Istanbul Bosphorus Cruise with Dinner and Belly-Dancing Show
Istanbul, Turkey
- 3 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Enjoy a night on the Bosphorus Strait filled with belly dancing and Anatolian folk music during this 3-hour dinner cruise from Istanbul. This Bosphorus dinner cruise traverses over the strait’s beautiful evening waters and passes Istanbul’s best sights. See the illuminated Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge and Blue Mosque as you watch a traditional performance and savor great food and drinks.
- 3-hour evening Bosphorus cruise from Istanbul
- Watch the sun set over the Bosphorus Strait and cruise under Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge
- See Istanbul’s illuminated sights like the Blue Mosque and Dolmabahçe Palace
- Enjoy a traditional Turkish dinner with unlimited drinks
- Marvel at Turkish belly dancers during an Anatolian folklore show
- Hotel pickup and drop-off included
What's Included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- Dinner
- Beverages (local beers, spirits and soft drinks)
- Live entertainment
- Gratuities
- Imported drinks
Meeting and Pickup
You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup
Operating hours.7:30 pm
Itinerary
Begin your 3.5-hour Bosphorus dinner cruise with either a coach pickup from your hotel or join your guide at the port. Then, board your festive boat for a sightseeing cruise of the Bosphorus Strait and see the monument-laden European and Asian coastlines.
To help you settle in, grab a complimentary drink from the cabin bar, and then pick your favorite viewpoint to gaze out at Istanbul’s stunning monuments. See the Blue Mosque, the Kiz Kulesi tower and Dolmabahçe Palace glow gold at sunset. As dusk turns to nightfall see the last slivers of light illuminate Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, famously known for connecting the two continents.
Continue your evening cruise with traditional Turkish fare and relish unlimited drinks served from your friendly host. See the sample menu in the itinerary. As you sip your drink comfortably, the folklore show will begin. Enjoy this exciting performance of music and dancing which sheds light on the city’s Anatolian culture. As the show picks up, get ready for classic belly dancing with playful twists and shakes enjoyed by all.
Once the show is over, spend the last few minutes admiring the sparkling city as your boat arrives at the port. Next, either head back to your hotel by coach or continue your evening from here at your leisure.
To help you settle in, grab a complimentary drink from the cabin bar, and then pick your favorite viewpoint to gaze out at Istanbul’s stunning monuments. See the Blue Mosque, the Kiz Kulesi tower and Dolmabahçe Palace glow gold at sunset. As dusk turns to nightfall see the last slivers of light illuminate Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, famously known for connecting the two continents.
Continue your evening cruise with traditional Turkish fare and relish unlimited drinks served from your friendly host. See the sample menu in the itinerary. As you sip your drink comfortably, the folklore show will begin. Enjoy this exciting performance of music and dancing which sheds light on the city’s Anatolian culture. As the show picks up, get ready for classic belly dancing with playful twists and shakes enjoyed by all.
Once the show is over, spend the last few minutes admiring the sparkling city as your boat arrives at the port. Next, either head back to your hotel by coach or continue your evening from here at your leisure.
Blue Mosque (Pass By)
Dolmabahce Palace (Pass By)
Bosphorus Strait (Pass By)
Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Please note: When reconfirming your booking, your local supplier will advise you on alternative meeting points for hotels which are not accessible
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Stroller accessible
- Near public transportation
- Infant seats available
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Halime_E
me and my partner went on 30.03.2019 and we love every moment of it. The journey was lovely, the food was great and the entertainment was great! would definitely recommend.
Reviews
3.4
based on 96 reviews
AMIT_K, May 2024
Average food... Belly dance begins around 10.30pm and lasts for 1 hr.
From 8.30pm to 10.30pm food and alcohol is served as per the option selected.
Nothing extra ordinary in this tour.
Halime_E, Apr 2019
me and my partner went on 30.03.2019 and we love every moment of it. The journey was lovely, the food was great and the entertainment was great! would definitely recommend.
Yvonne R, Jul 2018
Avoid this tour. This was a disappointment. We arrived with the tour company's van pick up service. Dinner was unorganized and cold. You feel like you are eating at the high school cafeteria. The dancing show starts after dinner service and you have to go upstairs. Unless you are lucky enough to get in the front row, you can see nothing. The belly dancer must needs lessons, all in all, a big disappointment and not worth the money.
Zeeshan K, Jun 2018
Was interesting initially but a little stretched and got a little boring in the end.
Balwant_S, Jun 2018
The cruise is excellent as you get a splendid view of the illuminated monuments and buildings of Istanbul after sunset . The dance performance is reasonable . Food quality can be improved especially the breads which did not appear to be fresh .
MaheshN_R, May 2018
Good cruise though a bit crowded and average dining choices.
Senthilvel K, Dec 2017
Don't Miss it. Sit-down dinner -Excellent service though seating bit cramped multi course, right from Salad to Coffee. Music and Dance performances were very good with active guest participation. Well Worth the evening gets over at mid-night. The focus is not to show tour places, but to keep you engaged
Izza Q, Oct 2017
I booked this tour because of the excellent reviews it had gotten. The overall experience was good and the food was tasty as well. However, they came to pick us up one and half hour late because they did not have any information of our booking even though I called and confirmed our booking a day before our cruise and they told us they'll come to pick us up at 7 pm.
On the day of our cruise, I called at 7:10 pm and they said they do not have any booking with my name. I had to send them a picture of the receipt and that's when they sent a driver, who came around 8:30 pm. We were really bummed out because we thought we would probably miss the cruise but we made it on time. We were probably the last guests to arrive.
Also, the pictures they have uploaded on this page are misleading. The dinner and the show takes place inside, not outdoors.
Adel Z, Jul 2017
We loved it , a beautiful cruise on this historic waters after sun set with enjoyable entertainment
saman.lotia, Jul 2017
The belly dancer was really good and we also got to join on the traditional Turkish dance.
The food could be better
Gustavo N, Jun 2017
Nice tour. It really combines cruise dinner with a scenic tour, showing the main attractions along the Bosphorous Cruise. Nice dance show and good food complements the tour.
Thomas_H, May 2017
The tour delivered everything they claim on the website, but it was overcrowded and the service was inconsistent. We had one server who was great, we started with him and I thought he would make up for the sardine-like seating arrangement. However over time we got another one as well and he was far too brusque and pushy. He cleared my friend's water glass as she was reaching for it to take a drink and another friend's plate while she still had silverware in hand chewing! The high volume of people also made it difficult to really see/experience the show. With so many other boat tours on offer and the fairly high price of this one, I'd recommend considering an alternative.
Lauren S, Feb 2017
The Bosphorus Cruise was entertaining and certainly something one should do while visiting Istanbul. The pick-up and drop-off were prompt and in tour buses that sat me two other couples with plenty of room. The dinner was delicious, and the drink service was generous. Belly dancing was a little touristy, but entertaining at the least.
My chief complaint is that we only headed down the Bosphorus Strait when our tour card on the tables showed we were supposed to travel down to see Old City at night too. That was disappointing, as it was my only opportunity to see Old City from the water or at night.
Barbara_S, Oct 2016
My client rated it 4 stars-she had a wonderful time.
Bonnie Cornell, Worldview Travel La Jolla, CA
Halima H, Sep 2016
the cruise was very nice, the Bosphorus at night it was magical. I recommend this tour because the night in the Bosphorus is something to remember. Other words it is beautiful experience.
Jason M, Jul 2016
Wonderful cruise, good food and great entertainment
ROBIN B, Jul 2016
Beautiful scenery on the Bosphorous. Food was reasonable. I wasn't expecting so many people. The dancing show was on the upper deck but the stage view was limited due to the number of people in front of us.
William L, Jul 2016
Chaotic beginning with poor service. Never got drink order even after several requests. Last hour was a total waste of time as only watching other customers dance. Surely better cruises out there.
Mohammad_A, Jul 2016
Neverthless I have confirmed my pick-up time by calling plan tour agency, which was at 7:30, and gave them the specified hotel room number, no-one came to pick me up. I have waited so long at the hotel room. I have called the plan our agency emrgency contact number for five times with no answer. I was very disaapointed.
Grant R, Apr 2016
Excellent dinner and dancing. Was a lot of fun. Worth going again
sumerixmj, Feb 2016
The food was good. The people at the table were very interesting-from all over the world. The entertainment was wonderful. Never thought I would be on a dancing on the Bosphorus.
Dudley Congdon, Dec 2015
The cruise, dinner and belly dance show was exceptional. The dinner was table service which made it nice and easy without having to fight queues. Istanbul by night, you've gotta do it!
Terri E, Nov 2015
This was a very enjoyable evening. We were impressed with the organization and efficiency of the entire staff we felt welcomed and were treated very well. The food was quite good and served hot to everyone at the same time the entertainment was both instructive and hilarious the view along the river with all of the buildings illuminated was actually worth the price of the tour. Our only complaint was that it began so late 8 pm and was about an hour too long. Many other guests would disagree with us - they were dancing their hearts out after the entertainment.
Tatiana, Nov 2015
It was over-all a disappointment.
1 To get to the pier, you would need to JAYWALK across a main road with fast-paced vehicles
The travel agency provided a vehicle for hotel pick-up, but we had no idea that the vehicle will not lead us straight to the pier we had to cross that dangerous road in the middle of the night. I almost got hit by a car.
2 Food was terrible
Turkey is known for its superb delicacies, but what was offered to us was visually unappetizing and just plain unsavory and hardly edible.
3 Cruise was jampacked.
There was no elbow room whatsoever. No personal space to speak of. I was expecting a spacious dining hall, but we were cramped into a long table and forced to mingle with people seated just an inch or two next to us. A can of sardines - that was how it was. Extremely uncomfortable.
4 Cultural performance left much to be desired
I was hoping the cultural performance would redeem the entire Bosphorus Cruise experience - but I was too optimistic for my own good.
When you think of a Belly-dancing show in Turkey - wouldn't you naturally expect a Turkish woman to perform? But no, what we got was an Asian woman. I am Asian. I don't intend to malign my own race. In fairness to the performer, she was good. But since we were in Turkey, we were expecting a more authentic Turkish show.
5 Limited viewing of cultural performance
The only ones who could actually watch the entirety of the performance were those who were fortunate enough to get seated around the stage. The rest of us had to stand. What is annoying is that we were asked to return to our seats when we got a bit closer to the stage. We hardly saw the performance. I told one of the staff that we had to approach because we could barely see the show, and he pointed to the televisions positioned in selected areas, which also captures the entire performance. Why the hell would we watch the show on TV when the show is right before us?
BAD EXPERIENCE. WASTE OF MONEY.
Veronica, Nov 2015
The Bosphorus at night is breath-taking to see the landmarks and waterfront houses illuminated is really a cool experience - I've previously gone on a sunset cruise and preferred the experience at night. This tour offers a hotel pick up and drop off, which was a nice perk. The boat we were on was on the higher-end, spacious with working, non-stinky toilets and wasn't filled to capacity. The entertainment was funny the belly dancing with audience participation was especially cringe-worthy - men, beware. Drinks were house wines, beers and spirits and were served throughout the evening. The food was very mediocre and I fell ill afterwards a major ding for the tour. Only other ding was that the tour felt like it was an hour too long it started at 8:30 and we docked around midnight.
Joseph C, Oct 2015
I would definitely not recommend this cruise to anyone. What a disappointment! Where do I start. First this was suppose to be a live entertainment cruise, however, the ship was so overcrowded that the the only why to see anything was to watch it on tv screens. Second the food was so, so. I had better food in the street markets. Thirdly, the service was horrible, not only did they not understand English but you waited for ever just to have them say, yes, yes and the disappear. Truly a disappointing experience.
Susan G R, Sep 2015
Very nice cruise, good food and Belly-Dancing show , unfortunately the boat was not full so atmospherically a bit lacking, but would recommend this trip.
Glen d, Sep 2015
The food was terrible with a lot of people not even touch their dinner. the entertainment was ok .
Abinangshu L, Sep 2015
Our hotel pickup was scheduled for 7.30 pm on 20.08 but the driver finally came at 8.15 pm - we were just about to go on our own when he entered - this start was disappointing. Upon reaching the cruise ship, we were asked to be seated on a table with other customers and were served drinks and dinner. All the guests were entertained with live shows and dancing while on cruise. From time to time, over the loudspeaker they informed us of the various monuments/buildings that could be seen from the cruise. After dinner we went upstairs where the belly dancing show happened. In the end the floor was opened to all guests for dancing. We met some friends from a day earlier while in Istanbul and had a great time among ourselves. Later we were dropped off at our hotel. The overall experience was good. However, please ensure that your driver sticks to the timings.
Tracey B, Sep 2015
From the picture we thought we would be on the deck of a boat looking at the sights of Istanbul as the sun went down. Our pick up was half an hour late....it was dark by the time we reached our boat. We were immediately shown down to a lower deck. There were rows and rows of tables and we were crammed on to one. There must have been 200 people down below. The starters had obviously been on the tables for a while and the wine and beer that we were brought were warm. I started to feel very claustrophobic! We could have been on a boat anywhere. They windows were tiny and you couldn't see anything. I started to feel unwell and could not bear the thought of being on there for 3 hours. My husband and I go up and managed to get off the boat just before it left.
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