2-Hour Bosphorus Cruise in Istanbul with Guide

Recommended by 96% of travelers

Badge of Excellence

Istanbul, Turkey

2 hours (approx.)
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

A cruise along the Bosphorus is a quintessential activity for visitors to Istanbul. With this tour, get more out of the experience with a guide that accompanies you onboard. Sail past landmarks such as Dolmabahce Palace, the Galata Tower, and the KIz Kulesi, learn about the history of the Rumeli Fortress, and pass the waterfront neighborhood of Ortakoy. Along the way, ask your guide any questions you have and gain a new understanding of Istanbul and Turkish culture.

Magnificent views of Istanbul as you cruise the Bosphorus
Gain extra insight with your own personal guide onboard
Small group experience with a maximum of 10 people
Early evening departure leaves plenty of time for sightseeing

What's Included

Bosphorus Cruise Ticket
Professional guiding from a licenced guide

Gratitude for tour guide

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Shozy Spice Bazaar
Rüstem Paşa Mahallesi Mısırçarşısı Balıkpazarı Kapısı Tahmis Sokak D:No:A, Rüstem Paşa, 34116 Fatih/İstanbul, Türkiye
Meeting point is main gate of SPICE BAZAAR. Please make sure you come to the main gate (The gate which faces the sea) There is a shop at the main gate call "SHOZY SPICE BAZAAR" Tour Guide will hold sign says "I ❤️ ISTANBUL"

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Operating hours
.5:30 pm

Itinerary

Galata Tower (Pass By)

Dolmabahce Palace (Pass By)

Vodafone Arena (Pass By)

Çırağan Caddesi (Pass By)

Ortakoy (Pass By)

Bebek Park (Pass By)

Rumeli Fortress (Pass By)

Kucuksu Pavilion (Pass By)

Kuleli Sahil (Pass By)

Çengelköy (Pass By)

Kuzguncuk Sahili (Pass By)

Uskudar (Pass By)

KIz Kulesi (Pass By)

TopkapI Palace (Pass By)

Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (Pass By)

Misir Carsisi (Pass By)

Galata Koprusu (Pass By)

Suleymaniye Mosque (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation

Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 10 travelers

Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

Mathew_S

Great tour and even better guide. Kerem was friendly and welcoming to every person. He was incredibly knowledgeable on the history of the city, buildings and monuments on the Bosphorus, and social/cultural facts. I would highly recommend his tour to anyone wanting a specialized experience to learn anything and everything about Istanbul from a local.

Reviews

4.8

based on 198 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Amazing tour and guide kerem

Mathew_S, Jun 2025

Guide never showed up

Lorie_K, Nov 2024

The guide never showed up at the meeting place! I have not received any information from Viator about it, and would expect a refund!

AWFUL - do not book. No one showed up.

Jen_M, Oct 2024

I showed up 20 minutes early to look for person to meet. NO ONE SHOWED UP. I'm livid. No communication at all, no apology after the fact. DO NOT BOOK THIS. They wasted the one night I had in Istanbul and provided zero communication. Disgusting way to do business.

Definitely worth having...

Kristen_B, Sep 2024

Definitely worth having the tour guide for the cruise! Kerem was our guide and he was very informative and personable. It is on a public cruise so there are lots of other people around but we didn't have any problems hearing!

Very interesting tour

Joanne_M, Sep 2024

Our guide Jamen was excellent- he spoke great English and was filled with knowledge. We learned a lot about Istanbul and Turkish history. Highly recommend

Viator appalling, guide brilliant.

Stephen_H, Sep 2024

Our guide was fantastic. Victor were a complete disaster Our guide had not been notified to expect us - a failing by viator. But he nevertheless gave us a fantastic experience. So 10 out of 10 for our guide, 0 out of 10 for viator.

Nice end of day tour to get a summary of Istanbul

LucasAmaral, Jun 2024

Guide was very friendly, knowledgeable about the landmarks and spoke English fluently, it was very easy to understand.

Professional guide

MsEstelleJ_R, Apr 2024

Great tour guide with excellent knowledge of Turkiye easy meeting place a great experience The Bosphorus has some great historical buildings along waterfront

Good trip with good guide...

Stefano_D, Apr 2024

Good trip with good guide Kerem. This is a small group tour but in a common boat, good tradeoff quality-price.

Must do cruise when in Istanbul

Judi_P, Apr 2024

Our guide gave us a comprehensive and very interesting insight into the history and sights on the Bosphorus. He was knowledgeable, charming and it tour was a highlight of our visit to Istanbul. Highly recommend.

We’ve had a personalised...

RobertoJr_O, Mar 2024

We’ve had a personalised tour with Kareem during our trip. He’s knowlegeable with the sights and gave bitesize history of the famous landmarks along the Bosphorous straight making the price worth it. Definitely recommended!

Great value, really informative boat tour!

James_W, Mar 2024

Great way to see a decent chunk of this ENORMOUS city! Our guide Kerem was excellent throughout; very friendly and extremely knowledgeable. The two hours flew by in no time at all!

A wonderful tour exploring more of Istanbul

Frank_X, Feb 2024

We had a wonderful time seeing the beautiful bosphorus strait from the ship. Our guide Kerem is the best!

Great experience

Mario_A, Jan 2024

Our guide, Aeisha, is very knowledgeable and expresses her love for her country very much. We learned a lot about Istanbul even if our cruise only lasted approximately 2 hours.

Top notch vibes n views

Bryan_B, Jan 2024

Our tour guide Kerem was the best!! What a wonderful tour. Beautiful sites and knowledgeable tour guide. Comfortable boat. Great vibes

A lovely way to Discover Istanbul

Melissa_K, Dec 2023

We had an amazing experience on the sunset cruise. Our tour guide was very informative and knowledgeable. My 15 and 12 year old children-and in-laws, enjoyed the experience. Always wonderful you can enjoy the experience for the water. I loved the ability to passively view and discover the city. Kerem was our tour guide and opened our eyes to the city and it’s rich history. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience or more knowledgeable and kind guide!

Istanbul with travel guide Kerem

Zarife_D, Dec 2023

Great tour! Kerem was an amazing travel guide. He showed me the best of Istanbul. I recomend him 100%.

A great 2 hours of the maritime and social history of Istanbul's waterways

Robyn_M, Oct 2023

Beautiful evening on the Bosphoros, lots of activity on water, many interesting points of interest, knowledgeable guide with an experienced eye for background/historical information

Wished for more history

Zoe_Z, Oct 2023

We enjoyed the pleasant sunset cruise with our guide but wished for more history and less information about rich people’s homes and the different clubs. Our guide was very enthusiastic and personable.

Excellent tour

Maria_F, Oct 2023

Our tour guide was very knowledgeable, kind and professional. She made our tour very enjoyable; explained to us everything in detail and answer all our questions. I will highly recommend this tour to anyone.

Unfulfilled booking

Kathy, Sep 2023

I cannot rate a service that did not occur. I booked the night before and went to the assigned meeting point 15 minutes early. In the midst of the chaos at the front of the Spice Markets I found 2 other people waiting for the same guide. Fortunately they were able to speak to the guide on their mobile. He claimed not to have received my Viator booking. He instructed me to board the 6pm Bosphorus Cruise without him and he would give me a full refund. The evening cruise was pleasant, but a guide would have made it even better.

Boat trip Bosphorus

Asif_M, Aug 2023

Very nice trip with our guide Emile who was prompt and explained the landmarks on the way together with the history. Gave a full overview of the city.

Nice relaxed view of the highlights of Istanbul

Justin_D, Aug 2023

Well informed guide who gave a brief history of the river edge properties in an easy manner . The view was excellent snd going when it was sunset made a perfect picture.

Wonderful experience of the Bosporus

Subin_S, Aug 2023

Very good option for people with a short stay in Istanbul. The cruise is good. Our guide Emily was really great and had explained the history very well. We felt very comfortable with her.

Fab cruise! Loved it

Parijat_M, Aug 2023

A great trip across the Bosphorus! Got to meet new people and talk about great places to see in Istanbul. The cruise was fab! The guide was professional and very knowledgeable. The Bosphorus has a fascinating history. A highlight was Ciragan Palace, a former Ottoman Palace.

Friendly and informative...

Hamid_T, Jul 2023

Friendly and informative tour guide. Enjoyed the sights and sounds of Istanbul. Recommend having the tour done on the side of the boat to allow for fresh air

Great experience

Sandra_M, Jul 2023

Guide was very enthusiastic and knowledgable. We had a great time! Cruise hits all the major spots between the golden horn and Rumeli fortress.

Informative relaxed boat cruise

Johann_D, Jun 2023

Our guide was amazing and she made every moment worth it. Beautiful cruise and would highly recommend. Only my husband and myself were in the group and this made it even more special.

Our guide was the...

STEVENSTAVROS_A, Jun 2023

Our guide was the highlight of this tour , she was professional , wealth of information and very pleasant to be with .

private bosphorus tour

aniqa_a, May 2023

our guide Ayse was great. definitely recommend this tour. We boarded one of the typical bosphorus boat rides but Ayse was our private guide for the entire trip and spent 2 hours teaching us about the history of Ottomans/Turkey and answered all our questions. Enjoyed complimentary turkish tea. I have done the bosphorus dinner cruise on a previous trip but would 100% recommend this over the dinner one..