Skip to content
MASA
Destinations

Istanbul Essentials: Airports, the Istanbulkart and Moving Like a Local

Istanbul, TurkeyJuly 5, 20252 min read
By MASA Editors
ShareWhatsAppXFacebook
A classic white-and-black Istanbul city ferry on the water in soft pink haze, the domes and minarets of the historic peninsula rising faintly behind it01
A classic white-and-black Istanbul city ferry on the water in soft pink haze, the domes and minarets of the historic peninsula rising faintly behind itPhoto: ZEKERIYA SEN / Unsplash

A logistics-first guide to a city split across two continents — which airport, which card, which ferry, and the etiquette that keeps mosque visits smooth.

Istanbul is not a difficult city. It is a big one, split across a strait, and it rewards anyone who spends twenty minutes understanding its transport system before arriving. Do that and the rest of the trip is downhill.

Key facts

  • Country: Turkey. Currency: the Turkish lira. Cards are widely accepted; carry some cash for markets and small cafes.
  • Two airports: Istanbul Airport (IST) on the European side, Sabiha Gokcen (SAW) on the Asian side. They are far apart — check which one your ticket uses.
  • One card for everything: the Istanbulkart.
  • Best months: April to May and September to October.
Hagia Sophia's broad grey dome and four minarets rising above the trees and old-city rooftops of Sultanahmet in Istanbul, seen across the water with small fishing boats scattered on the strait in soft afternoon light.
Hagia Sophia's broad grey dome and four minarets rising above the trees and old-city rooftops of Sultanahmet in Istanbul, seen across the water with small fishing boats scattered on the strait in soft afternoon light.Photo: Mark König / Unsplash

Getting in

Istanbul Airport (IST) is the main international hub, well north-west of the centre. The M11 metro line links it into the wider network, and Havaist coaches run to Taksim, Sultanahmet and other central points. Sabiha Gokcen (SAW) serves a lot of low-cost and regional traffic; metro and Havabus services connect it westward, but allow serious time, especially in traffic.

Taxis from either airport are legitimate but long. Use the meter or a ride-hailing app rather than negotiating a flat price at the kerb.

Bosphorus and the Asian side, Istanbul
Bosphorus and the Asian side, IstanbulPhoto: Engin Yapici / Unsplash

Getting around

Buy an Istanbulkart from a machine at any metro or tram station as soon as you land, then load credit onto it. One card can be tapped for several passengers, and it works on the metro, trams, buses, funiculars, the Marmaray line and the public ferries. Transfers within a window are discounted.

Three things do most of the work for visitors:

  • The T1 tram, which runs through Sultanahmet, Eminonu and Karakoy and up to Kabatas — essentially a sightseeing line that happens to be public transport.
  • The Marmaray, a rail tunnel beneath the Bosphorus that gets you from Europe to Asia in minutes.
  • The ferries. Slower, cheaper than any tour boat, and the single best way to understand the city’s geography. Crossings from Eminonu, Karakoy or Kabatas to Uskudar and Kadikoy cost the same as a bus ride.

Two short funiculars save punishing hills: the line up from Kabatas to Taksim, and the historic Tunel between Karakoy and Beyoglu, one of the world’s oldest underground railways.

The Blue Mosque's domes rise behind a tall fountain spray at dusk, with palm trees and visitors below.
The Blue Mosque's domes rise behind a tall fountain spray at dusk, with palm trees and visitors below.Photo: Kilic-Emre Akdag / Unsplash

Doing it right

  • Mosque etiquette: shoulders and knees covered, shoes off, headscarves for women (usually available at the door). Visitors are asked to stay outside during prayer, and Friday midday is busiest.
  • Opening days vary. The Grand Bazaar closes on Sundays, and major palaces and museums each have a closing day. Check official sites the week you travel rather than trusting old blog posts.
  • Consider a museum pass if you plan several state-run sites; it can also save queueing time.
  • Tipping of around ten per cent is normal in restaurants.

Tip: Treat the ferry timetable as your spine. Anchor each day on one crossing — morning to Kadikoy, evening back from Uskudar — and you will see far more of Istanbul than any taxi-based plan allows.

Still wandering?

Scroll the world one photograph at a time

Sixty places, each with the one fact worth knowing before you go

Open the feed
Same place, another angle

More from Istanbul

The Galata Tower rising above the rooftops of Istanbul's Beyoglu district, with a flock of birds circling in warm light
01
Hidden Gems

The Quiet Corners of Istanbul That Locals Love

Away from the Sultanahmet queues, Istanbul softens into painted houses, antique lanes and tea gardens above the Golden Horn. Here is where the city goes to breathe.

Turkey · 2 min
Ridged pyramids of red, ochre, green and white ground spices heaped in glass trays at a stall in Istanbul's Spice Bazaar, boxes of Turkish tea stacked on the shelves behind
02
Destinations

First Time in Istanbul: Everything You Need to Know

Where to stay, how the ferries work, what the Istanbulkart is and how to plan your days — the practical playbook for a first visit to Istanbul.

Turkey · 2 min
The Blue Mosque in Istanbul with its cascading grey domes and six slender minarets against an evening sky
03
Destinations

Istanbul: The Two-Continent City, from Hagia Sophia to the Bosphorus

Byzantine domes, Ottoman bazaars and a strait full of ferries between Europe and Asia — a first-timer's guide to the essential Istanbul, district by district.

Turkey · 3 min
The red nostalgic tram marked Taksim-Tunel running down the middle of Istiklal Avenue in Istanbul's Beyoglu, shoppers on the pavement beside a lit shopfront and 19th-century facades overhead
04
Itineraries

Istanbul in 24 Hours for the Time-Poor

A single day between two continents: an early start in Sultanahmet, a ferry crossing at lunchtime, and sunset over the rooftops of Beyoglu.

Turkey · 2 min
The colonnaded hall of the Basilica Cistern in Istanbul, rows of uplit marble columns and brick vaults receding into the dark and mirrored perfectly in the shallow water below
05
The List

The Finest Museums and Galleries of Istanbul

Fifteen centuries of empire left Istanbul with museums few cities can match. From Topkapi's treasury to the new waterfront home of Istanbul Modern, here is where to spend your indoor hours.

Turkey · 2 min
The carved marble facade of the Ciragan Palace on the Bosphorus in Istanbul seen along its terrace, palms and flowerbeds in front and the Bosphorus Bridge spanning the strait beyond
06
Stays

Sleeping Well in Istanbul, from Hostel Bunk to Bosphorus Palace

What your money actually buys in Istanbul — restored townhouses, Orient Express grandeur, Ottoman palaces on the water, and the tiers in between.

Turkey · 2 min
Keep exploring

More in Destinations

The village of Vernazza in the Cinque Terre glowing at dusk, its lights spilling down the cliff toward the Ligurian Sea
01
Destinations

The Italian Coast, Taken Slowly: Cinque Terre to Amalfi

Two of Italy's most famous coastlines sit a full day's travel apart — how to choose one, where to base yourself, which trails are actually open, and why the evening is the whole point.

Italy · 10 min
The iconic blue domes of Oia in Santorini overlooking the caldera and the Aegean Sea
02
Destinations

Santorini: The Complete Guide to Greece's Most Photographed Island

The caldera is every bit as good as the pictures promise, but the island only repays travellers who plan around the crowds, choose their village carefully and give the volcanic south its due.

Greece · 12 min
The Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens, its weathered Doric columns seen from below against a bright sky
03
Destinations

First Time in Athens: Everything You Need to Know

The Acropolis, the neighbourhoods, the metro, the timing — a practical, no-nonsense guide to getting your first visit to the Greek capital right.

Greece · 2 min
The ceremonial plaza of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei, with manicured gardens and the orange-roofed National Theater and Concert Hall on either side under a blue sky
04
Destinations

Taipei for First-Timers: Night Markets, Hot Springs and a Tower Above the Clouds

A complete first-visit guide to Taiwan's capital — what to see, what to eat, which night market to choose and the day trip everyone should make.

Taiwan · 2 min
A stilt fishing village on the Krabi river at golden hour, weathered tin-roofed houses standing on wooden piles over the water with longtail boats moored beneath and jungle-topped karst peaks rising behind.
05
Destinations

The Krabi essentials: arriving, island-hopping and doing it right

Airports, songthaews, longtail boats and the season that decides everything — the practical groundwork for a smooth Krabi trip.

Thailand · 2 min
Stonegate in York at night, its cobbles and timber-framed shopfronts washed in warm lamplight beneath the hanging gallows sign of Ye Olde Starre Inne.
06
Destinations

York Essentials: Arriving, Getting Around, and Getting It Right

Two thousand years of history inside a walled centre you can cross in twenty minutes. Here is how to arrive in York, how to move through it, and the small decisions that separate a good day from a great one.

United Kingdom · 2 min