Airport Transfers to Istanbul Hotels

 

Depending on which of the two Istanbul international airports you land at you have a variety of choices for transferring from the airport to your Istanbul hotel.

 

Istanbul Atatürk Airport

Istanbul’s Atatürk airport is the larger of the city’s two airports and is on the European side. It is very well connected to the city centre by public transport.

If you’re staying in an Istanbul airport hotel you will probably find that your hotel has a courtesy transfer bus which will pick you up and take you directly to your Istanbul hotel. This courtesy bus will either visit the terminal at regular intervals, or you will need to phone the hotel to ask for them to come to collect you.

 

If you’re staying in an Istanbul hotel in the city centre it’s unlikely there would be a courtesy bus service. However, taxis are relatively cheap and easy because they operate door to door, and when you’ve got luggage to think about you want to get to your Istanbul hotel quickly and easily. Taxis at the airport are orange rather than the standard yellow ones in the city.

 

Another option is the Airport Shuttle bus. These obviously don’t go directly to your Istanbul hotel, though if you’re staying in Taksim you may be very close to your hotel as this is the main stop. The shuttle also stops in Aksaray, which is where you depart if you have an Istanbul hotel booked on the Sultanahmet peninsula. Once you get off the bus, you can take the tram which runs down the main street here. Find out from your hotel first which stop is nearest, so that you know where to get off.

 

The third and newest option for transferring from the airport to your Istanbul hotel is by metro (underground). The metro station is immediately outside the terminal building, and trains run every 5 minutes. The metro goes as far as Aksaray, where you can then take a tram down the Sultanahmet Peninsula where many of the Istanbul hotels are situated or across the Golden Horn to Kabitaş where you can get on the funicular to Taksim, another popular place for Istanbul hotels.

 

Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport

Connections from Sabiha Gökçen aren’t as varied. Your options are bus or taxi. Taxis are always available outside the terminal to take you direct to your Istanbul hotel, but being quite a distance these can be expensive.

Havaş shuttle buses are much cheaper and go to the major stops on the Asian side, or you can take the public bus.