5 days in Istanbul, what to know before you book

The lira problem and how foreigners actually pay

Turkish lira inflation has averaged 50 to 70 percent annually since 2022 and the official rate moves every Tuesday. Pay hotels and flights in advance in euros or dollars to lock the rate. On the ground, pull cash daily in small amounts (€50 to €80 per person from a bank ATM, Garanti, Yapi Kredi), the lira can drop 5 percent in a single week.

Always carry euros or dollars as backup. Many hotels and some restaurants quietly prefer them, and street currency exchange (Doviz) gives a better rate than ATMs for cash. Avoid airport exchange counters, the spread is theft.

The two-continent geometry

Istanbul straddles Europe and Asia across the Bosphorus, and the ferry between them is the city's defining transit experience: 20 minutes, €1.50 with an Istanbulkart, a glass of cay on board. Take it at least once at sunset, the call to prayer from both sides at once is unreasonable.

European side (Sultanahmet, Beyoglu, Karakoy) for first-time visitors. You sleep near the headlines, walk Sultanahmet in a day, and use the ferries as commute. Asian side (Kadikoy and Uskudar) is where Istanbullular live: calmer, cheaper, denser with food, no tourist mosque queue. Second-time visitors love it.

What foreigners get wrong in Istanbul

A few common tells:

Paying first-asked prices at the Grand Bazaar, the markup is 3 to 5 times market. Counter at 30 percent and walk away once, the seller will follow.

Eating in Sultanahmet at dinner, the historic peninsula closes by 9pm and the open restaurants are tourist-rate kebab. Beyoglu or Karakoy is where the city eats.

Tipping 20 percent, the local rule is 10 percent at restaurants, ₺10 to ₺20 for taxis, nothing for the cay or coffee.

Drinking the tap water, no, even Istanbullular do not. Ice in any decent restaurant is fine.

Booking the cliché Turkish bath at the Grand Bazaar one, the historic hamams (Cemberlitas, Cagaloglu) are 16th century and the experience is worth it; the one at the bazaar is the assembly-line version.

Where to base the crew

Beyoglu (specifically Cihangir or Galata) is the European-side base for 4 to 6 people. Walkable to Karakoy for food, to the ferries for the Bosphorus, and away from the Sultanahmet bus-tour rhythm. Boutique hotels, restaurant density, the right vibe.

Karakoy for proximity to the bridge, the ferry terminal, and the best food street of the city (a 200-metre stretch with the trip-best balik ekmek, simit, and karakoy gulluoglu).

Sultanahmet for max-convenience to Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque, accept that the streets empty by 9pm and the restaurants are tourist-rate. Two nights here for the photos, then move.

Kadikoy on the Asian side is the contrarian pick, 20 minutes by ferry, half the price, locals live here. For second visits, this is the move.

Hidden corners worth knowing the names of

Not the headlines. The names locals reach for after the crew has done Hagia Sophia.

Suleymaniye Mosque rooftop courtyard at sunset, free, almost empty, the Istanbul image you do not see on Instagram.

Balat neighbourhood walk, coloured houses, antique shops, the historic Jewish and Greek quarter being gently gentrified.

Kadikoy fish market and Ciya Sofrasi, take the ferry over, browse, then eat regional Anatolian dishes at the most honest restaurant in the city.

Cukurcuma antique street in Cihangir, the neighbourhood Orhan Pamuk wrote about, mid-week mornings are quiet.

A hamam at Cemberlitas or Kilic Ali Pasa, a 16th-century Ottoman bath, book the afternoon slot for the steam to settle.

A drink on the rooftop of Mikla, the view across the Bosphorus is the trip-end ritual.

The booking timeline

Eight weeks out, hotel for the group (in euros or dollars, locked rate).

Six weeks out, Hagia Sophia and Topkapi timed-entry skip-the-line, a Bosphorus dinner cruise (the legit ones, not the ones with belly dancers), and a long table at Asitane for Ottoman palace cuisine.

Three weeks out, the hamam (Cemberlitas, Kilic Ali Pasa) and dinner at Ciya Sofrasi.

A week out, ferries (no booking, just Istanbulkart), the rooftop reservations, and a half-day private guided walk through Sultanahmet (worth it, the layers of history collapse without context).

Getting around without confusion

Istanbulkart is the universal transit card, ₺50 from any kiosk, refills at metro stations. It covers ferries, metros, trams, buses, and the funicular. Tap it on every ride, €0.50 to €1.50 each.

Bitaksi is the local taxi app, Uber is functional but routes through Bitaksi. Always insist on the meter (taksimetre), never accept a flat-rate offer from an unmarked car at Taksim Square.

From IST airport, the Havabus shuttle (₺160) takes 90 minutes to Taksim, a Bitaksi is ₺800 to ₺1,200. From SAW (Sabiha Gokcen on the Asian side), the Havabus to Kadikoy is faster than a taxi in traffic.