GESTAŞ's Southern Marmara Islands Line is a vehicle ferry line connecting the mainland Erdek with the Marmara Archipelago (Avşa, Marmara, Paşalimanı (Balıklı), and Ekinlik) year-round. What distinguishes this line from other ferry routes is not a classic "there-and-back" service, but rather a milk-run system where a single vessel zigzags between the islands throughout the day.
Continuous service all day with a single ferry: operational logic
The line operates with a single vehicle ferry departing from Avşa early in the morning, traversing the islands in an approximately 16-hour closed loop, and calling at the mainland (Erdek) twice during the day. The ferry spends the night in Avşa; in the morning, it collects passengers from the islands and takes them to Erdek, distributes them to the islands in the afternoon, collects them again in the evening and delivers them to Erdek, and returns to Avşa at night.
Example loop for Monday: Avşa 06:00 → Ekinlik 06:20 → Marmara 07:00 → Balıklı 08:00 → Erdek 11:00 → Balıklı 12:00 → Avşa 13:00 → Marmara 16:00 → Avşa 17:00 → Balıklı 18:00 → Erdek 19:30 → Marmara 21:30 → Avşa 22:15. Therefore, when wishing to travel from an island to the mainland, one must choose a time based on where the ferry is in its loop.
Weekly Timetable (Erdek – Avşa – Marmara – Paşalimanı – Ekinlik)
The current weekly timetable for GESTAŞ's Southern Marmara Islands Line is below. Red/bold rows (Avşa departures-arrivals and Erdek) are the anchor points of the line; "–" indicates that the pier is not called at on that day.
| Pier | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avşa (Departure) | 06:00 | 06:00 | 06:00 | 06:00 | 06:00 | 06:00 | 06:00 |
| Ekinlik | 06:20 | – | – | 06:20 | – | – | – |
| Marmara | 07:00 | 06:45 | 06:45 | 07:00 | 06:45 | 06:45 | 06:45 |
| Balıklı (Paşalimanı) | 08:00 | 07:45 | 07:45 | 08:00 | 07:45 | 07:45 | – |
| Erdek | 11:00 | 11:00 | 11:00 | 11:00 | 11:00 | 11:00 | 11:00 |
| Balıklı (Paşalimanı) | 12:00 | 12:00 | 12:00 | 12:00 | 12:00 | 12:00 | 12:00 |
| Avşa | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 | 13:00 |
| Ekinlik | 13:20 | – | – | 13:20 | – | – | – |
| Marmara | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 |
| Ekinlik | 16:30 | – | – | 16:30 | – | – | – |
| Avşa | 17:00 | 16:45 | 16:45 | 17:00 | 16:45 | 16:45 | 17:00 |
| Balıklı (Paşalimanı) | 18:00 | 17:45 | 17:45 | 18:00 | 17:45 | 17:45 | 18:00 |
| Erdek | 19:30 | 19:15 | 19:15 | 19:30 | 19:15 | 19:15 | 19:30 |
| Balıklı (Paşalimanı) | 20:30 | 20:15 | 20:15 | 20:30 | 20:15 | 20:15 | – |
| Marmara | 21:30 | 21:15 | 21:15 | 21:30 | 21:15 | 21:15 | 21:00 |
| Ekinlik | 22:00 | – | – | 22:00 | 21:45 | – | – |
| Avşa (Arrival) | 22:15 | 22:00 | 22:00 | 22:15 | 22:00 | 22:00 | 21:45 |
Times are according to GESTAŞ's official timetable; cancellations or additional services may occur due to weather conditions (storm/southwesterly wind). Before your journey, check the current status via gdu.com.tr.
Mainland (Erdek) connection: two services per day
The backbone of the line consists of the 11:00 and 19:30 services departing from Erdek; both call at all islands in the loop. Key routes to Erdek:
- Erdek – Avşa and return Avşa – Erdek
- Erdek – Marmara and return Marmara – Erdek
- Erdek – Paşalimanı and return Paşalimanı – Erdek
- Erdek – Ekinlik and return Ekinlik – Erdek
Which pier on which days?
Avşa, Marmara, and Paşalimanı (Balıklı) piers are called at every day. As Ekinlik is the smallest island and has lower traffic, full calls are generally made only on Mondays and Thursdays. Additionally, evening services on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays shift approximately 15 minutes earlier (e.g., Erdek departure at 19:15 instead of 19:30). For current and exceptional situations, it is important to follow GESTAŞ's "Cancellations/Additional Services" announcements.
Why does it operate continuously for 12 months?
This line is operated more as a public/universal service than for commercial profitability: the year-round connection of island residents to the mainland (even with fewer passengers in winter) is guaranteed by the state. Therefore, continuous services are arranged summer and winter, as long as weather conditions permit; in case of storms or southwesterly winds, services may be cancelled or additional services may be scheduled.
Vehicles, tickets, and durations
The ferry carries both passengers and vehicles (car ferry). Approximate durations: Erdek–Avşa ~2 hours, Erdek–Marmara ~2.5 hours, Avşa–Marmara ~30 minutes. Due to the milk-run system, the duration may vary depending on the leg of the journey you take. Tickets can be purchased from pier ticket offices (~2 hours before departure, cash/card), GESTAŞ online tickets, and with GestCard.
Two operators on the same line
In addition to GESTAŞ, Marmara RoRo (SS. Erdek Deniz Motorlu Taşıyıcılar Kooperatifi) also operates services in the Erdek–islands corridor. On our route detail pages, you can see each operator's departure times separately and choose the most suitable service for you.
For all routes and current times, you can examine the relevant route pages, especially Erdek – Avşa; for the general region, refer to the Marmara Islands Ferry Guide.
