Luxury Bosphorus Dinner Cruise — All In

On most evenings out, the number you were quoted and the number on the bill are two different numbers. Here they are the same one. What follows is the whole ledger of this cruise: what the €24.60 buys, what may be added and exactly what it costs, and what is never charged at all.

All-In

The evening · one price

Dinner Cruise

€40.50€24.60/ person

Doors at 20:00, lines off at 21:00, alongside again between 23:45 and midnight. Nothing on this list is billed by the item once you are aboard.

3 hours on the water Cibali departure Pay on board

In the €24.60

Your choice of table as you board — two heated salons, panoramic windows, a stage and dance floor
Ten cold mezes, set out as the evening opens
Warm starter — börek from the kitchen
A main course of your choosing, from four:
Fish: salmon · sea bass
Chicken: chicken skewer
Meat: beef skewer
A seasonal salad and garnish with the main, and the house semolina dessert to finish
Unlimited soft drinks all evening — water, cola, juice, tea
The complete eight-act night show — belly dance, whirling dervish, Romani, Caucasian and folk dances, a rhythm show and live violin, then the DJ on the dance floor

Reserve the Evening →

If you want it — optional, fixed, decided when you book

+

Drinks Package +€15 / adult

Unlimited all evening from the bar on board — beer, rakı, vodka, gin, red and white wine. Imported spirits and cocktails are charged at the bar. Soft drinks stay unlimited for everyone at the table whether or not anyone takes this.

+

Hotel Transfer +€5 / person

Both directions. You are collected from your hotel in time for doors and taken back from Cibali once the boat comes alongside — which matters more than it sounds when the evening ends near midnight. Pickups run by district, so the ride may be shared.

+

Romantic Table +€15 / table

Candles and flowers, set before you arrive, so the table is already dressed when you are shown to it. Booked most often for proposals, anniversaries and first nights in Istanbul.

Never charged — not at booking, not on board

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No deposit, no booking fee

Nothing is taken to hold the table. Payment happens once, on board, in cash (EUR, TRY, USD) or by card.

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No cover charge, no service charge

The per-person price is the whole per-person price. Children aged 0–3 come aboard free, ages 4–9 pay €5 less, so €19.60, and from age 10 the full price applies.

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No cancellation fee

Free up to two hours before we cast off — until 19:00. Since nothing was paid in advance, a message is all it takes.

One thing to be straight about

This is a shared cruise, not a private charter. You choose your own table for the evening as you board; so does everyone else on board. That is precisely why the night costs €24.60 instead of the several hundred euros a private boat runs to. If you are after exclusive use of a vessel, this is not it — and you should know that now rather than on the pier. If what you want is an evening that feels like an occasion, that is exactly what this is built for.

Four hours from doors to pier, and none of them rushed. Here is what happens and when, so you can plan the rest of the night around it.

Begin

The boat lit at Cibali Pier on the Golden Horn before the evening cruise departs

Doors

20:00

Cibali Pier on the Golden Horn, a short walk from the T5 tram. Come early if you can — tables are chosen on arrival, so the first guests aboard have the widest choice, and the hour before departure is the quietest the open decks will be all night. Your name is checked at the gangway and the table is yours to pick.

Cold meze plate on a lamp-lit table by the window, ready for the evening

Cast off

21:00

Lines come off and the mezes are already down. The boat slips out of the Golden Horn under the Galata Bridge, and the börek and your main follow as the European shore starts sliding past the windows. There is no pace to keep up with — eat when you like, step out onto the open decks when you like, come back when the music changes.

Whirling dervish turning between the tables on board

Belly dancer in sequins performing between the guest tables

The stage

Once under way

Eight acts, in an order that changes from night to night: belly dance, the whirling dervish ceremony, Turkish Romani dance, the Caucasian dance with its knife show, Turkish folk dances, a rhythm show on darbuka and drums, and live violin, with the DJ still to come. The performers come out between the tables — nobody is asked to move.

Finale

A couple on the open deck, the lit Bosphorus Bridge behind them

Dessert, then the dance floor

After dessert

Dessert arrives and the night changes register: the DJ takes the dance floor, it fills for those who want it, and the open decks at the bow and stern stay for those who do not. The boat comes back into the Golden Horn and is alongside at Cibali between 23:45 and midnight — the T5 tram a short walk away, and your ride back to the hotel if you booked the transfer.

The Bosphorus after dark is a different strait from the one in the guidebooks. Marble that reads white at noon turns amber under floodlight, and the whole run of it goes past your table in three hours.

01Cibali Pier: The lines come off at 21:00, on the old-city shore of the Golden Horn.
02Galata Bridge: Out of the Golden Horn under the bridge, Galata Tower above Karaköy and Süleymaniye on the skyline behind.
03Dolmabahçe Palace: The long white façade lit from the water, the first palace of the night.
04Çırağan Palace: The Ottoman waterfront at its most theatrical.
05Ortaköy Mosque: Small, floodlit, framed by the bridge standing behind it.
06The Bosphorus Bridge: Passing beneath, the colours shifting overhead.
07Bebek: The storied European bay — waterfront mansions, cafés and the promenade sliding past.
08Rumeli Fortress: Mehmed II's fortress of 1452, floodlit above the narrowest point of the strait.
09Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge: The second bridge — and the turn beneath it, where the run home begins.
10Beylerbeyi Palace: The summer palace, seen from the water it was built to face.
11Üsküdar: The Asian shoreline running past on the return leg.
12Maiden's Tower: The closest pass of the night, and the photograph everyone takes.
13Cibali Pier: Back into the Golden Horn, and alongside again between 23:45 and midnight.

The route may vary with weather and sea conditions.

Comfort on the water is mostly a question of whether the weather can reach you. It can't.

Two panoramic salons: Enclosed, heated in winter and air-conditioned in summer, with panoramic windows on the water, so the Bosphorus is part of the room rather than a view for a lucky few.
A stage and a dance floor: The stage has a dance floor in front of it, and the performers come out between the tables. You are not choosing between a view of the water and a view of the show.
Open decks: At the bow and at the stern, in the open air, for the bridge passes and the photographs. In rain they close and the evening carries on inside without missing a beat.

Bar on board: Soft drinks are unlimited and already paid for. Beer, rakı, vodka, gin and wine come through the drinks package, priced before you board; imported spirits and cocktails are charged at the bar.
A pier you can find: Cibali, on the Golden Horn beside Kadir Has University: a short walk from the T5 tram, two stops from Eminönü. By taxi, ask for “Cibali, Kadir Has Üniversitesi”.
Answered in your language: Reservations and questions run through WhatsApp in 32 languages, from the first message to the moment you step aboard.

Every photograph here was taken on this cruise — the table, the show, the deck and the shoreline going past. Tap any of them to open the viewer.

The boat under way at night, seen from above, the old city behind

The boat lit alongside Cibali Pier, seen from above

Two main-course plates and a glass of red wine on a laid table

The whirling dervish turning between the tables

Süleymaniye Mosque lit above the Golden Horn at dusk, seen from the boat

Belly dancer in sequins between the guest tables

Guests on the dance floor, hands in the air

Maiden's Tower lit at night, photographed from the boat

The boat lit alongside its pier at night, seen from above

Folk dancers in embroidered costume between the tables

Dolmabahçe Palace seen from the Bosphorus

Anatolian folk dance during the programme

A selfie on the open deck with the lit Bosphorus Bridge behind

Cibali Pier on the Golden Horn at sunset, the old city behind

Salmon with cabbage salad, red onion and lemon

The boat lit at its pier at night, the waterfront park behind

A waiter opening a bottle of wine at the table

The bow and the lit salon, fairy lights in the windows

Guests raising their glasses over the table lamp

Luxury Bosphorus dinner cruise — frequently asked

Is this a private yacht charter?

No. This is a shared evening cruise: you choose your own table as you board, and other guests have theirs. That is exactly why the price is €24.60 rather than the several hundred euros a private charter costs. If you want the table itself to feel private, the romantic table setting (+€15 per table) is the closest thing to it.

What makes it a luxury dinner cruise at this price?

Everything that usually turns up as a surcharge is already inside the €24.60: a table in a heated salon with panoramic windows, ten cold mezes, a warm börek, a main course you choose from four, the house semolina dessert, unlimited soft drinks and the complete eight-act live night show. Once you are aboard, nothing is billed by the item.

Can I request a window table?

Tables are chosen on arrival rather than assigned, so the way to a window is to come early: doors open at 20:00, an hour before departure, and the first guests aboard have the widest choice. Both salons have panoramic windows.

Is alcohol included in the price?

Soft drinks — water, cola, juice, tea — are unlimited and included for every guest. Alcohol is a separate, optional package: +€15 per adult, unlimited all evening — beer, rakı, vodka, gin, red and white wine, served from the bar on board. Imported spirits and cocktails are charged at the bar.

Do I pay in advance?

No. There is no prepayment and no booking fee. You pay on board, in cash (EUR, TRY or USD) or by card, and cancellation is free up to two hours before the 21:00 departure.

What should I wear?

Smart casual is right — most guests dress up a little for the evening, and there is no formal dress code to worry about. The open decks at the bow and stern can be breezy over the water even in summer, so bring a light layer if you plan to spend time out there.

Is hotel transfer available?

Yes, both directions at +€5 per person, free for children 0–3. You are collected from your hotel before the cruise and taken back from the pier afterwards — worth having when the evening ends near midnight. Pickups are organised by district, so the ride may be shared; for the same night, book it before 18:30.

Can you arrange a proposal or an anniversary on board?

Yes. Add the romantic table (+€15 per table) — candles and flowers, set before you arrive. Message us on WhatsApp with the details and we will plan the timing of the moment with you.

What happens if it rains?

Both salons are enclosed and heated, so dinner and the show carry on exactly as planned. Only the open decks close. In ordinary rain the boat sails as usual; on the rare night that conditions make sailing unsafe, you hear from us before you leave your hotel.

Do children pay?

Ages 0–3 come aboard free. Ages 4–9 pay €5 less than the adult price, so €19.60. From age 10 the full €24.60 applies. A vegetarian platter is prepared on request at no extra cost, if it suits them better.

Can I book for tonight?

Yes — same-day reservations are taken right up to the 21:00 departure, subject to availability. Message us on WhatsApp and we will confirm immediately.