Istanbul Kart (Istanbul Card) is in essence an all-round public transportation boarding pass. To immediately answer the question raised in the title: yes it is worth getting one if you plan to use public transportation multiple times during your stay in Istanbul. So, unless you prefer to do everything on foot or take a taxi to get around, please do continue reading to find out where to get it, how to use it, and the advantages it has.
What is Istanbul Kart?
The card was introduced in 2009. It’s a contact less or RFID (Radio-frequency identification) card for public transportation fare payment. It has the exact same size as a regular credit card, so it fits perfectly in your wallet. The card is pre-paid and easily rechargeable.
The Advantages of Istanbul Kart
There are quite a few advantages to getting an Istanbul Kart as opposed to buying a token or a ticket every time you’re going to use public transportation.
- Multi-Purpose — This single card enables you to pay for multiple types of transportation: buses, metros, ferries, funiculars, and tramways (yes, even the nostalgic one running on Istiklal Caddesi). Moreover, most of these transportation types no longer accept cash payments, so you’ll have to buy some kind of token or ticket before boarding anyway.
- Pre-Paid — Istanbul Kart is a prepaid and rechargeable card. This means that you don’t have to stand in line (and maybe miss the bus or tram) to get a valid boarding pass every time you plan to make use of public transportation. And uploading more credits can be done at designated machines, most of the times without a queue in front of you.
- Ease of Use — It is not necessary to bring the Istanbul Kart in contact with the reader. You can pay for your fare by ‘waving’ the smart card within 8 cm (3.1 in) of the reader. In most cases you don’t even have to take it out of your wallet, purse or light hand bag. Upon making a successful payment, the reader will make a sound and the screen will light up showing the amount left on the card. In case of insufficient funds, the screen will read Kontör Yetersiz.
- Multiple Travelers — There is no need to buy multiple cards since one Istanbul Kart can be used for up to 5 passengers. After paying the fare for the first passenger, let him or her hop on or pass through the turnpike, wait a few seconds, and again wave the card in front of the reader. Personally, I recommend not to use the card for more than 3 people.
- Discounts — By using the card, you already benefit from a 40% discount over the normal fare. Instead of paying 5 TL per ride, you pay 3 TL. And there is more. You can make until five transfers/connections within a two hour period, and you’ll pay less for every transfer, already only 1.9 TL for the first transfer.
Where to Get an Istanbul Kart
The easiest way to get the Istanbul Kart is at major transit stops such as the airport, Sultanahmet, and Eminönü. To buy an Istanbul Kart, you need to pay a non-refundable 10 TL fee (for the actual card and the service), and of course an amount of your choice to load onto the card.
Get Skip the Line Access and Much More
3-day/7-day Istanbul Pass €115-130
Easy cancellation with a FULL REFUND up to 24 hours in advance
How to Reload the Istanbul Kart
To reload the card, you can either go to newsstands and small shops (look for the phrase Akbil Dolum Noktası) which offer this service, or use self-service special purpose machines at major transit stations. The machines accept notes of 5, 10, and 20 TL and have instructions in multiple languages. It writes on the machines that it accepts 50 TL too, but it has been cancelled.
Iqbal says
Great work
Thanks
Erlend Geerts says
You’re welcome.
Jossy says
This was very helpful
Erlend Geerts says
Glad I could help
Muhammad Arif says
Well done. Thanks a lot.
Raz says
Hi can I buy the card with pre loaded payment before I come Turkey from UK?
Erlend says
Hi,
I don’t think there really is need for that. You normally can buy an Istanbul card at the airport and load some money onto it.
Kind regards.
George Silva says
Hi, Is it possible to pay for taxi fares, museum tickets, parking charges, etc with the Istanbul Kart
Erlend says
Hi George,
That has been the plan long time ago, but I’m afraid it’s still a work in progress. So, for now, I wouldn’t count on it.
Cheers
Sohail says
Hi
Thanks for this, very helpful.
But few questions please.
3 TL per ride: but how long are these rides please or how many stops?
Do I need to touch out (like in UK) as well please?
On a separate note, HAVAIST airport shuttle shows “Regular round trip fair”. For example Istanbul Airport to Yenikapi 18.00. How does this round trip work? I need to go from airport to Yenikapi but my return journey is 5 days later.
Thanks
Erlend says
Hi Sohail,
You can stay on as long as the ride is. Every time you transfer to a different line within the hour you enjoy the discount. There is no need to touch out.
As for the HAVAIST shuttles, this ’round trip’ is just a translation error. There is no such thing as a round trip. If you want a round trip, you need to pay the fee twice.
Have a nice stay
Emmad Zahid says
Thanks for this information about card. I didn’t knew this.
Dana says
Hi,
Is it possible to pay using a credit card at the vending machines to buy the card or charge it later?
Thanks
Erlend says
Hi Dana,
As far as I know it’s cash money (Turkish Liras) only.
Hope this helps.
SAIRA KHAN says
Hello.. great article.. please can you let us know If we take our Istanbul kart home to our country with credit on it.. can we use it again when we’re return a year or more later.
Also like oyster card in London.. can the card be returned in the machines and we get our balance and cart cost back.
Thanks in advance
Erlend says
Hi,
You can not get a refund for the card itself, but you can get money left on the card refunded. At least, that’s the theory, because for that you need to go to the headquarters. Since this is a big hassle, it’s better to make sure you don’t overload your card the last few days.
And yes, you can keep the card and reuse it the next visit to Istanbul.
Hope this helps.
Ryan says
Hi
Can you tell me how exactly it’ll work for two people. Will the second person also have the discounted fares?
Thanks
Erlend says
Hi Ryan,
If two people use the same Istanbul card, you both get the discounted fares compared to the cash or ‘jeton’ fares. However, only one of the two gets the discounted transfer rate when transferring from one line to another. If you both want to get that discount, you need to have an Istanbul Kart each.
Hope this helps.
Furqan says
Hello,
Very useful articles, thanks alot for the information !
I am traveling this week to istanbul and have my hotel booked in sultanahmet area. After going through your articles i have decided that i will take the havaist transport as it seems to be the best option w.r.t money and time (my arrival time at IST would be 3pm).
I have one question, is it recommended to buy a local turkish sim card when u land in IST so that you can have acces to the internet mainly to navigate your ways around. For e.g i will reach the Sultanahmet stop via havaist transport service, but the walk afterwards towards the hotel would be easier if i have navigation with me .
So do you have any information regarding the purchase of local turkish sims with internet enabled. like what would they cost ? recommended or not ?
Thank you in advance
Erlend says
Hi Furquan,
The plans/packages and prices of mobile operators change so often that it’s impossible for me to keep track of them.
I do have a few general guidelines for you though. The two biggest players are Vodofone and Türkcell. You’ll find branches of both at the airport. I suggest you visit both and compare plans/promotions. In either case, make sure you take ‘fatursız’, which means without monthly subscription. This way you pay a certain amount upfront and you can add extra if needed. Make sure to ask how and where you can do this.
No matter what, make sure you understand and have read all the details before you sign a document.
Hope this helps.