Taking the Ferry to Büyükada in Winter

Most people take the ferry to Büyükada in July, when the boat is packed, the island is hot, and you spend half the day looking for shade. We'd rather go in January. The crowds are gone, the cafes that stay open are the ones run by people who actually live there, and the crossing itself becomes the kind of slow, grey, beautiful thing that Istanbul does better than almost any other city.

Here is the practical bit first, because everyone asks. The Şehir Hatları ferry from Kabataş to Büyükada takes about 90 minutes in winter (a little longer than summer, the boats go slower). From Eminönü iskele (ferry terminal) it's closer to 100 minutes because of the stops. There's also a faster İDO sea bus from Kabataş that does it in roughly 50 minutes, but in winter we prefer the slow ferry. You're paying for the journey as much as the destination, and the slow boat is the one with the upstairs deck, the çay (Turkish tea) service, and the seagulls.

Use your İstanbulkart (Istanbul transit card) for the Şehir Hatları ferry. The sea bus is a separate ticket, slightly more expensive, bought at the kiosk.

What the crossing is actually like

In winter the upper deck is mostly empty. You can put your bag on the seat next to you and nobody cares. The boy with the kettle still comes around, çay still costs almost nothing, and you drink it watching the Marmara go past in a flat grey sheet. About forty minutes in, the city has dropped away behind you and the islands start appearing on the horizon, low and dark.

If it's raining, sit inside by a window. If it's cold but dry, go upstairs and put on the jacket you almost didn't bring. The wind off the Marmara in January is real, but the light on the water is the kind of thing photographers ruin their cameras chasing.

The island in off-season

Büyükada in summer is bicycles, ice cream, queues for the horse carriages (which are gone now anyway, since 2020). Büyükada in winter is about twelve people walking up the main street, half the shops shuttered, and the other half being the ones worth going to.

From the iskele, walk straight up İsa Çelebi Sokak into the village. The bakeries are open. The fish restaurants on the seafront are mostly open, the cafe-only places are mostly closed. Lunch is the easy decision. Find a place with a wood stove going inside, order grilled fish, meze (small shared plates) if you want to make a thing of it, and a small glass of something warm.

After lunch, walk. The road that loops the island is about 7 kilometers and almost entirely empty in winter. You'll pass the old wooden mansions, most of them shut for the season, paint peeling in a way that looks better than it should. The pine forest in the middle of the island is quiet enough that you can hear the wind in the trees, which you cannot do in July because of the day-trippers.

If you have the legs for it, walk up to Aya Yorgi at the top of the hill. The chapel is small, the view is the whole Marmara, and on a clear winter day you can see all the way back to the city. Wear actual shoes. The path is steep and gets slippery after rain.

Honest notes

A few things to know before you go. Many restaurants and almost all the ice cream shops are closed November through March. The ferry schedule thins out in winter, with fewer crossings per day, so check the Şehir Hatları app before you leave and again before you head back. The last ferry off the island in winter is usually around 19:00, sometimes earlier. Miss it and you're staying the night, which is romantic in theory and inconvenient in practice.

Is Büyükada worth visiting in winter? More than in summer, in our view. You see the island as the people who live there see it. The downside is you cannot swim, you cannot sit outside without a coat, and half the menu is unavailable. The upside is everything else.

Bring a thermos if you have one. The çay on the ferry back, with the lights of the city slowly getting closer, is one of the small Istanbul moments that stays with you.