Cobbles, missing kerbs and steep side streets are real, but the metro, Marmaray and the ferries work, and here is exactly what we arrange for you.
Istanbul is a difficult city on wheels and we would rather say so. Pavements change height without warning, parked cars block them routinely, and the historic peninsula is cobbled throughout. Sisli itself is comparatively flat around the clinic but the side streets have real gradient. If you use a wheelchair independently at home, you will want a pusher here for anything beyond a few hundred metres.
The newer metro lines were built with lifts at every station and they are reliable; Marmaray, the cross-Bosphorus line, is step-free end to end. Ferries board over a level ramp at most piers and the crew will help. The old T1 tram to Sultanahmet has level boarding but is packed at every hour. Buses have ramps that are not always operated. Rail and boat, not road, is the rule.
The ground floor of Hagia Sophia is manageable with a ramped entrance; the upper gallery is a steep cobbled ramp and realistically is not. Dolmabahce Palace is largely level with staff assistance. The Bosphorus ferry is the single best sight in the city for anyone with limited mobility, because you see everything and walk nothing. The Grand Bazaar is flat inside but too crowded to steer on a weekend.
We book a transfer van with a ramp rather than a saloon car, we hold consultations on the ground floor, and the hospital is fully accessible including the imaging suite. What we cannot promise is a roll-in shower, genuinely accessible bathrooms are rare in Istanbul hotels, so we check specific rooms rather than trusting the icon on a booking site. Tell us your exact requirement at the quote stage.
Request it with your airline at least 48 hours before departure. That service is theirs, not the airport's. We meet you at the arrivals door with the van.
Almost none are. This is why we use a ramped van for every transfer rather than a standard taxi.
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Your country code fills itself in. A surgeon reads them and replies with what is realistic, including when the answer is no.
