Istanbul Airport (IST) is on the European side, roughly 40 km north-west of the middle, and
it is the big one. Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) is on the Asian side, roughly the same distance south-east,
and it is where a lot of low-cost flights land. They are about two hours apart from each other in
traffic, so a self-connection between them is a real risk, not a technicality.
Getting in from ISTPhotograph by Elgaard, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
The M11 metro links the airport to the city and is the reliable option because it is not
affected by traffic. The Havaist coaches run to Taksim and other points and are comfortable, but
they sit in the same jams as everything else. A taxi is expensive from this distance and can take
much longer than you expect at the wrong hour.
Havabüs coaches to Kadıköy and Taksim, or the metro with a change. If you are staying on the
European side, budget properly for this leg: it is the longest airport transfer of the two and it
crosses the strait.
Onward
Trains east leave from Söğütlüçeşme and Pendik on the Asian side rather than from the old
Sirkeci terminus, which now serves Marmaray. Long-distance coaches leave from the Esenler otogar,
which is enormous and worth arriving at early. Ferries to Bursa and the islands leave from the
water, obviously, but from different piers depending on the destination.
This section is being written. The guide above is the section for now. New articles are published across the site about twice a week rather than a section being filled in a day, so this page grows steadily — it is worth looking in again. In the meantime the sixteen sight pages and the plans by trip length are finished, and they are the best place to start.
Coming next in this section
Istanbul Airport to the city: the M11 metro versus the Havaist coach
Sabiha Gökçen to the European side, and how long it really takes
Connecting between IST and SAW — why it is not a short hop
Leaving Istanbul by train: which station, and why it is not Sirkeci
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