5 mobile apps an Istanbulite must have

Girl looking for the best mobile apps to navigate in Istanbul

If you’ve lived in Istanbul for some time (say… 1 week), you probably noticed that the city is enormous (it actually is 4.4 times larger than NYC). Perhaps you also noticed that it has a tiny little traffic problem. Getting around in a car is stressful and using public transportation can be… challenging, to say the least. So here are the 5 mobile apps that’ll help you get around in the city:

1) Trafi – Using public transportation has become much easier since Trafi came out. This app tells you how to get from A to B using every possible public transportation route: bus, subway, ferry and even dolmuş. Even better, there is live information on traffic, accidents and which routes to choose or to avoid.

2) BiTaksi – Just drop a pin at your current location and the nearest taxi driver comes and picks you up. The driver even calls you to confirm your location and lets you know he’s coming. You can pay with cash, credit card or even PayPal. This is a life-saver when you are competing with crowds to get a taxi or if you feel uncomfortable getting into any random taxi.

3) Şehir Hatları – The best thing about transportation in Istanbul are the boats (a.k.a vapurs). This app shows all the ferry schedules and cancellations, if there’s any. Additionally you can keep an eye on Bosphorus tours as well as and moon lit tours for special occasions.

4) Uber – It’s like having your own car with a chauffeur. The app geolocalizes you, you choose the type of vehicle you need (car, taxi, minivan or a premium Mercedes), you enter your credit card number and are automatically charged at the end of the ride. Finally, Uber has just launched Uber Boat, which will cost you 50 TL to 60 TL per person (for 6 to 8 people) to cross the Bosphorus.

5) Yandex – If you still want to drive your car, Yandex is a must-have app. Even if you know all the routes by heart, there is always a better alternative with less traffic and Yandex will show you the way.

Trafi helps you figure out all public transportation     Find a taksi easily anywhere in Istanbul with BiTaksi     Ferry schedules are made easy with SehirHatlari     Yandex is the ultimate navigation help for Istanbul     Uber is a geo-localized car and boat service

Trafi – Android / iPhone
BiTaksi – Android / iPhone
Şehir Hatları – Android / iPhone
Uber – Android / iPhone
Yandex – Android / iPhone

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