We are an upcoming (May 21st) Turkey tour and are planning our pre-tour list of things do. We would like to take a full cruise of the Bosporus but a short 2 hour cruise is on the tour itinerary. Do we get off of the boat and onto the bus to Ankara back at the starting point, or perhaps the bus meets us down the Bosporus somewhere. If so, where?
Thanks,
Steve
Posted by
New England
593 posts
If you call the Rick Steves office they should be able to tell you. I called them last week with logistical questions about the Basque Country tour I’m taking next month and the person I spoke to in the office was very knowledgeable and helpful.
Have a wonderful trip!
Posted by
Portland, OR
80 posts
When I took this tour (many years ago), the boat tour on the Bosphorus was a fairly short round trip excursion that returned to the point of origin. On an independent trip to Istanbul I took a trip up the Bosphorus. I got off for yogurt and shopping, and went far enough that I could see the Black Sea. In my opinion, if you are interested in sailing up the Bosphorus you should take one of the longer trips on your own. The group sail was fun, but more of a taste. I love Turkey! Have fun!
Posted by
St Louis, MO, USA
46 posts
I took this tour in 2014, and we got off the tour boat on the Asia side of the Bosphorus and met our bus for the ride to Ankara. We had gone North a good ways, turned around and came back maybe half way, then docked. We definitely went far enough to see the Ottoman fortresses built for the seige of Istanbul. Sorry I can’t be more specific, but best to check with the office as it may have changed.
Posted by
Seattle, Wa, USA
449 posts
Hi geolowiz:
I visited Istanbul on my own back in 2014, and I took the cruise up the Bosphorus all the way up to the entrance of the Black Sea. The ferry crossed from the European side to the Asian side where it berthed for a few hours so that everyone could explore the area or have a nice lunch. Then it brought us back to Istanbul. This cruise used one of the very large commuter ferries, and probably took five hours or thereabouts. Here is a link to my 45 second time lapse video of the trip up to the Black Sea.
http://v2.travelark.org/travel-blog-entry/georgelondon/2/1411593769
(look at the last legacy video)
If you read the blog in which the video is imbedded you will read that the toilets on this large ferry were Turkish toilets. I spent so much time in the toilet at the end of the trip that the ferry had discharged all of its passengers and was pulling away from the dock when I come out of the toilet. I had to run and jump from the ferry to the pier. An exciting way to end the trip.
Have a good tour.
geor(ge)
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15576 posts
Maybe they've changed the itinerary. On the website it shows the cruise on Day 2 and the bus to Ankara on Day 3 after a few hours in Istanbul in the morning. The 2-hour cruise is round-trip. So is the all-day cruise AFAIK. It goes to the Black Sea (north of Istanbul), while the bus will go east and a little south to Ankara.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thanks, everybody. I did call the RS tour group and got the scoop. But first, looking online at both 2018 and the newly announced 2019 tours, the itineraries are different. And as it turns out, the nice tour person told me that even some of the 2018 tours are being changed, including mine. Bottom line, the Bosporus cruise is veeeery short. Only to the first bridge and then back.
Eight years ago, we took the all day cruise which got near the Black Sea, loved it, and we might take it again.
That's all, folks.
Steve