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How to get to Istanbul
All you need to know about getting to Istanbul by plane, train, coach, ferry and car. How to get to Istanbul by air, rail, road or sea with the quickest and easiest way.
We also provide the cheapest way to get to city centre from airport. You can pick up a cab from the airport. To go by tube, go to the underground station catch a train on the tube.
Istanbul is served by many airports which you can find below and also served by many local, regional, national and international rail and coach services.
The most modern and easiest gateway to Istanbul which has always been a mosaic of cultures throughout history is Atatürk Airport international terminal. Ataturk Airport is located in Yesilkoy, on the European side of Istanbul. It is 20 kilometers to the city center and only 4 km from the sea. The new airport is the biggest in the country, with the most international flights. There are direct flights to every European capital, and many to Asia, USA and the Middle East. The domestic terminal has flights to every domestic airport in the country, with several a day to major cities like Ankara and Izmir. Turkish Airlines (THY) is the national carrier. From the airport, there are many options for getting into Istanbul city center, you can take a taxi, the express bus service run by the local airport service which departs half-hourly and costs about 10 YTL to Taksim or by underground (tube) to Aksaray and a tram on to Kabatas, which also passes through Sultanahmet, Eminonu and Tophane. The trip from the airport to Sultanahmet takes about 45 min.
Istanbul also has a smaller airport Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW) www.sgairport.com, located in the Anatolian side of the city. Charter flights as well as European low cost carriers operate from here most of the time. A Havas bus connects this airport with Taksim in the city center for 10 YTL and takes about an hour. A cheaper option is to take bus E10 which brings you to Kadıkoy in 70 minutes (3 YTL).
In Istanbul there are two railway stations, Sirkeci station, is also known as the last stop of Orient express. Trains bound for Thessaloniki, Athens, Sofia, Belgrade, Bucharest and Budapest.
There are trains to Istanbul from the following destinations, from Europe; Budapest, Belgrad, Bucharest, Athens, and Sofia; From Middle East; Tehran, Tebriz and Baghdad. There are connections from Cologne to Istanbul on the "Istanbul Express", which also carries cars from several other European cities. There is a weekly sleeper from Moscow. InterRail tickets are available in the European part of Turkey as far as Istanbul.
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