Consider yourself fortunate if you live in İstanbul, for İstanbul residents are just a ferry ride away from scenic islands serving as a vacation destination or weekend getaway any time of the year. If you’re not in İstanbul, click here to check out flights to the city, and embark on an island journey you won’t easily forget.
In the meantime, we’ll visit İstanbul’s islands and provide a guide for future travels, accompanied by soulful sounds of ‘Biz Göçmüşüz’, the song by Nükhet Duru about the Islands and Moda. Let’s start!
Index:
The apple of Dersaadet’s eye: Places to visit in Büyükada
Gazing at the moon each night: Places to visit in Heybeliada
Silence, peace, and revitalization: Places to visit in Kınalıada
The castle of the islands of İstanbul: Places to visit in Burgazada
The apple of Dersaadet’s eye: Places to visit in Büyükada
As its name – “büyük” – suggests, Büyükada is the largest of İstanbul’s islands. It was to this island that Roman and Byzantine royalty and nobles were exiled; and this island is the last stop for the City Lines ferries and other passenger boats going to the islands. It might take a full day or even an entire weekend to visit the places we recommend seeing in Büyükada: In light of this possibility, we recommend reviewing Islands of İstanbul: Büyükada, in which we have offered a few accommodation options, as well as dining and beach suggestions. While relatively peaceful in the winter, Büyükada is positively buzzing in the spring!
Gazing at the moon each night: Places to visit in Heybeliada
The second destination on our İstanbul Islands adventure is Heybeliada, where distinguished figures in the Republic’s history, such as İsmet İnönü, Hüseyin Rahmi Gürpınar and Ahmet Rasim, left their mark. The winter population of İstanbul’s second-biggest island is estimated to be around seven thousand people; naturally, this number increases in the summer. Like the other İstanbul islands, there are no motor vehicles on Heybeliada. But the island is known for its electric car tours, which have two routes. One is the Grand Tour and the other is the Short Tour; also known as the “Lovers Tour”. There are a number of places to visit in Heybeliada, so do review Islands of İstanbul: Heybeliada, which offers tips and suggestions on Heybeliada’s history, cafes, beaches and transportation, as well as sights such as the Heybeliada Naval High School (Bahriye) and the Heybeliada Seminary.
Quiet, cozy and refreshing: Places to visit in Kınalıada
The calmest of the İstanbul islands, Kınalıada, is an excellent option for a peaceful springtime break. With just 1.3 square kilometers of surface area, the island is also the smallest of the İstanbul islands and offers fewer places to visit. A walk from one end of the island to the other takes about thirty minutes. But Kınalıada has a unique charm. The rocky island was the source for the stones that make up many of İstanbul’s iconic structures, including the old city walls and the Tophane Pier. The abundance of this stone is why there are few trees on Kınalıada. The list of Kınalıada attractions with the stunningly beautiful Kınalıada Mosque, then moves on to the famous Sikaryan Houses and historical churches For more on this island, you can check out Islands of İstanbul: Kınalıada. Kınalıada has a diverse but rather low population – usually around two thousand people live there year-round. A key reason is that electricity and water arrived relatively recently: electricity in 1946 and water in 1981. Before that time, water was brought to the island from İstanbul in tankers.
The castle of the islands of İstanbul: Places to visit in Burgazada
Burgazada is the third-largest of İstanbul’s nine islands and the inspiration for Sait Faik. Its winter population is about fifteen hundred; in summer, the island often hosts more than fifteen thousand visitors! Burgazada also has fewer transportation options than the other İstanbul airlines; not every island ferry or motorboat stops here. The two-kilometer long island features numerous structures worth visiting, including historical churches and monasteries, as well as a museum set in the former home of Sait Faik Abasıyanık, a cornerstone of Turkish literature. The island also offers hidden paradises like Kalpazankaya .with its breathtaking outlook; the Madam Martha Bay, and Süt Bay, which, true to its name, is worth a leisurely visit this spring. For more information before you head out to Burgazada, just read our post!
