The Princes' Islands: A Day Trip from Istanbul Without Cars

The thing people remember about the Princes' Islands is the silence. You step off the ferry, walk two streets inland, and realise what has been missing: there is no engine noise. Private cars are not allowed. After a few days in Istanbul, that lands harder than any view.

The islands were where Byzantine emperors sent inconvenient relatives, which is where the name comes from. In the nineteenth century they became a summer retreat for Istanbul's Greek, Armenian and Jewish communities, who built the wooden mansions that still line the streets.

Which island

There are nine islands and the ferry calls at four. They are genuinely different and picking wrong is the most common mistake.

Getting there

Two different kinds of boat, and the difference matters:

• Şehir Hatları ferries from Eminönü and Kabataş. Around 90 minutes to Büyükada, calling at the other islands on the way. Slower, cheaper, open decks, tea on board. The journey is part of the day.
• Fast motorboats from Kabataş, Bostancı and Kadıköy, run by private operators. Roughly half the time. Enclosed seating, no deck wandering. Right if you are short of time.

Both take the standard fare card, and the practicalities of that are in our guide to getting around Istanbul. From Bostancı on the Asian side the crossing is far shorter, so if you are staying on that side, start there.

The carriages are gone

For a century the way to see Büyükada was a horse-drawn carriage, a fayton. That ended in 2020, when the horses were removed following an outbreak of disease and long-running campaigns about their treatment.

Electric vehicles now do the same job, and the arrangement has been argued over locally ever since, with disputes about numbers, size and who runs them. If you read an older guidebook promising a carriage ride, that is why it no longer exists.

What has not changed is that the best way around is still a bicycle or your own legs. Bikes are for hire near every pier.

What to actually do on Büyükada

• Walk up to Aya Yorgi. A steep climb of about forty minutes to a small Greek Orthodox church on the island's highest point, with a view over the Marmara. People tie ribbons and strips of cloth to the trees along the path as wishes. Go early; it is hot and shadeless by midday.
• Walk the mansion streets. The wooden houses behind the main front are the real sight. Many are half-ruined, which is part of it.
• Find the Splendid Palace Hotel. Twin domes, 1908, still operating, and a good place to sit.
• Swim, in season. There are small beach clubs on all four islands.

Timing, honestly

Avoid summer weekends. Istanbul goes to the islands on a hot Sunday, the ferries are packed, and the lanes of Büyükada are shoulder to shoulder. The thing you came for, the quiet, is the thing that disappears.

Go on a weekday, and go in May, June, September or October. Spring is the best of it: the hills are green, the air is clear and the mansions are not competing with anybody.

Winter is a different proposition and worth knowing about. Most places are shut, the ferries are nearly empty, and the islands are quietly beautiful in a way that will not suit everyone.

Practical notes

• Time needed: a full day for Büyükada from the European side. A half day if you leave from Bostancı.
• Cash: card works in most places, but carry some lira for bike hire and small cafés.
• Food: the seafront restaurants are expensive and ordinary. Walk inland two streets.
• Last ferry: check it when you arrive and write it down. Missing it is a genuinely expensive mistake.

Our Istanbul Grand Tour concentrates on the city itself rather than the islands, which is deliberate: the islands are best done slowly, on your own, with no schedule to keep. Take the slow ferry, take a book, and let the day be as long as it wants to be.