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=== First option ===
'''EDIT''': The train doesn't run anymore. Also === Westwards towards [[Cannakale]] (via [[Tekirdağ|Tekirdag]]) === Take Bus #34B/C/BZ/G to avoid lots of local traffic, many people going in that direction rather take the highway towards Edirne, last stop and turn off the highway to Kinali and further to the weststart hitchhiking with a Tekirdag sign there. From Tekirdag continue with a Istanbul sign. So the best to do is to use the same spot as Be prepared for going towards Edirne, Mahmutbey pay-tolls, try to hitchhike a car to possible long waiting time at Tekirdag, or at least to the Kinali exit, take off the highway and hitchhike further to the west.
1) # 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 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, 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. 2) # 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.
→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.
==== 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 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.
==== Third option ====
'''This section needs an update!'''
Get into the metro at Taksim Square and take a train towards ''Haciosman''. 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.
=== Westwards towards [[Greece]] (via [[Tekirdağ|Tekirdag]]) {{E|84}} ===
'''Update (as of August 2018)''': the train to [[Muratlı]] is operating twice a day, departing from Halkalı train station in the West of the city. The fare to Muratlı is 13.5 TL (11 TL if you're under 26). You can get to Muratlı train station by direct bus from Eminönü, or by metrobus (Cennet Mahallesi metrobus stop is nearly 1 hour of walking from the train station). Be aware that it is currently impossible to pay by the card at Halkalı station, and there is no ATM nearby, so prepare cash in advance.
'''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 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, or at least to the Kinali exit, take off the highway and hitchhike further to 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!
=== East and south towards [[Ankara]], Black Sea coast, Antalya {{E|80}} ===
Take a ferry to ''Kadıköy'' on Asian side. Next to the ferry terminal there is a bus terminal where you have 2 options:
==== From Şekerpınar close to Gebze ====
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.
=== South towards [[Yalova]]/, [[Bursa]]/or [[Izmir]] === See below the Eskihisar links for a road/bridge alternative.
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.
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.
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 foreigner will help, as Turks often don't like stopping for other Turks or Arabs. If you're really stuck on that road leading up to the bridge, you'll have to walk a few km along it until you get to the Petrol Ofisi fuel station, about a Kilometre before the bridge. Hitch at the on-ramp to the highway from 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 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. Get a Turkish friend to record a message on your phone which you can 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 turkish drivers will not let you wait. If you are goning to Asia and you´re still in european part so 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 use hitchhiking as a public transport, just raise you´re tumb and there is a big chance that you´ll come forexample to city center faster than by metro.(Král všech moří, 2016/17)
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[[trash:Istanbul]]
[[nomad:Istanbul]]
[[Category:Turkey]]
