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This spring I decided to give the Istanbul E-pass a try. I’ll review what’s included, what’s not included (yet), how to get the pass, how to use it, and of course whether it’s worth the investment.
What is the Istanbul E-pass?
As the name suggests, it’s an electronic pass in the form of a QR code on the Istanbul E-pass app. It provides access to over 45 attractions and services.
What is all included in the Istanbul E-pass?
I think it’s fair to categorize the contents as follows:
- skip the ticket line entrance to Istanbul attractions
- English-spoken guided tours to a selection of Istanbul sightseeing spots
- ferry rides and Bosphorus cruises (with dinner)
- discounted day trips from Istanbul to various cities
It goes without saying that entrance to the main attractions such Topkapi Palace and Harem (audio guide), Dolmabahçe Palace (guided), Hagia Sophia (guided), Blue Mosque (guided), Basilica and/or Serefiye Cistern (guided), Galata Tower, and Whirling Dervishes is included. Don’t forget often overlooked gems such as the Archaeology Museum and the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts.
But there’s more, much more. There are the various Bosphorus cruises (regular, hop-on hop off, and one with dinner and entertainment), ferry rides to the Princes’ Islands, as well as place of interest for all ages, such as the aquariums, Madame Tussauds, and the rather impressive observation deck.
For a full and up-to-date list, please check the attractions overview on the Istanbul E-pass website.
How to Get the Istanbul E-pass?
The process is very easy. You go the Istanbul E-pass website, select Prices & Durations from the top menu, and select the pass of your choice based on the duration (2, 3, 5 or 7 days).
You enter the amount of adults and children under 13 (they have a discount) and click on checkout. On the next page you must provide your details and billing address.
Make sure to provide a working mobile phone number, I’ll explain why a bit later. After that you continue to payment and you’ll receive a confirmation email with your E-pass ID. Definitely keep this for further reference. In that mail you’ll also find a link to the pass management panel.
Remember the importance of a correct mobile number? Moments later, you’ll receive a WhatsApp message from the Istanbul E-pass customer support. They immediately share a few messages containing very helpful information on how to make the most out of your digital Istanbul pass (see screenshots below). Feel free to ask them any questions you may have, even if your trip hasn’t started yet.
How to Use the Istanbul E-pass?
Make sure to download the Istanbul E-pass app, preferably before your trip. The app is very intuitive to use and a great help while preparing for your city trip.
Upon opening the Istanbul E-pass app for the first time, you’re asked to fill in your E-pass ID. Once approved, you’ll be taken to your E-pass main screen with on top the QR code, followed by two buttons:
- View All Attractions
- Reservation Required Attractions
That’s right, for some activities, such as airport transfers, day trips and the dinner cruise, you need to make reservations ahead of time.
And the first button of course provides a nice overview of all the attractions and services included in the Istanbul E-pass.
Per activity, you have again two small buttons: one provides information on how to enter the activity as well as the departure time in case of a guided tour, and the other opens Google maps to show you directions to the entrance or meeting point. Very practical, I must say. Both for preparing your trip, and while spending time in Istanbul.
Last but not least, there is the QR code. That’s you golden ticket so to speak, it’s what you have to show to enter the attractions. In some rare cases you need to show it at the sales booth in exchange for a regular ticket, but most of the times you can just skip the ticket sales line. In other words, the Istanbul E-pass is super easy to use and can save you quite a bit of time.
Is the Istanbul E-pass worth it?
Let’s approach this mathematically. Let’s take their sample 3-day itinerary. Also, for an honest comparison, keep in mind that activities such as Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Dolmabahçe Palace and the cistern are guided tours.
The prices they mention if you were to buy a similar service elsewhere or at the sales booths, are correct. I checked them all. So, if you actually do all these activities (some with guides) in three days, you will indeed save about 50%.
Is this doable, sure. If you want to make the most out of your short stay in Istanbul, I even recommend it. You can also exchange a few activities based on your preference. I for instances opted to visit the Observation Deck instead of the Museum of Illusions, and I still made a decent profit.
Also notice that I haven’t mentioned the free Havaist shuttle service or discounted private airport transfer yet. I tried out the latter and it’s very straightforward. When you leave the airport building, you find the person with the sign CEO34, who takes you to the vehicle. I enjoyed a very comfortable and relaxed drive into the city center.
And the best news was that you can even use that outside the validity dates of your Istanbul E-pass.
Meet the Istanbul E-pass Customer Service
As I mentioned before, shortly after buying your Istanbul E-pass, you’ll get a WhatsApp message from their customer service. Sure, in the beginning they send a few obligatory, very helpful but albeit pretty impersonal messages.
But make no mistake, even two weeks before my actual arrival in Istanbul, I asked them for some extra info. And every time, I got a very detailed and informative answer. While in Istanbul, the exact same story. Every time I had a question, needed to ask ask if the guide could wait an extra minute because I was running late, make reservations … their response was lightning quick, to the point, and super polite. Even after midnight, believe me, I tried by accident. I can imagine that, certainly for first-time visitors, having an almost personal help desk in your pocket, is a great bonus.
Bottom Line
It’s all about maths, skip the line, and ease of mind really. If you’re the type of traveler that wants to cover as much of Istanbul’s attractions as possible during your stay, who doesn’t want to waste time in ticket sales lines, loves to have a guide explaining the ins and outs of some of the Istanbul’s top attractions, than you should buy the Istanbul E-pass. The discounted transfers and day trips, as well as the magnificent customer service just sweeten this deal even more.
If on the other hand, you prefer to wake up late, enjoy an elaborated breakfast, plan to do two activities a day and spend the rest of your time browsing the streets, do some shopping and sit on a terrace watch Istanbul pass by, then this is not for you.
Either way, I wish you a nice time in Istanbul.
Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above may be affiliate links. If you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission to keep the site ad-free. I only recommend products and companies I use or have used.
Patrick says
Hi Erlend,
I plan on purchasing an E-Pass and will provide my Canadian phone number to receive QR code.
However, I will buy a Turkish SIM at airport. Will I be able to use new Turkish number to communicate with E-Pass reps?
Erlend says
Hi Patrick,
Sure, normally WhatsApp will ask you weather you want your new or normal number associated with it (I usually say to keep my current), and other than that it just uses your internet data. And you can always tell the people at Istanbul e-pass before you actually replace your SIM that your new temporary local number will be … You can even use the free airport WiFi (with or without your VPN) to do that.
Ann says
Hello
What hotels (3 or 4 star) do they use for their 2 days trips to Ephesus and Pammukale and Eastern Black Sea tours ?
Thanks !
Erlend says
Hi Ann,
I contacted them, and they told me that they use the Karaasalan inn Hotel in Kusadasi. For Çanakkale they mostly use the 3* Anzac Hotel.
Of course, this depends on availability. If not available, they use similar hotels.
Hope this helps.
David says
Istanbul E Pass or Istanbul Tourist Pass?
One better than the other?
Erlend says
Not really, there is a minimal difference in services / attractions with tour guides. I tend to recommend e-pass these days since their customer service and support is just great. They’re very helpful, before and during your stay. Have a great time!
Madiyar says
Hey, thank you for the review of Istanbul E-pass!
I have a question, do we need to always get a guided tour or can we just go by ourselves to the places such as Cistern Basilica, Topkapi Palace, Galata and Bosphorus tour?
We have very limited time, so we want to visit everything by ourselves.
Thank you
Erlend says
Hi,
Unfortunately, some state owned museums don’t have electronic tickets (yet) so the guide needs to get them for you. Once you’re in, you’re of course free to explore everything on your own (although I suggest to listen to what the professional guide has to say).
If you want to know exactly which sightseeing spots you can’t visit on your own, I suggest to contact the lovely people of Istanbul e-pass. They’ll respond very quickly to your questions.
Susan mclean says
My boyfriend and myself are coming to Istanbul in September for 2 weeks and I have seen we need to get e passes can you please tell me a bit about it as never been before . I was looking at them and it looks to me as if you can only get them for upto 10 is this wright ?? And the one that I seen seems to be quite expensive. Please help only 32 days till we are there
Erlend says
Hi Susan,
Since you’ll be here for 2 weeks, I assume you will leave no stone unturned and that you plan to visit every sightseeing spot on offer. To make sure I understand your question, you’re wondering what to do since the Istanbul e-pass only offers passes for up to 10 days, is that correct?
Shahen says
We are visiting Istanbul at the end of August and are very interested in the epass. When we plan our day for the tours, how much time should I allow in between different tours?
Erlend says
That really depends on what you prefer. I have take tours back-to-back, but for others I stayed long after the guide had left to absorb the atmosphere or revisit some parts for more detail. Or sometimes you just want to take a break, have a drink, have lunch, or the tour you want to take next is only a few hours later. It’s really a personal preference and also based on what you want to / can do on a certain day.
Mohammad says
Hello,
I am planning to visit Istanbul with my family.
Do I need to buy Epass for every adult? Or 1 card can be used for all
Erlend says
You need to buy an ePass for every adult.
Reaniel says
Erlend,
I’m trying to build up our 4 day itinerary for the e-pass (I bought the 5 day pass since it’s only €20 more, but I get to have it covered for all our 4 days there, along with hitting even more places), and I’m running into a bit of dilemma that I’d like to ask for your opinion/recommendation.
I managed to fit all the guide tours as well as the important walk-in museums and landmarks in the 3 days. For the one day (a Monday), I’m torn between whether to join the Bursa day tour or visit Buyukada. Obviously, they’re both going to take almost a whole day, and I’d like to know which one will be the “mustn’t miss!” experience. In addition, our visit is going to be in mid November (12 – 15), and I don’t know if the season/weather is going to be a factor or not.
Thanks ahead!
Erlend says
Hi Reaniel,
Well, for the islands, the weather is a big factor. If it rains cats and dogs, you shouldn’t go there. If it’s sunny, even in November, it’s a nice experience. So I suggest to wait and see what the weather is like when you’re here. You can wait for making reservations until 24 hours ahead of time, and by then the weather forecast should be pretty spot on. Hope this helps. If you have more questions, by all means contact the lovely people from Istanbul E-pass directly, they’ll gladly help you out.
Reaniel says
They have been very helpful in answering questions I have with various activities. I just didn’t know if it’s okay to ask them something subjective (like Bursa vs Prince’s Islands). Otherwise, they have been great in answering every little things we raised about the attractions/tours they offer.
On an unrelated note: I heard that the new national park that’s built on the old Ataturk Airport is now open. Is it worth visiting? Is there an entry fee to enter? And is it fenced in or an open park (like the NYC central park)?
I’m surprised there isn’t any official map or aerial pictures/videos of the park on the internet.
Thanks again for all your help!
Erlend says
As far as I know, there is no park yet, there is just a manifestation/gathering area for large crowds. I just passed the old airport a few days ago, and trust me, there is nothing green like a national park that you have in mind. The biggest parks you’ll find in close to typical tourist areas are Gülhane park (not very big), Yıldız park (very nice) and of course the green zones at Büyükada (certainly when you take the long bicycle tour).
Reaniel says
Thanks! I’ll keep those you’ve listed in mind!
Amina Yasmin says
Hi is there anywhere to access how long the guided tours last in each place – also is there a list of times for each day for each attraction place. Or do we just tell them we want to visit x,y, z places and then they meet us?
Erlend says
Hi,
On the Istanbul E-pass website, at the top click on attractions, and then you can click on each attraction to see more details about it. If it’s a guided tour, it’s mentioned there how long it takes. As for the schedule and what tour takes place when, you better contact the nice people of Istanbul E-pass via their website.
Reaniel says
They have a dedicated page right here for the guided tours that doesn’t require reservations (there are 7 of them).
https://istanbulepass.com/guided-tours-timetable.html
Which was what I used to try and fit everything.
They also have the meeting spots listed near the bottom of the page.
Note that there’s one more guided tour in Istanbul that requires reservation. It runs for roughly 4 hours and covers Pierre Loti Hill, Sky tram, Eyup Sultan Mosque, and Miniaturk Park. It takes some effort to fit all 8 of them, so good luck!
tania ghose says
HI ERLEND,
Thank you for this wonderful reviwe it was really helpfull. We are planning to visit in month of mid March next year when should we book the Istanbul Epass. if it a group will they arrange tour for them separately should we have reach places of our own or they arrange transportation too asking about 7days tour package.
Erlend says
Hi,
I would order it at least a month upfront, so that you can already get used to the app and make the necessary reservations for some of the activities, making sure there is still some space. normally, you buy for each member of the group an e-Pass, which you can use individually, or of course as a group.
Diny Slamet says
Hi Erlend,
Thanks for this informative article. Our trip is a while off but my question is similar to Steve’s. I will have an Australian phone number which I don’t intend to use in Turkiye. So should I buy the e-pass once I’ve landed at my hotel and have a Turkish SIM in my phone? I don’t have to buy the e-pass while I’m overseas, do I? Also, we have almost two weeks in Istanbul so is it better to buy three days at a time to fit in a bunch of sightseeing, then have a couple of days to be more relaxed before buying another three days?
Erlend says
Hi,
I would suggest to purchase it in advance, so you can read up on all the activities, get used to the app, get to know the customer service and more importantly, make reservations for activities where this is required. The E-pass gets activated only on actual first use, so no need to worry about that either.
Since most communication happens via WhatsApp, I do suggest to get a local SIM card. Istanbul E-pass recently added discounted SIM cards (and a discounted WiFi device) to their package. You don’t even have to change your number on WhatsApp, you can still use your Australian number while using the Turkish SIM. And if you do want to change your number while in Istanbul, just let the customer service know.
Don’t buy two packages, just start with one that best fits your needs, like the 3-day one, and if you need extra days, before the pass expires, ask to extend it to a 5 or 7 day pass. That way you only pay the difference, and not for a full new pass.
I hope this helps.
Diny Slamet says
Thank you so much for your advice.
Anna says
This is bullshit with those sim cards. Currently, 22GB of data costs 300TL at each GSM point with a SIM card. If you have a SIM card, the 50GB package costs 149TL.
Erlend says
I think it’s fair to assume that tourists don’t have local sim cards, so let’s focus on that for a minute. I just checked the Tourist Sim Cards sold at SAW and Trump Tower, and for 20GB (+ 200 min calling) it’s respectively 490 TL (31 Eur) and 750 TL (45 Eur). So yes, prices fluctuate depending location and competition probably, but what E-pass offers for tourist SIMs is certainly not bad.
Winnie Chanlee says
I have read the reviews posted on Trip Advisor about the Istanbul Tourist Pass. There were a few issues with
*the guides rushing off to another tour and the tourists did not get a full hour or 30 minutes.
*the # of people were large and it was difficult to hear the guide. There were no head phones or no personal audio equipment.
*the guide was not competent in giving guided tours for that particular site.
*Hagia Sophia where there is no “skip the line” accommodation, the wait time cut into the 60 minute tour time. The tour fell way short of the 60 minutes.
* Many of the sites, mosques and public places are free entries. If the guided services did not measure up, then we would be disadvantaged and would have missed the opportunites to learn about the palaces or museum or moques.
Did you experience issues with the guided tours? How would you rate the various guides? Are they average, excellent or sub standard in terms of knowlege, and presentation?
Regards
winnie
Erlend says
Hi Winnie,
First of all, you are mentioning comments on the Istanbul Tourist Pass but you’re writing this in the Istanbul ePass section. These two passes are not the same. They have similarities, but also differences. When I last used and reviewed the Istanbul Tourist Pass (already 4 years ago) they didn’t rush the tours and the group was never more than 15 people. And I was very lucky with my guides. Truth be told, the situation has changed quite a bit since then. The Hagia Sophia became a mosque, which means free entrance but closed before and during prayer. The top section is also closed. Also is there now a security perimeter around the square. The same with Topkapi Palace, they moved the security check to the first gate, before the ticket booths. Guided tours can skip the ticketing line, but of course not the security line. And last but not least, I don’t know when these comments were written, but there also have been 2 COVID years, where rules were a bit different.
I tried and reviewed the Istanbul ePass only a few months ago, and was very happy with their service as youi can read here. They do have a few less guided tours compared to the Istanbul Tourist Pass if I’m not mistaken, but their customer service is great. I hope this helps.
Judy says
For a couple visiting Istanbul December 20 – 25, 2022, and, again, December 30 – January 3, 2023, which pass is most appropriate; Istanbul Welcome Card, Istanbul, Tourist Pass, Istanbul E-Pass? We are interested in the main museums, transportation, and a Bosphorus dinner cruise.
Erlend says
Hi,
Since you’ll be there for almost 8 days, I wouldn’t consider the Welcome Card since it doesn’t include many activities and the transportation card for 10 rides won’t be enough to cover your whole trip. Moreover, most sightseeing spots they offer are included in the two passes. So this leaves either of the two passes, where I tend to lean towards the Istanbul E-pass these days, not the least because of their excellent customer support/helpdesk during your visit.
S says
Thank you for a very detailed explanation we want to explore at a pace as against rushing up hence wondering will it expire say if i start at afternoon on monday will it expire on tuesday afternoon
Erlend says
Istanbul E-pass counts calendar days, not 24 hours for one day. For example; if you have a 3 days pass and activate it on Tuesday, it will be expired on Thursday at 23:59. The pass can be used only in consecutive days.
Steve says
Very interesting . Thank you . We are visiting Istanbul in October from the UK. I’m a little concerned that my mobile number will cost a lot in data whilst there.
Is it fine for me to order an Istanbul r pass on my UK phone or should I buy a Turkiye SIM card on arrival and then purchase the e pass?
Erlend says
I would buy a Turkish SIM with the focus on data. Just don’t buy at the airport, but instead, use the free wifi there. Buy it once you’re in the city center, it’s cheaper.
Momtchil says
Which pass you will recomend better for family and a kid -the Istanbul Touris Pass or the E-pass
Erlend says
At the moment I would go for the Istanbul E-pass.