Istanbul is a beautiful city that attracts a lot of tourists, especially during the Tulip Festival. If you are planning to visit Istanbul, this article will provide information on how to get to the city’s airports.
There are three airports in Istanbul:
- SAW: Sabiha Gökçen, located in the Asian part of the city, is mainly used by low-cost airlines such as Pobeda and Pegasus.
- IST: New Istanbul Airport, situated in the European part of the city, is home to Turkish Airlines, Aeroflot, and RedWings.
- ISL: Ataturk Airport, currently only accepting cargo and private planes.
Here are the ways to get to the airports:
Metro
To use the metro, you need to have an istanbulkart which can be purchased at yellow machines for 50 TL. The cost of a trip on one line is approximately 10-13 TL.
- For SAW: Take the M4 metro to Ayralik Çeşmesi stop, transfer to Maramaray electric train to Yenikapi station, and then transfer to M2 to Taksim. This involves three transfers to get to Taksim.
- For IST: Take the M11 high-speed metro to the final stop Kağıthane, transfer to M7 to Şişli-Mecediekoy, and then to M2 to Taksim. This also involves three transfers to get to Taksim.
Bus
To use the bus, you need an istanbulkart which can be purchased at yellow machines for 50 TL. The cost of a trip on one line is approximately 10-13 TL.
- For SAW:
- E-3 to the final stop Levent.4, you can transfer to metro M2
- E-9 goes to Bostanci, you can transfer to Marmaray
- E-10, E-11 go to Kadikoy
- 132H to Pendik (Marmaray)
- For IST:
- H-2 to Şişli, you can transfer to metro M2 to Taksim
- H-3 to Halkali, then transfer to Marmaray electric train
- H-9 to Cevizlibag, you can transfer to the tram to Sultanahmet
The Moovit app builds good routes and shows current schedules.
Shuttles
- HavaIst for IST: The current schedule and prices are on the website HavaIst. Payment in cash to the driver, you can buy a ticket in advance on the website.
- HavaBus for SAW: Similarly for Sabiha airport. Schedule and prices on the website HavaBus. Shuttles run with the designation SG.
- Shuttle HVIST-13 runs between airports (in case you need to transfer).
Taxi
Taxi drivers at the airport are not the friendliest and often overcharge. It is important to know that payment is strictly by meter, and payment for bridges/tunnels is no more than 50-60 liras. Aggregators like Uber and Bitaksi work as well.
Private transfers
To book private transfers, you can use the booking service gettransfer.com or contact your hotel for the service.
Remember to plan your route ahead of time to avoid any confusion or issues during your travels.
Enjoy your trip to Istanbul!