A day away from the traffic on the Princes’ Islands, the old summer retreat in the Sea of Marmara. Ferry out to Büyükada, the biggest of them, where cars are banned and the pace drops to a walk.
Büyükada has kept cars off its streets for over a century, so the island runs on bikes, electric carts and horse-drawn phaetons. You come off the ferry into a small town of wooden mansions and cafés, then head up through pine woods to viewpoints over the sea. The grand timber houses were built as summer homes by Istanbul’s Greek, Armenian and Jewish families, and many still stand behind their gardens — Trotsky spent four years of his exile in one of them.
The crossing takes in the Sea of Marmara and a receding view of the old-city skyline before the island comes up ahead. Ashore you have free time to ride the shore road, take a phaeton up to the old monastery of Aya Yorgi, swim off one of the beaches, or just eat well — the quayside restaurants do the seafood the islands are known for. Then the ferry back as the light drops over the water.
Travellers who want a slow day out of the city, on foot, bike or phaeton by the sea.
By ferry across the Sea of Marmara from central Istanbul to Büyükada. The ordinary ferry takes around an hour; a fast ferry is quicker, and we can arrange either.
Correct — Büyükada bans private cars. You get around on foot, by bicycle, on an electric cart, or in a horse-drawn phaeton.
Not in the base price, so you can choose your own quayside restaurant. We are glad to reserve a seafood lunch or add a private guide for the day.
Yes — a licensed guide can travel with you and show you the mansions, the monastery and the island’s history. Ask us to add one.
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