Istanbul Transportation
Istanbul Airports
Find more airports near Istanbul
Istanbul Transportation
Getting There:By Air:
Atatürk International Airport (IST)
Atatürk International Airport (http://www.ataturkairport.com) has numerous airline service providers including:
Air France (+90 212 663 0600 / http://www.airfrance.com)
Blue Air (+40 40 21 208 8686 / http://www.blueair-web.com)
British Airways (+90 212 663 0501 / http://www.britishairways.com)
Condor ( +1 800 524 6975 / http://www7.condor.com )
Corendon Airlines (+32 2 722 94 94 / http://www.corendon.com)
Delta Airlines (+90 212 663 07 52 / http://www.delta.com)
Egyptair (+90 212 663 3301 / http://www.egyptair.com.eg)
Emirates Airlines (+90 212 663 0708 / http://www.emirates.com)
Germanwings ( +44 870 252 1250 / http://www1.germanwings.com )
KLM (+90 212 465 4287 / http://www.klm.com)
Lufthansa (+90 212 663 0595 / http://www.lufthansa.com)
Qantas (+90 212 240 5032 / http://www.qantas.com.au)
Swissair (+90 212 663 6676 / http://www.swiss.com)
SA Express (+90 212 246 6075 / http://www.saexpress.co.za)
Turkish Airlines (+90 +90 212 444 0849 / http://www.thy.com)
Transportation leaving the airport includes:
To Taksim Square:
Buses run daily at 6a and at every half hour between 7a and 11:30p. A stop is also made in Aksaray.
To Bakirköy & Bostancı:
A bus leaves the airport to intercept the "flying boat," which arrives at Bakirköy from Bostancı.
To Akmerkez (Etiler):
Buses run daily between 7a and 9p every hour on the hour.
To Kozyatağı:
Buses run daily between 4a and 10p. A stop is also made in Kızıltoprak.
Taxi services can be found outside the arrivals area of TAV.
Some of the major car rental companies include:
Avis (+90 212 465 4550 / http://www.avis.fr)
Budget (+90 212 663 0858 / http://www.budget.fr)
Hertz (+90 212 663 0807 / http://www.hertz.fr)
Sabiha Gökçen Airport (SAW)
Sabiha Gökçen Airport (+90 216 585 50 00 / http://www.sgairport.com/havaalani/eng/start.asp) is a tiny airport on the Asian side of the city that services just a few airlines, and there are just a few flights at a time. Keep in mind that flights from this airport often fly you to smaller, lesser-known airports in whatever your destination city may be; however, this is the airport you fly out of if you want a really cheap ticket!
Airlines servicing SAW include:
Germanwings (+44 870 252 1250 / http://www1.germanwings.com)
Easyjet (http://www.easyjet.com)
Turkish Airlines (+90 212 444 0849 / http://www.thy.com)
Pegasus Airlines (+90 444 0737 / http://www.flypgs.com)
Corendon Airlines (+32 2 722 9494 / http://www.corendon.com)
Montenegro Airlines (http://www.montenegro-airlines.cg.yu)
Blue Wings (+49 2 11 42 16 8060 / http://www.bluewings.com/bwg)
Hapag Fly (+49 511 2200 4713 / http://www.tuifly.com/de/index.html)
MyAir (+44 207 365 1597 / http://www.myair.com/docs/cust/en/index.shtml)
Condor (+1 800 364 1667 / http://www10.condor.com/tcf-us/index.jsp)
Air Arabia (http://www.airarabia.com)
Getting out of Sabiha Gökçen Airport:
Taxis are available outside the terminal.
The Haydarpaşa-Gebze Express shuttle regularly departs from / arrives at Pendik Train Station (at SAW itself -- just ask at airport information). There are also regular suburban services.
Havaş: Ask at the airport information desk for the Havaş (airport shuttle) service schedule.
Bus (IETT): Ask at the airport information desk for bus schedules.
By Train:
Not as popular a mode of transport as buses, with a much smaller network, there are rail connections from Istanbul to Ankara, Izmir and Eastern Anatolian cities. Reservations are essential for these trips, and there are several classes of seats and sleepers. International services from Sirkeci (+90 212 527 0050/51) (on the European side) and Haydarpaşa (+90 216 336 0475/2063) (Asian side) stations include Vienna, Munich, Budapest, Thessaloniki, (via Eskisehir, Konya, and Gaziantep), Aleppo (via Tatvan and Van), Tehran, Moscow and Bucharest.
By Bus:
Istanbul is well-connected by bus to every part of Turkey. Buses are frequent and the main coach station, Otogar (+90 212 658 0505) is at Esenler. There are various independent bus companies, all of whom have a ticket office at the station. (The larger ones have offices dotted around town, especially in areas like Taksim, Sultanahmet, Beşiktaş and Bostancı.) Prices vary slightly depending on the quality of the vehicle.
By Car:
From the northwest, take route D020 southeast. From the southwest, follow route D100 northeast.
Getting Around:
Within the European Side: Istanbul's main bus terminal is Büyük Otogar (+90 212 658 0505) in Eminönü. There are also shared taxi-vans called dolmuş (literally meaning "stuffed"!), which can take you anywhere around town. Other options include a tramway, a subway, a cable car from Karaköy to Beyoğlu and a tiny electric trolley from Beyoğlu to Taksim.
Within the Asian Side: The dolmuş and buses are generally the way to go for cheap; taxis are also generally easy to find.
From Europe to Asia and Back: Most Istanbulites rely on the ferries for their intercontinental travel; indeed, this is the best way to see the beautiful Haydarpaşa train station, the Kız Kulesi, and the old mansions lining the European coast. On the ferry, you are out in the open sea air that is so much a part of Istanbul's overall atmosphere. Other options for intercontinental travel are a smaller, faster seabus, or a regular bus from Büyük Otogar (Eminönü) or Bostancı (Kadıköy) over one of the bridges.
[ source data from Travelmath and DistanceCalc ]
