Istanbul City Guide

Public transport

Operator. Public transport is run by the İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi (city administration) through several of its own operating companies. İETT runs the classic city buses, the Metrobüs express bus lane across the Bosphorus Bridge, the Tünel (the world's second-oldest underground railway, a funicular between Karaköy and Beyoğlu), and the Nostaljik Tramvay on İstiklal Caddesi. Metro İstanbul operates all the metro lines, the modern tram lines, further funiculars, and the cable cars. Şehir Hatları runs the historic city ferries, with private shipping companies also serving individual Bosphorus routes. Despite the many operators, a shared fare applies via the İstanbulkart, there are no fare zones, the price depends on the number of rides and, on the Metrobüs, additionally on the number of stops traveled. The official fare is set by resolution of the city administration, the current version comes from Meclis resolution no. 813 of 17 July 2026 and has applied since 20 July 2026.

Network. Metro, trams, funiculars, buses and above all the Bosphorus ferries. Payment is via the İstanbulkart.

Modes of transport. Bus · Metrobüs (express bus lane across the Bosphorus Bridge) · Metro · Tram (modern tram and historic Nostaljik Tramvay) · Funicular (Tünel and further funicular lines) · Cable car (Teleferik) · Ferry · Marmaray (suburban rail through the tunnel under the Bosphorus)

Operating hours. Regular service on Metro İstanbul ends around midnight on weekdays and starts again the next morning around 5.30 am, this follows from the official night-metro rule, which names these two times as the boundaries of the special fare. On the nights from Friday to Saturday and from Saturday to Sunday, seven lines (M1A, M1B, M2 on the section outside Sanayi Mahallesi-Seyrantepe, M4, M5, M6, M7) run without interruption for 66 hours straight, from Friday morning at 6 am until Sunday at midnight. The remaining lines (M3, M8, M9, T1, T3, T4, T5, F1, F4) only run extended regular service on these nights, not around the clock. İETT buses fill out the night with their own Gece Hatları lines, see night service.

Night service. The Gece Metrosu (night metro) keeps lines M1A, M1B, M2 (except for the section between Sanayi Mahallesi and Seyrantepe), M4, M5, M6, and M7 running around the clock on the two weekend nights (Friday to Saturday, Saturday to Sunday), including the M4 airport line to Sabiha Gökçen. Between 12.30 am and 5.30 am, double fare is automatically deducted when checking in with the İstanbulkart, from 5.30 am the normal fare applies again. Independent of the weekend, İETT runs its own Gece Hatları night bus lines, including E-10 (Sabiha Gökçen/Kurtköy-Kadıköy), H-2 (Mecidiyeköy-İstanbul Airport), and H-6 (Yunus Emre Mahallesi/Arnavutköy-İstanbul Airport) as direct night connections to both airports, plus further lines such as 25G (Sarıyer-Taksim), 50G (Göktürk-Taksim), 55G (Gaziosmanpaşa-Beşiktaş), 11ÜS (Sultanbeyli-Üsküdar), 19S (Sarıgazi-Kadıköy), and 15F (Beykoz-Kadıköy). Two further lines (KM13 Tuzla-Pendik and UM73 Sabiha Gökçen-Necip Fazıl Metro) run as night lines only on Saturdays.

Buying tickets. Besides the rechargeable İstanbulkart, the official fare also offers a card-free single-use ticket called the "Elektronik Bilet," valid with all Taşımacılar (transport operators) except on the Princes' Islands. The scale runs single ride 65.00 lira, two rides 120.00 lira, three rides 185.00 lira, four rides 230.00 lira, five rides 275.00 lira, ten rides 530.00 lira. Since the İstanbulkart itself is already cheaper from the first ride (46.20 instead of 65.00 lira) and also brings the transfer discount, it pays off arithmetically for a multi-day stay from as early as the second ride.

App and payment. The official İstanbulkart website explicitly describes the card not just as a fare card but as a means of payment for purchases around the city. Whether readers on buses and at stations also accept contactless bank or credit cards directly, and whether bus drivers take cash, couldn't be clarified from the accessible official sources, see gaps. What's confirmed is the card-free alternative, the Elektronik Bilet, which at 65.00 lira for a single ride is significantly more expensive than the 46.20 lira with an İstanbulkart.

Which ticket. The official fare has no day or multi-day pass for tourists, instead the price automatically drops with every transfer within two hours of the first card tap. With the İstanbulkart, the first ride costs 42.00 lira (full price), the second ride (1st Aktarma) 31.27 lira, the third (2nd Aktarma) 24.02 lira, and from the fourth ride onward (3rd to 5th Aktarma) 15.62 lira each. A single-use electronic ticket without the card costs 60.00 lira. A monthly pass (Mavi Kart) costs 3,298.00 lira at full price and isn't worth it for a two- to three-day stay. Anyone who doesn't chain their rides together but instead travels one at a time spread across the day pays the full single price each time, since the discount only applies when transferring within the two-hour window. All figures have applied since the fare increase of 16 February 2026. Because of inflation, Turkish public transport prices go out of date faster than elsewhere, it's worth a quick check of the current fares before you travel.

Fare zones. There are no fare zones, the price is uniform citywide. Only on the Metrobüs, the express bus lane across the Bosphorus Bridge, does the price depend on the number of stops traveled, from 33.08 lira for one stop up to 68.59 lira for 34 or more stops.

Tip. The ferry to Kadıköy or Üsküdar costs an ordinary fare and is the finest city tour.

Links

• İETT – buses, Tünel, Nostaljik Tramvay
• İstanbulkart – official fare card
• Metro İstanbul – metro, tram, funicular, cable car
• TCDD Taşımacılık – Turkish national railway
• Havabüs – Sabiha Gökçen airport bus
• Havaist – İstanbul Airport bus
• İstanbul Havalimanı – official operator site
• Sabiha Gökçen Havalimanı – official operator site
• Network map

Getting there

Main station

Location. The historic Orient Express terminus now mainly serves local traffic. Long-distance trains leave from Halkalı and Söğütlüçeşme.

Long-distance trains. You can't reach long-distance trains directly from Sirkeci. The country's only international train toward Europe, the İstanbul Sofya Ekspresi, departs Halkalı daily at 8 pm according to TCDD Taşımacılık and arrives in Sofia at 11.48 am, in the other direction it leaves Sofia at 6.50 pm and arrives at 9.56 am. In summer, an extra sleeper car runs through to Bucharest. Customs and passport control currently take place in Edirne. High-speed service also bypasses Sirkeci. The YHT trains to Ankara, Eskişehir, Konya, Karaman, and Sivas stop in Istanbul at Söğütlüçeşme, Bostancı, and Pendik on the Asian side, with some lines to Ankara and Karaman also stopping at Bakırköy and Halkalı. So to catch a train, you take the Marmaray, toward Halkalı and Bakırköy for the west, toward Söğütlüçeşme and Pendik for the east.

Opening hours. Sirkeci isn't a long-distance station, only the Marmaray and the Banliyö (suburban line) to Kazlıçeşme stop here. Marmaray departs from its terminal stations shortly before 6 am and runs until shortly before 11 pm. On the nights leading into Saturday and Sunday, it continues until after 1 am.

Airports

Local quirks

• The ferry beats the car. Across the Bosphorus, the boat is almost always faster than the bridge. Sit at the stern and watch the old city shrink into the distance.
• The metro doesn't sleep on weekends. On the nights from Friday to Saturday and Saturday to Sunday, seven metro lines run around the clock, including line M4 to Sabiha Gökçen Airport. Between 12.30 am and 5.30 am, a ride during that window costs double the daytime fare, with the ticket automatically charged at the double rate when you pass through the turnstile.
• You can cross under the Bosphorus without a ferry too. The Marmaray commuter line runs through a tunnel beneath the seabed and connects the European side with the Asian side in a matter of minutes. It's part of the same rail network as the metro and tram and is paid for with the same İstanbulkart, just without the view of the water that the ferry offers.

Good to know

Currency

TRY ₺

Emergency number

112

Plug type

C · F

Time zone

Europe/Istanbul

Driving

right

Speed limits. built-up areas 50 km/h, outside towns 90 km/h, motorway 130 km/h on state motorways, up to 140 km/h on private BOT toll roads

Since the reform of July 2022, higher motorway limits apply than before. On divided rural roads, 110 km/h is permitted, and 90 km/h on undivided rural roads. Radar checks are common.

Tipping. Five to ten percent in restaurants. In taxis you round up.

Tolls. Motorways and the Bosphorus bridges are tolled electronically, with no cash option. Hire cars carry an HGS device; with your own vehicle you must register in advance.