How To Get To The Asian Side of Istanbul From European Side! How to visit Kadikoy?

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Istanbul straddles two continents- Europe and Asia and that it is the only city in the world that does this, so of course, when planning my 3 days in Istanbul I knew I had to venture to the Asian Side too.

After doing some googling I found that the neighbourhood of Kadikoy on the Asian side would be the best place to get the boat to from the European side to the Asian side of Istanbul. I was staying in Karakoy which is where the boat leaves from to get to the Asian side of Istanbul so this is how I did it, plus things to do in Kadikoy!

How to Visit the Asian Side of Istanbul!

Keep Reading for how to visit the Asian Side of Istanbul Kadikoy!

Boat from Karakoy to Kadikoy

I was staying in the Karakoy neighbourhood of Istanbul so I went down to the pier nearby and there was a ticket booth which had KADIKOY written on it with a boat waiting so I used my Istanbulkart (the card you need to get to use all transport in Istanbul) to get through the barriers where it deducted a meer 2.15TL/£0.50 off the card and I got onto the boat… nice and easy!

The boat journey from Karakoy to Kadikoy took about 20 minutes and there were great views all around!

visiting the asian side of istanbul from the european side boat — Take a ferry ride from Karakoy to Kadikoy to visit the Asian side of Istanbul from European side

GETTING TO ISTANBUL CITY CENTRE

If you’re flying into Sabia Airport, read how to get from Sabia Airport to the city here!

WHERE TO STAY IN ISTANBUL?

Still not booked accommodation? Here are the best neighbourhoods to stay in Istanbul!

WHAT TO DO IN ISTANBUL?

Read my guide to all the things to do in Istanbul and follow my 4 day and 3 day Istanbul itinerary!

UNIQUE IDEAS FOR ISTANBUL

Been to Istanbul before? Want to get off the tourist trail? Here are my suggested Hidden Gems in Istanbul and the Best cafes in Istanbul that locals go to too!

Things to do in Kadikoy

On arriving at Kadikoy port I realised I didn’t quite know where to go from here, however, I checked the map on my phone and headed straight on from the port, across the road and from here I could see plenty of shops and restaurants and once I walked up the road I saw the infamous Bull statue that I had read about in some blog posts and then saw lots of coloured boulders.

It seemed like a good idea to follow them and they did, in fact, lead me to a good part of the Kadikoy neighbourhood.

It’s a shopping street and mainly a walking street with the exception of the tram and a few cars and it felt like Istiklal Street which is on the European side of Istanbul but not on as many steroids!

visiting the asian side of istanbul from the european side — Apparently this guy on Asian side of Istanbul is quite famous

Always follow the colour when you visit Kadikoy!

It was quite cute really especially with all the coloured posts and between the main street where the tram went there were plenty of places to eat and shops to look at and I didn’t feel like I was being hassled as much here as I have been on the other side of Istanbul.

After walking around this area I headed to Moda by foot, another neighbourhood which I had read about and I was able to walk right along the ocean and enjoy the many parks they had.

At some points, I had to go back to street level but even then there were loads of nice apartments and it made me think that it would be lovely here in the Summer.

Luckily for me, it was a warm, quiet, Wednesday morning in October and I got some well-needed peace from the hustle and bustle of the other side of Istanbul!

One thing that I’ve noticed a lot in Istanbul but especially noticed in Kadikoy was how many stray dogs and cats there were, but thankfully the majority did not look like strays and they seem to be the pets of the city being fed, watered and loved by many.

For example, in Kadikoy, I saw a water container left outside a shop with a cat having a drink and I spotted a guy feeding the dogs in the park and then gave the cats some milk. It’s was so nice to see this.

Overall I’m so pleased that I ventured over to the Asian side of Istanbul from the European side, its something that I had always wanted to do because how cool is it that you can visit both Continents in one day on just a short boat ride from Karakoy to Kadikoy.

Kadikoy was a great place to visit especially because it was a lot more chilled compared to the European side of Istanbul, and with the total boat journey costing £1.00 in total, you really can’t go wrong by visiting the Asian side of Istanbul from the European side!

Kashiefa

Tuesday 14th of August 2018

Thanks for this post. I am travelling to Istanbul with my husband and two girls (8 and 6) next month. We decided to experience both European and Asian side but you right, there isn’t much written about the Asian side.

Thanks again

TheWanderingQuinn

That’s interesting to hear especially as I visited and wrote this a few years ago. I’m glad you’re going to see both sides. I’m going back to Istanbul next month too actually but not sure if I’ll have time to make it back to the Asian side.

Enjoy your time there :)

Crystal W

Wednesday 11th of November 2015

Istanbul is one of the top cities on my must-do list, but I rarely see much about the Asian side, so thanks for this!

I love that the cat is drinking outside of a shop with a window full of little cats, btw!

Thursday 12th of November 2015

That's good to hear. When I was looking for posts on the Asian side I couldn't see much which is a reason I wrote this! I know the cats are so cute and well looked after! I hope you make it to Istanbul soon crystal! X