- Payment
- Istanbulkart, valid on all lines
- Historic peninsula
- The T1 tram line
- Crossing the Bosphorus
- Ferry, the nicest way
Start with the Istanbulkart
The Istanbulkart works on the metro, tram, buses, ferries and funiculars; you buy and top it up from machines at most stations, including the airport. One card can pass a whole family, so you do not need one each. Transfers between lines are discounted.
Which line goes where
The T1 tram is the spine of the historic peninsula: Sultanahmet, the Grand Bazaar, Eminonu and Karakoy are all on it. The M2 metro links Taksim and Sisli. Ferries run between Eminonu, Karakoy, Kabatas and Uskudar, and are the cheapest and most enjoyable way to cross the Bosphorus.
When a private car makes more sense
Public transport is cheap and quick for one or two travellers. With a luggage-laden arrival, a family of four or five, a pushchair, a late-night hour or a day out of town, the calculation changes: transfers and stairs cost time and energy. The practical approach is to mix them — a car for the airport and out-of-town days, the tram inside the historic peninsula.
Where to get an İstanbulkart and how to load it
The card is sold at the airports, metro stations and machines at the ferry piers. The machines offer Arabic and English menus; you pay for the card itself and then load credit onto it.
One card can be used for several people: tap it in succession at the turnstile. For a family of four, one card is both cheaper and more practical than four.
Topping up is done at the same machines and at kiosks. The balance shows on the screen; if it is short when you board the gate will not open and the queue behind you waits — so loading before it runs out is a good habit.
The card works on the metro, trams, buses, ferries, funiculars and Marmaray alike. A transfer discount applies when you change lines within one journey, so going from metro to tram does not mean paying two full fares.
Any credit left on the card is not refunded when you leave; it makes sense not to load a large sum on the last day.
The ferry: the most enjoyable and most predictable line
The best part of public transport in Istanbul is the ferry. It does not get stuck in traffic, its times are known, its view is the same view sold on the city's most expensive tours, and the fare is that of a metro ride.
The most used lines are Eminönü–Üsküdar, Eminönü–Kadıköy, Karaköy–Kadıköy and Beşiktaş–Üsküdar. All run about twenty minutes and go frequently through the day.
If you are staying on the Asian side the ferry becomes the backbone of your daily travel: you cross without entering bridge traffic and the time is the same every trip. For those on the European side the ferry is not transport but the outing itself.
Sitting on the upper deck with a glass of tea is a daily habit for people in Istanbul, and so is feeding simit to the gulls. It is one of the things children enjoy most and it costs nothing.
When the late-afternoon sailings meet the sunset, the silhouette of the historic peninsula is seen at its best from here — without boarding a tour boat, at the price of an ordinary ticket.
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