Hello there! Are you planning your first trip to Istanbul? Or looking for information about how to navigate around this lovely city? Then I believe you are in the right place. We will walk you through the steps to how to use public transportation in Istanbul for you to have the best time navigating around this beautiful city.
Find what you are looking for;
Let me start by making things clearer for you. If you have been looking for information about Istanbul on the internet you have probably come across terms such as Old City, New City, European side, and Asian side. All may be very confusing...
Europe or Asia? Old or New?
Istanbul is a big city divided into two parts by the Bosphorus Strait. We call these parts the European side and the Asian side. Almost every tourist attraction that you have read about and all the must-visit sightseeings are on the European side, mostly situated in Sultanahmet and Beyoğlu areas. Although less touristy, the Asian side has the areas of Üsküdar, Kadıköy, and many more that are worth visiting. You can cross to either one of these sides by the ferries we have(locals’ favorite way for sure!), by Marmaray –which is an alternative to the subway but it crosses under the Bosphorus for a few stops-, by metrobüs -which is like surface metro- or by driving through the bridge.
As a local, I have never heard of a local who used the terms Old City or New City when talking about these areas. Yes, we tend to look at Sultanahmet(which is the area where all those famous mosques are) and the surrounding area as the older part of the city, but we generally don’t use these two terms. I believe they have been coined recently by visitors to make sense of things. What they refer to is; Old City-> Sultanahmet and the surrounding areas, New City-> across the Galata Bridge. Galata Bridge only divides the European side into two. I have been asked this question many times: Are we crossing to the Asian side when we cross the Galata Bridge? The answer is simple, no. Doesn’t matter which direction you cross the bridge towards, you will still be on the European side.
Now that we have a picture of which area is which, we can talk about how to navigate around. If you are staying somewhere around the center of the city, like Sultanahmet or Beyoğlu, you will rarely need taxis. And even if you are staying a bit far from the center, we still don’t recommend taking taxis. If you don’t know any Turkish, and if you look even slightly like a tourist, chances are the drivers will try and get more money from you. Even as locals, we try not to take taxis. What you can and should do instead is purchase our public transportation card.
What is IstanbulCard?
IstanbulCard(or İstanbul Kart) is the public transportation card that is used by almost every local in Istanbul. It is cheap to purchase, easy to use, and is accepted across ALL transportation modes in the city. Once you buy the card, you can use it as many days as you want by putting money in the card. It costs around 15-20(around 50 to 70 cents per ride) Turkish liras to use public transportation depending on the vehicle and you can use one card for two people. So, if you have more than 2 days traveling around the city, IstanbulCard is the most convenient purchase you will make.
How To Get and Use Your IstanbulCard
The card itself costs around 70 TL(which is around 2.5USD) and you can get your card in most public transportation stations and Istanbul Airport or Sabiha Gökcen Airport from the yellow machines. When you spot the yellow machine, you should follow these steps to purchase your IstanbulCard;
First of all, when you look at the screen you will see a tab saying languages. You can click on the responding button to change the language. If the tab isn’t working, know that depending on the machine you will have a few options. It will offer you to buy ‘passes’ that you can use 3-5-7 times(every machine offers different options) or it will give you the option of ‘buy IstanbulCard’. You should choose the latter one if you will be staying in Istanbul for more than 2 days.
When you click on the ‘buy IstanbulCard’ option, you can purchase the card with either cash or credit card, but be aware that not every machine will accept credit cards. Keep in mind that these machines do not provide change for cash transactions, so if you insert a 100 TL bill, the excess amount will be transferred to your card balance.
When you have purchased your card, you will put the card back on the machine. You will wait for the amount screen to come up and when it does you will be able to see the balance on your IstanbulCard and insert more money if you wish to. You should calculate the amount of money you wish to insert depending on this formula: how many times you are planning to use your card x 15TL*
After you have inserted the amount of money you wanted into the card, you are ready to go. All you need to do is to put your card on the toll gates like all the other locals do and you can get on board!
You can download the app IstanbulCard and track your card balance once you buy the card, and you can also insert money into your card without needing the yellow machines. You can use the link down below to download the app!
Now you can buy a souvenir for a loved one or treat yourself to a kebab with the amount of money you will be saving by not using the taxis*
Let's turn your Istanbul adventure into an unforgettable journey filled with uniqememories! Subscribe now to receive our latest updates directly to your inbox!
Comments