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From Zeytinburnu there is an extensive choice of public transportation into Another option, from close to the city such as trams to Sultanahmetmotorway toll booth, buses are the frequent minibuses to Taksim/Beyoğlu (93C)Topkapı or Yenibosna, or the ''Metrobüs'' heading for the Asian side across from which you can find transportation further into the Bosphoruscentre.
The other A third option, from close is possible if your driver is going to the motorway Asian side of Istanbul. If he will cross the bridge ''Fatih Sultan Mehmet kuprusu''. ask him to drop you at the last exit before the bridge's toll booth, are which is right after you pass the frequent minibuses to Topkapı or Yenibosnanew stadium. if you walk/hitch down that road, very soon you will arrive at a metro station, from which will take you can find transportation further into the centredirectly to Taksim.
There are no ATMs on the outskirts of Istanbul. If you have no Turkish money, the driver may let you travel for free, or a friendly local may pay for you; arrive with some Turkish lira in your pocket to not be reliant on the kindness of strangers. * Note about buses - At the time of this correction (2011-09-07) all public transport in Istanbul is 1.75 with an "akbil" which is used for pre-payment. It '''is''' usually still possible to ride the bus by giving the money to another passenger who will then use their akbil for you. Some drivers also ask passengers to do this for you if you try to give them money. It is almost certainly impossible to ride for free, unless by permission of the driver. == Hitchhiking Hitching out ==
==== Bus 83O ====Hitchhikers experience 2014: Not the best place to stay, eventually we got a ride of a guy that wanted to help us, but after 2 hours going around Istanbul, left us in a much worse place close to the airport. So be strict with where you want to go. Ask at least for the toll.
You can take bus 83O* from Taksim Square to the big bus station ''Bayrampaşa Otogar'' on the European side, which is just along the motorway to Edirne / Bulgaria. Take the bus to the last stop, get off and walk back to the entrance. From there, you'll be hitching directly along the motorway. A sign works well here, and there is plenty of space for drivers to pull over since a lot of buses and minibuses stop for passengers just outside). While exiting, you'll notice a petrol station to your right that is a possible alternative starting point where you can ask drivers for lifts (or just use the toilet).
From Yenikapı'''Update (as of August 2018)''': the train to [[Muratlı]] is operating twice a day, near Sultanahmet, one can take bus 146T and get off at departing from Halkalı train station in the stop just after West of the bus turns north into the suburb Başakşehircity. The fare to Muratlı is 13.5 TL (11 TL if you're under 26). From the You can get to Muratlı train station by direct bus from Eminönü, or by metrobus (Cennet Mahallesi metrobus stop, you can walk a couple is nearly 1 hour of hundred metres down walking from the train station). Be aware that it is currently impossible to pay by the toll booth (card at Halkalı station, and there is a handy gap no ATM nearby, so prepare cash in the fence)advance.
=== Westwards '''EDIT''': The train doesn't run anymore. Also to avoid lots of local traffic, many people going in that direction rather take the highway towards [[Greece]] (via [[Tekirdağ|Edirne, and turn off the highway to Kinali and further to the west. So the best to do is to use the same spot as for going towards Edirne, Mahmutbey pay-tolls, try to hitchhike a car to Tekirdag]]) {{E|84}} ===, or at least to the Kinali exit, take off the highway and hitchhike further to the west.
* '''==== From parking on motorway O4'''====Take a ferry to ''Kadıköy'' on Asian side. Next to the ferry terminal there is a bus terminal where you can take bus 19, 19C or 19Y. Get off at the stop ''Ferhatpaşa'' (you will see a road going in a circle like a big roundabout). From there walk northeast until you get to the motorway O4 Anadolu Otoyolu. There is a fence along the motorway but it has many holes, so getting to the other side is not difficult. Once you get to the parking area, you can ask around or make a big sign and show it at parking area's exit to the drivers passing by on the motorway, so they can stop on a merge lane. There's one small restaurant in the parking area where many drivers stop for a short break.have 2 options:
* # Take bus 19, 19C, 19Y, or just ask which bus is going to '''Ferhatpaşa''' the stop you have to get off at (you will see a road going in a circle like a big roundabout). From Gebzethere walk northeast until you get to the motorway O4 Anadolu Otoyolu. There is a fence along the motorway but it has many holes, so getting to the other side is not difficult, or can just go to the gate where is possible to entre freely. Once you get to the parking area, you can ask around or make a big sign and show it at parking area's exit to the drivers passing by on the motorway, so they can stop on a merge lane. There's one small restaurant in the parking area where many drivers stop for a short break.# Take bus 130 and after half an hour or so you'll arrive to a Gas station where the bus stops (near Gebze). Get down and from here you can hitch-hike either asking or stopping cars.
Get on a ferry to Haydarpaşa (1,75 TL) and from there a suburban train to the last station Gebze (also 1,75 TL). There is only one train line. After you walk up the train station stairs and come to the street, go left and at the intersection turn left again. You'll see a signpost for the Istanbul-Ankara road. Follow the signs, and you can hitch from where the road branches off with the sign "Izmit Ankara". There is little long-distance traffic here, so get a lift going to Izmit and get out at the service station 9 km before Izmit. * '''==== From Şekerpınar close to Gebze'''====
* '''==== From Bostancı Köprüsü (Bostancı Bridge)'''====
* '''==== The (free) walking option'''====
Ask to get dropped of at the highway and wait for your next ride. You may have to repeat it one === South towards [[Yalova]], [[Bursa]] or two more times but as the waiting times are so ridicilously short it's still faster than spending 2 hours on the Gebze train :).[[Izmir]] ===
=== South towards [[Yalova]]See below the Eskihisar links for a road/[[Bursa]] ===bridge alternative.
== Eating ==An alternative to - and depending on your luck, faster than - the ferry route is to catch a lift across the Osmangazi Bridge (Osmangazi Köprüsü) which opened in 2016. This suspension bridge carries the major O-5 motorway across the Gulf of Izmit, connecting Gebze, the city on the eastern outskirts of Istanbul, to Yalova Province. A way to get as close as possible to the bridge without having to hitch through the city traffic is to take the Marmaray (kind of metro) to its far Eastern stations. The Marmaray, which runs along the southern coast of Istanbul, can be caught on both the Asian and European sides of the city and many of its major stations, such as Yenikapı and Üsküdar, are connected to the city's metro, metrobus, bus and tram system.Catch the Marmaray east in the direction of Gebze. A ticket costs roughly 5.20TL (~USD 0.92) as of June 2019, and you must use an Istanbulkart which you presumably have. Get off at Osmangazi Station (two stops before Gebze) as this is closer to the D-100 highway that will carry you east. Walk roughly 300m north up the road from the station until you get to the circle-underpass junction with the D-100 highway. A nice position just after the start of the on-ramp, where cars are still moving slowly, should score you a ride in minutes. However, the majority of traffic here seems to be going to Izmit, which is past the bridge. Turn down rides if you have to until you get one going over the bridge, to Yalova/Bursa/İzmir etc. If you're really stuck, take a short ride and ask your driver to drop you off on the side of the road at the off-ramp going to the bridge, and continue hitching from there or after the interchange.
There For some reason, the few kilometres before the bridge are exceptionally difficult to get a ride from. The traffic is thinner and, possibly to do with the expensive bridge toll, drivers are much less inclined to pick you up. Looking like a community kitchen called "Karacaahmet Sultan Dergahi" foreigner will help, as Turks often don't like stopping for other Turks or Arabs. If you're really stuck on Nuhkuyusu street in Selimiye (Üsküdarthat road leading up to the bridge, Asian Side)you'll have to walk a few km along it until you get to the Petrol Ofisi fuel station, some 200 meters down about a Kilometre before the bridge. Hitch at the on-ramp to the highway from Karaca Ahmet Camii (there. == Public transport, sleeping, eating ==Look at [http://nomadwiki.org/en/Istanbul Nomadwiki] for these info! == Personal experiences ==[[User:ESko|ESko]] Hitchhiking out was really a hassle. It is easy to get a lift, but people do not understand that you need to follow the big mosque)highway. They think you want to take a bus, and thus it gets complicated. In other parts of Turkey I had a recorded message by Turkish friends explaining what I was actually doing and what I needed from drivers. I didn't have it when leaving IST, and it was a mistake. You Get a Turkish friend to record a message on your phone which you can just walk in around lunch time play to the drivers who give you a lift. It should say something like: "I'm from XY, and right now I'm hitchhiking from IST to X. Can you take me on this road as long as possible?" 2 times I hitchhiked from Istanbul to Asia and once back to Europe. I didn´t have any map of the city and I haven´t use any bus because hitchhiking from Istanbul is very easy. There are a lot of cars and ask for foodturkish drivers will not let you wait. They hardly speak English though If you are goning to Asia and you´re still in european part so maybe the best spot is probably on the start of Bosphorus bridge. To get out from Istanbul you always need to take more cars(about 3-5 cars). In this city you can ask someone use hitchhiking as a public transport, just raise you´re tumb and there is a big chance that you´ll come forexample to translate a brief notecity center faster than by metro.(Král všech moří, 2016/17)
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→Northwest towards Edirne and Bulgaria {{E|80}}
'''Istanbul''' is the biggest city of [[Turkey]], partly in [[Europe]] and partly in [[Asia]].
In many parts in Europe you can find Turkish truckers, who might be heading to Istanbul. Watch out for Turkish number plates beginning with '''34''', the city code for Istanbul, but however a high proportion of course all truckers going to trucks heading for the Asian part will side of Turkey still have to go through Istanbul.
<map lat='41.04207384890103' lng='28.989486694335937' zoom='10' view='0' float='right' />
=== From the west {{E|80}} ===
Trucks are banned from entering the city during rush hours (morning: ''?'', evening: about 17:00-22:00), and even when they can proceed through the city, there are few places to stop. Therefore it is highly likely that your driver will let you out at the Mahmutbey toll booths. There are two ways to the centre from here. Note that there are no ATMs on the outskirts of Istanbul. If you have no Turkish money, the driver may let you travel for free, or a friendly local may pay for you; arrive with some Turkish lira in your pocket to not be reliant on the kindness of strangers.
One option is to walk to the side road to the right of the motorway, then turn to the first or second street to your right (the wide one). From the bus stop about 200 m down that street, take bus 89M "Zeytinburnu Metro", which costs about will cost around 2.00* TL pp Turkish lira (~ €0.80)(see section below on Public transport). From Zeytinburnu there is an extensive choice of public transportation into the city such as trams to Sultanahmet, buses to Taksim/Beyoğlu (93C), or the ''Metrobüs'' heading for the Asian side across the Bosphorus.
Generally, you can just start hitching anywhere in the city center. Just walk to the nearest highway and stick your thumb out. It might need a few lifts until you get out of the border, but given that you hardly ever wait more than 10 minutes for a lift, it can be faster than public transport.
=== Northwest towards [[Edirne]] and [[Bulgaria]] {{E|80}} ===
There are several ways to get out of the city centre and onto the main highway. If you stop a car that is not going a long distance, then it is best to aim for the Mahmutbey toll booths in the northwest of Istanbul where the E80 really begins. From here, ==== Test option - Ispartakule Park Area North ==== Ispartakule Park Area North is a fuel station on E80 highwaySee Google maps for getting there and update how its ==== First option ==== Get to the Mahmutbey toll booths (Mahmutbey Gişeleri) where it is possible to stop long-distance cars and trucks. TOLL BOOTHS WERE DEMOLISHED. FAST TRAFFIC. Some buses pass this spot. One is 98H from Bakırköy, a suburb in the west. Another one (146T) departures from Yenikapı, near Sultanahmet and you can get off at the stop just after the bus turns north into the suburb Başakşehir. From the bus stop, you can walk a couple of hundred metres down to the toll booth (there is a handy gap in the fence). You can also go by metro to Ikitelli Sanayi stop (M3 line) walk south until you see the highway and follow it until you reach the toll booths (about 1 km walk). For the metro, one ticket costs 3,00 TL or a bit less with an prepay "akbil". But beware of the fact that everytime you change metro's, you'd have to pay the 3TL again. Strictly speaking, pedestrians are not permitted here; if a bored traffic police officer asks you to leave, but ignore him and feign misunderstanding, and walk a few metres away and thumb. ==== Second option ====You can take bus 83O* from Taksim Square to the big bus station ''Bayrampaşa Otogar'' on the European side, which is just along the motorway to Edirne / Bulgaria. Take the bus to the last stop, get off and walk back to the entrance. Or even better get off one stop before the last: you will recognize it when the bus is passing from small urban street to a big 3 lanes road. From there, you'll be hitching directly along the motorway. A sign works well here, and there is plenty of space for drivers to pull over since a lot of buses and minibuses stop for passengers just outside. At the same time you are often disturbed by buses stopping, leaving or parking. While exiting, you'll notice a petrol station to your right that is a possible alternative starting point where you can ask drivers for lifts (or just use the toilet). Hitchhikers experience: we don't understand what means when you write "last stop". And turkish people didn't understand when you try to explain them that you whant to get out of the city to highway. They offer to you their buses. It's easier to take bus from this bus station to the nearest village Catalca, get out before bus turn to Catalca.
==== Metro Third option ===='''This section needs an update!'''
Get into the metro at Taksim Square and take a train towards ''Atatürk Oto SanayiHaciosman''. This is currently the last station for the trains departing from Taksim. One ticket costs 2,00 TL (~0,80 Euro), or 1.75 TL with an prepay "akbil". But beware of the fact that everytime you change metro's, you'd have to pay the 2TL again! At the ''Sanayi Mahallesi'' station (not to be confused with Atatürk Oto Sanayi which is the last station en route), get out of the Metro. You will find yourself along the ''Büyükdere Caddesi'' avenue. Walk along the main street direction north (watch out for big signs that are leading drivers to the motorway to Edirne. After 3-4 min and passing a military camp you'll see the [[on-ramp]]. Unfortunately, there is no way to cross the street from right to left then by attempting suicide, because the main street is mostly full of fast traffic. If you are not brave enough to do so, walk another 10 min further and cross the street over a bridge and walk back the way along the other side.
Or better, you may get off the metro at ''İTÜ-Ayazağa'' station (the first one after ''Sanayi Mahallesi''), cross the street on an pedestrian overpass close to that station's exit and then walk ''south'' for about 10 min to get to the on ramp to the motorway. You will have to walk past the military park on the right side of the road, and then you will see the big motorway below.
If you don't feel comfortable at the on-ramp for whatever reason (eg the cars pass too close or drive too fast), try to start hitching from a bus stop just after the gasstation called 'Opet'. If you stand here, many taxi's might stop for you, but just wave them away, or say 'para yok' (no money) and wait for a normal car to stop for you.
Go somewhat down the ramp and you can find a good spot to stand and stop cars. Also try to get short lifts (even some kilometres can help in Istanbul).
===Westwards towards [[Greece]] (via [[Tekirdağ|Tekirdag]]) {{E|84}} = Other buses ==== Other buses pass the toll booth. One is 98H from Bakırköy, a suburb in the west.
Take the suburban train (''banliyö treni'') from the very city center (Sirkeci) towards Halkali. It's only 2.00 lira. Get off at ''Küçükçekmece''. If the train station is 6 o'clock, walk in the direction of 12 o'clock in order to find the on ramp towards [[Tekirdağ|Tekirdag]]. This is the same road that will take you directly to Greece, although you will still be well within the congested motorways of suburban Istanbul. Be aware that you cannot cross this border walking! You have to find somebody to take you across. Knowing [[Western Europe phrasebook|German]] will help you a lot to explain that you need help to cross the border due to many drivers with a Turkish-German background.
Once you have passed the border, try to stay in the car which took you through, as the first 20-30 km on the Greek side is one of the worst places to hitchhike in Europe. Local people there are afraid of stories about immigrants from Iran and Afghanistan etc. so it's especially hard to get a ride. It took hitchhiker [[User:Lapulevel|Lapulevel]] a full day to get out of this area—and that wasn't simply a shortage of luck as that happened twice!
=== Westwards towards [[Cannakale]] (via [[Tekirdağ|Tekirdag]]) === Take Bus #34B/C/BZ/G to the last stop and start hitchhiking with a Tekirdag sign there. From Tekirdag continue with a Istanbul sign. Be prepared for a possible long waiting time at Tekirdag. === East and south towards [[Ankara]], Black Sea coast , Antalya {{E|80}} ===
For going east there are different options:
Get on the 111, 112 or 200 and stay on the bus almost all the way to the last stop (get off approximately two or three stops before).
If you want to avoid 30km of urban hitch hiking, from the last stop of 112 take bus 134BK (other 134 buses may work as well) which leaves across the road from where 112 ends. Ride until the end and transfer onto 133Ş and ride it until the last stop. You are then in Şekerpınar and can walk the 2km to the main motorway O4 Anadolu Otoyolu.
From ''Taksim'' Square take bus 129T (''Taksim - Üst Bostancı'' line), which, like the other transcontinental bus lines, requires two tickets (3.50 TL). Get off at the leaf-clover interchange called in Turkish ''Bostancı Köprüsü'' (literally Bostancı Bridge), close to its last stop. You can recognize the interchange by big signs saying ''Bostancı'' and ''İçerenköy'' (besides the usual ''İzmit'' and ''Ankara'' signs) there. Then, after getting off the bus, walk past the interchange until you see a safe shoulder down the road a couple hundred metres away. Start hitching there ready with a [[Signs|sign]] saying at least ‘[[Gebze]]'/'[[Izmit]]’, it’ll make you more visible and look like a total hitchhiker. Drivers around here seem to have some concerns about sharing their car with a stranger and looking like a total hitchhiker seems to somewhat ease their anxiety. However, there are also many minibuses heading for ''Gebze'' on this road, so hiding your sign when they are passing by and shaking your head both sides when its headlights flash (to ask whether you’d like a ride … for a fee) may prevent some of the unwanted attention. Expect to wait at least 30 minutes until you are offered a lift. Morning hours (approx. between 6:30-8:30) are best since the road is congested at that time and vehicles move slowly, which lets the drivers to think more about taking you in. Beware of the motorcycles by the way, which sometimes illegally drive inside the shoulder and literally skim you over.
For Mediterranean cities such as [[Antalya]], you should also take this eastwards route till [[Adapazari]], then head south via motorway D650 from there.
While most people would find it more comfortable to take a bus to the outskirts and then start hitchiking from there hitchhiker [[Theo]] hasis another, after hitchhiking out of Istanbul 10ish timesslightly more challenging, found that option. Generally it is actually faster to just find a good piece of highway somewhere close to where you stay(even if it's in the centre of Istanbul), get ON the highway and put your thumb up. You are unlikely to wait more than 3-5 minute before a car stops pulls over (many people don't really mind stopping on the highway) and the police is very unlikely to give you any trouble (they picked [[Theo]] up, gave him tea and chocolate-cookies and dropped him of 20 kilometers further down the road in the middle of the highway).
From Taksim: Walk down Cumhüriyet Caddesi for about 40-50 minutes. It's a big avenue which is easy to find(alternatively just follow the signs on Taxim for Şisli). After 40-50 minutes you'll see Cevahir shopping center on your right side and that's about 200 meters from where you'll start hitching. If you manage to get lost (hard as it's a big avenue without any real tricky intersection or anything) you should just ask your way to Cevahir shopping center.
After the 40-50 minute walk (about the time when you pass Cevahir shopping center on your right side) you'll see the highway. This is th spot where the Mercidiköy bridge starts and about 70-80 % of the traffic is bound for the Asian side. When you get to the highway (which is actually about 10 meters over you as you are under the bridge) you'll see the Mercidiköy bustation to your left. Turn left,walk 20 meters until you see a small footpath leading up to the highway, climb up, thumb up, and smile at your audience (often about 50-60 people) who are waiting for the Metrobus to come. They might even give you an applause if you just put up a show.
Important: BE PATIENT AND DONT DON'T JUST ACCEPT ANY RIDE. Wait for someone who's going atleast at least past the main intersection in Atesehir (say that you want to go direction Gebze/Izmit on the autoyol). Even though almost no traffic is going far from here it is important that your first ride is gonna take you to the O4 highway after the two highways merges and that may mean declining 1,2 or 4 rides. Ask to get dropped of at the highway and not at some onramp on-ramp or something even more silly(this is [[Turkey]] remember). You may have to repeat it one or two more times before you get out of Istanbul just because of the city's enourmous size. Alternatively you could wait for a ride to take you across the bridge and get dropped off at the paytolls on the Asian side and find a ride onto the 04 from there.
See [[Eskihisar]] for how to get to the ferry jetty on the route and how to get into the ferry for free.
The route via [[Eskihisar]] is also the shortest way to [[Izmir]] and its adjacent area in western Turkey.
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