How to Reach Princes' Islands from Istanbul? - Complete Travel Guide
- Pragnya Das
- Nov 1
- 4 min read
If you are planning a trip to the magnificent historical city of Istanbul, then you should not miss Princes' Islands. It is an excellent choice to get away from the hustle and bustle of Istanbul, and spend some time in this peaceful paradise.
Princes' Islands are known as Adalar in Turkish - is a archipelago of 9 islands, in the Marmara Sea, out of which only 4 can be visited by the tourists. The 4 islands - Büyükada, Kınalıada, Burgazada, and Heybeliada, are all filled with rich history and culture.
But how to get there? And is it really worth investing a day out to visit Adalar?
If you love watching more than reading, then check out our detailed video on Princes' Islands.
What to expect?
The 4 islands, that visitors can visit are all beautiful in their own way. If you haven't already heard, these islands are all car-free. You can expect horse-ridden carriages, cycles and clean air. Not only that, the islands are filled with cute and lovely restaurants, cafes and beautiful colorful streets.
The first island that one will encounter is Kınalıada, which is the smallest of the 4 islands. The Turkish nobles were most commonly exiled to this island throughout the years under the Byzantines. Then comes, Burgazada the 2nd smallest island of the 4 islands. Historically Greeks resided here and then joined by Jews. After passing Burgazada, you will get to Heybeliada, the 2nd largest island. The island is famous for its Greek Orthodox church. Then comes Büyükada, the biggest of 4 islands with two small hills dotted with beautiful colorful houses. All the 4 islands have small but beautiful beaches, where you can relax and enjoy the scenery.
One of the most famous activities is to rent and ride a bicycle. A lot of locals visit the islands for having picnics, which is another nice idea to relax.
How to reach the Islands?
Once can reach Princes' Islands from Istanbul through ferries only. Throughout the day there are numerous ferries starting from multiple ferry terminals at Istanbul. We would suggest you to get the one from Kadıköy. We were staying at Kabataş, and headed to Karaköy terminal, where we found a listing of only three ferries to Adalar. As we started early in the morning and didn't want to wait for the ferry, we decided to head to Kadıköy, which has more frequent ferries.
If you take a ferry from Karaköy, it would cost you 110 TL. The price might vary a bit here and there based on the ferry operator you chose to travel with. You will find ferries most commonly operated by Turyol and Şehir Hatları. The ferry from Karaköy to Kadıköy was for 40TL, and about a 25 mins ride. At Kadıköy, there were ferries in every 45 mins to 1 hour gaps. From here as well the price is 110TL. We took a ferry by Şehir Hatları.
The ferry ride will be close to 1 hour 15-20 minutes till Büyükada, the last island.
The timings of the ferries keep changing, so the best is to reach the terminal early in the morning, and check out yourself. As of now, we found that the ferries are also frequent from Karaköy (Kabatas).
Please check the below timetable as of now (Nov-2025):
You can check the latest timings here.
What to be cautious about?
The ticket is not a free pass to visit all the 4 islands. Yes! you read it right. The moment you get off at any island, your ticket gets null and void. To visit another island you will have to buy another ticket worth 110TL. So, plan accordingly. If you want to visit all 4 islands that is 4 x 110TL + 110TL way back that sums up to 550TL per person!
Our take: Get off at Büyükada, the largest of the 4 islands, to soak in all the experiences at one place.
Start early, as Princes' Islands are quite famous and touristy. To beat the crowd, get to the islands as early as possible.
Beware of the fancy seaside restaurants at the islands. They are super beautiful, no doubt but the prices are exorbitant. You will get super surprised with the service fee and taxes on the bill.
Our take: Treat yourself with the same old Doners and Shawarmas, which are bit genuinely priced. Or bring your own food and have a small picnic.
Don't get scammed by renting old broken bicycles. There are numerous shops that rent cute bicycles here. But test them before renting, as the island has roads going up the hills and down. If you have a broken bicycle, all the fun will be gone. We rented the bicycles for 100TL for an hour. The one had no stand and the other had a defective gear.
So, is it worth visiting Princes' Islands?
To be honest, Turkey is full of beautiful places and Princes' islands is one amongst it. We don't think, you should visit Princes' Islands for its beach or its sea-side views. But, visit the islands for its peaceful lifestyle, picturesque streets with wooden colorful houses and getting away from the hustle of the city of Istanbul. It is worth visiting the islands for a day, and come back to Istanbul by the sunset.
Useful Apps and Links: Watch our full video on Princes' Islands.
This is a really helpful guide. Thank you for sharing.