How to use the İstanbulkart on your first trip

If you plan to use trams, the metro or ferries in Istanbul, get an İstanbulkart early in your trip. It’s a reloadable transport card: you pay once for the card, add credit, and tap it each time you ride. After a couple of journeys you’ll spend less time at ticket machines and more time deciding where to go next.

Which card to buy

For a first visit, buy the standard anonymous card. In Turkish it’s called anonim İstanbulkart. It’s pay-as-you-go: you load credit, and each fare comes off the balance when you tap.

You may also see single-use or limited-use tickets, and a tourist product called the İstanbul City Card. A limited-use ticket can make sense if you only need a ride or two. The City Card works differently, so compare its current price with how many journeys you actually expect to make. For most visitors staying a few days, the standard card is the simplest choice.

Where to buy it

Look for a yellow ticket machine, often labelled Biletmatik, at the larger metro, tram and Marmaray stations and at many ferry piers. Kiosks and newspaper stands near busy stops often sell and top up cards too.

If you’re staying around Sultanahmet, check for a machine at the T1 tram stop. If your first ride is a ferry, give yourself a few minutes at Eminönü to find a machine before you join the boarding queue. Some machines only top up existing cards, so if you can’t see an option to buy a new one, ask İstanbulkart nereden alabilirim? (“Where can I buy an İstanbulkart?”).

At the machine:

Choose English if the screen offers a language menu.
Select the option to buy a new card.
Check the price on screen before you pay. The card itself has a fee, and that fee is separate from the credit you can spend on rides.
Add credit and check the balance before you walk away.

Carry a few small lira notes. Payment options vary from machine to machine, so check which notes and cards it accepts before feeding in a large note, as not every machine gives change.

How to top up

You don’t need a new card when the balance runs low. At a machine, place your card on the marked reader and choose the top-up option. The Turkish word for loading credit is yükleme, and bakiye means balance. Leave the card on the reader until the machine confirms the load, then check the new balance on screen.

Start with enough credit for your first few journeys and top up when you pass another machine. Count every boarding, not just every trip. Taking the tram from Sultanahmet to Eminönü and then the ferry to Kadıköy means two fares.

If the balance doesn’t update after you pay, read any message on the screen before trying again. Keep the receipt if the machine prints one, and note the station name before asking staff for help.

Where to tap and what the card covers

At metro and tram stations and at ferry piers, tap the card on the turnstile reader before you go through. On a city bus, tap the reader by the door as you board. Take the card out of a wallet full of other contactless cards, and wait for the reader to beep or show a message before you walk on.

The card works on almost all public transport in the city: city buses, the metro, trams, funiculars, Marmaray, Metrobüs and the regular public ferries. Fares can differ by service and distance.

Two things catch visitors out:

Sightseeing boats are different. Private cruises often leave from the same waterfront as the city ferries but sell their own tickets. Even the city ferry company’s Long Bosphorus Tour is priced separately from the regular crossings. Read the route name before you tap.
Discounts are not the same for everyone. Some fare discounts and refunds, such as cheaper transfers or partial refunds on distance-based lines, are tied to personalised cards registered to residents. On an anonymous card, budget for a full fare at each boarding. If you see a reader marked iade near a Marmaray or Metrobüs exit, that’s for those refunds, and you don’t need to use it.

Yes. A standard anonymous card can pay for more than one person on the same journey. Tap once for the first person and let them through, then tap again for the second. Give the reader a moment between taps.

Remember that each person costs a full fare in each direction. Two people crossing to Kadıköy and back need credit for four ferry fares, plus any tram or bus rides.

Sharing works best when you’re together all day. Buy one card each if:

you might split up during the day, for example one of you staying in Kadıköy while the other heads back to Sultanahmet
you’re a group of three or more, and a long string of taps at one turnstile would hold up the queue
one of you is carrying all the bags and the other needs to get through quickly

It’s easy to reach the pier and realise the person with the card is still shopping on the other side of the city. A second card avoids that.

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming the card comes loaded. Check the balance after you buy it and before you join a queue.
Counting only the outward trip. Leave enough credit to get back, especially if your return involves a tram and a ferry.
Tapping twice by accident. Wait for the reader to confirm the first tap before trying again, or you may pay twice.
Assuming every boat takes the card. Check whether you’re boarding a city ferry or a private sightseeing boat.
Loading your whole budget at once. Top up a little at a time, so you aren’t left with a large balance when you fly home.

Putting it to use

For an easy first outing, take the T1 tram to Eminönü and walk to the city ferry piers. My post on the Bosphorus by public ferry explains which boat to take from there. For places to eat and visit on both shores, see What to Do in İstanbul.

If you’re joining my Old City walk, the tram is the easiest way to reach Sultanahmet. Save the ferry for the afternoon.

My tip

Buy the card before you’re in a hurry, load enough for a few rides, and check the balance after your first tap. If you’re sharing, count one fare per person for every boarding. Once you’ve done that, the İstanbulkart is one of the easiest parts of getting around Istanbul.