Getting There By Air:Istanbul Atatürk International Airport (IST)
Tel: (0212) 465 5555.
Website:
www.ataturkairport.com Rebuilt, state-of-the-art Atatürk International Airport is located 23km (15 miles) west of central Istanbul, in Yeşilköy.
Airport facilities: Facilities include bureaux de change, ATMs, two 24-hour health clinics, pharmacies, lost and found, banks, post office, 24-hour left luggage, business-class hotel (including accommodation
at an hourly rate), baggage service, restaurants, snack bars, hairdresser, tourist information, shops, duty-free, 24-hour hotel reservation (private companies), travel agencies and car hire from
Avis,
Budget,
Europcar,
Hertz,
National-Alama,
Sixt and
Ülger. There are also Business facilities.
Transport to the city: The
Havaş service bus (tel: (0212) 465 4700; website:
www.havas.com.tr) to Aksaray and Taksim Square departs from the international and domestic terminals every 30 minutes (journey time - 30-40 minutes) between 0400-0100. Buses also run every 30 minutes as far as Bakirköy sea bus pier between 0630-2030 (weekdays), 0810-2130 (weekends). Buses also travel to the Akmerkez shopping center in Etiler every two hours.
IETT public buses run from nearby Yeşilköy into the city center. There are plenty of taxis outside the airport; insist on the meter being used. A taxi to Taksim should cost around US$20. The Metro has regular trains between the airport and Esenler Otogar, the main bus station, and Aksaray.
Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW) Tel: (0216) 585 5000.
Website:
www.sgairport.com Sabiha Gökçen airport is located on the Asian side of Istanbul, 50km (30 miles) east of Taksim, the European center of Istanbul, 1.5km (1 mile) from the TEM motorway, and 12km (7.5 miles) from Pendik sea bus jetty and train station. This airport has relieved some of the overload at Atatürk Airport with its domestic terminal and international terminal mainly serving German cities, plus London and Amsterdam. It also handles a small number of charter flights to central Asia, and cargo and military planes
Airport facilities: These include information and help desks, ATMs, a bank, post office, duty-free shops, gift shops, bookshops, restaurants, cafes, wheelchair service, a VIP lounge, conference and business facilities and parking. Car hire is provided in both terminals by
Avis,
Decar,
Hertz and
WRC.
Transport to the city: The
Havaş service bus (see above) operates hourly to Taksim between 0400-0100, with stops including Pendik, Bostanci, Kadiköy and Harem. Cheaper IETT public buses run to Levent, Kadiköy and Kozyataği. Taxis are available 24 hours a day and cost at least US$60 to Taksim, more to Sultanahmet.
Approximate flight times to Istanbul: From London is 3 hours 30 minutes; from New York is 9 hours; from Los Angeles is 13 hours; from Toronto is 10 hours and 30 minutes and from Sydney is 22 hours.
Getting There By Road:Although the road network throughout Turkey is extensive, with some dual carriageways and numerous three-lane highways, maintenance can be poor and conditions dangerous - Turkey has one of the worst accident rates in the world. European road rules are now better enforced than before, with fines rising yearly, although the great volume of buses and trucks still make driving in Turkey challenging and visitors are advised to drive cautiously.
The route from Europe has been greatly improved by the Istanbul bypass and two Bosphorus bridges which lead to the Istanbul-Ankara express. The fastest roads are the
otoyols (multilane highways), linking Istanbul to several major cities.
The legal driving age in Turkey is 18 years. Drivers bringing cars into Turkey must show their registration documents, passport and international driving license at the place of entry. If arriving from Europe, visitors must have a Green Card (available from insurance companies) as well as appropriate top-up insurance. A valid driving license, passport, logbook, insurance certificate and vehicle registration must be carried at all times. Driving is on the right and drivers must give way to the right at all times. The speed limit on motorways is 120kph (70mph), 90kph (55mph) on main roads and 50kph (30mph) in towns. Visiting drivers should also note that traffic lights change abruptly from red to green. Officially, the blood/alcohol limit is 0.05%, however, this is poorly enforced.
British motoring associations have reciprocal agreements with the
Turkish Touring and Automobile Association (
TTOK) (tel: (0212) 282 8140; website:
www.turing.org.tr).
Emergency breakdown service: To report an accident, call the
Traffic Police (tel: 154). SOS phones are available on the roadsides on motorways.
Routes to the city: The E-80, E-90 and Trans European Motorway (TEM) are the three main roads leading to Turkey from European borders. The main motorway from the Turkish border at Edirne straight through to Istanbul, Ankara and beyond is the E-80, closely paralleled by the somewhat smaller D-100. The route to Antalya follows the E-80 to Izmit and then heads south on the D-650.
Approximate driving times to Istanbul: From Ankara - 7 hours; from Antalya - 12 hours.
Coach services: The safest and most convenient method of internal transport, especially for travel to southern Turkish resorts, is Turkey's vast system of intercity coaches.
Uluslararasi Istanbul Otogari or International Istanbul Bus Terminal (tel: (0212) 658 0505) in Esenler, about 10km (6 miles) west of the city center, serves all international and most domestic lines. Most major intercity companies have free service buses from central Istanbul to the bus station. Most of these shuttle services leave (in good time before the coach scheduled departure time) from Inonu Caddesi and Sirasilveler Caddesi in Taksim, also home to many ticket offices. Visitors can book tickets here any time before departure and most offices take credit cards, with the biggest firms accepting online bookings.
The Esenler bus terminal can also easily be reached by the
Hizli Tren (rapid train) service from Aksaray, or from Sultanahmet by using a combination of tram and metro.
IETT city bus 83-O runs direct to the bus station from Taksim square. A few Anatolian services leave from Harem
otogar (tel: (0212) 333 3763) on the Asian side.
Some of the best companies include:
Kamil Koç (tel: (0212) 658 2000
or 444 0562 (toll free); website:
www.kamilkoc.com.tr), which serves a wide range of destinations throughout Turkey, including Bursa, Ankara, Izmir, Antalya, Bodrum, Fethiye and Çanakkale;
Ulusoy (tel: 444 1888 (toll free); website:
www.ulusoy.com.tr), which serves international destinations, Ankara, the Black Sea, as well as Izmir and Antalya;
Varan (tel: 444 8999 (toll free) or (0212) 658 0270; website:
www.varan.com.tr), which serves Greece and Austria as well as much of western and southern Turkey. Long journeys are usually made at night, leaving Istanbul between 2200 and 2400 and arriving at the destination in the morning.
Getting There By Rail:Turkish State Railways (
TCDD) (tel: 444 8233; website:
www.tcdd.gov.tr) operates the national railway network, with rolling stock that is often slow and lacking air conditioning, although cheap. There are two stations in Istanbul - Sirkeci Station, Ankara Caddesi, near Eminönü on the European side (tel: (0212) 527 0051), and Haydarpaşa Station, Haydarpaşa Istasyon Caddesi, near Kadiköy on the Asian side (tel: (0216) 336 0475). Both stations are equipped with restaurants, newspaper kiosks and waiting rooms.
Rail services: Trains bound for Sofia, Belgrade, Bucharest and Budapest (with transfers to Munich and Vienna) leave from Sirkeci Station, departing in the evening. Trains for Turkish destinations (Asian side) leave from Haydarpaşa Station. There are express trains between major Turkish cities but cheaper rural routes can be painfully slow and crowded. There are several services to Ankara, some overnight, the quickest being the daytime
Başkent Express (journey time - 6 hours 30 minutes). There are also daily trains to Izmir (journey time - 11 hours including ferry crossing to Bandirma), Gaziantep (journey time - 27 hours) and Denizli (journey time - 15 hours).
Getting Around:Public TransportThere are numerous private and state-owned city
buses (tel: 0800 211 6068; website:
www.iett.gov.tr/en) in Istanbul. Perpetual traffic jams mean that they can be slow, uncomfortable and crowded, with services coming to a virtual halt at midnight. A slick, underground (metro) system (website:
www.istanbul-ulasim.com.tr) runs between Taksim and 4. Levent, the city's busiest business district, and Aksaray to Esenler Otogar (main bus station) and Atatürk airport. A ‘funicular' metro takes the brief uphill run from Kabataş to Taksim and another short funicular climbs up to the Pierre Loti cafe and viewpoint from Eyüp on the Golden Horn.
There are three
tramways on the European side. A quick, modern commuter tram runs from Kabataş, then over the Galata bridge through Eminönü, Sultanahmet, Beyazit (for the Grand Bazaar) and onto Zeytinburnu, from where another line continues to the outlying suburbs. Travelers heading for the bus station at Esenler Otogar should get off at Yusufpaşa and change to the Metro at Aksaray. A further line connects Edirne Gate with outlying northern suburbs. Across the Golden Horn, the
Nostaljik Tramvay, clatters slowly the length of Istiklal Caddesi between Beyoğlu and Taksim Square in turn-of-the-century trams. It is connected to Karaköy by the Tünel underground, built in 1877 and touted as the shortest in the world, which runs up and down the steep hill between Karaköy and Istiklal Caddesi. A small circular tramway also runs on the Asian side between Kadiköy and Moda.
The
light railway opened in 2002 and stops include Atatürk airport, the main bus station and Aksaray. A suburban line on the Asian side runs between Haydarpaşa and Gebze Banliyö. Information on these, plus Metro and tramway, is available (tel: (0212) 568 9970; website:
www.istanbul-ulasim.com.tr).
Passenger ferries (tel: (0212) 251 5000; website:
www.tdi.com.tr) are by far the most pleasant way to travel in Istanbul. These zip back and forth across the waterways and serve many useful destinations. Tokens are bought from dockside kiosks. The primary routes run roughly every 20 minutes, between about 0700 and 2300, although the Eminönü-Kadiköy service stops at 2000. Ferries up the Golden Horn to Fener, Balat and Eyüp leave hourly. There are numerous docks along Eminönü quay, including ferries to Üsküdar, Kadiköy and Beşiktaş, and car ferries to the Prince's Islands. Services from Karaköy run to Haydarpaşa Station and the residential suburb of Kadiköy. The
Deniz Otobusu (sea bus) (tel: (0212) 444 4436; website:
www.ido.com.tr/en) offers a quicker and more expensive service.
A collection of small, private operators run the boat service between Üsküdar and Beşiktaş, which departs every 10 minutes during the day and whenever it fills up after midnight. Prices are the same as for the state ferries, although these accept cash only.
Bus, metro, ferry and tram tickets are cheap and usually available near the main stops, either from a kiosk, all main bus and metro stops and ferry terminals or a private seller, who adds about 25% to the price. An
akbil (electronic debit tag) is available for purchase in advance, with a small returnable deposit (keep the receipt for a refund), from booths at major transport hubs like Taksim Square or Sirkeci. This is valid for a number of journeys, about 10% cheaper and more convenient for buses, ferries, the Tünel, and the metro, and allows free transfer between different forms of transport as long as the transfer is taken within 45 minutes. It can be recharged with any amount, either at the booths or at machines in metro stations. Two or more people may share the same
akbil.
TaxisYellow taxis can be hailed almost anywhere in the street. Tourists can minimize their chances of being ripped off by stopping taxis on the street rather than waiting for the lazy ones stationary outside hotels. Insist on the meter always being used, and do not accept the ‘meter not working' excuse. The night rate (2400-0600) is 50% more than the day rate, so visitors should check the correct rate is on the meter - ‘Gündüz' means day and ‘Gece' night, which should be digitally displayed. Alternatively, one light indicates the day meter and two lights the night meter. Tips are not expected unless special service has been provided and there is no extra charge for more than one person or for luggage.
The
dolmuş is a large, yellow
minibus, which runs a prescribed, short, circular route, such as Taksim-Beşiktaş and Taksim-Nisantasi, or a smaller, rackety blue minibus, which does longer journeys within the city and suburbs. Passengers can hail the latter almost anywhere and it will cram as many standing passengers in as can possibly fit. Payment is made to the driver upon boarding, costing a little more than the bus, especially for longer journeys.
Driving in the CityIstanbul is home to bad traffic jams and worse driving; Turkey has 14 times more accidents than the UK - driving is thus not recommended to tourists. Despite the introduction of larger fines for motoring offences, indicators are still rarely used, drivers almost never stop at pedestrian crossings and tailgating is standard, with racing along the coastal strip on the Asian side leading to deaths despite a government campaign. It is not advisable for foreigners to drive in Istanbul unless strictly necessary.
Car HireHiring a car here is not advised, due to traffic congestion and bad driving (see above). For the adventurous, car hire is provided by
Avis (tel: (0212) 297 9610 (city) or (0212) 465 3455 (airport); website:
www.avis.com.tr),
Europcar (tel: (0212) 254 7710 (city) or (0212) 465 3695 (airport); website:
www.europcar.com/tr) and
Hertz (tel: (0212) 465 5999; website:
www.hertz.com). Drivers must be over 21 years, have held a license for at least one year and have a credit card to leave as a deposit. Basic insurance is covered in the cost, although visitors should make sure that Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) is included. Check the small print, especially regarding theft and fire damage.
Bicycle HireCycling in the city is not recommended and this is best left for resort destinations.
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The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
Word Travels is a comprehensive travel guide covering hundreds of cities and holiday resorts in more than 125 countries.
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