Bosphorus Dinner Cruise with Show: Price, What's Included, Hotel Pick-up

A Bosphorus dinner cruise with a show can be booked for tonight or tomorrow if you are already in Istanbul: a car collects you from your hotel and brings you back after the programme. Our Bosphorus dinner cruise with Turkish night show costs from $90 per person, and the price covers dinner, soft drinks, folk dances and a belly dance show. We check free places for the coming evenings on WhatsApp at +90 545 307 67 88, and you can write to us in Russian.

The whole programme, including the drive from your hotel and back, takes about six hours, so this is a full evening rather than a short outing before bed. For many of our guests from Russia it is the simplest way to see the Bosphorus lit up, have dinner and watch a Turkish show in one go, without working out piers, tickets and taxis. If you are planning several days, look at our other Istanbul tours as well: the evening cruise pairs well with a daytime Old City tour.

At a glance

How does an evening Bosphorus cruise with a show work?

The evening starts at your hotel door. We give you the pick-up time when you book: it depends on the district you are staying in, because an air-conditioned minibus collects guests from several addresses.

At the pier guests are seated at tables and the boat heads out into the strait. The route along the European shore usually passes Dolmabahçe Palace, with its long white façade right at the water's edge, then Ortaköy, where a small mosque stands on the waterfront with the Bosphorus Bridge overhead. The boat passes under the bridges, which are lit in the evening and change colour. The captain decides the exact route on a given night, but the main Bosphorus views are always part of it.

Dinner is served at your table while the boat moves along the strait, so you do not have to choose between eating and looking out of the window. Then the Turkish night entertainment begins: folk dances in traditional costume and a belly dance show. You do not need to understand the language to enjoy it. We have written more about the format itself on our page about the Bosphorus dinner cruise in Istanbul. When the boat returns to the pier, the same transport takes guests back to their hotels.

What is included in the Bosphorus dinner cruise price, and what costs extra?

The base price of from $90 per person covers almost everything you need for the evening. It includes:

• pick-up from your hotel or chosen location and drop-off afterwards, in an air-conditioned vehicle;
• the Bosphorus cruise itself;
• dinner;
• soft drinks;
• the entertainment programme with folk dances and belly dance;
• local taxes.

Alcohol is not part of the base price. If you would like wine or beer with dinner, there is an unlimited alcoholic drinks package at an extra charge, chosen when you book. Imported alcoholic drinks are not covered even by that package and are paid for separately on board. If you do not drink, there is nothing extra to pay, as soft drinks are already included.

Personal expenses and tips for waiters and performers are paid separately.

What should you wear on a dinner cruise, and can you bring children?

There is usually no strict dress code on these evenings. Most guests come in smart casual clothes, as they would to a good restaurant: trousers or a dress and comfortable shoes. What visitors most often forget is the wind: on the water in the evening it is noticeably cooler than in the city, especially in autumn and winter, so bring a jacket or a warm layer if you plan to go out on deck to photograph the bridges.

Plenty of families take children on the dinner cruise. Two things are worth bearing in mind. First, the programme lasts about six hours including transfers and finishes late, so small children often fall asleep by the end of the evening. Second, the show includes a belly dance; in Turkey this is ordinary family entertainment, but parents may prefer to know beforehand. Ask about the child price on WhatsApp and tell us the child's age.

Dinner cruise, private yacht or lunch cruise: which should you book?

The group dinner cruise at $90 per person suits people who want everything at once: dinner, show, views and transfers for one price. You share the boat with other travellers and the schedule is fixed, but for a couple or a small family it is the best-value evening on the water.

If there are more of you and you would like the boat to yourselves, look at the private yacht for up to 12 guests from $299 per hour with a two-hour minimum. The price is for the whole yacht, not per person, so for a group of eight to ten friends a private cruise can come out close to the group option. The price includes the captain and crew, fuel, soft drinks, tea and water, and you choose the departure time yourselves. Dinner on board and hotel transfers cost extra; alcohol is not included.

For those who want the city's story told along the way, there is the two-hour private yacht cruise from $600 per group, with a licensed guide and coffee or tea. It starts from your hotel or from the Galataport cruise port, transfers can be added, and meals and alcohol are not included.

The third option is for people who want to see the Bosphorus in daylight and take good photographs of the palaces and fortresses: the daytime lunch cruise from $75 per person. It runs for three hours with lunch on board, an English-speaking guide and hotel pick-up, while drinks with lunch are paid separately.

If a lively show is not your style, the whirling dervish ceremony from $60 per person works well on another evening. It is an hour-long Sufi Sema ceremony with live music and reserved seats in central Istanbul, with an English-speaking assistant. Bear in mind that the Sema is at heart a religious ritual rather than a concert, so the audience sits quietly and does not applaud during the whirling. Hotel transfers are not included here; you meet at a central point in the city.

What this means for your trip

For Russian citizens, a trip to Turkey remains straightforward: no visa is needed for stays of up to 60 days, and a valid international passport is enough. Money is the harder part. Visa and Mastercard cards issued by Russian banks do not work abroad, so we will agree on payment with you on WhatsApp in advance, before the car comes to collect you. We have a separate article on visas, cards and flights from Russia: Istanbul trip from Russia: visa, cards, flights.

To join the cruise tonight, it is best to message us during the day. Send the name of your hotel, the number of guests and if you want the alcohol package, and we will tell you whether there are places and what time the car will arrive. On WhatsApp you will get answers in Russian, and if you want someone by your side all day on daytime tours, we also have a Russian-speaking guide in Istanbul.

If you are still planning your holiday, have a look at our Turkey tour packages: the six-day and eight-day Istanbul and Cappadocia programmes already include a Bosphorus dinner cruise, so you will not need to book it separately. And if you are already in the city with a few free days left, pick Istanbul tours to fill the remaining evenings and mornings.

Questions travellers are asking

Plan it with us

• Bosphorus dinner cruise with Turkish night show, from $90 per person, hotel pick-up included.
• Bosphorus lunch cruise, from $75 per person.
• Private Bosphorus yacht for up to 12 guests, from $299 per hour, 2-hour minimum.
• Whirling dervish ceremony, from $60 per person.

Book online or message us on WhatsApp: +90 545 307 67 88. We reply in Russian and will tell you whether there are places for tonight.