GESTAŞ will switch four Çanakkale-area ferry services to new schedules on Monday, 5 October 2026: Çanakkale–Eceabat, Çanakkale–Kilitbahir, Geyikli–Bozcaada and Kabatepe–Gökçeada. The practical change for international travellers is fewer island departures and several removed or retimed late crossings on the Strait. All times below are local Turkey time and should still be rechecked on the operator's date-specific timetable before departure.
Bozcaada: five departures, with the late boat only on weekends
From Geyikli, ferries are scheduled at 08:00, 11:00, 15:00 and 19:00 every day; the 23:00 sailing operates only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. From Bozcaada, daily departures are 07:00, 10:00, 14:00 and 18:00, while the 22:00 service is limited to Friday, Saturday and Sunday. A search result or old screenshot may therefore show a late sailing that does not run on a weekday.
Gökçeada: four departures in each direction
Kabatepe departures are scheduled for 09:00, 13:00, 17:00 and 21:00. Gökçeada departures are at 07:00, 11:00, 15:00 and 19:00. The four-hour pattern is easy to remember, but a missed ferry can still add a long wait; island accommodation and onward road travel should not be planned against the final sailing without a buffer.
Several late Çanakkale Strait trips disappear
GESTAŞ says the Çanakkale-to-Eceabat 00:00 trip and the Eceabat-to-Çanakkale 23:00 trip will not operate from 5 October. On the Kilitbahir route, Çanakkale departures at 06:00, 21:30 and 23:30 and Kilitbahir departures at 06:00, 22:30 and 00:45 are removed. The Çanakkale-to-Kilitbahir 00:35 trip moves to 00:00; the Kilitbahir-to-Çanakkale 23:30 trip moves to 23:00.
Heavy vehicles have a separate routing rule
Heavy vehicles may use Çanakkale–Eceabat only between 23:00 and 08:00 and are not allowed on Çanakkale–Kilitbahir. GESTAŞ directs them to the Lapseki–Gelibolu line. This restriction matters to commercial vans, trucks and some large vehicles; ordinary car passengers should choose the booking category that matches the vehicle shown in their registration.
Tickets do not remove the need for a live check
The announcement changes departure times, not the basic need to monitor conditions. Wind, operational limits and demand can still affect a particular sailing. Check the official GESTAŞ timetable on the travel date, arrive ahead of the vehicle queue, keep the booking details accessible and avoid relying on an aggregator's cached schedule for the last ferry of the day.