Taking a taxi (taksi) in Istanbul is a cheap, easy and comfortable way of transportation. But with 20.000 taxis driving around town, only a fool would believe all drivers are honest. Luckily most of them are indeed fair, but there are a rising amount of cases where tourists get hustled while taking a taxi ride in Istanbul. It’s always good to have a healthy level of suspicion. Here are the most popular Istanbul taxi scams, and how you can prevent them from happening to you. Once you’re done, don’t forget to read up on even more tips to prevent popular Istanbul taxi scams.
Making the Taxi Ride Longer
- Scam — This a very common trick pulled on tourist by taxi drivers all over the world, and Istanbul is no exception to the rule. As a tourist you don’t know the shortest way to your destination, so the taxi driver can easily make an extra tour around the block and spice up the bill. In case the tourist does know the way, he’ll come up with the excuse that there is a massive traffic jam on the usual route, or simply pretend to be lost.
- Solution — If you are indeed unfamiliar with the roads and/or don’t speak Turkish, there is unfortunately very little you can do to tell him what route to take. That’s why we came up with giving you an overview of Istanbul taxi fares to the most common tourist destinations. This will give you a nice indication on when to start arguing with the taxi driver and cut the bill he presents you. Following the route on your smartphone can also help, but be aware of possible Internet roaming charges.
The Turkish Lira Note Switch
- Scam — For arguments sake, let’s assume the fare is 15 TL and you hand him a 50 TL note. Out of sight he switches the note with a 5 TL note he has ready, shows it to you and waits for you to hand him the ‘remaining’ 10 TL note. Where you expected to get change, you’re confused (since you’re not familiar with the money) and end up paying 60 TL for a 15 TL drive.
- Solution — Always make sure you have plenty of small bank notes and even coins on you for taxi rides so you can hand the taxi driver the exact amount due. In case you do have to hand a bigger note and expect change, double check the value of the note before you hand it to the driver. Showing the note and waiting to hand it over until he has prepared the change works wonders, too. Also, tipping a taxi driver is not a Turkish custom unless he helped you with (un)loading your luggage.
I Have No Change
- Scam — Again, let’s assume the fair is 16 TL and you hand him a 20 TL bill. The driver seemingly looks a bit around in his cab. After a minute he comes up with only 1 TL in change, claiming he ran out of coins. This way he tries to ‘earn’ another 3 TL.
- Solution — You have two options. If it’s only a few Turkish Liras, you can just let it go. Or, what I mostly do, just sit in the car and tell him to go change the note in a shop. You’d be surprised how quickly they all of a sudden come up with the exact change.
A Fixed Price Instead of Using The Meter
- Scam — The driver suggests to agree on a price for the ride to your destination instead of using the taxi meter. He’ll argue you’re better off this way, because there is a lot of traffic, he’ll take a short cut and you’ll pay less. Why would he want to be so kind to you? He isn’t!
- Solution — Always insist to use the meter! If he doesn’t want to use the meter, or even worse doesn’t have one, refuse the ride, get out and flag down another taxi. The same goes in case he claims half way the ride the meter breaks down. Just make him stop next to a police car, and get out. He won’t argue with you, trust me. The only time you could agree not to use the meter is when you’re familiar with the route and fare, and you get the same or a better deal.
Taxi, Taxi? Follow Me!
- Scam — There are about 19.000 official and licensed taxi drivers in Istanbul. Unfortunately, there are at least a similar amount of illegal, unlicensed or private taxi drivers. Some may offer better rates, the majority doesn’t!
- Solution — Only take official taxis. Istanbul taxis are yellow, have a taksi sign on the roof, have a meter built in (newer ones have them integrated in the mirror) and show their affiliation with a taxi stand, airport, hotel, etc. painted on their doors. You can have the hotel call one for you, look for them at taxi stands or just flag them down on the street.
Night Versus Daytime
- Scam — The taxi driver puts the taxi meter on night time (gece) during the day, or during the night. Either way, it’s not correct because the night time/daytime difference has been abolished!
- Solution — Make sure the meter is always set to daytime (gündüz). These words should appear on the meter display at regular intervals. For the new, mirror integrated meters, the daytime code to look for is ‘1’.
Continue reading with 4 more tips to avoid common Istanbul taxi scams.
Igor says
Interesting and important tips.
I was in Istanbul recently. I was the victim of a scam at Istanbul airport (IST).
I had booked a transfer service before arriving at the airport, but I did not meet my driver at the agreed departure gate. I asked for help from another driver at the same location and he supposedly called the person who was supposed to pick me up. I was told to do the race with the one I found at the airport. The price was charged in Turkish Lira and at the end I paid almost 4 times the usual amount for the distance traveled. I didn’t know about the Turkish Lira exchange rate.
I went to the police, but they didn’t file a report. There must be a mafia in car transport at that airport and in the city as well. Uber, for example, does not work in Istanbul.
Also, the guide I had hired didn’t show up the next day. At the hotel, you receive less than what you paid for and they try to overcharge you.
Anyway, I was robbed and I saw a lot of opportunism and exploitation of the tourist in Istanbul. I had a very bad experience and came back very disappointed. I don’t recommend Istanbul and Turkey at all to anyone.
Leslie says
I’ve been here on and off over a year and have had pretty good luck until today. We were at the mall and got in the taxi at the mall taxi line told him where we were going. So he goes wrong and we say straight but he misses his turn se real times and we are getting further away from pur destination. Now I’m getting worried where are we going I tell him where and he is like yes yes. Well we miss another turn. That’s it I call the police. I tell them I’m scared I do t know where he is taking me and we keep missing the turn. All the sudden he u-turns and take the right way. The police ask to speak to him. I’m not sure what was said to him but he kept saying yes yes I understand yes then took us right where we had ask to go takes double the money and cheated us put of our change. I didn’t even care I was happy to be out of his car. But in all the rides I’ve taken he was the first to go to this extreme.
Emin says
Taxi drivers are absolute frauds in Istanbul. I asked the driver to turn on the meter. When we arrived meter showed 17 liras, but then he pressed some button there and it turned into 28 liras. I understand that 11 liras is not much, but being scammed doesn’t feel good.
Another thing is that they complain constantly about traffic and try to solicit more than metered. It is just disgusting.
Erlend says
Hi,
What you experienced is not a scam. The minimum Istanbul taxi fare for a ride is 28 TL. So if your trip is very short and the meter reads 17, then the fare will become 28 TL.
Visitor123 says
Despite reading the whole blog, still I got scammed by a taxi driver. I was tired and didn’t pay much attention then, but when I came back to hotel room and counted my money, I was having around thousand lira short. Just want to request Turkish people/govt, May be scammers are just 0.1% of total population, but they are damaging the reputation of 100% citizens of your beautiful country. If govt wants to stop this all menace, they can put an end to it easily by introducing multiple methods adopted by other countries. We as tourist come to enjoy our off days and spend our hard earned money into your country, not come here to check scams and not always alert to avoid them. I was so excited before coming to turkey as it was my first time, but this one incident just ruined my whole mood.
I took taxi from Taksim square to Fatih (my hotel). Most of the cabs refused to go on meter and asked fixed price of 300. In the mean while one driver approached me and said come with me I will take u on meter. He said on meter it will come approx 220-250, I insisted that I will pay whatever meter shows. One of his friend joined the front seat by giving some excuse that shift will close, I was alone so didn’t mind him joining. (Later, I saw online that fare should be around 30 TL)
As the ride started I couldn’t understand the meter thing as it was not running and I saw the meter first time in Istanbul and few things were written in Turkish, I thought that I’m not used to these meters so may be I don’t know how to read it but I was getting red flags feelings from then. I was so tired that I didn’t say anything and wanted to go back.
On reaching the hotel area, he dropped me slightly away saying that this road is one way only and we can’t go there so I have to walk. I agreed because the road was half closed but later I found out it was not one way.
Meter was displaying 252. I paid him 200 bill and fifty two separate as I had change. He gave me back 20 TL bill saying u gave me wrong, I was half sleepy then I thought my mistake as both bills are of pink color. Again I gave him 200 and he returned again with 20 tl. I was so sleepy that I thought I’m doing mistakes due my tiredness. I asked him to open lights as he stopped in a darker area. Then I gave him again 200 with full concentration on it that I don’t do mistake again, he said this bill number is wrong and it’s not acceptable, then this happened 2-3 times more like this with multiple excuses like bill is damaged or bill number is wrong and won’t work here, and it’s night time I need smaller denomination bill. He even started touching my money in order to get his desired bill, saying you have the right bill let me find out for you. I was scared as his friend was also in the cab in front seat and I just wanted to go back to hotel safely.
Then I realised something is seriously wrong here and I stared panicking and started talking loudly that what’s ur problem man when I am giving u money why aren’t you accepting it. Finally he accepted one of my 200 bill and I got off from the taxi.
Reaching hotel I realised what I actually faced, then I counted my remaining money and calculated all my spendings. I was having around 1040 TL short.
I was so pissed off and wanted to complain somewhere but I didn’t have the taxi plate or any evidence to show it to the police. I even now doubt that he changed some of money with fakes one when he returned some of my bills.
I took the meter picture for future reference because I was doubtful then it was working or not, in which his eyes are visible. I will never forget the face of that conman artist and I wish he face the karma for looting customers.
I am so disappointed and traumatised with this incident that I am avoiding to got out again.
I just request people of turkey to force ur govt to do something in this regard.
Bart says
Just got scammed by a taxi driver with false/printed money. He suddenly drops us off under a bridge, in the dark so it’s hard to see the bills. He then said the 100 TL bill was bad quality asking another one. He did this twice. I ended up with 220 TL of false/photocopied bills. 20 TL for the change (he charged 80) and 2x 100 TL that were swapped for fake money.
He was super friendly and supportive, but suddenly dropping us off under a bridge explaining how to get to our destination distracted me, so he could perform the scam.
And also… we were not 2 minutes from the destination but needed to walk for about 20 minutes to get there.
Be aware guys!
Erlend says
Sorry to hear this, and thanks for sharing.
Rajib says
I’m planning my first time trip to Istanbul and possibly to Çanakkale with my family in late September this year (2022). Reading all the comments about taxi scam, I’m quite scared now. Of course I’ll try to take the advice of video recording all the conversation and taking photo of the number plate but clearly it doesn’t create the feel good factor you’ve when you’re visiting otherwise such a great city.
Isn’t their any regulated chauffeur driven car hire service in Istanbul (and as a whole in Turkey) which I can use? Something in which a fixed payment is agreed upon with a confirmation paper/sms?
Cheers
Erlend says
Hi,
You shouldn’t be too scared of taxis, just be cautious. Always demand to use the meter, make sure it starts at the correct rate, try to pay him the exact amount so there is no change ‘confusion’, etc.
As for private drivers in Çanakkale, I can’t really help you. Maybe try your chance with Welcome Pickups, they’re very reliable, but not sure if they serve Çanakkale.
Have a nice stay.
Sarah says
Hey,
I’m currently visiting Istanbul for the first time and honestly most of the taxi drivers I encountered were complete assholes. Trying to force, litteraly force you, to go with a fixed price, screaming at you, insulting you. I went off multiple cabs straight away multiple times because they were trying to scam us. Also be cautious of the toll when you’re crossing the tunnel between Asian and European part, one tried to make us pay 350TRY instead of the 120TRY the city charge for this toll.
So yea my recommendation is to be very cautious with every ride. I traveled a lot outside Europe, and this is the first time I come across so many shitty taxi drivers.
Jennifer Kim says
I just came back from Turkey, Please be aware. I got ripped off by a taxi driver arranged by the hotel front desk staff. It was fixed a price of 500 Lira to go to the city from the Dususu hotel. it was told by the hotel front desk and agreed. I ended up paying $100.00 for the fare. The meter was not on while he was driving and end up he said the meter is 1619. and it was $100 I had to pay, also, please do not go to any place the taxi driver recommended.
Chris says
Just use Uber which hires taxes but paid through the app. As long as you do that you can’t get ripped off.
Farhan says
Uber drivers will message after accepting and say they want more, often 5x more than the quote. If you catch the messages and refuse they will cancel. I have tried to get an uber several times, and they ALL have asked for more and will cancel if you refuse.
Diana says
As I sit in an Uber that has extended my trip from 29 minutes to over an hour and still not at my destination, even Uber isn’t safe! I’ve traveled the world, and taxi drivers in Istanbul are a different breed.
Navvaar says
I agree a 100%, even with uber they will try to ask the prices and charge you 40-100% more.. sadly they always try to get more out of tourists and I will for sure never visit turkey again because of this 🙁
T says
I agree. This is my third visit to Istanbul and the taxi drivers are absolutely awful, this time in particular. They refuse to use the meter, drop off far from the destination and insist that you walk ‘2 minutes’. They pretend cannot read a map if you show them that you are still far away from the destination. The government really has to do something about this.
Zubair says
I just came to Istanbul from Çanakkale and just want to go back right away.
People and taxi drivers in Çanakkale are angles as compared to the taxi drivers in Istanbul.
I have been to Bodrum and Izmir as well and have been treated really well. Istanbul is a different story though.
ahmed says
what do you think about bitaksi app
Erlend says
It’s a hit and miss I’m afraid.
Karen Reddering says
We are a group of 6 ladies visiting Istanbul in October.
Will we need do split and use 2 taxis or are there 8 seater taxis available?
Thank you
Erlend says
No, not really with regular taxis. You may try private shuttles, but you may still find luggage space a challenge.
Have people not heard of Google Maps or Google Translate? says
I’m sorry but in this day and age, how can people be so naive not to consult Google Maps before heading somewhere in a taxi in a foreign country? It’s no good penny-pinching and saying you don’t want to pay roaming charges when you could just get your home network provider to give you a data package for the country you are visiting.
At least you’ll be able to establish the distance, time and traffic conditions without being so stupidly trusting when you’re just a tourist and probably completely unfamiliar with the place. If it helps, show the driver the itinerary on Google Maps so that he knows you’re monitoring things, or even to assist him if it’s somewhere a bit more obscure as he could probably do with the assistance in such instances.
Google Maps even works in flight mode so you should still be able to monitor your movement.
On top of that, there are things like Google Translate. Why not use that to type a message and translate it into Turkish or the language of whichever country you’re travelling in? It really doesn’t require much brainpower, does it? Sadly when some people set out for tourism, especially Westerners (who ought to know better about hostile environments), they tend to leave common sense at home and think the world is such an innocent place. More fool them.
Rei says
I already done all of it, the driver refuse google maps, and pretend blank when i talked tohim by google translate, n he acted like a mad man.
T says
They pretend they cannot understand google maps and google translate. Tried it all.
Lily says
I’m sorry for everyone who’s had a bad taxi experience. I don’t have much sympathy for those who declare the city unacceptable and the people bad because of it. That’s stupid.
I have been to Istanbul multiple times. As far as I remember, I’ve never been ripped off. I don’t accept offers from drivers who are actively looking for newcomers and make do with (cheap, easy, fast) public transport when I leave the airport. Even if I’ve overpaid once or twice, I still have never paid as much I’ve had to pay in Melbourne, New York, Paris, London, Berlin. I get that it doesn’t feel good be be taken advantage of. But it’s a little mean and obsessive to carry on about it. It’s not personal, it’s part of life when you visit a city where there’s a huge incongruency of wealth. Take heart in the fact that where you come from, you earn enough to pay your rent and buy your food. Try catching a taxi from the airport in Delhi.
Mo says
I think calling people stupid does not really help you make your point.
Regards
Karabian says
He just called people who call others stupid stupid, like, i got his point:D
Lisa says
I love turkey but everyone is trying to scam you from taxi men to hotel staff to shop keepers restaurants, I have never been to a country that’s so dishonest its terrible.
I took a taxi going to the grand bazar and the taxi man dropped me off in another place about 10 minutes away, I explained to him that this isn’t where I’m supposed to be, he proceeded to tell me that this is the place and I decide I’ll just walk the rest of the way on the meter I was supposed to pay 36TL and I hand him a 100TL he gives me back 20TL I say no that’s the wrong amount he takes the 20 and kicks me out and threatens me.
I don’t recommend going to turkey as a female solo traveller and I’ve been to over 44 country’s.
ScanOf says
I hope you have a License Plate number. Please file a complaint with the Tourism Police, they take these scams seriously and take quick action.
Erlend says
Exactly. As I’ve written several times before, it’s also a good idea to take a picture of his registration, which should be visible somewhere on the back door. The police / municipality is very much aware of these scams, is trying hard to eradicate it, but it’s not easy since you have to catch them redhanded. So, always report scams to the police.
ScamOf says
I wish we had read this before.
Very bad experiences with Istanbul taxi service and their scams, they need Uber or Lyft. A taxi driver gave me a fare of 100 Lira for a 4 minute drive and scammed me by taking 100 Lira and insisting that I gave him just 20 twice, I ended up giving him 260 Lira because he took 100 lira bills twice and returned 20 liras twice and finally took another 100 lira. There was another person with him in the front seat. Another one dropped me at Egyptian spice market instead of the Grand Bazaar and it was a long steep walk. Another one didn’t turn the meter on and took 90 lira for a 30 lira fare.
Mohammed says
They just outright don’t drive if you want the meter on and tell you to get on your bike. That was the biggest issue as soon as I’d mention meter they would say sorry it’s too busy I can’t do meter and I would refuse to take a ride with no meter. They were wanting more than London prices for taxis they earn more than some high level professionals.
lina says
Yesterday my husband and i hailed a taxi from Fatih to Sabiha Gocken airport. I should have asked the price before entering the taxi but in my naivety, i didnt. He took us via the autobahn claiming that the usual route is fully jammed. Then asked us to pay the tol which is almost 100 lira and then sped at 170km, smoke in the taxi and when reaching the airport demaned 600L. I saw the meter showed 300+L. Not wanting to cause a scene, i grudgingly paid the money.
fahim says
Was in Istanbul, one sketchy taxi guy gave me 50 TL fake note, didn’t noticed it’s fake until I went to restaurant to eat & they said your money is not real.
Richard Sherman says
I was thinking of visiting Istanbul, but after reading all the comments, I think I will reconsider and visit Greece instead. Good thing I found this website.
Erlend says
Are you going to skip this magnificent city just because of a few rogue taxi drivers, while you can avoid those by using the well organized public transportation?
Richard Sherman says
Judging from the numerous comments, it’s more than “a few rogue taxi drivers”.
There are many magnificent cities in the world that don’t treat tourists with contempt like they do in Istanbul.
Erlend says
I’m not denying that some taxi drivers are scamming tourists, hence this post to warn people. The municipality is aware of it, and police are chasing them, dressed like tourists taking taxi rides themselves. But let’s not forget that people on these matters only write negative comments. If you know how many thousands of people read this page a month, and many more that take a cab ride, compared to the amount of stories they rightfully shared … Are you telling me that all New York (just to pick another metropolitan) cab drivers are 100% honest? It didn’t stop me from visiting that great city.
Conchi says
Hey Richard. Just let me know what city in the World does not have any taxi scams, Istanbul is not worse than others and it is indeed most beautiful, historic and amazing city A little smarts and good information given here applies to any travel. Greece is the same !!! I am 73 and have travelled the World since childhood
Toby says
Yeah no EVERY taxi driver is a scammer. We asked about 20 drivers nobody wanted to use the meter, everyone wanted at least twice the normal amount. We tried Uber, but after 20 minutes only 2 answered – they asked for twice the amount. Force them to work or raise the prices if it’s not possible for them to drive for these fares.
Sarah says
I’ve had the same experience in Antalya
Chris says
We took taxi 2x and both times were ripped off with toll charges being extra to the metered fare. 120 and 195 TL from/to SAW airport.
Van says
A few scam, sorry to say Turkey have a lot of scam everywhere. I have never experience anything like this absolutely terrible.
Mohammed says
I wouldn’t not go because of it. Just be aware you will get scammed by them. Generally everything else is good and smooth. But what I will say is I had amazing time in Cappidoccia people are nice and friendly and had the best experience with taxi drivers always out meter on and even let you off a couple of lira here and there.
Kal says
Istanbul is morphed into a city of scammers. This is my second visit here after 9 years and things just get worse. I’ve travelled around the world and haven’t experienced anything like this. While countries around the world there may be a few scams here and there in certain areas. It seems like a lot of scams happen in Istanbul across many industries. Not just Taxis, but also dining, shopping and tours. The Taxi drivers are however the worst. The city needs to have better regulations and have hash punishment for these scammers. Uber is needed. That will solve a lot of issues. The actual Uber not the Istanbul version.
Istanbul says
And don’t forget the medical tourism industry = they are terrible and for huge amounts mostly in advance payments for surgery.
Taxi-scammed-in-IST says
This is a long post. You can skip to lessons learnt if you are in a hurry. I wanted to share my experience in the hope others can learn from it and not fall for the same elaborated scam. I like to think of myself as a fair person who is not judgemental. This opinion presented below is mine and you should take it with a grain of salt.
The English speaking driver vs the good man :
—————————————
Our ordeal started at the Airport . We booked an vip tour and airport shuttle from IST to Gorrion hotel. We payed more to get an English speaking driver . When the time comes we get to know that the driver is not talking in English at all. Calls his contact repeatedly to convince to take the ride. The contact insists the driver is a good man and we should take the ride. We politely refused saying we need someone we can communicate with. The contact says his manager will call me. His manager comes on the call and again tries to convince using the good man angle. After an hour of this we finally gave in and said we will take it on the condition to get the extra money refunded. We will find out about it tomorrow whether we are going to get the money back or not.
Brother and his friend:
——————————-
The ride starts and after some time the driver comes to Sulthanmet and says there is no parking in the designated spot . He has a brother and his shop front has parking . He takes us there and hands us to his so called brother who we came to know later was not his brother later on. His brother greets us with our names! Tells us he has a good person to help us out who will take us around to make sure no one bothers us. We take a stroll and we come to the blue mosque. For next few hours nothing bad happens, the guy is friendly and takes us around. We visit the places and are finally having some good time . Past some time we were hungry and told the “guide” that we would like to eat. The good guy warns us that it will be a lot to eat here and we should head down. We agreed half heartedly. Once we are down the good guy hands us back to the taxi guy brother saying they have some hospitality drink and we should visit the sweet shop. Our instincts are telling us to take flight, however here is the third person who has come all the way out to show us around and how can we refuse his invitation. We suspiciously went in. Our suspicion came true ! We were offered couple of drinks and before we had realized we were buying stuff hoping to get out of the situation fast . After some exorbitant forced to buy stuff we hurriedly leave the place. The brother of the taxi driver insists we should give the good guy some money for helping us out . We are obligated. We reluctantly pay him money.
The Friend:
——————
I had told the taxi guy that I would love to eat at a place which has some good sea food and good kebabs. He brings it up . He is now communicating using an translation app and shows me something on his phone . He has a good friend who owns a sea food restaurant which are also famous for meat and kebabs. He insists we should stop by there. All this time we are watching out and seeing the marina. I later realized he is talking on the phone and constantly giving updates on our whereabouts and making plans. He keeps bringing the dividing screen up in the car up and down and is closely monitoring what we are doing. Which at first glance we thought he was giving us some privacy or wanted to have his private time on the phone. Coming back to the plot, we were taken to “the friend” restaurant and here comes the owner/friend who again greets me by name! In no time we were hurried out of the car and escorted to the restaurant and worst of all we were so uncomfortable by the whole situation yet couldn’t get out of it as the “restaurant friend” is rushing us to his place while holding my kids hand way ahead of us.
Lessons learnt :
– always research the new area
– don’t book all the experiences from airport
– scams are everywhere
– never trust the good guy recommendation from travel agency which you just came to know about from.
– never trust the taxis guy brother who happen to have a shop in a busy tourist spot
– never entertain the taxi guys friend who has a sea food restaurant.
– change of plans from your taxi guy is a red flag .
Feeling vulnerable :
———————————-
I’m a pretty reasonable guy I thought and I had thought I can handle some tricky situations. However this experience has shown how vulnerable we were . Now to think of what kind of situation we were in a foreign place without able to communicate and letting some random taxi/shuttle guy close to my dear ones it make me think like that there is something crawling under my skins.
Conclusion:
The scam is very elaborated . It’s a social scam . It uses the power of people being nice to and relationships like friend and brother vulnerability and successfully exploits it over the period of time. You are stuck in a quandary the whole time. You are forced to make compromising moves which ultimately leads to loosing lot of money and also lost pride of being cheated. The faster you get out of the situation by cutting your loses is the what I found the best way out of this scam.
Erlend says
Thanks for sharing. I completely agree with your last line. Also, would be nice if you had mentioned the names of the VIP tour and airport shuttle.
moore says
First of all I’m sorry I did not read all the posts so this reply may or may not be already listed.
Earlier this evening my wife and I took a cab from our Hotel to Taksim Square, went to Hafiz and picked a cake, headed back to where the Taxi cab driver dropped us at. There were three taxi cabs at the drop off point. A man asked us where to, we showed him the address, he said go to the first cab, it is 10 TL. We were surprised that the price was half the price we had just paid the driver from the hotel plus the 5 TL tip. I got kind of suspicious especially when one of the guys open the front passenger door you in front, she in the back. I refused to sit in the front and leave her in the back alone. We got in both in the back. I told my wife to pay him right away because I did not want any surprises when we get there. She gave him a brand new still crisp 10 TL we received less than two hours from one of the exchange shops. He refused to take the money first claiming the he does not take the money and that The Master outside is the one who takes the money. I said will give it to him. He took the bill and said that he can only accept bills with serial numbers that start with L. He said the one we have start with a D and he by law is not allowed to take anything banknote that does not start with an L. That the banknote that we are giving him is only good for shopping but not for taxi. So, my wife tried to look for another bill and could not find one. I reached for my cash clip and gave him one, he also refused it because my bill started with a C. all while he was reaching back for my wife’s wallet telling her let me show you lady, let me show you. we both kept pushing his hand away from her wallet as he pulled a few US dollars with his other hand saying “I have money, I have money, please lady let me show you, I’m sorry, I am sorry lady, I have cash” as he once again tried reaching for the cash in her wallet and we both kept pushing his hand away. Now, I don’t know if his attempt was to distracting us to look at the cash in the one hand while the other hand steal cash from her wallet, and I am not sure that me refusing to sit in the front foiled his attempt with his buddies outside to grab her purse, which by the way had over 7,000 in US dollars plus the 1,700 TL she just received in exchange for the $200.00 at the exchange shop. I myself had $3,000.00 plus 1,700 TL. I looked at the junk and told my wife to hurry up and put her to zip up her wallet and purse and that we are out of the cab. We immediately jumped out the cab and hurried away as they kept shouting “Excuse me, Excuse me”. We called the hotel and they told us they never heard of such a thing about serial numbers that start with a certain letter. They wanted to help us getting a taxi but we couldn’t tell them where we were exactly. They told us they can give the cab driver out number and that we in turn could give him our location using WhatsApp. luckily while we were still on the phone with them a cab driver was dropping off some people, we showed him the hotel address and he said that he will take us. This one seemed to also being trying to pull something since he took us to a dark area and told us to get off and that we got to the hotel. We told him this is not the Sheraton, he kept insisting that it is the Sheraton. We refused to come out of the cab and kept showing him the address to his insistence that the piece crap he wanted to go in was the Sheraton. Eventually, he got out of the car himself, he knocked on the door he wanted us to go to and some teenager came out and looked at the address on my wife’s phon then punched it in google maps on the driver’s phone and told him to follow the instructions. Needless to say my wife was shaken when we arrived at our hotel. He asked for the same price we paid earlier, we gave him the 20 TL plus anthem 5TL as a tip and we thanked the lord we arrived safe out of these two nightmares.
Erlend says
Hi,
Thanks a lot for sharing this. Unfortunately, it’s not the first time I hear about this bank notes tricks. I’m thinking of adding it to the list in the weeks to come.
Ceres says
The exact same thing happened to us. The driver told us that the serial number on the note was wrong and could only be used on the Asian side of Istanbul and that the European side has a different serial number which begins with a different letter. Istanbul was our last stop on our trip so we’ve been scammed a couple times before by taxi drivers. This time i told the driver to stop and we got out the car. Luckily we were only 800m from our hotel so we decided to walk. My take from visiting Turkey is that all taxi service are looking to scam you. They are mostly horrible thieves. Best you can do is take the public transport like the tram or buses. I’ve met one honest taxi driver out of the many that we used while in taxi so I would estimate that 90% of them are scammers trying to steal your money. Besides the taxis we’ve been scammed by others as well as in shop keepers, people on the street, photographers etc. Please watch your back and plan ahead. A nice country but very dishonest people
George says
I had the exact same experience with my wife during our visit. We were both traumatized and couldn’t trust any local person anymore.
This is my last visiting Istanbul as I feel that I can spend my hard earned money in a place where people are more welcoming and respectful towards tourists.
Nitin says
Reading all above we (foreign tourists) are urged to contact police for the scam these taxi drivers pull. As if this is what we have time for.
All. I repeat ALL taxi drivers are scam artists in Turkey(my repeated experiences in various cities). Now I thought bitaksi etc will bring an end to all this but no, I get scammed by driver never coming or the driver cancelling the trip demanding cash AFTER I have sat down in taxi. Result – driver taking long trips even after I show him Google maps. [cursing removed red.] I keep quite and not fight with you because I want to keep my sanity.
I, for one, will now never return to turkey unless you Turkish guys become civilised to get the proper taxi providers such as uber etc to operate and throw out these Turkish taxi scammers (and bitaksi) out of your country.
samuel says
problem is not taxi drivers. problem is plate owners. they have strong relationship with government. they essipecialy choose people who need money. usually these kind of people are retired persons, or low educated people from little villages. most of money goes to plate owners. sometimes taxi drivers lose money while working, because they have to pay money to plate owners everyday. turkish people have some kind of problem. taxi drivers dont take customers who wants short distance, they say, oh sorry shift time. turkish poeple use illegal taxi’s who are mostly their friends. as you can see all problem is our government. they banned uber for this business. not only this also booking.com is forbidden for turks. we cant choose hotels if we dont chance our dns adress.
Imz says
We used Uber but confusing where they wanted us to meet it says to wait at +2 level in the airport and when we asked anyone they didn’t know or were unhelpful and making stuff up like saying Uber is illegal lol. In the end we chatted wit the guy and sorted it. Bitaxsi didn’t have any taxis available to collect us from the airport
Erlend says
There is no Uber in Istanbul, it is indeed illegal. Bitaxi is a bit if a hit and miss I’m afraid.
Nasir says
I was in Istanbul from 25th September to 28th September.
I along with one of my Colleague hired a taxi from sultanahmet area and went to New istanbul airport. He had another person sitting in the front seat he said that he is his friend and you don’t have to worry as his shift is ending and he will hand over the taxi to him
The driver said its football match in Istanbul today so there will be too much traffic in the city, so he took different diversions and we reached airport around 1700 Hrs on 28th September.
His friend got down immediately and removed our luggage from the boot and put it outside.
He demanded 453 TR for the fair. When we asked him to show the meter he started clicking the meter and showed us some previous reading. When we told him that it was only 165 TR when we went from airport to the same place, He said he has used Autobahn. When I gave him 50 Euros he flipped it and said by giving me back 10 TR that you gave me 10 TR. While I clearly gave him 50 Euros. As we had to catch our flight and we had no other options to pay him his demanded money over and above those robbed 50 Euros. It means he charged us 450 TR plus 50 Euros.
There was no police around where we could report that.
I was on a business visit to Istanbul but now I don’t feel like ever going back to turkey, though .
Erlend says
Hi Nasir,
I’m sorry to hear about your taxi troubles. I do warn about all of those in my post. Unfortunately you read it too late.
You can send an email to beyazmasa@ibb.gov.tr (the help desk of Istanbul Municipality that controls all the public transport in Istanbul). Reporting the plate number of the vehicle is a must, the name of the driver helps the case as it is very common to have more than one person operating the same vehicle. And please report it. The Istanbul Municipality is aware of these few rotten apples and is really trying to track them down.
As for paying the bridge or toll highway fee, that is the rule. If the driver has to pay a fee to cross the bridge or take a certain highway, then that fee (no less, no more) gets added to the fare at the end of the ride. After all, the taxi driver is making that expense for you. Of course pay attention at the fee, so he doesn’t charge more. the amounts you mention are too much. The fares I put on my taxi fare page is correct, give or take 10 TL because of traffic. I’ll never be 400% off.
I hope this helps reduce the pain.
Joseph says
Hello , It seems Istanbul is always full of craps.
Its my second visit to Istanbul and had terrible experiences both times. I would never recommend anyone to visit Istanbul.
Apart from few very nice and good people in Istanbul but all that ends well is well and to me it didn’t. These few craps will ruin all the hard work of good peoples.
Just recently on my way back from my hotel to New International Airport, we took a Taxi Yellow one with no plate 34 TFH 42 ( FIAT) and after about 5 minutes ride we noticed that the Meter was not working. We ask the Driver he said it was out of order and usually you have to pay around 160-180-185 TL. But when we arrive at airport, he asked for 480 TL and told us charges for using Motorway. He dropped us a departure side of Taxi stand and asking for money. We gave him 50 Euro note and 10 TL,
He returned us two notes of 10 TL and asked for more money. We told him that we have given him 50 Euros note but he kept o refusing and during this conversation didn’t end anywhere and we had to catch our flight. So unfortunately we paid him 50 Euros again and 20 TL but he keep asking for money and didn’t understand anything. So to end up this situation we gave him 50 Euro more and once we got out of Taxi he just ran away very fast from the Taxi stand. During this situation i left my Iphone on the back seat.
So we end up by paying 700 TL approximately and lost my Iphone as well.
I have lost money , Phone and had severe inconvenience. Kindly be careful and guide me if i can complain to any authority so that these future incidents to tourists can be reduced.
Regards,
Joseph
Erlend says
Hi Joseph,
I’m sorry to hear about your taxi troubles. I do warn about all of those in my post. Unfortunately you read it too late.
You can send an email to beyazmasa@ibb.gov.tr (the help desk of Istanbul Municipality that controls all the public transport in Istanbul). Reporting the plate number of the vehicle is a must, the name of the driver helps the case as it is very common to have more than one person operating the same vehicle. And please report it! you have the license plate, the day, the hour, etc. The Istanbul Municipality is aware of these few rotten apples and will hunt him down. You probably won’t get your money or phone back, but at least you’ll bring him to justice and reduce the chance for other tourists to be scammed.
As for paying the bridge or toll highway fee, that is the rule. If the driver has to pay a fee to cross the bridge or take a certain highway, then that fee (no less, no more) gets added to the fare at the end of the ride. After all, the taxi driver is making that expense for you. Of course pay attention at the fee, so he doesn’t charge more. the amounts you mention are too much. The fares I put on my taxi fare page is correct, give or take 10 TL because of traffic. I’ll never be 400% off!
I hope you do write them an email and report it.
Azmina says
Yesterday at eimonui station I was waiting for a taxi, I got one taxi who agreed for 40lira to my hotel. As I handed him 100lira to get back my change, he quickly switched to 20lira and demanded more money. I kept on saying I gave him 100 but he was was arguing. So in end I have him 125lira. When went back back to count my money it was 100 lira was scammed.
Erlend says
Hi Azmina,
So sorry to hear that. I hope you could report the driver. Again, prevent these things by always having small notes on you. Also, never agree on a price with the driver, use the meter. And if you do get in a dispute, just call the police and make sure to report it by handing them the license plate.
Kelly says
…..beware of them: all charm, all chat, mama this, mama that (I’m Not your Mama) and Where You From Lady………only the traffic too bad – I take this route – I cannot drive to hotel, traffic too bad…..no I need 75 lira more. This is just a 10 lira note……..
…for Shame Istanbul, with your history, architecture, and heritage…..
GYS says
I agree. I wont return until the authorities realize that it is not OK for the taxi drivers to rip off tourists.
Erlend says
That,s why I’m telling people to go to the police and report it when you get scammed. Give them them the license plate number, and they will hunt them down. Authorities are aware that there a few rotten apples who are giving Istanbul and its taxi drivers a bad rep.
Kapila says
We had a little bit different experience in Taksim central bus station. We reached Taksim from Istanbul Airport by bus and our hotel was nearby. Suddenly one taxi driver approached us and asked where we are going. When we show him our hotel name he demanded 35 Lira for two of us and luggage. We got into the taxi but the driver demanded the taxi fare before he starts. When I was searching small notes to give him exact amount, he said give me 100 I will give you change. The moment I gave him 100 note he said he needs 70 liras. We argued with him for two minutes but he demanded 70. We took off from the taxi and asked money back. He gave me a note while offloading luggage and I just took it. My wife insisted me to check the note I received from the driver. It was a 20 lira note. When we demanded the driver he returned my 100 lira. Later we found this is very common in Istanbul. He never wanted to drive us but to earn 80 liras without even starting the car.
Erlend says
Hi Kapilla,
I’m sorry to hear your story. As a rule of thumb, I never take a ride from a taxi driver who is actively looking for (foreign) customers. I always pick my own taxi, preferably hail one that is driving by.
Adam says
We used the app BiTaksi while we were there and had good experiences every time. It’s the same concept as Uber, but you connect to licensed taxis. You type in the destination, get a price estimate (which was within a lira or two), and can track the whole experience on an embedded real-time map. Highly recommended it.
We did avoid going to and from the airport with a taxi, due to warnings on sites like this. We used the bus service, which was super cheap and convenient and got us basically where we needed to go (within a short walk).
Erlend says
Hi Adam,
Glad to hear BiTaksi worked out nice for you. I personally have had mixed experiences with them. And of course you must have a mobile internet connection.
Thanks for sharing.
Al says
I was a victim of a taxi driver robbery yesterday in Istanbul. He drove me from the airport to my hotel which was 38 km away. He charged me 300 Lira for it. Shame!
I realized later that actual cost should be 50 to 70 Lira.
Erlend says
Hi Al, sorry to hear you were victim of a taxi driver scam. However, the minimum amount for such a distance would have been 100 TL, not 50 to 70. But that’s of course still much less than the 300 you paid.
Rehman says
Hello
I took a taxi from a road near the Egypt Spice Bazar to Taksim square. Taxi driver told me the meter is on, but I got suspicious as I could not see any meter reading during my journey. When arriving at Taksim square the taxi driver showed me his calculator with the number 168. He was demanding 168 Lira as the traffic was busy. I told him I paid 20 Lira earlier in the day going in the opposite direction. When I told him I only paid 20 for same journey, he changed number on calculator to 68. I asked for proof on his meter, which he switched on and off saying it is 68, but I could not see this on his meter.
Then he told me to give him 50 lira or he would need to report me to the Police. I gave him a 50 lira note and then he turned to me and showed me a 5 lira note demanding I owe him another 45 lira.
I told him this is a scam and I will take his car registration number and report the incident to the police. As I was about to open the rear car door, he then gave me a 20 lira note and said, okay I only take 30 Lira. I can only think that the threat of reporting the taxi registration number to the Police may have resulted in the taxi driver charging me 30 lira. This experience left me thinking that I should try to use Uber in the future as you do not handover any cash to the taxi driver.
This is a problem that the Istanbul authorities must deal with as tourists are being targeted by rogue taxi drivers.
Erlend says
Hi Rehman,
Thanks for sharing your experience. Unfortunately, your Uber solution is not an option either, since Uber is not allowed in Turkey. Let’s not forget the majority of the taxi drivers is honest. It’s of course the few rogue ones we hear and write about all the time, so people are aware and know what to do in case they come across one.
Aysun says
Majority are NOT honest. Majority are **holes. And I’m Turkish. They might “act” like they’re friendly but they’re ALL scammers.
anandei says
I recommend TURNING ON YOUR CAMERA PHONE and threatening to call the police and always REFUSING to pay more than agreed from the start. I would RECORD from the minute the exchange starts so you have proof of the price you were told up front you would pay. I would also hold up the bill(s) and show it and repeat what the bill is before handing it to him and get him to agree to what you are giving him, out loud and would be recording all of it secretly. *Also it’s a good idea to HAVE EXACT CHANGE — keep LOTS of small bills.
You could sneakily record in the beginning but then if trouble starts, just hold your camera up in their face and let them know you’ve recorded everything and will report them. I think once they see the camera rolling, their attitude will change very quickly. Also, get their identification, if it is shown somewhere in the car, on film and film the license plate as they are pulling up from the beginning. Like, literally DOCUMENT the ENTIRE experience every single time you take a taxi. This is the only thing I can think of to reduce the chances you’ll be scammed and to reduce the drama of it all. Again, I think all the shenanigans will come to a hault once they see the camera is on and learn that you’ve been recording the entire event. And also, regardless of the outcome, you’ll then any incidents that ‘started’ to unfold (*attempts) on tape and you can send them to the email listed above and report them anyway for ATTEMPTING this. VIDEO EVERYTHING and SEND IT IN!!
This is so shameful that it has to come to this. How pitiful.
God, please shine your light into this darkness. Amen
Indira says
Good day. Yesterday i got a taxi from Akasya shopping mall to Sultanahmet area. Taxi meter showed 39. But driver told me i have to pay bridge and tunnel charge 30 extra, i was surprised but paid him total 70 Tl. But he insisted i pay 15 Tl even more for his bridge and tunnel fee on his wayback to Asia side! I asked my hotel porter if this correct, he said yes! So i paid 20 even more. So total fare paid was 90.
If this was legal fee he asked or not?
Erlend says
Hi Indira,
If a taxi driver has to pay toll (for a bridge and/or tunnel) to take you from the point you get in until the point where you get out, that amount is added to the taxi fare shown on the meter. However, you do not have to pay fees for his way back. The logic is as follows, normally they will find new customers that will go in that direction and they will pay for any fees needed to cross a bridge or take a tunnel.
So, in you case, about half of what you paid extra was called for.
Sufyan says
Thank you for this article which I will be sharing widely. Unfortunately I experienced most of the above in one taxi ride back to my hotel (Besiktas) from Taksim Square last night in fact. I was looking for a taxi near one of the hotels in Taksim but was eventually approached by one. The driver indicated he was going to switch and let his friend drive (first flag) both in the front seats of the car. He mentioned he was taking a longer route due to a football match taking place (second flat) which probably a lie. His driving all, 8 minutes of it, was extremely erratic. Surprised he wasn’t pulled over st one point. When he arrived at destination it was a slight distance away from hotel (third flag). The meter wasn’t on during ride but he showed what was obviously a preprogrammed dash highlighting 53 but agreed on 50 lira (which is over the normal 30 lira rate). I first offered 50 but he had issue with the note being slightly ripped (wondering now if he had done that). I offered 100 note (which was what I had) expecting change back but somehow he switched and showed I had offered only 20. Doubted myself there and long story short he took the 100 plus 30 more.
I only realised minutes after the ride what had just transpired. I didn’t have a plate number so couldn’t report it. Hotel porter even felt bad but nothing to do without plate number.
The first thing that hits you is the self shame, that you’d been played like that. I’m pretty sure this a daily routine for this criminal duo, from the erratic driving to the ‘friendly’ chit chat during the ride, to get your guard down and not seeing it coming. It could’ve been worse I suppose. Imagine if one the two was armed or decided to get rough.
It’s sad to taken for a ride like this (no pun intended). It’s dehumanising in a way as they don’t see you as a person but as game to be taken advantage of. Luckily I travel alone if I had family and kids probably would’ve worried for their safety. In retrospect I could’ve seen all this coming. Sadly I only read this article after the incident (just to confirm my suspicions as I was still second guessing what had just occurred) otherwise I feel I would’ve probably been better prepared to deal with situation (should’ve just walked away at the first flag).
Be weary all. I’ve travelled around in other countries. First time I experience this in my life. I honestly had no idea people would go to such lengths. Ideally there ought to be a hotline for tourists to report these incidents to not just email addresses.
Thanks again
Erlend says
Hi Sufyan,
So sorry to hear this, wish you had indeed found this page earlier. Besides the email (see an earlier comment) there is a hotline: +90 212 153 00 00
You can also try to stop a police officer, they really want to crack down on these con artists and will help you. Always note the license plate, it’s the only way they can identify the car.
Mohammed says
I think one way is to snap the Lira while handed him the money. This is one way to deter any scams. pictures pictures of his face and his license . One advice to all tourist. This will prevent anyone from scamming if they loose their license unless the bureau of transport allows then the country loose the future visitors.
Nenad says
On April the 9th 2019, me and my wife took a yellow cab (huyndai accent, with a plate number 34TEE06 and a red-white bump stick “Beyaz Masa ALO 153”) at Taksim square. Destination was Aja Sofia. When we started the ride the cab driver didn’t start the taximeter. After 50 meters he stoped the cab to pick up another men, for whom he said that he was his brother. At the “end” of a ride he stopped at Kennedy aveny, pointed in the direction of Aja Sofia and told me that it is near. I asked him how much the ride was and he told me 80 liras (which is more than a double than a regular price), although taksimeter didn’t work. I gave him the money, and then he turned around and told me that i gave him only 40 liras. I was confused and because i didn’t have any change I gaved him 200 liras. He turnd around again and told me that a gaved him 20 liras. At that point I realased what has happend and demanded that he give me back my money. He sticked to his story (that I gaved him 20 liras). I exited the taxi, opened the drivers door and saw him holding the bills of 20 liras and 200 liras in his hands. I told him to give me back my money or I would call police. After that argument he gaved me my money. I tooked I picture of a cab, after that he stoped out the cab and with the woried voice asked me why did I do that, at the same time the guy at the passenger seat (for whom he said that it’s his brother) at the drivers seat. The driver set at his seat and both of them took of.
Erlend says
Hi Nenad,
Thanks for sharing your experience and sorry to hear this. Luckily you got your money back.
Please send your detailed story as an email to beyazmasa@ibb.gov.tr . They will take action (although you may not see or hear about it) because the government is determined to fight this kind of scams.
Take good care.
Federico says
I recently visited Istanbul. I faced many of the above scams mentioned about the taxi drivers in Istanbul plus few that have not been touched.
I agreed on a fixed-rate ride just to avoid ride long issue. After almost 10 minutes, the taxi driver stopped at a location and said this is the address we agreed. But the address was not where I had told him. I told him that this is not the address, but he argued that he was told about that location and if I am going somewhere else then I must pay more. I tried to convince him that it is not the location as I was using the google map. But my argument was not taking me anywhere, except waste of time. Thus, preferred to take another taxi to my destination.
I rode on a taxi arranged by my hotel to Sabiha Gokcen Airport using the taxi meter. When arrived at the airport, the taxi driver asked me for additional 30 TL on the top of metered amount as a tax fee for crossing the bridge connecting the European side of Istanbul with the Asian. I did not want to pay and then he called the hotel. The hotel confirmed that this is a fee payable by all passengers using taxi and crossing the bridge. But I told him that on my way to the hotel, I paid nothing as a bridge fee or something like that. I just paid the taxi fare as per the meter and that was it. But the hotel guy reaffirmed the rule me to pay the bridge fee. I gave the amount as I was late to catch my flight but later when shared the issue with one Turkish passenger at the airport, it sounded like a fishy deal between some taxi drivers and hotel employees.
Erlend Geerts says
Hi Federico,
I’m sorry to hear about your taxi troubles. But I do warn in my article not to agree on a fixed price. Always use the meter. Having said that, even with the meter on he could have dropped you at the wrong address. You can send an email to beyazmasa@ibb.gov.tr (the help desk of Istanbul Municipality that controls all the public transport in Istanbul). Reporting the plate number of the vehicle is a must, the name of the driver helps the case as it is very common to have more than one person operating the same vehicle.
As for paying the bridge fee, that is the rule. If the driver has to pay a fee to cross the bridge, then that fee (no less, no more) gets added to the fare at the end of the ride. After all, the taxi driver is making that expense for you. Of course pay attention at the fee, so he doesn’t charge more. The different bridges have different fees, with the third bridge being the most expensive.
I hope this helps.