Istanbul useful APPS
Are you planning to visit Istanbul soon? Or are you currently living in the city and looking for useful apps to make your trip easier? Look no further because we've got you covered! In this guide, we'll be sharing our top favorite apps for transportation, museums, shopping, markets, money transfer, and much more.
Museums
1. Museums of Turkey-Official App
If you're interested in visiting museums during your trip to Istanbul, we recommend downloading the official app from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey. With this app, you'll have access to all the updated information about museums, including entrance fees, working hours, and more. This app is especially useful if you're planning to visit popular museums like Ephesus, Goreme Open Air Museum, or Galata Tower.
Transportation
1. Taxis in Istanbul
Getting around Istanbul can be a bit tricky, but these apps will make your life easier. Our two favorite transportation apps are BiTaksi and Uber. BiTaksi is a local app used mainly in Istanbul and Ankara, while Uber can be found in Istanbul, Ankara, Hatay, Izmir and Bodrum. Personally, we prefer using Uber. Keep in mind that Uber in Turkey works in collaboration with yellow and blue taxis, is not as in other countries that are with private cars.
2. Public transportation (buses, metro, traffic, ferries)
For public transportation, we recommend downloading these apps:
- Mobiett - find schedules and bus numbers departing from the nearest bus stop to you.
- IBB CepTrafik - check traffic and decide whether to take the bus or metro.
- Sehir Hatlari - check timetables, routes, and even Bosphorus tours for big ferries in Istanbul.
- Metro Istanbul - find information about metro, tram, funicular, cable car lines, and top up your Istanbul card.
3. Google Maps
is our go-to app for finding our way around the city, whether we're walking, driving, or taking public transportation. It's accurate and trustworthy, and you can even use it offline if you download the Istanbul map beforehand.
4. Trains in Turkey
There are some destinations in Turkey that we can reach by train like for example Istanbul to Ankara, Istanbul to Eskişehır, Istanbul to Konya, Ankara to Kars, Ephesus to Pamukkale, just to mention a few, and there is also an app where you can purchase your tickets and check the train schedules. Make sure to download TCDD E-bilet, it also has an English version.
Food Delivery
When you're slow traveling in the country sometimes we just want to have a day off at our accommodation, if you are too tired to cook, or even too tired to go get something to eat, we recommend using these apps for food delivery.
Simply register and browse for restaurants offering delivery service in your area.
1. Getir
2. Yemeksepeti
Online Shopping
For online shopping in Turkey, we regularly use Trendyol or HepsiBurada. These apps offer a wide range of products, including clothes, makeup, home decor, furniture, electronics, and more. These are particularly useful for those who plan to stay some months or even years in the country.
Trendyol also has a section for food delivery and even online grocery shopping, this is my favorite app for all sort of shopping, however, is only available in Turkish language.
Property Rental
1. Sahibinden
If you plan to stay long-term in Turkey, you might want to check out Sahibinden. This app offers many properties for rent or sale in all of Turkey, including cars.
Scooter and Bike Rental
1. Marti and IsBike
To explore Istanbul in a different way, we recommend renting a scooter or a bike through Marti and IsBike, respectively. These apps are great, especially in areas along the seaside, like Kadikoy, Caddebostan, Bostanci, or Sariyer.
Airports
In Istanbul there are two airports, Istanbul Airport in the European side and Sabiha Gökçen on the Asian side. Each airport has its own official app where you can track your flights, find duty-free shops, restaurants, check maps of the airports and their sections, and much more.
Airalo eSIM
Did you know that having internet when traveling to different countries is so easy?
Now you don't have to use your roaming service which can be very expensive and you can also save plenty of time and hassle when trying to find a local store for a local SIM card.
There's an excellent option for getting internet abroad and those are the eSIM cards, the ones we can purchase online, activate them within minutes and have internet as soon as we land at our new destination.
My favorite company and the one I have been using everywhere I travel to is Airalo, I highly recommend it to those who are considering to travel to different countries where local SIMs won't cover every destination, for example, if you visit Greece and Turkey in the same trip, now you don't have to buy a local SIM card for each country, all you have to do is get a regional eSIM *Europe* and it will cover you in 39 countries including Turkey. European companies can cover you in many countries WITHIN its territory but not Turkey since is not considered part of the European Union. But with Airalo you can also include Turkey!
To get a 10% discount on your next eSims, click on the following link and enter the discount code BIT before completing your transaction.
PLEASE NOTE: This is an affiliate link, meaning I may earn a commission if you purchase your eSim by clicking through my link (at no extra cost to you).
These apps will make your trip to Istanbul more enjoyable and convenient.
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