Istanbul · Kabataş Pier · families

The Bosphorus, for the whole Family Dinner Cruise tonight

Children under four sail free, children from four to nine pay €5 less, and everybody sits at one table in a heated salon with a stage in front of it and the Bosphorus behind the glass. The show is a spinning dervish, dancers with knives, a drum rhythm the whole room claps to and a belly dancer in sequins, which is three hours of a child's attention accounted for. Here is the family evening honestly: what it costs, what the children eat, how late it runs and what to bring.

Reserve a Family Table → See the Children's Prices →

Ages 0–3 free Ages 4–9 pay €19.30 Heated salon 4.9 Google rating

The adult price is €24.30 with dinner, the show and soft drinks included. Children are priced by age, and the family bill is added up below so that the number on the night is the one you expected.

Ages 0–3: Free. A place at the family's table, sharing from it, and nothing on the bill.
Ages 4–9: €19.30, which is €5 off the adult price. A seat of their own, a main course of their own from the five, dessert, and the same unlimited soft drinks as everyone.
Age 10 and over: €24.30, the full price. Teenagers eat like adults and are priced like them.
Two adults, a 7-year-old and a 2-year-old: €24.30 + €24.30 + €19.30 + €0 = €67.90 for the whole family, paid on board.
Two adults and two teenagers: 4 × €24.30 = €97.20. Add the transfer for four at €5 each and it is €117.20 with the hotel handled both ways.
Never charged: No deposit, no booking fee, no service charge, and free cancellation until 19:00 on the day. A child who falls ill in the afternoon costs you a message, not a fee.

Tell us the ages when you book

The reservation form on this page asks for the number of children and their age band, and a WhatsApp message can simply say "two adults, one child aged seven, one aged two". The seating and the bill follow from it: a table with the right number of places and a total that matches this page.

There is no children's menu, and there does not need to be one. A Turkish dinner is a table of small dishes before it is anything else, and a child can make a whole meal out of the first course without ever meeting a plate they did not choose.

01The meze: Ten cold dishes on shared platters, on the table before the boat leaves: yoghurt with herbs, bean purée, bulgur, seasonal salads, bread to go with them. A child picks at what they recognise and ignores the rest, and nobody minds.
02Börek: Warm layers of thin pastry from the oven, crisp outside and soft inside. The course most children go back for.
03The main: Every child with a paid place chooses their own from the five: the chicken skewer is the usual answer, grilled salmon the second, and the vegetarian platter of falafel, roasted potatoes and bulgur pilaf suits the ones who eat around the meat. Each comes with seasonal salad.
04Dessert: Warm semolina halva, sweet and soft, which is a dessert no child has ever refused.
05Drinks: Water, juice and cola for every guest, all evening, without limit and without a bill: unlimited soft drinks are inside the price. There is nothing to order and nothing to add up at the end.
06Allergies: Tell us on WhatsApp when you book and we pass it to the kitchen. The vegetarian platter is one of the five mains at no extra cost.

This is the part of the page a parent should read twice. The cruise is an evening, not an afternoon: the boat leaves at 21:00 and is back between 23:45 and midnight, and in between it does not stop. Here is the evening as a family will live it.

20:00: Doors open. Come early with children: the boat is still alongside, the deck is empty and safe to explore with a parent, and the meze is on the table before the engines start, so the first half hour is dinner at a standstill.
21:00: The ropes come off. Dolmabahçe Palace goes past the window lit like a film set within minutes, and the hot courses arrive. The salon is warm, the seats are chairs at a table, and a small child can be on a lap or in a seat as they prefer.
The show: Four acts, described below from a child's point of view. It runs while dinner is served, in the same room, so there is no moving anywhere and no interval to fill.
After dessert: The DJ takes over with a live saxophone, the adults drift to the deck, and it is normal at this hour to see a child asleep on a chair by the window with a coat over them. The Asian shore goes past outside.
23:45 to 00:00: Alongside at Kabataş. The tram is a minute away and taxis wait at the entrance, but with a sleeping child the hotel transfer at €5 a person, with a driver already waiting at the pier, earns its price on this stretch alone.

The one thing to decide before you book

Bedtime. The boat cannot stop and nobody can go ashore early, so a child who is finished at half past ten is on board, warm and fed, until midnight. For most children over five that is an adventure. For a toddler it depends on the toddler, and you know yours. If you book, book the transfer, arrive at 20:00 rather than 20:50, and let them sleep at the table when they are done.

The Turkish night programme was not written for children, and that is why it works for them: nothing is talked down, everything is loud, bright and close, and it is over before anyone asks how much longer. Four acts, here in the order they come.

01The spinning man: The whirling dervish: a man in a white skirt and a tall hat who turns on the spot for minutes at a time with one hand up and one hand down, and does not fall over. It is quiet and the lights go down for it. Tell them beforehand that it is a kind of prayer and they will watch it differently.
02The dancers with knives: The folk dances, from Anatolia and the Caucasus, ending in the knife dance with the blades struck on the stage floor. Fast, loud and precise. This is the act children talk about in the taxi home.
03The drum: Oba Dombra, a driving rhythm from Central Asia that gets the whole salon clapping in time. The first act a child takes part in rather than watches.
04The belly dancer: Sequins, light and a full routine between the stage and the tables, with a few guests drawn gently into it. It is a family show: belly dance in Turkey is the dance of weddings, performed in front of grandmothers and toddlers, and on this boat it is exactly that. A shy child is left to watch.
05And then: Dessert, the DJ and a saxophonist on the open deck for the run home, and the lit shore of the Asian side going past for anyone still awake.

The questions parents ask that other guests do not, answered as plainly as we can.

The salon: Enclosed, heated in winter and air-conditioned in summer, with tables and chairs rather than benches, and windows along both walls so a child at the table has the shore going past at eye level.
The open deck: Up a stair, railed, open to the air. It is for the bridge passes and the photographs, and children go up with an adult. On a wet night it closes and the evening carries on inside.
The water: The Bosphorus is a sheltered strait rather than open sea and the boat stays inside it. On an ordinary night the motion is slight enough that most people forget they are afloat.
Toilets: On board, as on any passenger boat, and close to the salon.

Noise: The show is a stage show with amplified music and it is loud in places, the knife dance and the DJ set most of all. A baby who sleeps through anything will sleep through it; one who does not may not. The deck is the quiet option.
Prams: Bring it. The T1 tram to Kabataş is low-floor, the pier is at street level, and there is room for a folded pram by the table. Tell us when you book so the table chosen has the space.
High chairs: Ask on WhatsApp when you book and we will tell you what the boat has that night.
What to bring: A layer for the deck in any season, and something for a child to sleep under after dessert. Nothing to print: the reservation is a name on the list at the gangway.

Bosphorus dinner cruise with kids — frequently asked

Is the Bosphorus dinner cruise suitable for children?

Yes. Families sail every night. The salon is heated and enclosed, the show is a family show visible from every seat, soft drinks are unlimited, and children are priced by age: free under four, €19.30 from four to nine, full price from ten.

Do babies and toddlers pay?

No. Children aged 0–3 sail free, with a place at the family's table and nothing on the bill.

What does a child aged 4 to 9 pay?

€19.30, which is €5 off the adult price of €24.30. That buys a seat of their own, their own main course chosen from the five, dessert and unlimited soft drinks.

From what age is it full price?

From age 10. Teenagers pay the adult €24.30.

Is there a children's menu?

No separate menu, and no need for one: ten mezes to pick at, warm börek, a main course from five that includes a chicken skewer and a vegetarian platter, semolina dessert and unlimited soft drinks, which means juice, cola and water all evening. Allergies: tell us on WhatsApp when you book.

How late does it finish?

The boat is alongside at Kabataş between 23:45 and midnight, every night. It is a late evening for a young child, which is why we say so here rather than after you have booked. The hotel transfer at €5 a person, with a driver waiting at the pier, is the easiest way home with a sleeping child.

Can we leave early if the children get tired?

No. The boat does not stop between departure and return, so nobody can go ashore before midnight. Plan for the full evening: arrive at 20:00 so the children have eaten before the boat moves, and let them sleep at the table after dessert.

Is the belly dance suitable for children?

Yes. It is a family show: belly dance in Turkey is a wedding dance performed in front of every generation, and the routine on this boat is exactly that. A child who wants to join in may be invited gently; one who does not is left to watch.

Is the deck safe for children?

The open deck is railed and children go up with an adult. The salon is enclosed, and on a wet night the deck closes and the whole evening is indoors.

Can I bring a pram?

Yes. The tram to Kabataş is low-floor, the pier is at street level, and a folded pram fits by the table. Tell us when you book so the table chosen has the room.

Are there high chairs?

Ask on WhatsApp when you book and we will tell you what is available on the night, rather than promising something here and being wrong.

Can a family book for tonight?

Yes, until the 21:00 departure, subject to space. Say how many adults and children and their ages, and the table is confirmed by message within minutes. Cancellation is free until 19:00.

The Bosphorus, for the whole Family Dinner Cruise tonight

What children pay

Tell us the ages when you book

What a child actually eats

How late it runs, honestly

The one thing to decide before you book

The show, seen from a metre off the floor

Warm, enclosed, and on calm water

Questions parents ask us

Bring everyone

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