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You can travel from Istanbul's Atatürk
Airport to Sultanahmet,
the center of historic Istanbul (and
the best hotel area) completely by Metro & tram in
about one
hour for TL4.
You arrive in the International
Arrivals terminal, purchase
your visa (if
one is required for the passport
you're holding), pass through Immigration
(passport) and Customs control. Exit
the secure Customs area, turn right
and walk to the end of the terminal
watching for signs to the Metro.
Stop along the way to get some Turkish
Liras from currency
exchange offices or cash
machines (ATMs) in the Arrivals
hall. No matter how you plan to travel
into the city, you will need some
local currency.
A guy will come up to you
as you walk and
try to get you to take a shuttle
van into the city. (It
happens to me every time.) I tell him İstemez! (eess-teh-MEHZ,
"It's not wanted"). The problem
with a shuttle van is that it circulates
through the city going to lots of hotels.
If yours is the last one, you ride
around a lot. There are other
dangers as well. More...
Go
down the escalator, through the sliding
glass doors, turn right and follow
the Metro signs
along the broad underground concourse
to the Havalimanı (Airport)
Metro station
on the left at the end. This concourse
beneath the parking
garage connects the Domestic and International terminals.
Buy one or two Metro
tokens (jeton) from
a Jetonmatik machine.
The fare (price for each jeton)
is posted on the wall. You'll
need two
tokens to travel from Atatürk
Airport to Sultanahmet, Eminönü or Kabataş,
three to reach Taksim
Square. (Here's more on travel
from Atatürk
Airport to Taksim Square.)
Click
here to download
a map Istanbul's public transport
system (363Kb
.pdf).
Beware of pickpockets! I've
only had my pocket picked once in 40
years on any Istanbul public transport,
and I actually got my wallet back with
contents intact; but
I felt nothing when
he stole it. Read and believe: if
it is in your pocket and if your hand
is not on it, it can be stolen and
you will feel nothing.
En garde!
Insert a jeton and pass through
the turnstile, descend the escalator
(or elevator) and board a Metro train
for Aksaray (map).
The Havalimanı (Airport)
station is the end of this Metro line,
so you can board any train—they
all go to Aksaray. You can't get the
wrong train.
Get out at Zeytinburnu,
the 6th stop, where you may be able
to purchase an Istanbulkart transit
pass.
Exit the Metro train and use another
jeton, or your new stanbulkart, to
enter the tram turnstiles.
Look for trams marked Eminönü or Kabataş (not Bağcılar).
(Eminönü and Kabataş
are stations on the same line: Eminönü is
part way along to the tram terminus
at Kabataş.)
Board the tram to Eminönü and/or Kabataş.
If the tram is already crowded and
your luggage is bulky, you may want
to wait for the next tram so that you
can get a seat. Having a seat is also
a good way to reduce the danger from
pickpockets who are most active on
the crowded trams between Aksaray and
Eminönü.
Ride the tram eastbound to Sultanahmet,
the 16th stop (the recorded station-stop
announcement says sool-TAHN-ah-meht,
and also BLOO
mosk in English!) and get
out. You'll be on Divan
Yolu at the northeastern end of
the Hippodrome with
the Blue
Mosque clearly in view.
See TTP's Sultanahmet
Street Guide for street-by-street
guidance.
If you're bound for Sirkeci
hotels,
the Golden
Horn, ferry
docks, or the terminus for European trains at Sirkeci,
stay on the tram to the Gülhane, Sirkeci or Eminönü stop.
If the particular tram you're on
is marked Kabataş, it
will continue beyond Eminönü,
cross the Galata
Bridge over the Golden
Horn to Karaköy (Galata),
and go as far as Kabataş,
where there is another ferry
dock and a funicular to Taksim
Square. (You'll need a third
token for the funicular.
If you're using an Istanbulkart you'll
pay only a reduced-price transfer
fare.)
From Sultanahmet to Atatürk
Airport:
Buy two tokens (jeton) at
a shop or kiosk near the Hippodrome,
or use your Istanbulkart.
Get
in a Bağcılar tram
going west (uphill) on Divan
Yolu and ride it to
Zeytinburnu.
Leave the tram, follow the Metro signs,
enter the Metro station,
climb the stairs and descend on the
other side of the tracks so as to be
on the outbound/westbound track and
board a train going to Havalimanı (airport).
Ride it to the last stop, and you'll
be directly beneath the airport
parking garage, on the concourse
between the
Domestic and International
terminals.
More expensive, but faster and more
comfortable, alternatives
to the Metro-and-tram trip are to go
by private
transfer (good value!),
taxi (can
have problems), or shuttle van. More...
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