What is Istanbul Card
Reduce your transportation costs by 20% with the Istanbul Card! You may have this question, how can we reduce the cost of traveling to Istanbul by buying a card for which we have to consider a fee?
It is natural that if you like to travel, tour and have fun, you also know ways to reduce costs. In general, reducing travel costs due to price fluctuations is considered a very important issue.
Istanbul is one of the most popular tourist destinations among all tourists, and in this article, we are going to explain to you the methods of reducing costs when traveling to Turkey and the city of Istanbul. The solution that we will present to you in this article is to use the Istanbul card, which we will talk more about later.
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Istanbul and High Travel Costs
Undoubtedly, one of the concerns of travelers at their travel destination will be moving around the city. In this regard, we must say that the price of fuel in Istanbul is very high, and for this reason, the cost of your transportation with a vehicle such as a taxi in this city is expensive.
On the other hand, when you travel to Istanbul, you need to be constantly on the move for entertainment, visiting historical and natural places, as well as shopping.
So it would be logical to look for ways to save your money. The first option that may come to your mind is the use of buses, subways, trams and other means that can reduce your transportation costs.
It is possible for you to reduce your expenses. Now, if you have this question about how you can reduce costs, we will tell you that you should use Istanbul Card to pay the costs of using the metro, bus, etc.
Istanbul card, a special card that you can charge and use to use vehicles. If you use Istanbul card, your expenses will be reduced by 30-50% and it will be economical.
What is Istanbul Tourist Card or Istanbul Card?
The fact of the matter is that by purchasing an Istanbul tourist card and charging it, you can see a reduction in costs related to transportation, visiting tourist attractions, 24/7 online services, and internet consumption in this Turkish tourist city.
Considering the importance of the Istanbul tourist card for travelers, in this article we have decided to answer all the questions about buying the Istanbul tourist card.
Istanbul Tourist Card is a smart card that is used to pay fares in public transportation. This card was introduced in March 2009 and finally replaced Akbil electronic ticket.
The size of this card is like a smart card and it fits easily in the wallet, the charge amount is paid in advance and it can be recharged easily.
Preparation of Istanbul Card
The method of obtaining an Istanbul card is very easy. You can easily buy this card through the stalls inside the metro station. Of course, the machines that charge the metro card also sell you the Istanbul card. Another safe way is to buy the card from the newsstands inside the city.
Istanbul Airport and Istanbul Card
Now that you have found the main way to reduce transportation costs in Istanbul, it is natural that as soon as you arrive at the airport, you will want to get an Istanbul card and ask to get it from the very beginning. If you are in Istanbul New Airport, you can easily get this card from the metro station located at the airport and get to your desired destination very quickly and easily with the airport metro.
But if your airport is Sabiha Gokcen, you should get the Istanbul card from the kiosks located in the airport, which are installed in the exit part of the foreign flight terminal.
There are also express and Havaist buses at Istanbul airport that accept Istanbul card and you can pay the fare in cash. But as soon as you arrive in the city, you cannot pay your fare with cash in the subway, tram, bus, etc. The price of Istanbul card is generally considered to be 50 lira and you can easily charge this card as much as you want after buying it.
What is the price of Istanbul Card?
As you can see, by buying this tourist card, you can significantly reduce the costs, the cost you have to pay to buy the Istanbul tourist card is 50 Turkish Liras, and it is necessary to mention that there is no charge on this card. There is no, this means that you need to charge the card as much as you need after the purchase.
Fare amount with Istanbul Card
As we mentioned at the beginning of the article, our goal in introducing the Istanbul card is to reduce travel costs in this city. But the question is, how do these cost reductions happen? When you use your Istanbul card for the first time, the amount of 9.95 lira is usually deducted from the card charge.
Methods of charging Istanbul card
- Top up the Istanbul tourist card through ATM Machines
One of the ways to charge a tourist card is to use ATM machines. You can easily recharge your Istanbul tourist card inside the metro bus stations through these devices. But how? First, you should place your Istanbul tourist card in the glass area of the device (which also has the image of the card).
For charging, you can put as many bills as you want in the device and see the permission to count and charge the card, which is done automatically after putting the bills.
The point that you must pay attention to is that the banknotes are healthy and without any folds and must be “Turkish Lira”.
- Top up the Istanbul tourist card at metro and newsstands
Another way to buy this tourist card is to go to the newsstands or those on the subway and buses and try to buy the Istanbul tourist card. You don’t have any difficult process to buy or top up, you can easily do your work by paying Turkish Lira.
Is it possible to recharge the Istanbul Tourist Card online?
Yes; If you want to buy a tourist card online, you can go to the Istanbul tourist card online sales site istanbultouristpass.com.
The way to prepare the tourist card is that after the purchase process is finished on the website, an email is sent to the buyer, which contains the link and code to activate the card.
Which vehicles can be used with the Istanbul Tourist Card?
For the well-being of passengers, all public vehicles in Istanbul require the use of the Istanbul Tourist Card. Among these devices, we can mention metro, tram, metrobus, bus, boat, TCDD and all kinds of cruise boats (including Turyol and Dentur).
Payment with Istanbul Card
You do not need a guide to explore the city of Istanbul and you can easily enjoy the beautiful sights of this city by yourself. Of course, the main condition is that you have the ability to use the subway map and other vehicles and know the necessary tips.
In the first step, it is enough to identify all the places you decide to visit in Istanbul and check how to reach these places on the map or Google map.
One of the best choices you can make to get to your destination quickly and easily is to use the subway. Before doing anything, we recommend that you prepare a metro map of Istanbul or have its program on your phone.
After specifying the desired location and its access route, you can easily start your fascinating sightseeing in this city by metro using the Istanbul card.
Istanbul Card and the end of the trip
All journeys end one day. Surely, one of the questions that comes to your mind is what will happen to the charge amount left on your card after the trip to Istanbul is over? You may not have any money left on your card in Istanbul, but what happens to the fee you paid for top-up? If you are one of the people who travel to Istanbul a lot for various reasons such as study or business or even entertainment, it is better not to worry about this.
Your Istanbul card is valid for at least two years and you can easily use this card in your next trips. Our other suggestion is to give this card to your relatives, relatives, or friends, who can use it during their trip to Istanbul without any problems.
Public Transportation in Istanbul
In this section, we will tell you some tips to get more familiar with the hours and rules of public transportation in Istanbul. In the city of Istanbul, the metro operates between 6:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., it is not 24/7, but in addition to that, Metrobus operates 24 hours a day in this city.
You can use Istanbul card for all these items. Another means of transportation in Istanbul is Metrobus. If you decide to use Metrobus to move around the city, don’t forget to show your Istanbul card at the station when you leave. If you forget to use the card at the station, you should know that the reduction of costs will not apply to you.
In the waterways, ferry transportation will take you to your desired destination. The ferry is basically the same sea bus vehicle, the fare of which is less than 10 lira.
If you join our Istanbul tours and get istanbuş private tour guide, our local Istanbul guide will help you how to buy and use Istanbul card as well. Please don’t hesitate and contact us for more tours.
