How to get from Istanbul Airport to the city center? This question is too complex to give a short and unambiguous answer. Firstly, Istanbul has two international airports. City authorities promise to build a third. But so far, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and Sabiha Gokcen airports remain the main air gates of Istanbul. Now another component of the question: what exactly is considered the center of the city? After all, the metropolis, which is inhabited by eighteen million people, is spread on two banks of the Bosphorus. So, part of it lies in Europe, and the other in Asia. Based on the vast area of the metropolis, the “city center” is a very loose concept. It is located both in Europe and in Asia. But, of course, its geographical scope is much smaller. In this article, we will look at how a traveler who flies to Istanbul to get from his air harbors to the center. It will also provide information for those who need to get from Ataturk Airport to Sabiha as quickly as possible, or vice versa.
What is the center of Istanbul
Let's just say: it lies within the boundaries of Constantinople. But the historical center of the city is very large. Golden Horn Bay divides it into European and Asian parts. The guidebooks call the two central districts of Istanbul central : Sultanahmet (where the main museums and mosques are located) and the focus of evening life - Taksim Square. Aksaray, Gulhane and Laleli are also interesting for tourists. If you are interested in the Topkapi Sultan's Palace, then you need it in Gulhane. If you’re traveling in Istanbul and you have two or three hours to explore the city, feel free to go to Sultanahmet. Most of the main attractions are concentrated in this area. This is the Hagia Sophia Cathedral, the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome, the Cistern and others. Do you want to ride a tourist boat, walk along the Galata bridge, take a walk along the Eminenu promenade? This is the Fatih district (Istanbul). How to get from Ataturk Airport to all of these attractions, read on.
The main air gate of Istanbul
This is the oldest airport in the city. It was built in the European part of the metropolis. Twenty-four kilometers separate it from Sultanahmet Square. The airport has been named after the first president of Turkey and the national hero since the eightieth year of the last century. Ataturk (so affectionately called this air harbor) is the third in Europe and the eleventh in the world in the number of passengers served. Naturally, the authorities of Istanbul pay great attention to the connection of the airport with the city. A metro line is stretched to it. It is not difficult to find a station (it is final). You just need to follow from the arrivals area to the right, following the signs for Metro-Subway, to the escalator, which will lower you to the subway. For a one-time trip you need to buy a token, and if you plan to use public transport often, better buy the "Istanbul Card". There are direct buses from Ataturk to Taksim, Koziatyagi and Etiler (Istanbul). How to get from the airport to the historical center, we’ll talk below. In the meantime, prices. Taxi fare is fifty lire, ten by bus and four by metro.
Istanbul Ataturk Airport: how to get to the center
The hub connects with the city only one (red) metro line. She does not follow to the very historical center. Tourists need to count six stations and get off at the Zeytinburnu stop. Rising from the ground, you should transfer to the T1 light rail. And he is already driving through all the interesting places: Aksaray, Laleli, Sultanahmet, Gulkhan. To taste delicious fish at the Galata bridge, you need to get off at the T1 "Eminonu" tram stop. When transferring to another type of public transport, you need a new token. It should be lowered into the turnstile connector - otherwise do not go to the tram stop. Therefore, it is better to use the "Istanbul Maps." It can be replenished for any amount. With it, moving around the largest city in Turkey will be easier and cheaper. Do not think that taxis in Istanbul are the fastest mode of transport. Traffic jams (a passenger pays for them too) in the metropolis are such that it’s better to take the subway.
How to get to Taksim
This area of Istanbul is located in the Asian part of the city. For a long time, only a funicular climbed a high hill. Many travel guides still point out the old way of getting from Istanbul Airport to Taksimo. You need to get to Zeytinburnu on the red line (M1). Then transfer to T1 light rail and follow on it to its final stop "Kabatash". There, to find the lower station of the funicular and on this type of public transport go up to Taksim. But now the way to this center of evening fun has become much simpler. The metro builders still laid a tunnel under the strait and extended a green line to Taksim. So, to get to this area, you need to sit at the Kemal Ataturk Airport on M1. Make a change at the Yenikapi station. And already on M2 (green line) drive to the Taksim stop.
From Ataturk Airport by bus
For a long time, this type of land transport was the only link between the air harbor and the Taksim area. If we ask ourselves how to get to Istanbul from Ataturk Airport at night, but in such a way as not to overpay, then after going over several possible options in search of an answer, we will stop on the bus. Passengers are served by the Havatash company. Her buses run from four in the morning until one in the morning. The interval between flights is only half an hour. A ticket costs ten liras, and a trip to Taksim will last about forty minutes (excluding traffic jams). Taxis are an option for the dead of night. The tram runs from six in the morning until midnight.
How to pass the time at Ataturk Airport
So, we landed at Ataturk Havalimani (Istanbul). How to get from the airport to the city day and night, we have already explained. It should be added that Istanbul is a huge metropolis, and the path to its center is not long. Therefore, if you have a pocket between flights for two to three hours, you should not leave the Ataturk Airport. Believe me, there is something to do there, and time will fly by quickly. Firstly, it is duty-free shops. Often in the terminal rooms of the largest hub of Turkey, art exhibitions are organized. There are many coffee houses, restaurants, even a hairdresser. Wi-Fi is free in all airport terminals. Well, if you want to sleep a bit, then at your service there are waiting rooms of various comforts. There are five hotels in the immediate vicinity of the airport. And one hotel is within walking distance and is connected by a covered passage to the departure zone.
What other Istanbul airports are there? Sabiha Gokcen: how to get to the city
This air harbor was built to unload the main gate of the city. One terminal was built in two thousand and seven, and the second in the ninth year. It was decided to name the new airport in honor of Sabiha Gokcen. This is the first woman in Turkey to become a military pilot. In addition, she was the adopted daughter of Kemal Ataturk. Previously, only airliners from low-cost airlines such as Sanexpress or Pegasus flew to Sabiha Gokcen Airport. But now quite respectable carriers, such as Turkish Airlines, also land there. It cannot be said that Sabiha Airport was overshadowed by the old hub, but it completely catches up with it. In 2014, it served 23.5 million travelers. And this achievement makes the airport the eighteenth passenger traffic in Europe. Travelers praise Sabiha's new, modern and comfortable terminals. The only negative is the lack of communication with the city. The airport was built in the Asian part of Istanbul, but very far from its center. It is separated from Sultanahmet Square fifty-five kilometers.
Transport connection
Unfortunately, the subway line has not yet been extended from Istanbul to Sabiha Gokcen Airport, and a light rail does not run either. The only means of transportation are taxis and buses. And this remains the subject of frequent complaints from passengers. It's not even about the high cost of a taxi. Traffic jams for Istanbul is a permanent phenomenon. They are not only at night. Therefore, in order to catch the flight, the passenger must take into account that ground transport can be delayed on the road for an hour, if not more. How to get from Sabiha Airport to Istanbul? A taxi ride will cost from seventy lire (to the Kadikoy district) to one hundred and ten (to Sultanahmet). If you rented a car at the airport, take the E-80 motorway.
From Sabiha to Taksim and Sultanahmet
Now, let's look at how to get to Istanbul by public transport. How to get from Sabiha Gokcen Airport, for example, to Taksim? We leave the international terminal and immediately get to the bus stop of the Khavatash company. Cars run every half hour almost around the clock (from four in the morning to one in the morning). A ticket costs fifteen lire, the trip (excluding traffic jams) will last an hour and a half. Sultanahmet and the surrounding central areas will be more difficult to get to. You can use the services of the same Havatash company and get to the Kadikoy pier, from where the ferry goes to the Eminenyu pier. Across the road from the last will be a stop at the high-speed train station, where you need to drive three stops to get to Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque.
From Sabiha to the train stations
If you plan to travel around Turkey by train, you first need to get to one of the two stations - Khaidarpash or Sirkeci. These stations are located near the marinas. Khaidarpash is near Kadikoy (Asian side), and Sirkeci is next to Eminenyu (European). We have already explained how to get from Istanbul Airport to Sultanahmet. You need to go to the stations in the same way. In addition to Havatash cars, you can use the usual city buses E-10 (makes intermediate stops) or E-11 (express). All of them follow to Kadikoy pier, from where not far from Khaidarpash. If your train leaves the Sirkeci station, you need to use the services of a ferry to get to the European side of Istanbul. But since the fourteenth year, a tunnel under the Bosphorus - "Marmaray" has been operating. You can go down underground and take the subway. The stop is called “Sirkeci”.
How to get from one airport to another
Quite often, passengers flying by connecting flights choose Istanbul as their destination. How to get from Ataturk Airport to Sabiha? Besides taxi, there is only one way. These are Havatash buses. You need to get on the car that follows Taksim (read the inscription on the electronic display on the windshield). And there already transfer to another bus that goes to the airport you are interested in. Flights are planned so that you don’t have to wait for the right cars for a long time. Nevertheless, you will have to spend at least two and a half hours on the road.