Does a Bosphorus dinner cruise sail in bad weather?

What a rainy evening on board is like

Rain changes very little about the evening. Boarding opens at 20:00 at Eminönü Pier, your table is ready in one of the two enclosed salons, and dinner is served there: eight cold mezes, a hot kalem böreği, your main course and baklava. The four acts (a whirling dervish, Anatolian folk dances, the drum ensemble and belly dance) take place on the stage in the main salon, and there is a DJ: the dance floor belongs to the guests.

What changes is the view. The palaces, Ortaköy Mosque and the bridges are lit, and the route runs close to them, so they show clearly through the windows that run along the salons. In heavy rain the far shore softens and the glass catches the city lights. Between showers, the open terrace is a few steps away.

Heated in winter, air-conditioned in summer

Both salons are enclosed and climate-controlled, and kept between 21 and 24 °C all year: heated in the cold months and air-conditioned on summer nights. Inside, dress as you would for a warm restaurant, whatever the season. In July and August, when the average night-time low in Istanbul is above 20 °C, the salons are cooled to the same range and the terrace has the breeze.

Going outside: the terrace and the open decks

You are never shut in. Above the salons there is an open terrace, and there are open decks at the front and the back of the boat. Every guest can step out at any time, for air or for photographs. The best moments are on the European shore: Dolmabahçe and Çırağan palaces, Ortaköy Mosque under the Bosphorus Bridge, then Bebek and Rumeli Hisarı before the boat turns at the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge.

In winter the open areas are cold and windy, and the decks are wet after rain. Take your coat when you go up, and wear closed shoes with some grip. Ten minutes outside under the bridge, then back to a warm table, is the way to do it in January.

How often it rains, month by month

Istanbul's wet season runs from November to March. The figures below are long-term averages from the Turkish State Meteorological Service, not forecasts.

Two things follow from the table. Even in December and January, the wettest months, about half the days stay dry. And a wet day in these figures means rain at any hour, so a rainy afternoon can still be a dry evening at 21:00. Source: Turkish State Meteorological Service, Istanbul, 1950 to 2025.

Booked, and the forecast says rain?

1. Keep your booking. Nothing was paid in advance, so holding the table costs nothing.
2. Look at the evening, not the day. On the day itself, check the hourly forecast from 20:00 to midnight. Rain in the morning says little about the evening.
3. Decide by 19:00. If you would rather not go, send us a message before 19:00, in the chat where you booked. Cancellation is free, with no form and nothing to refund.
4. Or move it. Ask for another date in the same chat, and we move your booking if there is room that evening.
5. Or skip the walk. Add hotel pickup for €5 per person and a car brings you to the pier. On the day, pickup can be booked until 19:00.

Wind, storms and snow

Wind. The boat is 46 metres long, and on an ordinary windy night guests hardly notice the difference. Dinner and the show go on as usual in the warm salons.

Storms. When conditions are genuinely risky, the harbour authority closes the Bosphorus to passenger boats, and we would not sail in them anyway. This happens on two evenings a year at most. If it falls on your evening, we message you on WhatsApp as early as possible and offer another date at no extra cost. As nothing was paid, nothing is withheld. The details are in our cancellation policy.

Snow. Snow does not stop the cruise, and it makes the evening better. Snow is rare in Istanbul; when it comes, you see the lit palaces and mosques under white roofs from a warm table, and the terrace is the place for a photograph.

What to look for in a Bosphorus cruise on a rainy night

Not every boat suits a wet evening. A public ferry or a short sightseeing trip is a good ride on a dry day, but its view comes from an open deck or a closed cabin. For a rainy night, these are the things worth checking, and how our cruise answers each one:

How the evening compares with a ferry ride is set out in our dinner cruise vs. public ferry guide.

Getting to Eminönü Pier in the rain

Eminönü Pier is about a minute's walk from the Eminönü stop of the T1 tram, five minutes from Sirkeci Marmaray station and about ten minutes on foot from Sultanahmet. On a wet evening the tram is the easiest way, and a compact umbrella covers the short walk. If you are staying in one of the districts we serve, such as Sultanahmet, Taksim or Beşiktaş, hotel pickup brings you to the pier for €5 per person.

What to wear in each season is in our guide on what to wear on a Bosphorus dinner cruise, and how to spend the hour before boarding is in Eminönü before you board.

Hold your table, check the sky later

A rainy forecast is no reason to wait. Booking costs nothing, you pay on the boat, and you can cancel free until 19:00 on the day. Choose your date, send the summary to us on WhatsApp or Telegram, and decide on the day.