Princes Islands Ferry 2027: Schedule, Istanbulkart Price, Kabataş and Bostancı Piers

The Princes Islands ferry costs 151.23 TL one way on an Istanbulkart, about $3 at the 14 October rate, and the Kabataş boats run from 06:45 to 23:30 in the current winter timetable. Şehir Hatları, the city ferry company, raised Adalar fares by 10% on 20 July 2026, from 137.48 TL to 151.23 TL, and the same fare applies from Kabataş, Kadıköy, Beşiktaş and Bostancı. If you read an older page with the old price or a summer timetable, ignore it: the winter schedule runs from 7 September 2026 to 27 June 2027.

We put visitors on these boats every week, either on their own with an Istanbulkart or on our Princes' Islands full-day tour with ferry and lunch, which is $90 per person. The price below is what the public ferry costs; the tour adds a guide, lunch and a plan for the day. Both are good options, and we explain who should pick which at the end.

Princes Islands ferry price with the Istanbulkart

You pay 151.23 TL per person each way, so a round trip is about 302 TL. The tariff has a lower "Adakart" fare for registered island residents; visitors pay the full price. The discounted fare of 105.85 TL is for eligible concession cards, and a tourist does not usually qualify for it, so budget the full fare.

The price is the same whichever pier you use, according to the Şehir Hatları fare announcement of 18 July 2026. That surprises people, because the crossing from Bostancı is much shorter than the one from Kabataş. The fare is per ride, not per minute.

How to pay: an Istanbulkart, or a contactless bank card on the turnstile where the pier has the reader. Without a card you can buy a single token at a booth, which costs more than the card fare. Our guide to buying and topping up an Istanbulkart explains where the machines are and how one card can pay for several people.

Fares are revised roughly once or twice a year, usually in the summer and again after the January inflation figure. We could not find an announced change for early 2027, so plan on 151.23 TL until you see otherwise.

Princes Islands ferry timetable from Kabataş

The Kabataş Adalar pier is at the end of the T1 tram line. The winter timetable we checked on 16 October 2026 shows these departures; times can shift, so confirm in the Şehir Hatları app on the day.

Monday to Saturday: 06:45, 08:00, 09:00, 10:05, 11:05, 12:00, 14:00, 16:30, 17:35, 18:25, 18:50, 19:20, 19:40, 21:40, 23:30.

Sundays and public holidays: 07:30, 08:30, 09:05, 10:05, 11:05, 12:05, 14:00, 16:30, 17:35, 18:25, 18:50, 19:20, 19:40, 21:40, 23:30.

Look at the hole in the middle of the day. Nothing leaves Kabataş between 12:00 and 14:00 (12:05 on Sundays), and then nothing until 16:30. A late breakfast in Karaköy and an arrival at the pier at 12:30 costs you an hour and a half of waiting. In winter the sun sets at about 17:00, so the 11:05 is the last boat that gives you a proper afternoon on the island.

Most boats call at Kadıköy about 25 minutes after leaving Kabataş, then at Kınalıada, Burgazada, Heybeliada and Büyükada. A few evening services skip stops, so read the board at the pier.

Kabataş or Bostancı: which pier is better?

For most visitors, Kabataş is the easier one. It is at the end of the T1 tram from Sultanahmet (about 20 minutes), three minutes by the F1 funicular from Taksim, and you do not need to cross to Asia first. The price you pay is time: about 1 hour 40 minutes to Büyükada.

Bostancı is on the Asian side, a stop on the Marmaray line, and the crossing to Büyükada takes about 40 minutes according to the schedule listings we read. It makes sense in two cases. First, you stay on the Asian side, in Kadıköy, Bostancı or Maltepe, and would otherwise spend an hour reaching Kabataş. Second, you only have a short window and want to spend more of it on the island. We could not retrieve a reliable winter departure list for Bostancı, because the official site blocks automated reading and the aggregators mix summer and winter tables. Check the Şehir Hatları app for your day.

Kadıköy and Beşiktaş also have Adalar boats, and the fare is identical. Kadıköy is the stop 25 minutes after Kabataş, which makes it the natural meeting point if you travel with someone staying on the other side of the Bosphorus.

If you are travelling on a day when the sea is rough, the boats from Kabataş can be cancelled. Bostancı has a Marmaray station, which gives you a way back to the European side when the ferries stop.

How long does the ferry to the islands take?

From Kabataş, the 09:00 boat shows the pattern: Kadıköy at 09:25, Kınalıada at 10:00, Burgazada at 10:15, Heybeliada at 10:30 and Büyükada at about 10:45. A round trip to Büyükada is therefore about 3.5 hours on the water. Many first-timers plan a half day and discover they have spent most of it on a boat.

There are two ways to deal with that. Pick a nearer island: Kınalıada is one hour away. Or take the first boats of the morning, 07:30 or 08:00, and treat the trip as a full day. We think the second is the better use of a Sunday, and the first the better use of a gloomy weekday.

Which island to get off at

Büyükada is the largest and the one most guides mean by "the Princes Islands". It has wooden mansions, a seafront of fish restaurants, a bicycle rental street next to the pier, and the climb to the church of Aya Yorgi on the hill. It is also the most crowded on summer Sundays.

Heybeliada is quieter, with pine woods and a long loop walk. Burgazada is residential and calm, with fish restaurants by the pier and a small museum for the writer Sait Faik Abasıyanık. Kınalıada is the smallest, close and bare.

One fare covers each ride, so you can take one boat to Heybeliada, walk, and catch another to Büyükada on the same day, paying again each time you tap in. Boats between islands only stop on the way, so check the sign for the next departure.

Getting around the islands: electric vehicles and bicycles

There are no private cars on the islands. The horse carriages of older guidebooks were stopped in 2020 and replaced by small electric buses and vehicles run by the municipality. They are priced above a city tram ride, and the queue at the Büyükada stop can be long at midday.

You can walk the Büyükada seafront and the lower streets in about an hour. The climb to Aya Yorgi is steep and takes roughly 40 to 60 minutes from the pier. Heybeliada is small enough to walk around. Bicycles are rented near the pier by the hour, and the hills are why electric ones are popular. The bicycle fee is not part of the ferry fare or of our tour price.

Ferry or organised tour?

The public ferry is the cheapest way. It is a commuter service: no guide, no commentary, no lunch table booked. For a confident traveller with a card and a full day, it is right.

An organised day suits people who want the boat, the island and lunch arranged and do not want to read the timetable gap at 12:00. Our Princes Islands day trip from Istanbul page and the Princes Islands tour from Istanbul page describe the day in more detail, and the Princes' Islands full-day tour is $90 per person with the ferry and lunch.

If you only have two days in Istanbul, we would not spend one on the islands in winter. The city and the Bosphorus give you more per hour. In spring and autumn, the islands repay a full day. Our other write-up, Princes Islands ferry from Kabataş: timetable and prices, goes through the day hour by hour, and we have a separate note for Russian-speaking guests in Princes Islands from Istanbul: ferry or tour.

What this means for your trip

Check the date and the piers. If you land on a Sunday or a holiday, use the Sunday list. If you stay in Sultanahmet, use Kabataş. If you are on the Asian side, check Bostancı or Kadıköy on the Şehir Hatları app before you set out. For a tour that handles the boats, see all Istanbul tours with hotel pickup, or WhatsApp +90 545 307 67 88 and tell us your dates. We will tell you whether the public ferry or the tour fits your day.

Questions travellers are asking

Plan it with us

• Princes' Islands full-day tour with ferry and lunch: $90 per person
• Bosphorus lunch cruise with hotel pickup: $75 per person
• Old City morning highlights, small-group tour: $120 per person
• Istanbul tours

WhatsApp: +90 545 307 67 88

Sources: Şehir Hatları winter timetable valid 7 September 2026 to 27 June 2027 (checked 16 October 2026); Şehir Hatları fare announcement of 18 July 2026, effective 20 July; Central Bank of Türkiye rate of 14 October 2026 (1 USD = 49.39 TL); Bostancı crossing time from public timetable listings.