34 Tips I Wish I Knew Before Visiting Istanbul

if you don't want to fall for the tourist traps that make people feel scammed in instol then this video is for you I just stayed for a full month and I was here for a month last year and I still made some mistakes so I'm going to share everything that IID wish I had known including my biggest mistake the very first one is avoid taxis and buses as much as possible and no not because you're going to get scammed we'll get there in just a second but because traffic is really really bad in Isen bowl

there are a lot of one-way streets there are just a lot of drivers on the road so one car can cause a huge backup and I've seen it happen so you're almost always going to get to your destination quickest by either a walking or just using public transportation cuz they have wonderful public transportation here but let's talk about being scammed because if you read online a lot of people say they felt scammed when they were in Istanbul but in my experience I don't really think there's anything that you need to be worried about here yes

there are always going to be businesses and people looking to take as much money from Taurus as you can but that doesn't really come in the form of scams but when you do read online most of the scams seem to be happening in taxis but the easy way to fix this is just use Uber Uber doesn't actually operate in the same way in Istanbul when you call an Uber you're actually just calling a taxi but the way that this protects you is when you're calling the Uber the app will actually show you two ranges a

low range and a high range of what the price is actually going to be for your trip I have never once and I've taken tons of taxis in thism Bol had a driver go outside of that range and if somebody does go outside of that range you can just contact Uber and in almost all cases they'll refund you the money so you use Uber and you won't feel scammed on the taxis next thing to note is that because public transportation is so good it's really important to get an istan cart when you get here it

looks like this and you can pick them up at basically any of the ferry stops metro anywhere that you can use public transportation you can pick one of these up and you used to need cash to be able to reload these cards but now everything is tapped pay so forget the cash pick one of these up know that it's really easy to reload it and you can use it throughout your trip these things will be your bread and butter when trying to get around the city and it's going to save you a lot of money

so definitely make sure you get one of these these next three tips are kind of cultural tips I'm going to call them the don'ts of Istanbul so the first one is don't forget to look around and actually ask somebody hey is this seat available if you see one open and that's because often times you'll find that somebody has left a key or some small item because actually it's not open they are out smoking because smoke brakes are really common here in Turkey I see a lot of tourist make that mistake of sitting down and not

realizing that that seat was occupied the next one is don't forget get to lounge around like the Turkish I know that Istanbul is like a chaotic City it's really loud noisy so many things going on but it's interesting because even with all the energy going on in the city I find that the locals really know how to lounge and just enjoy a slow pace of life and enjoy things so you'll notice people hanging out in Parks sitting by the bodies of water or if they are sitting at a cafe or bar they're going to be

taking their time they're going to be relaxed and just Lounge so definitely don't make sure to miss out on that beautiful part of the culture and the other part of the culture that you shouldn't miss out on is don't make the mistake of not giving the Istanbul cats love there are cats everywhere and they're going to want to interact with you only if you're welcoming because they're not going to bother you otherwise but recognize when you see a cat on the street it doesn't mean that it's necessarily a stray think of it as a community

cat and you'll notice that the locals certainly treat them as a part of the family so don't forget to show those cats some love these next few tips are around some of the tourist hot spots that you'll probably want to check out and the first one is the Grand bizaar be prepared for a lot of people it's going to feel completely different than other parts of Istanbul but also recognize that when you're trying to buy something there make sure that you look around check other vendors because you'll see a lot of duplicate items and I

think a lot of people end up feeling scammed when they go to the Grand Bazaar by not recognizing two things one they expect you to negotiate on price you'll find that most of the sellers list things for really high prices and that's because they expect you to try to bargain with them and if you don't well it's just money to their ears they will certainly accept it so don't make the mistake for thinking that they're trying to scam you no they're just expecting you to barter but also recognize that a lot of those things are

higher price because it's mostly tourist shopping there I know this is shocking to a lot of folks but a lot of locals they're not going to the Grand Bazar to buy their local things there are other spots in town for them to buy that so recognize that when you do go to the Grand Bazar it is intended for tourists it is a big part of the history and culture so it is worth checking out but don't feel like that's the spot where you're going to go and buy a local authentic thing there are other spots

to do that and one of the other spots that a lot of tourists end up missing is the Egyptian Spice Market and it's a bizarre of its own it's more food and spice oriented and it's a really fun place to just walk through see things sample some of their sweet treats cuz they got a lot of good stuff in there but also recognize that that is also mostly for tourists but it's definitely something that you should check out one more tip before I tell you about a place that I think is kind of overrated and

then I'm going to tell you one that I think is kind of underrated so there is a place called The Basilica sistern and this is definitely a popular place to check out but a lot of tourists end up missing it it is over near the highest Sophia and the Blue Mosque which I talked about in my first video there'll be a link for that video down below so you can watch that after this but the Basilica sistern is really neat to check out but the tip here is to make sure that you buy your tickets

in advance the line gets really really long and if you do buy your tickets online you just skip the entire line and walk right on through so you can save yourself some serious time by doing that but let's talk about one of those places that I think you can realistically Skip and it's the chich passage and I know this is a place that a lot of people want to go for those Instagram picks and it is beautiful but it's not necessarily a place that you need to hang out for long and if there is a

place to cut on your trip I probably wouldn't be too bummed missing out on that place there's nothing too special about it it is a cute little haul but eh it is kind of touristy but the place that I don't think that you should miss out on is the atatar cultural center it is this this beautiful center with a lot of different things there's a museum a concert hall a just stunning library that is a wonderful place to just hang out and like catch a breath have some like silence a really nice change of pace

and there's a lot of beautiful stuff to check out in there Sarah and I really enjoyed our time there the next tip that's really important to understand about Istanbul is each neighborhood here is completely different in terms of the culture and the feel the aesthetic like it is just a different world so I highly encourage you to just set some time aside where you're just going to wander get lost this is a wonderful City to get lost in I've always felt really safe here and in the first video I talked about some of my favorite

neighborhoods and touched on some of them with like where you should and shouldn't stay but I don't want to repeat information so I want to tell you about a few neighborhoods that aren't in the first video so it's new the first one is a place called BC and I didn't go there the first time and that was probably a mistake it is an upscale neighborhood but it is right on the boss for a straight wonderful place to go and Lounge on the weekend beautiful Park along the water wonderful shops definitely a place to check out

another place is called balet and Fenner and these are two neighborhoods that are completely different side of IST but they're equally as beautiful very colorful old wooden houses a lot of antiques and artsy area there's a lot of culture and history over there so it's a place that I'd probably recommend visiting too you don't need to worry about it if you're only going to be in town for let's say less than 2 or 3 days but if you're going to be here for more than 3 days it probably makes sense to go over there but

probably the neighborhood that I would recommend the most is a place called shangar now I did mention this in the first video but I didn't dive in enough this place is just it is Artsy it's got character it's got culture it's got everything some of the best restaurants it is just a wonderful local experience and I can't recommend it enough so I know I said I was going to stay over on the Asian side when I say it again I broke that rule I stayed here in chahar and that's my next tip is this air

beam behind me what you're seeing I'm currently in changar and this Airbnb was just perfect for what I was looking for in Istanbul great Wi-Fi beautiful two-bedroom place like wonderful views I overlook the haa sopia and the Blue Mosque a lot of tower like this Airbnb is just been everything I could have ever asked for and more and I did make a whole video on it so if you're coming to istanb for the first time it's hard to pick a better place than this so if you want to learn more about this Airbnb I'll leave

a link in the description so you can check it out afterwards but I want to tell you about a couple couple of the food options that you definitely don't want to leave without trying and a couple places where you can test them out so the first one is a local food called A simmit and A simmit is kind of just a breakfast item think of it like a bagel but with a lot of sesame seeds and oh they are great you can find them just about everywhere so I won't give a specific recommendation of where

to go for it because they're great everywhere try them you're going to want them on a daily basis the next dish that I really recommend you try is something called balik Durham and it's basically a fish wrap they catch fish fresh every single day on the boss for a straight they put them on the grill debone them throw them in this WAP and oh they are fantastic you will want two on your very first go the best place to get this is in the kcoy neighborhood and there's really one spot that everybody loves to go

to and it really is the best I'm putting it on screen now but recognize that that line is always crazy but this place that is right next to it is almost just as good and if you're in a rush definitely skip the Longline one try this one it's like a perfect 10 out of 10 or a 9.5 so nothing wrong with taking the 9.5 place the next thing that you have to try when you're an instable is of course kebab and my favorite place for Kebab is ttum Kebab which is up here in chahar it

is wonderful but there are a bunch of different variations can't recommend them enough so make sure you set aside some time for eating kebabs and you're probably going to want a dessert which I'm assuming is going to be bakar I'm going to botch this pronunciation is Kakui Galu I don't know I probably screw that up but there really do have a wonderful selection of Bak overa there I highly recommend it it's super easy to get to and pretty affordable and probably my biggest food recommendation is make sure you set aside some time to have a

traditional Turkish breakfast these things are fullon spreads and they are wonderful you are not just going to have one dish no not two DISH not three not four but like 15 different dishes are going to be brought to your table and it is so much fun my favorite place to go for this is a place called dagas Gourmet and I probably screwed up the pronunciation of that as well it is up in shahine gear but it is wonderful it is going to be unlike any other breakfast you had anywhere in the world you're not going

to be disappointed and I have so many other food recommendations here in Istanbul but we got to get into some of the other tips so if you want a list of all of my favorite places in Istanbul you can subscribe to my newsletter I send a weekly travel tip every single Tuesday and I'm building a list of all the best food around the world including Istanbul so I'll let you know through the newsletter when that's available so feel free to sign up if you want but these next tips are really important because I think a

lot of tourists don't even realize these places exist and they completely miss them and I was guilty of that I missed these during my first trip so these are day trips and the first one is called Prince's Island and it's this island chain that is just outside of Istanbul in fact you just take the local Ferry it's a couple of bucks and the ferry ride is going to be like an hour and a half 2 and 1/2 hours long depending on which island you go to now assuming you're a tourist and it's your first time

going to the princess Island you're probably going to want to choose bua which is the biggest of the islands it's also one of the last stops and it is beautiful and they have great infrastructure for tourists one of the things that is really unique on this island is there are no motor vehicles everything is electric so it is just peaceful and quiet it is beautiful and one of the things that I highly recommend that you do when you're there is rent some bikes you can rent bikes and you can go around the entire Island in

probably about an hour hour and a half's Time depending how many stops you make and there is just so much beautiful stuff to explore forests you're riding along the coastline little like cafes that are overlooking the water beautiful beaches mansions that you're riding past I mean the scenery is spectacular it is a really special place and will give you a completely different perspective on Istanbul culture but another really important tip around the princess island is if you are going to go make sure to go early it's a really special place if you can catch the

early fairy be one of the first people on the is and kind of have it to yourself so don't make that mistake get there early if at all possible but two more quick tips and this is one of the biggest mistakes that I made during my first trip and I don't want you to make this mistake and it's capid doia I skipped it my first time because I was like ah what is there to do just hot air ballooning I don't want to make the effort I don't want to go do that and what else

would I even do well it turns out there is so much incredible stuff to do and I so regret not going my first time but my other tip here is if you can afford it and are looking for like that elevated experience I stayed at just the nicest hotel I have ever stayed at in my life we were celebrating Sarah's birthday and it's this place called The Sacred house this place is just insane I mean if you're looking for that elevated experience if you're ready to pay I just don't know where in the world you

can find an experience quite like this it was this old like Greek palace type of thing like 250 years old just stunning the rooms the courtyard the amenities like I mindblowing I can't believe that I had the opportunity to stay there so if you are looking for an opportunity like that I highly recommend checking them out because it was special but it's really important to recognize that tourists make a lot of expensive mistakes when going to capadia and I made a couple myself and that's why I made a whole video detailing all those right here

but it's also important to watch this video right here with all my first time istal tips cuz it's completely new information to you and it's all still relevant fair warning the audio is a little bit screwed up in it it is pretty loud but all the information is really relevant so I apologize in advance about that but I hope this all was helpful and we'll catch you guys next time