You know I’m not one to sugar-coat an attraction if I don’t think it’s worth the money.
So, when I’m faced with something that even I can’t deny is ridiculous value, but is pretty boring, I’m not sure what to tell you, dear readers.
I love being out on the water, so taking a Short Circle Bosphorus Cruise seemed like a great idea. It only costs around $5 each for a two hour cruise. “Awesome!” screamed my purse. “Awesome!” screamed I.
But after I’d taken my seat, drunk a cardboard cup of overpriced tea and realised that the sun was beating down on me and I was unlikely to survive the cruise without looking like a lobster, the fun kind of ended there.
This cruise isn’t a tour – there is no commentary as you are sailing, as it is mainly used by commuters (hence the cheap price). I assumed I’d be ok with that, but as we passed a handful of interesting-looking buildings, I kind of wished I knew what they were.The cruise sails straight for one hour and then turns around and comes right back for the other hour.
After the first forty minutes, I was already bored. There are only so many photos of hills and houses that I can take before the novelty wears off.
And there is only so long that even I can people-watch. The same people. For two hours.
Did I enjoy being out on the water? Sure. Did I kind of wish that the boat cruise was a lot shorter than two hours? Definitely.
The best view of these Bosphorus Cruises is, in my opinion, the one as you are leaving the dock by the Galata bridge, with the mosques and markets in the background. After that, it all gets a bit same-y and, somewhat interestingly, looks very Mediterranean.
It was a nice and relaxing way to spend a sunny afternoon but, if I’m being honest, I’d rather have spent some of that time in the Hagia Sofia, which was already closed by the time we got off the boat.
All in all, it was great value for the time spent on the boat, but, for me, it was just a very expensive cup of tea.
Short Circle Bosphorus Cruises is run by Sehir Hatlari and you can catch their boats on the Eminonu side of the Galata Bridge. Cruises run at 2.30pm every day and only during the summer months.
I took one a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed it – and it was the full day cruise, from 10:30 to 4-ish! It made a really nice change to sit down and relax as places moved by me, instead of walking by them on my feet as I had been all month. Also, there were leaflets with some information about the route and its landmarks, which did help make it more interesting.
Oh cool – maybe the trick then is to take the longer cruise? I agree it’s always nice to be able to sit down and relax instead of being on your feet. Did they have food available or just snacks?
Just snacks I think, but I took my own food, and it did stop at one place (not much to do, but a fort nice views) for about 90 minutes where there were restaurants. From reading your post I think you would have been even more bored on the longer cruise!
Haha fair enough!