TurkeyTravelPlanner.com Public Transport in Istanbul

Home
Search
Maps of Turkey
Photo Gallery

Where to Go
When to Go
Where to Stay
What It Costs
Turkish Money
Transport
FAQ-Travel Details

Best Itineraries
Guided Tours
Travel Agency
Unusual Trips
Consultations

TTP Forums
Funny Stuff
Shopping
Site Index
Bright Sun




Bosphorus Bridge, Istanbul, Turkey



 




Tuvana Hotel, Antalya, Turkey




 

Grand Bazaar (Kapalı Çarşı), Istanbul, Turkey
Grand Bazaar




Efendi Travel & Backpackers Travel, Istanbul, Turkey

 

 
Click here for hotels in Turkey

Istanbul is a large, congested, bustling city. You'll enjoy your visit much more if you know how to get around before you arrive. Click here for maps of Istanbul & Region.

Airports
Airport to City
Bus, City
Bus, Intercity
Bus Station to City
Cable Car
Dolmuş Minibus

Fares
Ferryboat
Füniküler
Metro
Sea Bus Ferries
Cruise Ships

Suburban Trains

Taxi
Train Stations
Tram
Transit Passes
Tünel
Walking

Airports

Istanbul has two airports, the major Atatürk International Airport (IST) near Yeşilyurt 23 km (14 miles) west of the city center, reachable by Metro (map); and Sabiha Gökçen Airport (SAW) on the east (Asian) side of the Bosphorus. Taxis and public transport serve both airports, but a private transfer is a better way to go for some travelers. More...

Cable Car

Cable cars (teleferik) lift passengers from Eyüp on the Golden Horn to the hill from which French novelist Pierre Loti used to survey Istanbul. Another cable car can take you across the valley between Elmadağ and Teşvikiye in Beyoğlu.

City Bus

City bus routes get you to some places you'll want to visit. Plan how to pay your fare before boarding. More...

Fares

You can pay by token, multi-use ticket, or RFID transit pass for Istanbul's Metro, tram, bus, ferry, funicular, cable car, and suburban trains. More...

Ferryboats

Traditional white Şehir Hatları ferryboats, and smaller ferries by TurYol, Dentur Avrasya and other companies, serve shorter water routes, and are the most enjoyable way to get around Istanbul (map). More...

Special daily Touristic Bosphorus Ferries run from the Eminönü ferry docks up the Bosphorus almost to the Black Sea several times daily. Both Sea Bus catamarans and ferryboats travel to the Princes Islands near Istanbul in the Sea of Marmara. More...

Füniküler

The Füniküler (underground funicular) connects Taksim Square and Kabataş on the Bosphorus shore. At Kabataş you can board a ferryboat, sea bus, or the Bağcılar tram. More...

Intercity Buses

Istanbul has three intercity bus terminals:

—The major Istanbul International Bus Terminal (Büyük Otogar) at Esenler on the western side of the Bosphorus (reachable by Metro: map), serving the entire country as well as Greece, Bulgaria, the Balkans and Europe.

—The Emniyet Garajı near Aksaray Square serves the Balkans.

—The Harem Otogar on the eastern shore of the Bosphorus north of Haydarpaşa Station, serves Anatolian Turkey and the Middle East.

Metro

Three lines of Istanbul's Metro system are in operation (map):

—M1, Airport—Aksaray: The most useful for foreign visitors is the light-rail line connecting Atatürk Airport and Aksaray Square via Istanbul's mammoth Otogar (intercity bus station), at which you can board a bus to any part of Turkey or to virtually any country within 1000 miles (1600 km) of Istanbul. Change from the Metro to the tram at Zeytinburnu to reach Old Istanbul and Sultanahmet Square.

—M2, Şişhane—Hacıosman: A standard-gauge Metro line goes north from Şişhane (Tünel Square) and Taksim Square to the northern commercial and financial districts and nearly to Tarabya on the Bosphorus. More...

—M4, Üsküdar—Kartal: Speed from the ferry docks in Üsküdar, on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus, to Kartal, 25 km (16 miles) to the southeast along the Sea of Marmara shore.

Sea Bus Catamaran Ferries

Passenger catamarans zoom around the city at rush hour, and out to the Princes Islands several times daily. There are even Sea of Marmara routes to Yalova and Bandırma on the sea's southern shore. More...

Ships & Cruise Lines

Foreign cruise ships and international ferries dock at the Yolcu Salonu in Karaköy at the northern end of the Galata Bridge over the Golden Horn, right in the center of the city, and at Salıpazar just to the northeast. More...

Taxi

Thousands of yellow taxis powered by clean-burning liquified natural gas, throng Istanbul's streets. You'll find them useful and not overly expensive, though the incidence of unpleasantness can be high. More...

Train Stations, Intercity

Istanbul has two intercity train stations: Istanbul (Sirkeci) Garı on the Golden Horn, and Haydarpaşa Garı on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus. Take the Bağcılar-Kabataş tram to Sirkeci for European trains, or to Eminönü or Karaköy for the ferry to Haydarpaşa.

Trains, Suburban

Suburban commuter trains depart Sirkeci Station, on the Golden Horn and trundle around Seraglio Point and continue along the Sea of Marmara shore stopping at the Yenikapı Ferry Terminal (for intercity car and passenger ferries across the Sea of Marmara) and at Yeşilyurt near Atatürk International Airport. More...

On the Asian shore of the Bosphorus, suburban trains depart Haydarpaşa Station and travel along the northern shore of the Sea of Marmara to Gebze, 47 km (29 miles) to the southeast. More...

Tram

You'll find two of Istanbul's tram lines useful (map), even though they're as different as can be. Although the nostalgic 19th-century İstiklal Caddesi tram in Beyoğlu is more fun, the Kabataş-Bağcılar tram is the more useful, and can help you travel between the heart of the tourist district at Sultanahmet Square and the Otogar (bus terminal) and/or Atatürk Airport. More...

Transit Passes

The old-fashioned jeton (token) is the most common way to pay a fare in Istanbul, though there are also electronic tickets and transit passes for Metro, tram, bus, ferry, train and more. More...

Tünel

Tünel is Istanbul's two-station underground train connecting Karaköy (Galata) on the Golden Horn with Tünel Square at the southwestern end of İstiklal Caddesi. It's convenient and fun. More...

Walking

The best way to get around Old Istanbul's compact medieval core is on foot. Traffic is sometimes so heavy, and traffic patterns so circuitous, that you can often walk somewhere faster than riding. More...



How to Pay the Fare

Metro-Train-Tram Map

Maps of Istanbul & Region

Transport in Turkey

Istanbul Sights

Istanbul Hotels

Istanbul Restaurants

Istanbul Homepage

Where to Go

 

Blue Mosque & Tulips, Istanbul, Turkey
 
Kabataş-Bağcılar Tram, Istanbul, Turkey
Above, the Kabataş-Bağcılar tram connects Sultanahmet with the Metro at Zeytinburnu, and thus to Atatürk Airport and the Büyük Otogar (main bus terminal).

Below, Istanbul's wonderful ferryboats cross the Bosphorus beneath Topkapı Palace.





 

Maiden's Tower (Kız Kulesi), Istanbul, Turkey

 


Istanbul Ferryboat
Traditional Şehir Hatları ferryboat.


Pierre Loti Café, Eyüp, Istanbul, Turkey
Pierre Loti Café, overlooking the
Golden Horn from a hilltop in Eyüp.
You can get here by cable car.



Turkey: Bright Sun, Strong Tea, by Tom Brosnahan
Good airplane & bedtime reading.
Click here for excerpts...