How DoInIstanbul Works: Our Editorial Policy

DoInIstanbul is an independent Istanbul travel publication and discovery platform. We write about Istanbul, compare the options and point you to the right place to visit or book. We are not a tour operator, a boat operator or a restaurant.

Travel services that you can book through our recommendations are provided and sold by licensed travel agency partners. Before booking a regulated travel service, check the booking site for the agency providing and selling it, its licence record and the applicable terms. A booking brand and a licensed agency are distinct roles; we publish agency names and licence numbers only when their attribution has been verified.

Every guide names the person responsible for it. Ekrem Gül, founder and editor, writes or edits and fact-checks each guide before it is published. When a guide draws on a local contributor's knowledge, we name them with their consent. We never attach invented names, photos or credentials.

Meet our editors and local contributors.

Most travel sites give you a longer list. We would rather help you make a better choice.

• We explain which option suits which situation: one evening, a rainy day, a first visit, a trip with children.
• We describe how Istanbul is actually used by the people who live here: which neighbourhood for which meal, what to order, what to skip, and when to go.
• We start with the free or low-cost way to do something, then mention a paid option if one fits.
• We do not call a place a "hidden gem" or "authentic" unless we can say why. Tourist spots are not bad because they are touristy, and local spots are not good because they are local. If we recommend or warn against something, we give the reason.

When a guide recommends places or experiences, we look at:

1. What you need. The recommendation starts from your situation, not from a list of what is available.
2. Official and first-hand information. We use operator, venue and municipal sources for prices, hours, routes and rules, and we say where a figure comes from.
3. Practical fit. Location, timing, season, effort, cost, what is included, and what commonly goes wrong.
4. Reasons we can state. Our picks are editorial judgements based on the information above. We do not describe visits we have not made, and we do not quote reviews we cannot source.

Before we recommend a place or experience, we ask one question: would we send a close friend who is visiting Istanbul there? If the answer is no, it does not go in the guide.

If we cannot confirm something, we leave the detail out or tell you to check with the business.

Prices, opening hours, menus and fares change, often with the season. For this reason:

• Each guide shows a date for when it was last reviewed. That date is a real date, not a template default.
• Third-party figures, such as ferry fares or a restaurant's prices, are shown with the source and the date we checked them.
• Seasonal advice states the period it applies to.
• Where a price is a typical range and not a quote, we say so. For anything you will pay for, confirm the current price with the seller before you book.

If you find something that is out of date, tell us and we will check it.

Our editorial recommendations are never for sale. We separate them from commercial offers, and we label the offers so you can tell which is which.

• Partner status does not buy ranking. A business cannot pay to be recommended, moved higher or described more kindly in our guides.
• Labels are visible. Content that is sponsored, a partner offer or an affiliate link is marked as such on the page, and affiliate and sponsored links are tagged accordingly in the code.
• Terms stay private. We do not publish commission rates or agreement terms, and we do not publish the private details of individuals who share local knowledge with us.
• Naming a business is not an endorsement deal. We may mention a public business on editorial grounds without any relationship with it.

"Like a Local" appears only where we have something real to say: a verifiable local habit, a seasonal pattern, a specific reason people choose one place over another. If we cannot give a reason, we do not use the label.

If a guide is wrong, unclear or out of date, write to us at info@doinistanbul.com and tell us which page you mean. We correct factual errors and update the review date when we do.

Businesses that would like to be considered for inclusion can email us at the same address. Contact does not guarantee a mention, and a mention does not depend on a partnership.