Swimming Around the Princes’ Islands: the Coves and the Route

The Princes’ Islands sit an hour out in the Sea of Marmara, away from the city and away from the shipping lane, and the water around them is calmer and clearer than anywhere on the Bosphorus. This is where we anchor, which bays we use, and how a swimming day actually fits together.

Where you can actually swim

The bays around Heybeliada and Burgazada are the ones we anchor in most often: sheltered, out of the shipping lane, and clear enough that people who arrived planning to stay on deck usually do not. Swimming season runs roughly June to September, with the warmest water in August and early September. Our swimming tour works the same way.

Outside those months the islands are still worth the crossing — the pine woods and the empty streets are arguably better in October than in August — but plan them as a walking day rather than a swimming one.

The coves, island by island

This is the part of the islands most visitors never reach, because the ferry cannot take you there. The four inhabited islands are ringed with small bays, and a handful of them are genuinely good anchorages.

Büyükada

Dil Burnu is the long pine-covered headland at the south of the island and the one people mean when they say the island has a wild side. Sheltered water, shade right down to the shoreline, and a view back along the coast. Yörükali on the western shore and the bays around Nizam are the other two we use; both are calmer in the morning, before the day-trip boats arrive.

Heybeliada

Çam Limanı — the pine harbour — is the classic anchorage of the whole archipelago, and if you only stop once, stop here. Pines come down to the water, the bay faces away from the shipping lane, and it stays swimmable when the wind picks up elsewhere. Değirmenburnu, on the same side, is the second choice and quieter still.

Burgazada

Kalpazankaya on the western shore is the sunset stop. The rock formations, the low cliffs and the water below them face directly into the evening light, and there is a long-standing restaurant above the bay. Madam Marta is the other well-known cove on the island, smaller and usually emptier.

Kınalıada

Ayazma is the swimming bay, and the island being the closest to the city means it is the easiest one to fit into a shorter day. Less shade than the others, so it suits an early stop rather than a long lunch.

A swimming route that actually works

If the day is about the water rather than the towns, this is the order we sail it and the reason for each stop:

1. Leave Karaköy in the morning. The crossing takes roughly an hour and a half and the water is at its calmest before midday.
2. First swim at Çam Limanı, Heybeliada. The most sheltered of the anchorages and the best water of the day. Allow an hour.
3. Lunch on deck, still at anchor. Moving to eat wastes the calmest part of the day.
4. Second swim at Madam Marta or Kalpazankaya, Burgazada. A short crossing, and Kalpazankaya sets you up for the light on the way home.
5. Ashore if you want it. An hour on Büyükada or Burgazada, and the yacht picks you up where you finish rather than where you started.
6. Back with the sun behind you. The return leg is when the city comes up out of the haze, and it is the photograph people take home.

That is a full day — roughly eight hours from Karaköy and back. Tell us if you would rather cut a stop and take longer over the others; the order is a suggestion, not a timetable.

For what to see, walk and eat once you are ashore, see our guide to the Princes’ Islands.

Planning a swimming day at the islands

A day at the islands is a full-day charter — roughly eight hours from Karaköy and back, because the crossing takes about ninety minutes each way and you want time in the water at both ends of it.

Private charter starts at €150 per hour with a two-hour minimum, and the islands need the long end of that. From around nine guests it also works out cheaper per head than buying seats on anything shared. Tell us how many of you there are and whether you want one long stop or two shorter ones, and we will set the route before you sail. A full day is priced differently: on bookings of six hours or more the rate starts from €120 per hour, because the yacht and its crew are yours for the day rather than for an evening. Six or eight hours is the usual shape of a swimming day, and we can run it shorter or longer to suit you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a full day cheaper per hour than a short charter?

Yes. A short charter starts at €150 per hour with a two-hour minimum; on bookings of six hours or more the rate starts from €120 per hour. A swimming day is usually six or eight hours, and we can make it shorter or longer to suit you — tell us the shape of the day you want and we will price it before you book.

Can you swim at the Princes’ Islands?

Yes, roughly between June and September, and the water around the islands is calmer than anywhere on the Bosphorus. The sheltered bays on Heybeliada and Burgazada are the best of it.

Which island has the best swimming?

Heybeliada. Çam Limanı is the most sheltered anchorage in the whole archipelago and stays swimmable when the wind picks up elsewhere. Burgazada is the close second, and better in the late afternoon light.

Can you reach these coves by ferry?

No. Ferries run pier to pier, into the island towns. The bays are on the other side of the islands and are reachable only by boat, which is the entire reason to charter for the day.

How many swim stops fit into one day?

Two comfortably, three if you keep them short. Most groups do one long stop before lunch and one shorter one afterwards, with an hour ashore in between.

Is the water clean around the islands?

Yes, and noticeably clearer than the lower Bosphorus, because the islands sit out in the Marmara away from the city and the shipping lane.

What do we need to bring?

Swimwear, a towel, sun protection and one more layer than the forecast suggests. Life jackets in adult and children’s sizes are on board.