As someone who writes a blog about car-free travel, I thought my audience might want to know which cities they could travel to without a car. As someone without a driver’s licence, I’ve put together my top destinations that made my car-free adventures a breeze.
Istanbul
My eternal city!! Built on seven hills, you would have trouble getting around Istanbul by car or on foot. You might have heard that it has some of the worst traffic in the world. The local government has provided excellent public transport in Istanbul, which takes you almost anywhere in the city with little fuss.
All this means that Istanbul is well suited to tourists who travel by public transport 🙂 My local friends even advised me to travel from IST to the city centre by metro instead of taking a taxi.
Please remember to get an Istanbulkart and top it up at one of the machines available around the city. If you get off at a bus stop in a residential area, you might not find a machine where you can top up your card.
Venice
Perhaps you might be wondering why Venice is here? The main island of Venice has banned vehicles (not even scooters or bicycles!) to protect the Serenissima’s world-renowned architecture. Palaces, narrow corridors and alleys, canals and bridges — you name it.
That means you have limited choices when it comes to getting around Venice: walking, taking the vaporetti (water buses), or using water taxis.
Walking in Venice isn’t as difficult as walking in Istanbul: the size of Venice is comfortable enough for you to walk to almost any destination on the same island. If you get tired, you can take a vaporetto on your way back to your hotel.
Get a multi-day transportation pass if you intend to stay in Venice for more than a day. A single vaporetto ride costs more than €9, so a pass can save you money if you plan to use the vaporetti several times.
Your pass will also cover your bus rides (but not trains) if you stay on the mainland, such as in Mestre, Marghera, Dolo, etc., which are well connected to Venice by bus.
Rome
I think Trenitalia is a saviour for us no-car tourists. I mean, the train network in Italy is really extensive, which makes the country a heaven for anyone who doesn’t want to drive during their stay.
The last time I was in Rome, I arrived there from Venice on a Trenitalia night sleeper, which provided superb comfort at a very reasonable price! My Airbnb in Rome was well connected to the bus network, which helped me explore Rome in just a few days.
I also made good use of RideMovi, a local bike-hire service, and Lime. Both of them were amazing during my vacanze romane: RideMovi had an attractive day-pass deal that came in handy. Lime’s support team was also very quick to respond to my damage report after I discovered that the brakes were broken.
My Airbnb host was surprised to hear that I had managed to visit all the places he suggested in just a few days. Those bike-hire services made it effortless!
Singapore
Our island is small, I know, and we are proud of our MRT. Our buses are also very good! As a local, I never thought about getting a driver’s licence, as everything related to cars is simply too expensive for me.
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