How to avoid crowds and get good seats on a Bosphorus ferry or boat cruise in Istanbul?

To avoid the boarding crowd on this excursion boat, board at its starting point in Karaköy, where there are usually few passengers; at Kadıköy, a large group boards quickly while the guide checks tickets. The boat docks to the left of the pier entrance.

Choose beaches farther from the pier for fewer crowds; departing around 8:30–9:00 (not the very first boat) avoids the heat and heavy crowds, with a return ferry around 18:00.

An 11am ferry from Eminönü cost just over 800 TRY per person; the two-deck boat carried only about 50 passengers, allowing everyone to spread out comfortably around the perimeter.

For a trip to the islands, you can depart from the Maltepe pier — it's about a 10-minute walk from the Marmaray station, a convenient alternative to the more crowded central piers.

One traveler reported that a Maltepe-to-islands ferry had only 6 passengers, the trip took about 1 hour 10 minutes with a 15-minute stop, and passengers were transferred to a minivan at the end — an uncrowded option overall.

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.

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.

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.

A direct city ferry from Eminönü to the Arnavutköy pier takes about 40 minutes — the simplest route if you start from there.

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.