Turkey Guide
İstanbul
Arrival
İstanbul's Atatürkairport (Atatürk Hava Lımanı) is 12km west of the centre at Yeşilköy, near the Sea of Marmara. It has two adjacent terminals, a kilometre apart: international (dışhatları) and domestic (içhatları). The Havaş bus service runs from both the international and the domestic terminals to the THY (Turkish Airlines) office on the north side of Taksim Square (every 30min 5am–11pm; 8YTL); journey time into İstanbul is twenty to forty minutes, depending on the traffic. The only scheduled stop is at Aksaray (outside the Gar nightclub), 200m from Yenikapı train station, from where you can take a municipal train to Cankurtan station (for Sultanahmet).
The metro runs from Atatürk airport to the city centre. The first train is at 6am, the last at 12.40am, with departures every ten minutes at peak times. To reach it follow signs for "Hafif Metro/Rapid Transit". Buy two jetons (1.10YTL each) from the kiosk. Get off at Aksaray and head the short distance to the Yusufpaşa tram stop (this is where you need the second jeton). The tram runs to Sultanahmet and across the Golden Horn, via the Galata bridge, to Kabataş. It's possible to change from the metro to the tram at Zeytinburnu, where the respective stations are much closer, but the tram is slower than the metro at peak times.
Alternatively, a taxi from the airport to Sultanahmet or Taksim will cost around 18YTL (fifty percent more between midnight and 6am) – consult the tourism sign posted outside the arrivals hall for exact fares. Many hotels can arrange airport taxi collections (on request) for 20YTL.
Returning to the airport, a shuttle bus collects passengers from their hotel, pension or hostel in Sultanahmet and takes them to Atatürk airport for 6YTL.
İstanbul has a second airport on the Asian side, Sabiha Gökçen, near Pendik. From here shuttle buses coincide with arrivals (usually from Germany) and run to Taksim or Harem otogar for 8YTL.
İstanbul has two mainline train stations, one in Europe at Sirkeci, the other, at Haydarpaşa, across the Bosphorus in Asia. The two are linked by ferry.
Two daily trains from Western Europe arrive at Sirkeci train station, located 250m above Eminönü ferry terminal: from Athens (23hr) via Thessaloniki (16hr) and Üzünköprü (6hr), and from Budapest (33hr) via Sofia (14hr) and Bucharest (18hr). The latter service connects with the rest of the European train network at Budapest. At Sirkeci it's easy to find a taxi, or catch the tram from outside the station directly uphill to Sultanahmet, Laleli and on to Aksaray (where you can change onto the metro to reach the main intercity bus station at Esenler).
Trains from Asian Turkey arrive at Haydarpaşa train station, 1km north of Kadıköy. Ferries across the Bosphorus to Eminönü (for Sultanahmet) leave from in front of the station, and arrive directly below Sirkeci station. If you are staying on the Asian shore, buses, dolmuşes and taxis run from Haydarpaşa to Kadıköy and Üsküdar.
There are two major otogars (bus stations) in İstanbul: Esenler is 10km northwest of the centre on the E800 (İstanbul– Edirne toll road); Harem is on the Asian side between Üsküdar and Kadıköy. All national bus services stop at both, regardless of destination, and both are open 24 hours.
Esenler bus station is well organized and some 150 companies have numbered ticket stands here. Most bus companies run free service buses to and from Taksim, or can arrange for you to travel on one run by another company. To get to Sultanahmet from Esenler, take the metro (every 15min 6am–1am) from the station in the centre of the otogar to Aksaray and switch to the tram to Sultanahmet. After 1am, your only option is to take a taxi into town (around 10YTL). Travelling from the city centre to Esenler by metro, remember to get off at Otogar, not Esenler station. There's a (free) shuttle service from Taksim or Sultanahmet to Esenler (usually an hour before departure) for tickets booked through a travel agent or bus company's city offices.
Arriving in İstanbul by bus from Asia, it's worth disembarking at Harem, saving a tedious journey to Esenler through terrible traffic snarl-ups. From Harem, regular ferries cross the Bosphorus to Eminönü (every hour, daily 7am–10pm) and there are private boats running to Beşiktaş and Kabataş. Dolmuşes run every few minutes to Kadıköy and to Üsküdar, leaving from the south side of the complex, beyond the ticket offices. From either of these suburbs, ferries cross to Eminönü, or from Üsküdar to Beşiktaş for Taksim. Taxis are available everywhere, but you must pay the (3YTL) bridge toll on top of the fare.
Car ferries, operated by Turkish Maritime Lines, cross the Bosphorus from Harem to Eminönü. Sea bus car and passenger services from Yalova, Bandırma (on the İzmir– İstanbul route) and the islands of Avşı and Marmara arrive at the Yenikapıferry terminal, off Kennedy Caddesi in Kumkapı, just south of Aksaray. From here, simply catch the train from Yenikapı station across the road from the ferry terminal; it's two stops to Sultanahmet (Cankurtaran station) or three to Sirkeci. Frequent buses depart Yenikapı for Taksim via Aksaray.
Cruise-ship arrivals will go through customs and immigration procedures at Karaköy International Maritime Passenger Terminal, across the Galata bridge from Eminönü. From here take the tram to Sultanahmet, or the Tünel up to Beyoğlu and the antique tram to Taksim Square; alternatively, take a taxi.