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Istanbul Princes Island Tour: Full-Day Excursion with Lunch and Hotel Transfers
4.1
141 Ratings
Fatih
Escape the hustle and bustle of Istanbul on a full-day excursion to the picturesque Princes Islands. Cruise past iconic landmarks, learn about the islands’ history, and enjoy free time to explore at your own pace.
Escape the hustle and bustle of Istanbul on a full-day excursion to the picturesque Princes Islands. Cruise past iconic landmarks, learn about the islands’ history, and enjoy free time to explore at your own pace.
Duration:
7 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Istanbul - The Prince Island Tour begins during the morning from the city centre of Istanbul. Minibus will pick you up from your hotel and drive you to Ahırkapı, where you will meet our boat.
- Heybeliada - When you arrive at the Golden Horn, you will enter in a comfortable ferry boat and enjoy 1 hour journey towards the first stop of the…
- Istanbul - The Prince Island Tour begins during the morning from the city centre of Istanbul. Minibus will pick you up from your hotel and drive you to Ahırkapı, where you will meet our boat.
- Heybeliada - When you arrive at the Golden Horn, you will enter in a comfortable ferry boat and enjoy 1 hour journey towards the first stop of the schedule. Do not miss the chance to snap some photos while you are on the ferry boat.
- Heybeliada - Heybeliada or Halki is the closest island to the shore and the second largest of the Princess Islands. Since the very first moments, the beauty of the natural setting will capture your attention. Blue waters surround the island which is full of intense greenery. Beautiful houses, charming streets and welcoming people are the island’s main characteristics. As you walk around, the tour guide will take you to visit some important sites such as the Theological School, the Beth Yaakov Synagogue, a monastery, and a church.
- Buyukada - When you finish the island’s exploration, you will enter the ferry boat again. On the boat, a lunch break will take place which includes an open buffet. Take your time to enjoy some typical recipes and relax before reaching the next island.
- Buyukada - Buyukada is the largest and most famous islands of all. This is because it seems to have a flawless charm in every season of the year. During your time there, the tour guide will take you to explore the charming streets which are full of imposing and picturesque houses. The island has also some sites of great importance such as the Clock Tower, Aya Yorgi Church, and the Greek Orphanage.
- Istanbul - By the end of your exploration, the ferry boat will take you back to the pier. From there, a car will transfer you to your place of accommodation during the afternoon.
What's Included
- Transportation by air-conditioned bus
- Hotel pickup and drop-off from the European side and city center
- Entrance fees to islands
- Lunch
- English Speaking Staff
- Boat trip
- Transportation by air-conditioned bus
- Hotel pickup and drop-off from the European side and city center
- Entrance fees to islands
- Lunch
- English Speaking Staff
- Boat trip
What's Not Included
- Drinks
- Drinks
Additional Information
Princess Island Tour offers a chance to break away from the bustling city center and explore the alluring Princess Islands. Experience the tranquil environment, soak in the peaceful ambiance, engage with the indigenous people, and forge unforgettable moments.
t Escape the hectic urban life and the throngs of Istanbul for a day-long journey to the Princes…
Princess Island Tour offers a chance to break away from the bustling city center and explore the alluring Princess Islands. Experience the tranquil environment, soak in the peaceful ambiance, engage with the indigenous people, and forge unforgettable moments.
t Escape the hectic urban life and the throngs of Istanbul for a day-long journey to the Princes Islands.
Get a scenic cruise past landmarks such as Topkapi Palace, Galata Tower, and Maiden’s Tower, then sail over to the isles of Heybeliada and Buyukada.
Discover the history of the Byzantine Empire’s nobility who once used these islands as a retreat, as you roam around the islands.
Relish the independence to wander at will, enjoying the shores and antiquated sites in your own time before you head back to Istanbul.
- Bike rental and Electric Buggy ticket (available to purchase on the attraction)
Location
Ahırkapı İskelesi
We will inform you with more details and one of our guides will welcome you.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.1
(141 Ratings)
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917ethelm
Jun 11, 2025
Worth the money - We had so much fun and the food was great.We were both picked up from our hotel and though we have to wait for some passengers but the van was comfortable.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dream64492182471
May 23, 2025
Trip to the Princess Islands - The tour guides were great...even entertained us with sing and dance!! Very suitable for a family outing. We did not have good weather but it was still very enjoyable!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
P9491hmstevea
May 22, 2025
Great day out - The trip was well organised and we had a lovely day . Food on the boat was nice but the second island stop was not really worth visiting . Princess Island was beautiful though
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Thanaa2019
May 11, 2025
Very nice and organised - Me and my family liked the tour very much and it was very organised , the tour guides were nice and friendly and we loved our experience.
Special thanks to Eric, who handled our reservation .
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Stephanie
Jul 6, 2025
Read the inclusions carefully - After boarding the ferry the tour leader went on to explain some finer points. In the Incusions section, it states that pick up and drop off at your hotel is included. It then goes on to state that a bus with AC is included. You are then informed by the tour leader that the bus tour of the main island will cost an extra 400 TL. This is not stated in the inclusion/ exclusion section, so not exactly upfront I thought...
To add insult to injury, after disembarking, you walk some distance and are taken into a leatherworking shop, not on the itinerary, to watch a 'free' fashion show and check out the stock and make purchases if you like whilst waiting for a bus to become available for your return trip home.
Talk about a captive audience. An extra hour was added after disembarking. This too was not in the itinerary.
The lunch was very ordinary and no tea or coffee was offered at any stage of the trip (except for purchase).
VERY TRICKSY.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mdrashedul_h
Jul 5, 2025
It’s better to go by yourself rather than the package - Firstly I never received pickup and drop off from my hotel I had to walk for pickup and for drop off I was dropped 15 minutes from the hotel.
Secondly the tour itself was 50$ , so at the boat they say they will offer a bus service for 400 lira however it was just to take upto the hill to a restaurant where probably they have setup previously and the original cost of bus it 50-80 lira to go and come back.
The food provided was very basic 3 items, even that is a buffet you cannot have such food more than once. The boat ride was nice , serene and nice breeze over the sea. However loud music was not very pleasent.
In the end they took us to an apparel factory and store so that people buys expensive cloths, which was really unnecessary and waste of time.
I forgot my cap on the bus while I was returning, I messaged them however they did not return it.
Overall not recommended. It’s better to take a ferry to the island your self and go with that.
Review provided by Viator
Megan_w
Jun 17, 2025
It felt pretty... - It felt pretty unorganized - we were told pick up at one time and then when waiting said it would be much later. The DJ on the boat was great. Only got about 40 minutes on one of the islands but really brought the rating down was they were making everyone go to a leather factory before bringing back to the hotel which was not mentioned in the original itinerary on Viator. We weren’t up for a high pressure sales pitch so we ended up just walking a mile up hill to our hotel. Islands are cute towns however.
Review provided by Viator
Cindy_w
May 22, 2025
Not worth the price -... - Not worth the price - this is just a transportation helper with simple lunch included. Prince Island is just a dirty sticky island with pet poops everywhere
Review provided by Viator
341jihads
May 20, 2025
Unpleasant. Disappointing - It's all in the details of things.
Yes, we went to Princes Island and came back. Fine. But all the detais around this journey were way less than expected, or way less than portrayed in the description.
It felt like an overpriced transportation to the islands with a mediocre lunch included. What's in it don't constitute a tour. Really.
- The morning gathering could be better organized without the need to wait for others to be fetched from their hotels.
- No a/c in the bus. The bus is old and rusted.
- The 2 moderators of the trip, with all respect to them, aren't qualified to do the work, they're not presentable at all. No passion in what they do. It could feel like scammers doing the job instead of real, educated tour guides.
- The guides on board communicated the historic infos in the most unengaging way, they talk like a fast-forwarded machine, and you have to hear the informations in all languages on the mic. This can be much better organized as well in order to reduce the annoyance.
- On the islands you're either left 2 hours alone, or you pay 400 TL for a 25-min tour in a bus. No guides, no visits, nothing like in the description.
- Lunch is mediocre, nothing special, the people serving food had angry and unwelcoming faces.
- The toilets aren't clean.
- During boat rides, they played loud commercial music in the outdoor upper floor. And if you don't want the music you have to go down to the indoor floor that is closed, loud with people's noise and a bit claustrophobic. I had to put a chair on the balcony that is next to the toilets downstairs in order to spend some calm time with the beach.
- At the end of the trip, there's this leather fashion show, which is okay, but has nothing to do with the essance of this trip, which is this one day to visit the islands, get to know their rich histories, connect with the place, the people and come back to Istanbul with a heart full of interesting knowledge, beautiful connections with the people and the land.
Instead my mother and I came back to Istanbul empty, dissatisfied and frustrated.
In conclusion, the description doens't match the reality. Nothing dreamy, nothing unwinding, nothing magical. Just commercial trips, quick gains, no soul in it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nidhi_r
Jun 7, 2025
Avoid the princes islands - Please don’t waste your time on this. The island is cute but very very crowded and looks nothing like the features picture. The ferry is not great and the whole excursion was pretty poorly organised. We were picked up an hour before time even though the pier was 6 minutes away from our hotel. The van that picked us up drove by our hotel 2 times after picking us up and even went out of its way to pick up a family that was NOT part of the tour. There was no guide as such to tell us anything and everything was so poorly managed that we chose to come back from the first island to Istanbul by taking a public ferry rather than go to the second island.
June is very very crowded and it’s bloody hot. Avoid it.
Review provided by Viator
