You can learn to speak a little Turkish and tell them “Lutfen en kisa yoldan goturun beni, gec kaldim” which means “please drive from the shortest distance, I am late” If you are in Istanbul, taxi drivers might think that instead of waiting at the traffic, taking the longer distance is better. You can also ask your hotel for help and they can call the taxi driver and tell the concern.

Hi there,

Although we are over with this problem, in many cities the taxi drivers still might try to fool you occasionally with old tactics.

Here’s the deal. Last year we dropped 6 zeros from the Turkish Lira and called it New (yeni) Turkish Lira. The meters on the taxi now has the correct decimals and the bills are aligned to new lira. The first trick you should swerve around is this one. The meter will have 2 decimals after the comma just like pennies/cents we have kurus. So what you see is what you pay. Although the driver might want to charge the decimals as lira beware of the decimals.

Another trick is to know the bills. Luckily we have the numbers on the bills ;) for that. Make sure you are using the right amount. Just like you don’t show up a 100 $ bill in NYC, you don’t want to show how much money you are carrying or you don’t want to give an exaggerated amount which will create a change problem.

The change problem is another game. The driver will want to keep the change so try to have some coins as well.

The drivers are not required to carry enough change with them by law like the US. Most of the time they will use this to get more money, beware!

Although you are allowed to sit in the front passenger seat this is not advised especially if you are a lady, this will make the driver feel you are coming on to him. Unless this is the desired case don’t sit at the front.

If you are suspicious of being played on then just make sure you make a note of the plate (registration number) which is legally on the door, roof and on the plates. Also make sure the driver sees that you took a note of it. This will make them uneasy.

We have legal penalties you can give to registration numbers. So in case you take this case to the police, no matter who the driver was the registration will be penalized for playing on tourists.

About “the long way home”, you can never know the right route unless you are a resident. We have 7 major hills and many valleys in between on top of the Bosphorus strait. So what looks like the long way might actually be the short alternative in terms of time.

Just try to have an idea of the distances by asking your hotel how much it would cost by taxi to whereever. With that you might know what’s going on on the way.

Good luck.

When I check into my hotel I grab a handful of their business cards and hand them to the taxi drivers to tell them where I want to go. My usual hotel is a small place, so drivers don’t always know where it is immediately.

This is not specific to Turkey, it happens all over the world. So what I typically do when I am in a place I don’t know is to ask the hotel what is the best way to go where I want to go to and what should be the price by taxi. I may also ask the driver before we start what he thinks the price should be.

I also try to get a map of the place and walk as much as I can to get a feel of it: distances, geography, etc. so that when I am in a taxi later I’ve got a fairly good idea whether they’re being honest or not.

Otherwise, all the advice above is good and I’ve used it: don’t show large notes and have change; know the currency; know a bit of the language; have some of the hotel’s business cards with you; ask the locals; etc.

But even with all this, I regularly come back home with stories of amusing taxi journeys. So I’ve resigned myself to the fact that taxi drivers all over the world (even at home) will try to swindle me and that it’s better to be philosophical about it. After all, it often makes good stories you can laugh at later.

I was only in Turkey for 4 days. I stayed at ahotel in the center of town and it wa only a short trip to the maret. I didn’t seem to have too much trouble wiht taxi drivers. I also had a mad with me and followed along. They would always see that and pretty much take me where I asked.

Give the driver your money in advance. tell him, or ask him the amount the ride will cost before you leave. They are differcult people to deal with.

Don’t pick up a taxi right outside a tourist spot, i.e. the Topkapi Palace, as they will often not want to use the meter and offer you a flat rate. Walk a couple blocks over and find a taxi there. Make sure the light on the meter is not on for gece, which is for the night rate. I’ve never had that happen, but heard it could. I agree sometimes a route may seem like “the long way” when it really is not. I once thought a driver was doing this to me then had to put my foot in my mouth when he showed me the way I “knew” (which is the way I walked) was a one way street!