required for either one. Day 1 crosses to the car-free Princes’ Islands; Day 2 spends a full day on the water with the Bosphorus Tour. Stretch to a 3-day version and Edirne gets added on.
Book these before you go
- The Princes’ Islands round-trip ferry ticket, roughly 135-140 TRY one way, via GetYourGuide
- A private Bosphorus sunset or dinner cruise for Day 2 evening, via Viator
- A place to stay near Kabatas or Eminonu, via Booking.com
| Day | Trip | Distance / Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Princes’ Islands (Buyukada) | 75-100 min ferry from Kabatas |
| 2 | The Bosphorus Cruise | 2-6 hrs, departs Eminonu |
Day 1: Princes’ Islands
Morning
Catch the Sehir Hatlari ferry from Kabatas, directly across from Dolmabahce Palace, departing roughly every hour from 05:45 per the official Adalar timetable . The run to Buyukada, the largest and busiest of the four inhabited islands, takes 75 to 100 minutes and costs around 135-140 TRY one way on an Istanbulkart.
Afternoon
Rent a bike or flag down one of the electric carts that replaced the island’s horse-drawn phaetons after a 2020 ban, and ride the loop road past the wood mansions rather than sticking to the harbor strip. Lunch at a restaurant away from the dock beats anything sold right at the ferry stop.
Evening
Take the return ferry back to Kabatas in time for dinner near your hotel. On June through August weekends these boats fill up, so don’t cut the return trip too close to the last sailing at 21:45.
Is one island enough, or should you visit more than one?
One is plenty for a single day. The ferry does stop at Kinaliada, Burgazada and Heybeliada on the way to Buyukada, but hopping between more than one island the same day eats the hours you’d rather spend actually walking one of them.
Day 2: The Bosphorus Cruise
Morning
Head to Eminonu for the Sehir Hatlari Bosphorus Tour ticket office, on the left side of the docks approaching from Galata Bridge. The 6-hour Long Tour, about 640 TRY (roughly EUR 14/$16), pushes toward the Black Sea mouth and includes a 2 to 3 hour lunch stop at a fishing village along the way.
Afternoon
If a full 6 hours doesn’t fit, the 2-hour Short Circle, around 340 TRY, covers the classic waterfront palaces and villas as far as Yenikoy and back, no lunch break needed.
Evening
Close the trip with the private sunset or dinner cruise you booked, or skip the splurge and repeat the free option: a Sehir Hatlari commuter ferry to Kadikoy or Uskudar for the price of an Istanbulkart tap.
Do you need to book the Bosphorus Tour ahead of time?
No, not for the public Short Circle or Long Tour; tickets are sold at the Eminonu dock the same day and departures repeat often enough that sell-outs are rare. Only the private sunset or dinner cruise version books up, particularly on summer weekends, so reserve that one a few days ahead rather than the same morning.
Pack an Istanbulkart before Day 1. It covers the Princes’ Islands ferry and the commuter crossing on Day 2, and buying single paper tickets at each pier wastes time you’d rather spend on the water.