taxi fee

When you're in Istanbul, ask someone before you catch the taxi for an idea on how much it should cost to take a taxi for that trip and then when you hail the taxi, always agree on the price before you get in the car - using the rough price to negotiate with and don't let them charge you any more when you get to your destination.

I caught many a Taxi from Taksim to Serkeci and never got ripped off!! It should be no more than 6L, just check that the meter is on.

"always agree on the price before you get in the car -"

Can you really do that in Istanbul ? it usually works if it is an out of the town destination or a long distance destination but most taxis here in Izmir will refuse such a negotiation within the city because of the taxi meters.

True: they will point to the meter ans say that they will charge you that price...

Only problem is when you are new in town and don't know the city at all. We took a taxi from Taksim at night and the driver claimed (while driving of course) that lots of bridges were closed down for renovation (or something similar, his English wasn't that good).. As a result he (literally) raced through the city (100km/h or more) and dropped us of about half an hour and 30km later! The meter read 20 euros (I only remember the euro-price), but because we were with 5 persons in his car, he first tried to charge us 100 euros! Of course we didn't pay the requested amount :)

Moral of the story: arrange a price in advance, even if they tell you there is a meter!

Definitely watch the taxi drivers in Istanbul, even those of us that live here don't trust them any farther than we can throw them (and their taxis). Haggling for price in an Istanbul is perfectly acceptable, so long as there are other taxis around you could potentially use. Try never to take a taxi that waits outside a major tourist stop. Use regular taxi stops wherever you can (Taksim square or in front of Galatasaray high school). Past midnight, the price of a taxi almost doubles. I'd expect to pay around 8-10 YTL for a post-midnight taxi to Sultanahmet (4-6 for a pre-midnight ride). If you're leaving a bar/club, you might could get the bartender to call you a taxi and tell you about how much it will cost.

For general meter reference, the pre-midnight rate begins at 1.73 YTL and the post-midnight at 2.50 (or maybe 2.30). They are know to use the night rate in the middle of the day on unsuspecting tourists. It's also possible to get a day rate at night, simply ask for the gunduz (day) rate, if you have the chance of getting another taxi, they may well say yes. The Turkish is "gunduz achar misin?"

One last warning (true story): I once took a taxi for a fare of 10 and some change. I offered a 50 and the driver told me he wanted the little change. When I offered the requisitie change' he'd palmed my 50 and substituted a 5, hoping I'd assume I had just given him the wrong money. I told him in Turkish that I lived here and knew the difference between a 50 and a 5 and he finally relented, but always watch them!