Cruise activities in Europe
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Golondrina Excursion Boats
For a trip around the harbour, board a Golondrina Excursion Boatsgolondrina (swallow) from Moll de les Drassanes in front of Mirador de Colom. The one-hour round trip takes you to Port Olímpic, the Fòrum and back again. The number of departures depends largely on the season and demand. If you just want to discover the area around the port, you can opt for a 35-minute excursion to the breakwater and back (adult/child under four years/child aged four to 10 years €6.50/free/2.60).
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Canal Motorboats
Canal Motorboats has small aluminium boats (maximum six passengers) that are not only easy to drive but are also battery-powered, which means you silently cruise the waters and yield zero emissions when doing so (though we can’t say where or how the juice for the batteries was generated). Staff give you a map and plenty of advice about where to go (and where to avoid), and will come rescue you if you have problems on the boat. Credit card imprint or €150 cash deposit required.
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Orsom
Orsom has trips on a giant catamaran. There are up to three departures per day and the trip lasts about 1½ hours. The third, leaving at 6pm, includes a jazz band and costs a little more (€14.90/6.50/12.90). It also has 45-minute speed-boat tours to and from the Fòrum (adult/four to 10 years/11 to 18 years and senior €10.95/6.50/9.50). Check departure times and availability in advance.
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Statek Nimfa
The pleasure boat Nimfa cruises along the Vistula River, departing from the pier below Wawel Castle, and motoring past sights such as Kościuszko Mound, Skałka and Plac Bohaterów Getta, with up-close views of all six bridges. The three-hour tour goes all the way to Tyniec.
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Boat Trips
From late May to September, gülets (traditional Turkish wooden yachts) offer one-day boat trips to nearby Black Island, Donkey Island and Wind Bay, where you can swim and snorkel. Browse the waterfront to compare prices and negotiate; they should cost around TL20 to TL30, including lunch. Boats usually leave around 10am and return around 5pm.
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Boat Tours
Designer yachts and cruisers have become a fixture of the Salone del Mobile but you don’t need to BYO to get out on the canals. Regular boat tours operate Friday and Saturday, and take in the historical canal-side laundries, dockyards and Conchetta lock.
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St Petersburg River Yacht Club
Established in 1860, Russia’s oldest yachting club is located at the western tip of Petrovsky Island on the Petrograd Side. They organise regattas and have a fleet of over 100 yachts. The chic restaurant More is also located here.
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Rødne Fjord Cruise
Rødne Fjord Cruise has summer express boats from Bergen to Rosendal twice daily from Monday to Friday and once on Saturday and Sunday. It leaves just northwest of Strandkaiterminal.
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Rødne Fjord Cruise
At the time of writing, Rødne Fjord Cruise was offering 3½-hour cruises from Stavanger to the waters below Preikestolen and back.
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Royal Scot
One-hour cruises on Loch Ness accompanied by the latest high-tech sonar equipment so you can keep an underwater eye open for Nessie.
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Blue Aquarius
Blue Aquarius offers pleasure cruises around Bangor Bay, departing from the marina pontoon next to the Pickie Family Fun Park. In July and August there are family-friendly fishing trips departing at 9.30am and 7pm daily from the Eisenhower Pier (the right-hand side of the harbour, looking out to sea).
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Golden Horn Ferry
Most visitors to İstanbul know about the Bosphorus cruise, but not too many have heard about the Haliç (Golden Horn) trip. Until recently, this stretch of water to the north of Galata Bridge was heavily polluted and its suburbs offered little to tempt the traveller. All that's changing these days, though. The waters have been cleaned up, beautification works are under way along the shores, and impressive museums and galleries are opening in the Haliç suburbs. Spending a day hopping on and off the ferry and exploring will give you an insight into a very different – and far less touristy – İstanbul.
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Cruises
In addition to the dive sites and summer ferries to Lesvos, cruises head around the bay's islands, including Alibey, and stop here and there for swimming, sunbathing and walking. They generally depart at 11am and return by 6.30pm. Jale Tour also cruises to Assos (TL40), leaving at 10.30am and returning by 7.30pm.
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Bosphorus Ferry
Divan Yolu and İstiklal Caddesi are always awash with people, but neither is the major thoroughfare in İstanbul. That honour goes to the mighty Bosphorus strait, which runs from the Sea of Marmara (Marmara Denizi) to the Black Sea (Karadeniz), located 32km north of the city centre. In modern Turkish, the strait is known as the Boğaziçi or İstanbul Boğazı (from boğaz, meaning throat or strait). On one side is Asia; on the other, Europe.
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Boat Trips
An array of companies offer excellent day tours of Marmaris Bay, its islands and beaches. Expect to pay TL25 to TL30 in one of these 'dolmuş boats'.
If you want to get off the beaten current, consider hiring a boat with a group that will take you to quieter, less-known coves. It costs around €300 for up to seven people per boat, but you'll have to negotiate. One of the more reliable is Zeus Boat, captained by Sadık Turgut.
Yachts sail roughly from May to October, departing between 9.30am and 10am and returning around 6pm to 6.30pm. Before signing up, check where the excursion goes, which boat you'll be on and what's on the lunch menu.
Overnight trips as well as two-day …
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Boat Trips
You can save yourself a lot of money and hassle by taking boats run by the Dalyan Kooperatifi, southwest of the main square. It's a fairly easy process, but if you need help, ask for Eddy (or call him 0541 505 0777).
Boats usually leave the quayside at 10am or 10.30am to cruise to the Sultaniye hot springs and mud baths, the ruins of Kaunos, and İztuzu Beach on the Mediterranean. These excellent tours, including lunch, cost around TL30 per person.
If you can drum up a team of like-minded folk, you can hire a passenger boat that holds from eight to 12 people. A two‑hour tour just to Kaunos costs around TL50 for the boat; if you want to visit the Sultaniye hot springs as wel…
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Boat Trips
Throughout the summer, boats set out to explore the coast, charging about TL20 for a day trip (including lunch). A typical cruise might take in Gemile Bay, the Blue Cave, Butterfly Valley and St Nicholas Island, with some time for swimming included.
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Boat & Rafting Trips
Excursion yachts tie up in the Roman harbour in içi. Some trips go as far as Kemer, Phaselis, Olympos, Demre (Kale) and even Kaş. You can take one-/two-hour trips (TL20/35) or a six-hour voyage (TL60 with lunch) which visits Kemer and Phaselis, the Gulf of Antalya islands and some beaches for a swim.
Many travel agencies in town offer white-water rafting in the Köprülu Kanyon for around TL50.
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