Public transport
Photo: Ferry boats
Istanbul is huge. Istanbul has many streets, Istanbul has many buses, Istanbul is very crowded. If you can accept this, getting around in Istanbul is not too hard. But you have to get used to it.
Smart Card
If you plan on using the public transport rather than walking or taking a cab, get yourself an “Akbil”, a so called smartcard (although it is not a card), which you charge in advance and pay every time before you get on a vehicle by pressing your coin sized Akbil in on of the slots. If you don’t have that Akbil, you would either have to buy a chip (“Jeton”) every time (for metro, tram, ferryboat…) or have lots of small money to pay the bus-driver directly. The deposit for the Akbil is only 6 YTL (3 Euros) and travelling by Akbil makes your journey not only more comfortable and cheaper (1, 20 YTL instead of 1, 40 YTL), but you can also switch between the different transportation-systems without paying the full price every time. You can buy and charge your Akbil at each “Akbil Satis Noktasi”.
Metro & Tram
But let’s get to the public transport itself: the metro-lines are not really long and also the tram could be better. But the huge advantage of travelling with those two guys is that you won’t get stuck in traffic. That leads us to the first and only rule for getting around in Istanbul: don’t make a date on a certain fixed time, because you certainly won’t make it.
Buses & Dolmus
Unfortunately the only really wide-spread and well-connected system is the bus-network… And as there are also different kinds of buses (the ones you pay with Akbil and the ones you always pay in cash called “Dolmus”) you can get kind of confused. So if you want to go somewhere and don’t find a nearby tram- or metro-station, you will have to take the bus. Either ask a friendly looking person which one to take (there are actually different buses with numbers and fixed routes but as they come and go whenever they please, you can’t count on them. Take the first one that goes in your direction). If you don’t find your station written on the side of the bus, ask the bus-driver (for example: Just say “Ortaköy?!” several times) and he will either nod or shake his head. Check out www.iett.gov.tr.
The Dolmus-buses (speak: dolmush) are private and won’t accept the Akbil, but as they operate the whole night they can be really useful. You can recognize them easily as they are smaller than the public buses. Actually, they are accumulative cabs with fixed routes where anybody can hop on and off when he or she likes. They stop anywhere during their route, just tell them that you want to get off or make yourself seen while waiting on the street. The fee is up to 5 YTL, always depending on how far you want to go.
Ferryboat
What you really shouldn’t miss is a trip with the ferryboat. Again, you pay with the Akbil and it takes approximately 20 minutes to get to the other side. There are several docks on the European side like Besiktas, Kabatas, Karaköy and Eminönü and they mainly go to Üsküdar, Kadiköy and the Haydarpasa Trainsation (which is also worth a visit at it looks like a Bavarian castle!). Buy yourself a tea (cay!) and a toast and relax… No traffic on the water!
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