Istanbul / The verdict
Is a Princes' Islands day trip worth it?
Depends: the car-free islands are the best-value escape in Istanbul when you catch a weekday ferry from Kabatas, walk the pine lanes and climb to the monastery, and leave before the last boat. On a summer weekend or with under a week in the city, the 3-hour round trip and the crowds can outweigh the charm.
By The Real Traveler Experiences team.
The Istanbul story
Istanbul is one of the few cities that can overwhelm a week: Byzantine cisterns and Ottoman palaces on the European side, a living food culture from kebab houses to meyhane taverns, ferries that cross continents for the price of a coffee, and a scale of sixteen million people across thirty-nine districts that no guide fully tames.
The verdict in 30 seconds
It depends
Depends: the car-free islands are the best-value escape in Istanbul when you catch a weekday ferry from Kabatas, walk the pine lanes and climb to the monastery, and leave before the last boat. On a summer weekend or with under a week in the city, the 3-hour round trip and the crowds can outweigh the charm.
Go if
- Travelers with a spare day who want the slow, car-free version of Istanbul: ferries, pine lanes, and Ottoman mansions
- Cyclists and walkers, since the islands are built for bikes and footpaths rather than vehicles
- Anyone chasing a swim, a seafood lunch, or the Aya Yorgi monastery view on a fair-weather day
Skip if
- Your only slot is a summer weekend, when news reports describe ferries and island streets packed to the point of no personal space
- You have 3 days or fewer in Istanbul and a packed Old City checklist; the ferry round trip alone is about 3 hours
- You have limited mobility: the monastery climb is steep cobbles, and beyond the pier the transport is a shared fleet of electric buses you queue for with the whole ferry crowd
- You visit in winter, when many island businesses close and the sea wind strips the charm
What it costs
- Sehir Hatlari ferry to Buyukada, one way (Istanbulkart fare): €1.85 (90.70 TL on the current operator fare list for the Adalar line with an Istanbul card; the full non-card fare is 151.23 TL). Official source, checked Oct 2026.
- Sehir Hatlari ferry to Buyukada, one way (full fare without Istanbulkart): €3.10 (151.23 TL on the operator's price list; the card fare is 90.70 TL, so load an Istanbulkart before the pier). Official source, checked Oct 2026.
- Island electric buses (IETT Adamini lines, per ride): €0.95 (IETT's island lines charge per ride by metered distance on Istanbulkart; the BA-2 ring line runs the tourist loop from 09:00, demand permitting). Official source, checked Oct 2026.
What travelers report
Based on 13 traveler reports (Jan 2025 to Aug 2026) and the official sources linked on this page. 1 was negative.
What people like
- Travelers call the car-free quiet the sharpest possible contrast to the mainland: birdsong and bike bells instead of traffic.
- The ferry ride itself earns praise as a cheap Bosphorus-adjacent cruise, especially the deck seats from Kabatas.
- The Aya Yorgi monastery climb rewards with the best Marmara panorama in the group.
- Reports praise the mansions-and-pines walk as a preserved 19th-century pocket that feels nothing like the city across the water.
What people complain about
- Summer weekends pack ferries, piers, and the main streets beyond comfort; news reports quote visitors who came expecting quiet and found a crowd instead.
- The post-ferry surge hits the same bottleneck at the pier: bike rentals get mobbed and everyone queues for the same electric buses.
- The Aya Yorgi climb is steeper than maps suggest; one report logged 40 minutes for a supposed 20-minute walk.
- The day-tripper crush itself thins the serenity the islands sell: summer coverage shows piers packed and boats running full.
How to do it right
- Board at Kabatas rather than Eminonu if you want a seat: the Sehir Hatlari island line starts there, and one diarist boarded there specifically for a better shot at seats.
- Pay with a topped-up Istanbulkart: the card fare to Buyukada is 90.70 TL versus 151.23 TL without it, and the same card pays the island electric buses.
- Go on a weekday and aim for a ferry before 10:00; weekend and holiday departures get crushed, and the last return boat is earlier than most day-trippers expect.
- On Buyukada, take the BA-2 electric ring bus or walk up to Luna Park and climb the final steep kilometer to the Aya Yorgi monastery for the Marmara panorama; drivers know it as Ai Giorgios.
- If two islands tempt you, Heybeliada is the quieter second stop on the same line, but one island with slow time beats two on a clock.
The trap to avoid
The island crush is real and self-inflicted: one passenger on a weekend Kabatas boat counted the ferry at nearly three times capacity with riders sitting on the floor, and the same crowd then competes for the electric buses and bikes at the pier.
What to do instead
Why this verdict
Depends, mostly on when you go and what you expect. The official math is generous: a Sehir Hatlari ferry from Kabatas costs 90.70 TL with an Istanbulkart (151.23 TL without) and lands you on Buyukada in about an hour and three quarters, calling at the smaller islands on the way. For that price you get a car-free island of pine lanes, Ottoman mansions, and a hilltop monastery with the best view of the Marmara. That is the best cheap escape in the Istanbul day-trip catalog.
The real counters are timing and crowd physics. News coverage of a summer weekend describes ferries discharging thousands at once and visitors quoting streets so packed you could not drop a needle. The replacement for the retired horse carriages is a fleet of municipal electric buses the whole ferry crowd queues for at the pier, and the walk to Aya Yorgi is a steep kilometer that one diary clocked at 40 minutes. Travelers who went on weekdays report the opposite experience: quiet lanes, a pastry breakfast by the water, and a slow day they savored.
So the day trip earns a depends. Go if you have a free weekday in fair weather and want the slow Istanbul: ride the deck, climb the hill, lunch by the water. Skip it on summer weekends, in winter, or when your Istanbul checklist is still unfinished, because the three-hour ferry round trip plus pier crowds consume a day that the city itself can fill better.
Timing and tickets
Ferries run from Kabatas (the standard pick, via Kadikoy and the inner islands to Buyukada in about 1 hour 45 minutes), Besiktas, Bostanci, Maltepe and the Asian-side piers on Sehir Hatlari’s Adalar lines; private operators charge similar money from the same piers. With an Istanbulkart the ride is 90.70 TL each way, 151.23 TL without. Go on a weekday, board before 10:00 for deck seats, and check the posted return times at the pier, since the last boat leaves earlier than visitors assume.
Book or check times
Sehir Hatlari timetables for the Adalar linesSehir Hatlari fare listIETT island electric buses FAQ (official PDF)Adalar municipality site
Questions
How long is the ferry to the Princes' Islands?
About 75 to 100 minutes depending on the pier and stops. The Sehir Hatlari Kabatas-Adalar line runs via Kadikoy and the smaller islands to Buyukada in roughly 1 hour 45 minutes; Bostanci departures are faster on the Asian side.
How much does the ferry cost in 2026?
On the operator's current price list, the Princes' Islands line is 90.70 TL one way with an Istanbulkart and 151.23 TL without. Buy and load the card before reaching the pier.
Are the horse carriages still running?
No. The phaetons were retired in 2020 and replaced by municipal electric vehicles: local lines plus the BA-2 tourist ring on Buyukada, paid by metered distance on Istanbulkart. Walking or cycling is still the island way.
Is one island enough for a day trip?
Yes. Travelers consistently report one island, usually Buyukada, is a full unhurried day; adding Heybeliada works only with an early start and acceptance that the second island gets an hour or two.
What happens if you miss the last ferry back?
The last boats leave earlier than many expect, so check the posted timetable at the pier on arrival; one report found the online timetable wrong and lost two hours waiting on the shore.
Is it worth going in winter?
Mostly no. The islands still run, but restaurants and beach spots largely close, the ferry decks are windswept, and the day loses the relaxed-summer character the trip is sold on.
Pack for it
Gear verdicts from our sister site, Real Buyer Experiences: