How to avoid taxi scams in Istanbul?

With Yandex Taxi, do not pay the driver extra in cash after the card charge. If the final meter fare is higher than the estimate, the service may automatically charge the difference to the linked card.

To avoid airport taxi hassles, you can pre-book a taxi via the Trip.com app. After payment you get a fixed price plus photo instructions on how to reach the car in the parking area. The app has an in-chat translator (auto-translated to Russian) where you can message the driver text/photos about luggage and meeting status. If the car or plate number changes last minute, it's sent via this chat. Free waiting time and pickup timing are calculated from the actual flight arrival time (useful if the flight is delayed).

At the airport, official taxi stand counters quoted a minimum of 75, and Yandex wasn't used either. Went outside, found an independent driver without a stand, and negotiated the fare down from 45 to 40.

At Istanbul's new airport, booking Uber or Yandex Taxi through the app can fail: drivers give different pickup spots, no one shows up, and one driver claimed police were blocking pickup so passengers had to walk further away. Ended up taking a local taxi instead, charged 1450 lira (originally demanded $40) for a 15-minute ride, with the driver not understanding English or Russian.

Riding a Yandex Taxi, the driver deliberately marked the trip as 'arrived' 5 minutes before actually reaching the destination, adding 80 lira on top of the app's quoted fare. He also dropped passengers 5 km short of the beach, falsely claiming it was the right spot, forcing them to take a second taxi for another 200 lira.

For regular street taxis, make sure the driver turns on the meter at pickup, and simultaneously track the route on Google Maps to catch any dishonest detour.

When using Yandex Taxi in Istanbul, an extra charge may be debited after the trip on top of the original fare. If you notice an unexpected additional charge, this is not standard practice — dispute it through the app's support.

Always agree on the final fare before getting into the cab. There have been confirmed cases of drivers doubling the meter amount. Paying cash gives you more control over the transaction.

When using ride-hailing apps in Istanbul, make sure the driver properly closes the trip and enters the correct metered amount. Some drivers deliberately delay ending the ride to rack up extra distance.

A driver may try to add an extra zero to the fare in the app, then feign ignorance of English when challenged. Don't hesitate to check the amount yourself and correct it before confirming payment.