Istanbul Guide

19

TOP TIPS ¨ ¨ Purchase an İstanbulkart (p210) to save nearly 50% on the standard ticket price every time you take a ferry, tram, metro, funicular or bus ride, and even more on

Etiquette ¨ ¨ Have your İstanbulkart or jeton ready before you go through the ticket turnstile – locals are well practised at moving through ticket barriers the Grand Bazaar or Süleymaniye Mosque to Beyoğlu, consider taking the metro from Vezneciler rather than the slower tram service. ¨ ¨ To pick up a handy public transport map of the city stationary on an escalator, stand on the right-hand-side; you’ll need to walk if you are on the left. ¨ ¨ Turks are usually very polite and will give their seats to older passengers, disabled people, pregnant women or parents carrying babies or toddlers if there are no spare seats available. You should do the same. ¨ ¨ Queuing to board public transport is honoured in principle rather than in reality. Be proactive but not pushy. without breaking pace. ¨ ¨ If you want to stay

or to request transport information, go to the extremely helpful İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi (İstanbul Municipality) Information Office between the Harem and Kadıköy iskeles at Eminönü.

PLAN YOUR TRIP Getting Around

connecting journeys. ¨ ¨ If travelling from

When to Travel ¨ ¨ İstanbul is a busy city and even though public transport services are frequent, they are often crowded. Try to avoid rush hours (8am to 10am and 4pm to 6pm) if possible. ¨ ¨ If you need to get to Taksim Meydanı (Taksim Sq) from the Asian or Bosphorus suburbs after services have finished for the night, you should be able to take a dolmuş. ¨ ¨ All Bosphorus and Princes’ Islands ferry services are jam packed on weekends; consider exploring on a weekday if possible. How to Hail a Taxi ¨ ¨ Taxis are plentiful and are usually hailed in the street. Round fares up to the nearest lira. ¨ ¨ See the Transport chapter (p 208 ) for more information on taxis.

Tickets & Passes ¨ ¨ Jetons can be purchased from ticket machines or offices at tram stops, iskelesi and funicular and metro stations, but it’s much cheaper and easier to use an İstanbulkart (p210). ¨ ¨ You must have an İstanbulkart to use a bus. ¨ ¨ Pay the driver when you take a dolmuş (shared minibus); fares vary according to destination and length of trip. ¨ ¨ Ticket prices are usually the same on public and private ferry services; İstanbulkarts can be used on some private ferries, but not all. ¨ ¨ İstanbulkarts cannot be used to pay for Bosphorus ferry tours.

For much more on getting around see p210