Istanbulkart for Visitors: Price, Fares, Where to Buy and How to Top Up

Istanbul's buses, trains and ferries don't take cash: you tap a card on the reader, either an Istanbulkart or your own contactless bank card. Here is what the card costs in 2026, where to buy it when you land, what visitors really pay and when a bank card or the İstanbul City Card is the better deal.

Istanbulkart or bank card: fares at a glance

Fares per person and ride, valid since 20 July 2026. The Istanbulkart column is what a standard visitor card pays, with no transfer discounts or exit refunds. *It isn't confirmed that the M11 and Marmaray gates take bank cards. Coach prices by bank card follow the city's official tariff. Children under 7 travel free.

Sources — fares and timetables checked on 3 October 2026: Istanbulkart fees and limits · Istanbulkart FAQ · İBB fare tariff from 20 July 2026 (PDF) · İstanbul City Card · Istanbulkart application centres · İBB open data: top-up points · Istanbul Airport
Euro amounts at €1 = ₺55.6.

Where to buy an Istanbulkart at the airport

Neither airport has an Istanbulkart office: you buy the card from a ticket machine (Biletmatik). Anything you pay above the ≈€3 (₺165) card price goes onto the card as credit, so you get the card and your first rides in one go.

• Istanbul Airport (IST): three new touch-screen machines were installed in 2024, but nobody publishes exactly where. Travellers report them on floor -2, the transport level with the Havaist and city-bus stops, near the M11 metro entrance; if you can't see one, ask the staff there.
• Sabiha Gökçen (SAW): five new machines were installed in 2024. Travellers find them in the public-transport area opposite the arrivals exit and at the M4 metro entrance, where the station has machines like every Metro Istanbul station.

The machines take cash, but the accepted notes, change and minimum amount aren't published, so have small lira notes ready. The newer touch-screen machines also take credit cards, with a 3.5% surcharge.

How to top up

• Cash at a machine: a fee of ≈€0.05 (₺2) per top-up on a standard card.
• Bank card at a machine: 3.5% extra.
• Supermarkets and Turkcell shops: free at the A101, BİM, CarrefourSA, Migros and ŞOK chains and in Turkcell shops.

Load a little at a time: getting unused credit back means a trip to a city office (see below).

What visitors really pay per ride

Under rule 11 of the city's tariff, transfer discounts and refunds at the exit gate are only for cards personalised with a Turkish ID or residence-permit number. Visitors use the standard, anonymous card, so:

• Full fare every time: ≈€0.85 (₺46.20) per ride on the metro, trams and city buses, even if you change lines minutes later.
• M11 and Marmaray: the gate takes the line's maximum fare when you enter, and a visitor card gets nothing back at the exit. From Istanbul Airport the M11 charges ≈€0.85 (₺47.89), from Gayrettepe up to ≈€1.20 (₺66.39); the Marmaray up to ≈€1.50 (₺82.17).
• Metrobüs: fares go by distance and refunds are for personalised cards only, so count on up to ≈€1.25 (₺68.59).
• Late at night: from 00:30 to 05:30, rail, bus and ferry lines charge double; the Metrobüs doesn't.

So Istanbul Airport to Taksim by M11 and M2 comes to about €1.70 (₺94) on a visitor card, plus ≈€3 (₺165) for the card. From Sabiha Gökçen, the M4 metro to Kadıköy is a single ride at ≈€0.85 (₺46.20).

One card for the whole group

A standard Istanbulkart isn't tied to a person, so one card can pay for several people. Tap once per person: a card left on the reader is charged only once, so lift it away and tap again for the next one. A couple or family pays the card fee only once and reaches the 9 rides that beat a bank card much sooner; just stay together at the gates. Children under 7 travel free; from their seventh birthday they pay the full fare.

Istanbulkart or contactless bank card?

Contactless Visa, Mastercard and Troy cards work on buses, the metro, trams, the Metrobüs and ferries. Each tap costs the limited-use-ticket price for that line, with no transfer discount, and it isn't confirmed that the M11 and Marmaray gates take bank cards at all.

Every metro, tram or bus ride saves you the difference between ≈€1.15 (₺65) and ≈€0.85 (₺46.20), so the card fee is covered within 9 rides. On ferries the gap is far bigger: ≈€1.15 (₺65.21) against ≈€2 (₺120).

• A bank card is enough for a handful of rides, say two metro trips and a ferry.
• Get an Istanbulkart if you'll ride 9 times or more, share a card as a group, use ferries or start with the M11 from Istanbul Airport.

Is the İstanbul City Card worth it?

The İstanbul City Card is the city's official visitor pass: an Istanbulkart with unlimited rides for 1, 3, 5, 7 or 15 days. It costs ≈€15.50 (₺855) for 1 day, ≈€30 (₺1,660) for 3 days, ≈€61 (₺3,390) for 5 days, ≈€78 (₺4,345) for 7 days and ≈€120 (₺6,540) for 15 days, and the tariff caps "unlimited" at a fixed number of passes.

For most visitors it's poor value: against ≈€0.85 (₺46.20) a ride, the 1-day pass only pays off from about 15 rides in a day, the 3-day pass from about 33. The airport coaches don't accept pass-type cards, so don't count on it for Havaist or Havabüs. It's sold from City Card machines at central tourist spots, none confirmed at the airports, and it isn't the same as the commercial "tourist cards" sold online.

Refunds and lost cards

The ≈€3 (₺165) card fee is never refunded. Leftover credit can be, but only in person at an Istanbulkart application centre in the city, such as Karaköy, Kadıköy, Gayrettepe or Üsküdar (weekdays 08:30–19:00, weekends 08:30–17:30); there are none at the airports. You need a copy of your ID and a signed form with your IBAN, and the money comes by bank transfer within 5 working days, minus ≈€0.10 (₺5) or ≈€0.20 (₺10) plus 2%, depending on the amount. Whether foreign accounts and anonymous cards qualify isn't stated.

For a short stay, load only what you need, use up the balance on your last ride or pass the card on to someone staying longer. A lost standard card can't be blocked, so its balance is gone.

Apps, QR codes and paper tickets

The official İstanbulkart app (QR payment, top-ups) is listed only in the Turkish App Store for iPhone; whether Google Play offers it abroad isn't confirmed. SMS tickets are charged to a Turkish phone bill, and there's no official way to use your phone itself as an Istanbulkart. Machines also sell paper tickets with 1, 3, 5 or 10 passes, valid for 60 days and priced like a bank-card tap, but not on the main Havaist lines.

Arriving with luggage: the door-to-door option

Public transport from both airports is cheap with an Istanbulkart, but it means finding a machine and changing lines with your bags. For families, groups and late arrivals, a private transfer priced per vehicle is the alternative: from €44 from Istanbul Airport to Taksim and from €53 from Sabiha Gökçen to Kadıköy, for up to 6 passengers in a Mercedes Vito; the exact price for your date and pickup time is shown before you pay. Five Havaist tickets to Taksim already cost ≈€42 (₺2,350). Your driver meets you just outside the arrivals exit; once you land, they contact you on WhatsApp with the exact meeting point and a short video showing the way.

Related guides: M11 Metro from Istanbul Airport · Havaist airport bus · Havabüs airport bus · Istanbul Airport (IST)

Frequently asked questions