Use the apps, carry an Istanbulkart, and understand that distance on a map has almost no relationship to travel time.
Use the BiTaksi or Uber app rather than hailing on the street: the route and fare are recorded, and there is no negotiation. Insist the meter runs. Short trips within Şişli and Nişantaşı cost only a few euros.
Clean, cheap, air-conditioned and immune to traffic — often twice as fast as a car at rush hour. Buy an Istanbulkart from any machine, top it up, and tap in. The M2 line runs directly through Şişli.
The most pleasant way to cross between continents and the least tiring form of transport for a recovering patient. Same Istanbulkart, piers at Eminönü, Karaköy, Beşiktaş, Üsküdar and Kadıköy.
Unmarked taxis outside tourist sites, rush-hour car travel between 07:30–10:00 and 16:30–20:00, and assuming a 6 km trip takes fifteen minutes. For appointments we send a driver and plan the timing for you.
Cards are accepted almost everywhere, but keep small cash for ferries, street food and the bazaar.