İstanbul Ferry Routes, Schedules and İstanbulkart Guide 2026

How do İstanbul's ferries work?

İstanbul's ferries run on two systems: the public Şehir Hatları boats and a handful of private operators, both priced the same and both paid with a tap of your card. A single crossing costs around 35-50 lira in 2026, the boats run from early morning until past midnight, and you board at a numbered iskele (ferry pier) without booking anything in advance.

That's the whole system. The rest of this guide is about doing it without standing on the wrong pier.

Şehir Hatları schedule or Google Maps: which is right?

When the official Şehir Hatları timetable and Google Maps disagree, trust the official one for departure times and use Google Maps only to find the right pier. Şehir Hatları publishes its real schedule on sehirhatlari.istanbul and updates it seasonally. Google Maps often lags by a season or mixes private operators into the same route.

The confusion is real. Google will sometimes show a boat leaving Eminönü at a time when the actual Şehir Hatları board on the pier says otherwise, usually because the app is reading an old summer timetable in winter or pulling a private operator's run. Check the printed board at the iskele itself when you arrive. It's posted in Turkish and English, and it's the version that's actually leaving.

For route planning, the Moovit app handles İstanbul ferries well and lets you cross-check schedules before you walk to the water. Download it before your trip.

How to use an İstanbulkart on the ferry

You don't need an İstanbulkart at all for ferries in 2026: you can tap a contactless bank card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay directly at the turnstile. If you do want the card, buy one from the machines at any major iskele for around 130 lira including initial credit, then top it up at the same machines with cash or card.

At the pier, look for the turnstiles before the waiting area. Tap your card flat on the round reader, wait for the green light and the click, and walk through. One tap per person, so a couple needs two taps. The 24-hour transfer cap on an İstanbulkart sits around 60-75 lira, which means a day of hopping ferries and trams stays cheap. The first time feels fiddly. After that it's the easiest part of your day.

Which Bosphorus ferry routes are worth taking?

Three short crossings cover most of what a visitor needs: Eminönü to Kadıköy, Eminönü to Üsküdar, and Beşiktaş to Kadıköy. Each runs roughly every 15-20 minutes during the day, takes 20-25 minutes, and gives you the same Bosphorus view as the tourist cruises for the price of one tap.

The Eminönü to Kadıköy boat is the one we'd send a friend on first. You leave from the European side near the Mısır Çarşısı, cross open water with Topkapı behind you and the Asian shore ahead, and land in Kadıköy ready to eat. The Eminönü to Üsküdar run is shorter and just as scenic, useful if you want the Çamlıca hills and the mosque-lined Asian skyline. From Karaköy and Beşiktaş you'll find frequent boats to the Asian side too, all on the same fare.

Skip the dedicated "Bosphorus tour" boats unless you specifically want the long two-hour loop up to Sarıyer. For sightseeing on the cheap, a regular commuter crossing does the job.

One practical note

Get to the pier five minutes early, watch the board, and don't run for a closing gate. Another boat comes soon enough. Last departures on the main lines are around 23:00, so check the evening board if you're staying out for dinner on the far shore.