🇹🇷 Istanbul · First days

First 48 hours in Istanbul

The first two days in Istanbul, in priority order: what has to happen, what should, and what can wait. Tick things off as you go.

For Istanbul
How long you are staying

Must do

  • Turkcell, Vodafone and Türk Telekom sell SIMs in their own shops; bring your passport. Your foreign phone works on it for 120 days before it must be registered.
  • TRY 165 at kiosks and machines at stations and piers. It covers every mode at TRY 46.20 a ride with transfer discounts; a bank card tapped at the gate costs TRY 65 with none.
  • Apply online at ivd.gib.gov.tr or at a tax office with your passport. The lease, the bank, the utilities and e-ikamet all ask for it.
  • Apply well inside your visa-free or visa period, and pay both fees before the appointment. Arriving late for the deadline turns a paperwork task into a visa violation.
  • Before signing, ask the migration directorate or YİMER on 157 whether the exact address can be registered by a foreign resident. Some neighbourhoods are closed to new registrations.

Should do

  • 112 is the single emergency number, answered in English among other languages. 182 books Ministry of Health hospital appointments.
  • Most households drink from 19-litre jugs (damacana) delivered by a local water seller, rather than from the tap. Ask the building caretaker who delivers.
  • From Istanbul Airport, the M11 metro to Gayrettepe or an H-series İETT bus at TRY 92.40; from Sabiha Gökçen, the M4 metro to Kadıköy. Use the official taxi rank or an app.
  • Try the ferry, Marmaray or metrobüs route you would use, at 8.30 on a weekday, before you commit to a flat on one side of the water.

Nice to do

  • Tea comes in small tulip glasses and keeps coming. Lay the spoon across the glass when you have had enough.
  • Kadıköy to Karaköy or Beşiktaş costs a normal fare and is the best view of the city. Buy a simit for the gulls, and a tea for yourself.
  • Many embassies run a registration or alert service for nationals abroad. Two minutes now saves a scramble later.
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  • Must do0/5
  • Should do0/4
  • Nice to do0/3
Emergency112
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