One of the beautiful benefits of travel is that it helps us learn about the lives of communities and their lifestyle by eating their food, buying their local products, and using their usual means of transportation. In this article, I am going to write about transportation in Istanbul, how to use the public transportation card “Istanbul Kart” to move between the beautiful tourist areas in Istanbul, and how to use the Google Map application to find out the easiest and fastest ways to reach the place you want to visit. So, if you are planning to travel to Istanbul alone or with your family, I advise you to read the article to the end.
Public transportation in Istanbul includes buses, ferries that connect the European and Asian parts of Istanbul, as well as Tram, and Metro. In order to use any of these means, you need to purchase the Istanbul Kart from the nearest subway, or tram stations to your location. It costs no more than 13 Turkish Lira, and it is preferable that you buy it and recharge it immediately with an amount that commensurate with the period of your stay in Istanbul. You can initially charge it for at least 20 TL. However, when you use any means of transportation, try to pay attention to the remaining amounts in your transportation card, as this will appear to you on the screen of the reader machine on which you place the card. If the amount is less than 10 Liras, try to recharge it again to be able to use the public transportation.
At the entrances of Metro and tram stations, there are yellow Kiosks called Biletmatik for buying and top up the public transport card.
The interface of the biletmatik machine is in Turkish and English Languages. However, there is an option to change to different languages. However, you could ask people to help you in purchasing the card. It is very simple; you have to choose the appropriate button in order to select the card type. Then, enter the required cash amount in the space designated for that. It is important to know that the payment must be in cash only. After completing the payment process, wait a few minutes until you receive the new card from the place where the bills are issued. Then, take the card and inquire about the balance. You could charge the card with more money whenever it is required.
Before Corona pandemic period, it was enough to buy the card and recharging it to start using the public transportation in Istanbul. But due to Corona restrictions, it has become obligatory for everyone who owns a transportation card to link it to the HSE Code that the visitor obtains before traveling to Turkey. To know how to connect the Istanbul Kart to your HSE code, please visit the website of Istanbul Municipality http://www.kisisellestirme.istanbulkart.istanbul
After completing the connection process, you can use the appropriate transportation for your destination. For example, if you want to visit the Hagia Sophia Mosque in the Sultan Ahmet district from the Eminonu station, you can go to the tram station there and bring the Istanbul Kart in contact with the reader at the beginning of the station, after that you can take the tram until you reach the Sultan Ahmet station.
You may be wondering how you can choose the best routes to reach your intended destination? In other word, if you have multiple options like using the bus, the metro, or the ferry, which one would you choose? Here you need to use the Google Map application, because it is the best guide for you. Through this wonderful App, you could add the name of your destination, and then choose the transportation option. The App will give you multiple options for each means of transportation, and provide an adequate information about the required time and distance, with the names of all stop stations that you will pass through until you reach your final destination. If the application shows a bus, it will display the details like the bus number, the time of its arrival and the name of the station that you have to stop at, along with a road map that shows the route of the bus. This also applies to metro, tram and ferry.
The below example explains more:
If you are heading from the Misir Bazaar to the Maiden’s Tower in the Uskudar coast. The Google Map will display several options: either to go through the Marmaray at Sirkeci station, or by going through the ferry in the Eminonu station and then taking the bus to reach the tower. It may also give you other options from other stations with different means of transportation. Anyhow, It depends on you, are you in a hurry and want to reach quickly? Or do you like to use multiple transportation methods to see more places? It all depends on what you decide. But in most cases, people often choose the first option in the App, because it is the fastest and easiest option. Of course, do not forget to have an internet line because you will not be able to use the Google Map application without having a net connection.