Touch down in Istanbul and the city feels huge at first, yet it starts to shrink as soon as you pick up the Unlimited Istanbul Transportation Card. This little card lets you ride every metro, tram, bus, ferry, funicular, and even the nostalgic red streetcar on İstiklal. You tap once and glide from the Grand Bazaar to trendy Kadıköy, from sunset on the Bosphorus to late-night mezes in Karaköy, never stopping to buy a single ticket.
Order through Istanbul Tourist Pass® and a courier leaves the card at your hotel reception before you arrive, sealed and ready. The clock only starts when you make your first journey, so no day is wasted. Choose one day, a long weekend, or a whole fortnight; the card keeps working for the full stretch you select. When your time is up the chip simply stops, no surprise fees, and you are left with a pocket-sized souvenir that still smells of the sea breeze and roasted chestnuts.
What is an Unlimited Istanbul Transportation Card?
Public transportation ranks first among the cheapest ways to visit Istanbul. An Istanbul Transportation Card is required to use public transport at all times. You can access all public transportation lines and types of vehicles in Istanbul with an Istanbul Transportation Card, as the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality is in charge of the operation of all public transportation in the city.
Unlimited Istanbul Transportation Card for Tourists
Unlimited Istanbul Public Transportation Card is a specially designed public transportation card for the needs of tourists. It is valid in every public transportation vehicle, including metros, trams, buses, metrobuses, and ferries. There is only one exception: minibuses in Istanbul are still using cash, but don’t worry, there is no place you can get by minibus instead of a bus!
If you are in Istanbul as a tourist, then this card is perfect for you! Since public transportation is the cheapest and most of the time the fastest way to transport, you can use this card to get wherever you want to visit in Istanbul. It is a beautifully designed physical card delivered at your hotel by Istanbul Tourist Pass®, and after using it, you can keep it as a souvenir. The new Istanbul Public Transportation Card has 6 different designs, each of them having a symbol of Istanbul. One symbolizes the famous cats of Istanbul; others have drawings of the Maiden Tower, the Galata Tower, a cup of Turkish tea, a ferry, and the famous red tram of Istiklal Street. Cards are delivered randomly so you may have only one of them for your visit; so another reason to come again to collect them all.
You will have a physical card, and you don’t need to return it; you can keep it to remember the amazing days you were in Istanbul.
What are the Advantages of the Unlimited Istanbul Transportation Card?
- Istanbul Transportation Card gives you UNLIMITED access to all public transportation lines and vehicles.
- You don’t need to give any information like your name and passport number to get it, it is totally anonymous.
- It comes with 1-, 3-, 5-, 7-, or 15-day options for you to choose from, so you can decide according to your stay.
- Istanbul City Card is a physical card with a special design on it. There are 6 different designs with Istanbul’s symbols on them, and they are delivered randomly.
- If you purchase your card on the Istanbul Tourist Pass® website, the card will be delivered to your hotel in an envelope at check-in time.
- After the period of your choice, the Istanbul Transportation Card becomes blocked and can’t be used again, so it is only for your use; you don’t need to return it. You can keep it as a souvenir.
- The card is activated on the first day you use it, and you can use it unlimitedly for the time you choose.
- It is prepaid, so after you purchase it, you don’t need to put money into it.
How to Get an UNLIMITED Istanbul Transportation Card?
Istanbul Tourist Pass® is one of the small number of official service providers of the Istanbul City Card. You can buy this card on our website. You can add this card to your Istanbul Tourist Pass® at the checkout, or you can buy it separately. We recommend you buy it with the Istanbul Tourist Pass®, so you don’t need to worry about extra fees and long lines of tickets while you are enjoying the city.
When you purchased your Istanbul UNLIMITED Transportation Card, our couriers delivered your card in a beautifully designed envelope to your hotel just before you check in. So you don’t need to think about where to get there; you will take your Istanbul Transportation Card right away when you get to your hotel, and you can start using it immediately.
Check out our handpicked 100+ attractions coming for FREE with Istanbul Tourist Pass® here and plan your trip without worrying about transportation or entrance fees. Istanbul Tourist Pass® also has 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, or 10-Day-Pass options, and once you pay, you can participate in as many tourist attractions as you want within the allocated time period.
How Much is an Unlimited Istanbul Transportation Card?
Istanbul City Card is a prepaid public transportation card that gives you unlimited access to public transportation for the number of days you choose. It is valid in every public transportation vehicle, including metros, trams, buses, metrobuses, and ferries. It is a beautifully designed physical card delivered at your hotel by Istanbul Tourist Pass®, and after using it, you can keep it as a souvenir. Up to 10% advantage in buying with Istanbul Tourist Pass®.
Istanbul Transportation Card for Children
Children under the age of 6 do not need to have an Istanbulkart to use public transportation. This only applies when they are traveling with their parents or a guardian. As long as the child is with an adult, they can ride buses, metros, trams, and other public transport for free. However, if the child is traveling alone, there may be different rule. This rule helps families travel more easily and affordably in Istanbul.
Where You Can Use the Istanbul Transportation Card?
The card is valid for all public transport options in Istanbul. These include nostalgic trams in Taksim and Kadıköy, buses, Metrobus, tunnels, funicular ride at Kabataş, cable car, city lines, TCDD railways, at Istanbul Airport.
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Metros – the quickest cross-city link
The card works on every metro line, including the new M11 Airport Metro. Tap in at the airport and glide to Gayrettepe in about 30 minutes, then switch to the M2 for Taksim or the Old City. Use the M1 for the Grand Bazaar area, the M4 for Kadıköy’s food streets, or the M7 for cafés in Cihangir.
- Grand Bazaar and Suleymaniye Mosque – Vezneciler stop
- Galata Tower – Şişhane stop
- Kadıköy Market – Kadıköy stop
- Dolmabahçe Palace – Osmanbey stop plus a short walk
Trams – scenic rides through history
Modern T1 trams thread past Hagia Sophia and the Spice Bazaar, while the red Nostalgic Tram rattles along İstiklal Avenue. On the Asian side, the Kadıköy–Moda loop offers a vintage coastal spin.
- Hagia Sophia & Blue Mosque – Sultanahmet stop
- Spice Bazaar & Galata Bridge – Eminönü stop
- İstiklal Avenue shopping – Taksim to Tünel stretch
- Moda seaside promenade – Moda stop
Ferries & City Lines – sail between continents
Flash the card at the turnstile, grab a tea, and enjoy the Bosphorus breeze. City Lines ferries run every few minutes between Eminönü, Karaköy, Kadıköy, and Üsküdar, plus longer Bosphorus and Princes’ Islands routes.
- Maiden’s Tower views – Üsküdar
- Ortaköy Mosque and baked potatoes – Beşiktaş pier
- Princes’ Islands day trip – Büyükada landing
Buses & Metrobuses – reach every neighbourhood
IETT buses blanket the hills where rail lines cannot go, and the 24-hour Metrobus corridor races above traffic from Beylikdüzü on the European side to Söğütlüçeşme in Asia.
- Balat’s colourful houses – Balat or Ayvansaray stops
- Eyüp Sultan Mosque – Eyüpsultan stop
- Contemporary Istanbul exhibitions – Halıcıoğlu stop on the Metrobus
Funiculars & Tunnels – beat the slopes
The card is accepted on both short funicular lines: F1 Kabataş–Taksim and F2 Karaköy–Tünel, plus the century-old underground “Tünel.”
- Taksim Square in 110 seconds – Kabataş funicular
- Galata Tower in two minutes – Karaköy–Tünel line
Cable Cars – hillside panoramas
Tap in for the Maçka–Taşkışla gondola over leafy parks or ride the Eyüp–Pierre Loti cable car for golden-hour views of the Golden Horn café terrace.
Commuter Rails & Marmaray – under the Bosphorus
Marmaray trains dive beneath the strait, letting you swing from Sirkeci to Üsküdar in four minutes, then onward to the Asian suburbs or Europe’s western edge.
Airport Connections – straight from the arrivals hall
The Unlimited Card acts like a regular Istanbulkart, so you can now pay on Havaist airport shuttles as well as the M11 Airport Metro and İETT buses. One tap covers your ride into town, no extra ticket needed.
With these lines and modes at your fingertips, the city’s landmarks line up like beads on a single thread. Pick your stop, tap once, and let Istanbul unfold attraction by attraction.
Why a Regular Istanbulkart Often Frustrates Tourists
A standard Istanbulkart looks handy at first, yet many visitors run into hidden hassles within a day. Before you pick one up, here is why the pay-as-you-go card can steal both time and budget.
You must keep topping IstanbulKart up
Each ride costs about 30 TL and the card itself starts with a 130 TL deposit, so the balance melts fast when you hop on trams, ferries, and metros all day. The vending machines that add credit usually accept only cash and they are not always easy to find in busy stations, which means queuing at machines or hunting for an exchange desk instead of enjoying the city.
There is a monthly load limit
Anonymous cards—the type most visitors buy—can only be loaded up to 500 TL per calendar month. Two people sharing one card or anyone making longer journeys can hit that ceiling in just a few days and then must buy a second card and pay another deposit.
Personalised security is not available to foreigners
The safer, registered Istanbulkart requires a Turkish identity number that tourists do not have. Visitors are therefore left with the anonymous version, which offers no protection if the card is lost or stolen.
Lost card, lost money
Anonymous cards cannot be blocked or refunded. If you drop it in a crowded tram or leave it at a café, whoever finds it can keep riding on your balance and you have no official way to reclaim the funds.
Left-over credit is hard to reclaim
While you can sometimes recover the original deposit, the remaining pay-as-you-go balance is generally not refunded and the process, when available, involves paperwork at service centres; hardly a nice way to spend your last day in Istanbul.
In short, a standard Istanbulkart is perfect for locals who top up little and often, but travellers who move around the city all day quickly run into cash hunts, balance worries, and security gaps. An Unlimited Istanbul Transportation Card delivered to your hotel skips every one of those headaches and lets you spend your holiday time on the sights instead of ticket machines.
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