8 Istanbul Travel Mistakes to Avoid, From Someone Who Lives Here
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After six years of living in Istanbul, weโve watched a lot of visitors make the same mistakes.
Some are expensive. Some are stressful. Some are stressful and expensive. Some waste a surprising amount of time. And some are the kind of thing that leaves you annoyed, exhausted and wondering why on earth youโve spent half the day getting from one side of the city to the other.
I am happy to admit that weโve made our own mistakes along the way. Weโd visited Istanbul several times before moving here, but living in the city is a very different experience from spending a few days here as a tourist.
You start to learn which journeys look short on a map but really arenโt (hello, random hills and steep stairs), when a taxi is worth taking and when it absolutely isnโt (TL;DR: in our opinion, most of the time it isnโt), and why trying to cram half of Istanbul into one day is a particularly effective way of making yourself miserable.
So, if youโre planning your first trip to the city, these are the Istanbul travel mistakes weโd avoid. None of these is going to literally ruin your holiday, but they can cost you money, time and quite a lot of patience. And possibly raise your blood pressure. And cortisol.
Thankfully, theyโre all very easy to avoid.
Things to Book Before You Go
๐ Airport transfer
Avoid getting ripped off by airport taxis and pre-book your transfer.- Private Transfer from/to Istanbul Airport (IST) (our #1 pick - we've used this so many times!)
- Private Transfer from/to Sabiha Gรถkรงen Airport (SAW) (our top pick from SAW airport)
๐ Public transport card
Don't use taxis to get around - use Istanbul's amazing public transport instead.๐ Hagia Sophia tickets
Skip the queue and avoid paying โฌ50 for the combo ticket if you only want to visit the Hagia Sophia.๐ Food Tours & Bosphorus Cruises
- Take a break from sightseeing with a guided food tour or a cruise along the Bosphorus.
๐ Don't forget:
- Stay connected with an Airalo eSIM!
1) Getting a Taxi From the Airport Taxi Rank
Taxis at Istanbul Airport.
If you want your holiday to start badly, do this. Getting into one of the regular taxis waiting at the airport is one of the most common Istanbul tourist mistakes, and itโs a pretty reliable way to turn your arrival into a stressful nightmare that hits you in the wallet.
The taxi drivers waiting at the airport see you coming, bleary-eyed and all confused from your flight. Taxis at Istanbul airports have a reputation for overcharging visitors, taking you on the most โscenicโ AKA longest possible route to your hotel, or not using the meter.
Do yourself a favour and donโt let this happen on your first day.
Instead, do what we do: use public transport to get from the airport to Istanbul city centre. You can take the metro from both IST and SAW airports, or use the Havaist or Havabus airport shuttle buses. Itโs miles cheaper and, in our experience, much less hassle.
If youโve got tons of luggage, are travelling with family, or think this public transport malarkey sounds like too much faff, book a private Istanbul airport transfer in advance. This is different from taking one of the regular taxis at the airport. You pre-book the transfer, agree the price in advance, and your driver meets you at the airport.
Vincentโs parents in the Istanbul airport transfer we booked for their trip.
Weโve used private airport transfers ourselves when travelling with family, and theyโre a good alternative to dragging everyone and their luggage onto public transport. Check out prices for airport transfers from IST here and for airport transfers from SAW here.
We have two detailed guides on how to get from Istanbul Airport (IST) to Istanbul city centre and from SAW Airport to the centre of Istanbul. They cover all the ways to get from both airports, plus the airport transfers weโve actually used when travelling with our own families.
2) Not buying an Istanbulkart on Day One
This is how excited you should be to buy your Istanbulkart
When you first arrive and all your thoughts are about getting to your hotel, it probably feels easier to just buy a single ticket for where you need to go or to just tap your bank card and be on your way. I get it.
But honestly, the best thing you can do for yourself is to buy an ฤฐstanbulkart as soon as you arrive because it makes your life ten times easier.
Single tickets on the metro are expensive, and you also waste time buying a ticket for every single journey you have to make in Istanbul (and trust me, there will be many journeys).
Meanwhile, paying for public transport with a contactless bank card or using Google or Apple Pay costs around 50% more than using an ฤฐstanbulkart. Nicht gut.
So do what locals like us do and buy a Red ฤฐstanbulkart instead. Itโs one contactless transport card that you can use on the metro, buses, trams and ferries. One card to use them all! (Apologies if you donโt get the Lord of the Rings reference.)
The Red Istanbulkart
You can buy it from any of the yellow or blue ฤฐstanbulkart machines youโll see at any metro station. They have multiple languages and are straightforward to use. You can also use these machines to easily top up your ฤฐstanbulkart. They take cash or card, including international cards.
Using an ฤฐstanbulkart saves you money and makes travelling across Istanbul a breeze.
โ Important: Sometimes at the airport there will be people trying to โhelpโ you to buy an ฤฐstanbulkart. Sadly, this can often be a scam - they use sleight of hand to top up their own Istanbulkart instead of yours. Tell them you donโt need help and, if you feel hassled, walk to another machine.
3) Thinking You Can Take Taxis Everywhere
If you havenโt guessed already, the Istanbul taxi experience leaves something to be desired. I would love to find a reliable taxi driver who doesnโt charge me extortionate prices, but itโs been six years, and I am still looking.
(Hit us up if you are a decent taxi driver and want to charge us a fair price because I would totally use your services).
Generally speaking, this is one of the main mistakes to avoid in Istanbul. Iโve literally winced when Iโve seen tourists being charged double, sometimes triple, for a short journey that would have cost them barely anything on public transport.
Sometimes this is because theyโve agreed a fixed price with a street taxi driver instead of using the meter (huge red flag - if the driver says this, get out of that damn taxi now!), or the driver has โforgottenโ to turn the meter on (eyeroll), or theyโve been driven all around the houses to get to their destination.
Of course, you can use apps like InDrive, BiTaksi and Uber which show you what your ride should cost, but in our experience, this hasnโt stopped us from getting ripped off.
Weโve always been asked for more than the fare shown, and arguing with the driver, even when you speak some Turkish, really isnโt pleasant.
Also, traffic in Istanbul can be crazy, especially at rush hour. The last thing you want is to be stuck in traffic, watching the taxi fare climb sky-high while you're going absolutely nowhere.
Instead, use the Istanbul public transport network. Youโve got a choice of metro, trams, ferries and buses, and on most of those you get a stellar view of the city too!
โImportant: If you do take a taxi ride, be aware that you must get a receipt at the end of your trip. Leaving without one can lead to an administrative fine ofโฆ8700TL. Now that would really ruin your holiday.
4) Planning Too Much in One Day
The magnificent Hagia Sophia - one of the many places where itโs worth taking your time
Istanbul has more sights, places to visit and things to do than any other city Iโve lived in. And yes, I know that now.
But during my first time in Istanbul, I tried to cram in all the sights and experiences I could into our short trip.
On paper it looked okay. I figured all the sights in Sultanahmet looked so close (and I didnโt think theyโd take long) so there was plenty of time to then go to Balat, Galata, and then head over to Kadฤฑkรถy to explore the Asian side on the same day. Right? Right?
Wrong.
I remember us running wild-eyed from one place to another - reaching the Grand Bazaar just as it was closing, and rushing through Kadฤฑkรถyโs market area without really seeing anything. Itโs safe to say we did not enjoy it. It felt less like a holiday and more like Race Across the World.
The colourful neighbourhood of Balat in Istanbul
Donโt underestimate how long things can take. A palace or museum might look like a quick stop on your itinerary, but once you factor in getting there, queues, security, buying tickets, and then actually taking the time to look around, a one-hour visit can turn into two or three hours.
Letโs be real: youโre never going to see all the sights in Istanbul - whether youโre here for two days or two weeks. After all, we live here, and we still havenโt seen everything! So do yourself a favour and slow down. Pick just a few places to see per day - ideally in the same neighbourhood or close together.
Make sure you leave some downtime in your Istanbul itinerary to have a glass of tea and meet a cat
For the rest of the time, just explore without an agenda. Sip รงay in one of Istanbulโs many independent cafes, spend your morning having a huge Turkish breakfast, pet a street cat, buy a simit and allow yourself to get lost in the cityโs gorgeous neighbourhoods.
And remember Istanbul isnโt going anywhere - you can always come back!
If you do only have one day in the city, check out our one-day in Istanbul itinerary. It outlines the top sites you can see in a day whilst still having fun. You can also save time on your trip by booking tickets for Istanbulโs attractions in advance and avoid waiting in long queues.
5) Overpaying at Hagia Sophia
Repeat after me: Hagia Sophia tickets are โฌ25.
Istanbul attractions are already expensive, and one of the main mistakes to avoid in Istanbul is accidentally paying โฌ50 for the Hagia Sophia when you only want the โฌ25 ticket.
I saw this for myself when we took Vincentโs parents to the Hagia Sophia last year - when we got to the counter, I was told, in a slightly pushy way, that the price was โฌ50 per person.
However, this price actually also included a ticket to the Hagia Sophia History and Experience Museum. We werenโt interested in visiting this, so I asked to buy just the regular tickets to the upper gallery of the Hagia Sophia.
The prices to visit Hagia Sophia are displayed at the ticket office, but after queuing for ages in the hot sun, itโs easy to become a bit befuddled and buy the more expensive combo ticket.
You can avoid this situation (both the queues and the confusion) entirely by booking your tickets to the Hagia Sophia in advance. Weโd recommend this, especially during peak season.
Of course, if you want to visit the Hagia Sophia History and Experience Museum, you can buy the combo ticket. I am just here to tell you that you donโt have to!
๐๏ธ Restoration (2026): Hagia Sophia is currently undergoing a massive restoration, and there is scaffolding both inside and outside the building. Some of it blocks views of the dome and parts of the artwork inside, so itโs worth knowing this before you visit.
6) Underestimating How Long it Takes to Get Around Istanbul
Gorgeous, but very hilly, Istanbul.
We learned this the hard way while house hunting in Istanbul. Weโd arrange a viewing, and Iโd look on the map and think, โOh, thatโs only a 20-minute walkโ, only for us to start walking and be confronted by numerous sets of stairs and near-vertical cobbled streets.
Weโd invariably arrive late, sweating and definitely not giving the impression of people who could be great tenants.
Istanbul was known as the City of Seven Hills for a good reason - everywhere you walk seems to involve going uphill. And just because two places look close on a map doesnโt mean youโll actually be able to get between them quickly.
Even if you arenโt walking, you shouldnโt underestimate how humungous Istanbul is or how long it can take to get from one place to another.
For example, taking the ferry means getting to the port (it may not be close and you might need to take a bus or a train), waiting for the ferry, boarding the boat and then travelling to wherever youโre going.
Getting from my house to Kadฤฑkรถy takes me an hour even though the ferry journey itself is only 25 minutes!
A higgledy piggledy maze of buildings leading down to the Golden Horn in Istanbul
The same goes for buses. As Iโve mentioned already, Istanbulโs traffic gets crazy, and what looks like a five-minute journey on Google Maps can easily take 30 minutes due to traffic.
Istanbulโs hills, bridges, the Bosphorus and Golden Horn can make a journey even more complicated, and sometimes there simply isnโt a quick way to get from A to B.
Taking the metro and the tram can be much faster, though beware at rush hour as trams can be especially crowded and you might have to wait a while before you can board one.
Just make sure you always leave yourself extra time to get anywhere.
7) Spending All Your Time in Sultanahmet
Sultanahmet is beautiful but thereโs so much more to see in Istanbul!
Yes, the famous old city has most of the cityโs iconic attractions, but Istanbul is so much more than its historical peninsula.
Sultanahmet is super convenient for visiting all the top sights, but in our humble opinion, itโs not where you want to spend your entire trip. One of our top Istanbul travel tips is to get out and explore some of Istanbulโs other neighbourhoods too, because they all have a very different vibe.
If you spend all your time in Sultanahmet, youโll miss the hip cafe culture of Cihangir, the nightlife around Galata and Karakรถy and the waterfront views (and epic baked potatoes) in Ortakรถy.
Moda and Kadฤฑkรถy on the Asian side hit different too, being more chilled out but with their own amazing cafes and fantastic pubs and bars.
Weโre a little controversial in that we donโt think you have to stay in Sultanahmet, even if itโs your first time in the city.
Itโs geared towards tourists, so prices in restaurants and cafes are high; the food is often meh (worse when youโve had to pay wayyy more than usual for it) and at nightโฆ well, not much happens as there isnโt much nightlife.
So yes, absolutely spend time in Sultanahmet - youโre not coming to Istanbul to ignore the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque and Topkapฤฑ Palace! But donโt make the mistake of spending your entire trip there. Explore the sights, then build in time to see a couple of other neighbourhoods too.
Our guide to where to stay in Istanbul can also help you choose the best neighbourhood based on what you want from your trip.
8) Not Checking Opening and Closing Days of Attractions
This is a boring one, but sometimes itโs the boring pieces of advice that can stop you wasting valuable time on your trip.
It might come as a surprise, but some of Istanbulโs attractions arenโt open every day. For instance, Topkapฤฑ Palace is closed on Tuesdays whilst Dolmabahรงe Palace is closed on Mondays.
Some mosques, like the Chora Mosque, arenโt open to visitors on a Friday, whilst others close to non-Muslim visitors at prayer times.
So before you build your itinerary, check the opening days and times of the places you want to visit. Thereโs nothing worse than trekking across the city to see something, only to discover youโve turned up on the one day itโs closed (been there, done that).
And if youโre visiting during a busy period, itโs also worth checking which attractions you need to book in advance and sorting those tickets before you arrive.
Weโve put together a guide to what to book in advance in Istanbul, including the major attractions and tours where booking ahead can save you time, hassle and potentially a very long queue. Itโs worth having a read before you finalise your itinerary.
Donโt Say We Didnโt Warn You
Istanbul is an amazing city, but it can also be a little overwhelming - especially on your first visit. Thereโs a lot to see, itโs a mahoosive place and some things donโt work quite the way you might expect.
Hopefully this Istanbul travel advice has helped you avoid some of the mistakes we made when we first started exploring the city.
From getting around using public transport to not being too ambitious with your itinerary and booking attractions in advance, a little bit of preparation can save you money, time and a fair amount of hassle.
When it comes to Istanbul trip planning, our biggest piece of advice is simple: donโt try to do everything.
Give yourself time to actually enjoy the city, explore beyond the main sights and accept that youโre probably going to leave with a list of things you didnโt manage to see. But itโs all good, because you can come back!
If youโre still wondering about the things to know before visiting Istanbul, have a browse through our other Istanbul guides. Weโve lived here for six years and are still making new discoveries. Even after all this time, thereโs plenty of Istanbul left for us to explore!
Useful Resources For Your Trip
๐ฌ Need accommodation?
๐ Don't forget:
- Get travel medical insurance with SafetyWing.
- Save money with a Wise International Debit Card!
Before you go, make sure to check out some of our other Istanbul and Turkey/Tรผrkiye guides:
๐๏ธ The Best 1 Day in Istanbul Itinerary
๐ Best Areas to Stay in Istanbul: Coolest Neighbourhoods & Top Hotels
๐ Where to Stay in Cappadocia: Best Areas, Hotels & Top Tips
๐ซ How to Get from Istanbul Airport to the City Centre
โ๏ธ How to Get from Sultanahmet to Istanbul Airport
๐ The Ultimate Turkey Itinerary 10 Days
๐๏ธ Where to Stay in Izmir: Best Izmir Districts, Top Hotels + Useful Tips
๐ Things to Do in Mardin: Turkeyโs City of Golden Stone
๐น๐ท The Best Places to Visit in Turkey
๐ท Visit the Istanbul Tulip Festival
๐ช 18 Best Festivals in Istanbul
๐ Sirkeci Station: Discover Istanbul's Orient Express Station
๐ด A Foodieโs Guide to the Best Mardin Restaurants
๐ฏ Where to Find the Best Baklava in Istanbul
๐ Cappadocia in Winter: 7 Reasons to Visit + 16 Amazing Things to Do
๐๏ธ Zelve Open Air Museum Cappadocia: A Complete Guide
๐ Christmas in Istanbul: All You Need to Know for a Magical Stay
โ 9 Awesome Reasons to Spend Winter in Istanbul
๐ณ Best Breakfast in Istanbul - 16 Incredible Places to Try
โ 12 Things You Need To Do in Istanbul
โ๏ธ How to Get From SAW Airport to Istanbul City Center
๐ Explore Balat Istanbul: An Insider's Guide to One of Istanbul's Most Unique Neighbourhoods
๐ Best Vegan Fast Food in Istanbul
๐ฅ Where to Find the Best Vegan Turkish Breakfast in Istanbul
๐ฅ 26 Must-Try Gaziantep Foods
๐ผ๏ธ 14 Top Things To Do in Gaziantep
๐ Off the Eaten Track: The Best Street Food in Istanbul
๐ฅฆ Vegan Istanbul: The Best Under-the-Radar Restaurants
Find more travel tips and useful information on Turkey here.
Looking for more travel inspiration? Click here to discover more of our favourite places around the world.e world.
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Want more on Istanbul?
Planning Istanbul? Discover what to book in advance, including Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace and top tours. Avoid queues and learn how to secure tickets before you arrive.