Princes' Islands 2026: Ferry Times, Fares, Which Island

Short version: take the public ferry from Bostancı or Kabataş for about 151 TL each way, get off at Büyükada, hire a bike, climb to the monastery, eat fish by the pier, come back on a late-afternoon boat. Go on a weekday. Tours exist, but you do not need one.

The islands

Nine islands in the Sea of Marmara, four of them inhabited and served by ferry: Kınalıada, Burgazada, Heybeliada and Büyükada, in that order going out. No cars, no chain hotels, wooden Ottoman-era villas, pine woods and swimming coves. Istanbul families have summered here for a century and a half, which is why the place is busy on summer weekends and quiet the rest of the time.

Island	Size	Go for	Skip if
Büyükada	Largest, 45 minutes to walk across	The full day: Aya Yorgi hill, bikes, restaurants, the old Greek Orphanage seen from the road	You hate crowds in July and August
Heybeliada	Second largest	Pine forest, quiet beaches, the naval academy waterfront, a slower lunch	You want the classic photos and the buzz
Burgazada	Small	A swim and a fish lunch, the Sait Faik house museum	You want more than three hours of things to do
Kınalıada	Smallest, first stop	A quick swim on the way back	Almost everyone else

Getting there: the public ferry

Şehir Hatları, the city ferry company, runs the Adalar line from several piers. All boats call at the islands in order, so Büyükada is always last and takes longest.

From	To Büyükada	Notes
Bostancı (Asian side, Marmaray station)	About 35 to 50 minutes to the first islands, under an hour to Büyükada	Fastest and most frequent. Best choice from Kadıköy or the Asian side.
Kabataş (European side, tram T1)	About 90 minutes	The scenic route past Kadıköy and along the coast. Best from Sultanahmet or Beyoğlu.
Kadıköy, Beşiktaş	60 to 80 minutes	Fewer sailings; check the board.
Eminönü	About 90 minutes	A handful of sailings, mostly in summer and at weekends.

Fare. 151.23 TL each way for a standard Istanbulkart, the same from every pier. There is no cheaper return ticket and no transfer discount on the islands line. Adakart holders, who are island residents, pay a reduced fare, so ignore the lower number you will see on the tariff board. Children under 6 travel free.

Timetable. First boats leave the mainland around 07:00 to 08:00, the last boats back from Büyükada leave between about 19:00 and 21:00 depending on season, with more sailings at weekends. The timetable changes between summer and winter, so check the Şehir Hatları board or app for your date. On a summer Sunday the mid-morning boats from Kabataş fill up; be at the pier 20 minutes early or take the 09:00.

Fast ferries. İDO and Turyol run faster catamarans from Kabataş, Bostancı and Eminönü for a little more money and less charm. Useful if the public timetable does not fit, otherwise the slow boat is part of the point.

On board. Buy a tea and a simit from the counter, sit outside on the port side going out for the Sultanahmet skyline, and expect seagulls at the rail.

Getting around the islands

Cars are banned and the horse carriages were withdrawn in 2020. Your options are:

• Walking. Büyükada’s pier-to-monastery loop is about 6 km with one steep climb. Heybeliada is smaller and flatter.
• Bicycle. Rental shops line the street behind the pier on Büyükada and Heybeliada. A few hours costs little, a full day a bit more; leave ID as deposit. Electric bikes are available on Büyükada and worth it for the hill.
• Electric shuttle. Small battery buses run a loop around Büyükada and up towards the monastery road, paid per ride at the stop. They are what replaced the carriages.

A good day on Büyükada

Arrive by 11:00. Hire a bike, ride the coastal loop clockwise, leave the bike at the bottom of the Aya Yorgi path and walk the 20 minutes up to the monastery for the view over the Marmara. Back down for a late lunch at one of the fish restaurants on the waterfront to the left of the pier, where the prices are posted and the meze trays come to the table. Swim at one of the paid beach clubs on the far side if it is hot. Take a boat back around 17:00 to be in the city for dinner.

Tours: worth it or not?

You do not need a tour to visit the islands. It is one ferry and one island. A tour makes sense if you want pickup from your hotel, a guide who explains the Greek, Armenian and Jewish history of the islands, and lunch arranged, or if you want to see two islands in one day without working out the connecting boats.

• Most-booked: the Princes’ Islands tour with hotel transfer and lunch (paid link), rated 4.5 by about 3,400 people. Eight hours, pickup included. Check what the base price includes; lunch and the electric shuttle are sometimes add-ons.
• Two islands in one day: the Büyükada and Heybeliada tour (paid link), rated 4.6 by about 340 people, from around $17.
• The round-trip ferry ticket sold online (paid link) is a private-boat ticket at a mark-up over the public fare. It buys you a fixed departure and no queue, nothing more. Rated 4.2 by about 940 people.

When to go

• May, June, September, early October are the months. Warm enough to swim, not packed.
• Weekdays over weekends, always. Summer Sundays are the one day the islands feel like a queue.
• Winter is quiet and beautiful, but many restaurants close midweek and the last boat is early. Check before you go.
• Wind. Strong southerlies occasionally cancel sailings. If the forecast is bad, go another day.

Living here

A few foreigners rent on Büyükada or Heybeliada through the summer and commute by ferry. It works if your work is remote and your social life is on the Asian side; the last boat rules your evenings. Rents are lower than Kadıköy for a bigger place, and internet is fine. See the neighbourhoods guide for the trade-offs.

Notes

GetYourGuide links on this page are affiliate links. If you book through them we get a small commission and you pay the same price. Ferry fares are from the operator’s tariff page on the date at the top; times are indicative and change with the season, so check the board on the day. Corrections to hello@nomadistanbul.com.