TTP

Airport-Sultanahmet: Metro & Tram

 

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

Click here to rent a car in Turkey

 

Cave suite, Esbelli Evi, Urgup, Cappadocia, Turkey

Cave suite in
Cappadocia

 

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 less than TL3.

You arrive in the International Arrivals terminal, purchase your visa, 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 Hafif Metro ("Light Rail System").

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 Istemez! (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 Hafif Metro/Light rail system signs along the broad underground concourse to the Havalimani (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) at the booth—the price is marked on a paper sign in the window, and should be less than TL2 each. I have not heard that you can buy an Istanbulkart transit pass at the airport, so you'll have to buy it when you change from the Metro to the tram at Zeytinburnu, or farther along in the city center.

If you don't plan to use an Istanbulkart, you'll need two tokens to travel from Atatürk Airport to Sultanahmet, Eminönü or Kabatas, three to reach Taksim Square.

Click here to download a map of the 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!

Pass through the turnstile, descend the escalator (or elevator) and board a Metro train for Aksaray (map). The Havalimani (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.

Exit the Metro train and purchase an Istanbulkart transit pass, or use another token to enter the tram turnstiles on the same platform. Look for trams marked Eminönü or Kabatas (not Bagcilar). (Eminönü and Kabatas are stations on the same line: Eminönü is part way along to the tram terminus at Kabatas.)

Board the tram to Eminönü and/or Kabatas. Because Zeytinburnu is the western terminus of the tram line, you have a good chance of finding an empty seat. (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 Kabatas, it will continue beyond Eminönü, cross the Galata Bridge over the Golden Horn to Karaköy (Galata), and go as far as Kabatas, 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 Itanbulkart you'll pay only a reduced-price transfer fare.)

The Zeytinburnu-Kabatas tram line will soon continue northward past Dolmabahçe Palace and Inönü Stadium to Besiktas.

From Sultanahmet to Atatürk Airport:

Buy two tokens (jeton) at the Jeton booth in Sultanahmet at the at the northeastern end of the Hippodrome. or use your Istanbulkart. (The Jeton booth is on the Hippodrome side of Divan Yolu.) Get in a Zeytinburnu tram going west (uphill) on Divan Yolu and ride it to the end of the line (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 Havalimani (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 taxi, reserved taxi, private transfer (good value!), or shuttle van. More...


Download Metro-Tram-Tünel Map (363Kb .pdf)

Otogar to/from Sultanahmet by Metro & Tram

Istanbul Metro

Istanbul Trams

Istanbulkart Transit Pass

Istanbul Transportation

Maps of Istanbul & Region

Istanbul Homepage

Turkey Travel Planner Homepage

   
 
Light Rail Metro, Istanbul, Turkey

Look for Hafif Metro (Light Rail Metro) and the Metro logo (above), get out at the 6th stop (Zeytinburnu).

Zeytinburnu-Kabatas Tram, Istanbul, Turkey

 

Metro Sign, Istanbul, Turkey

Click here to rent a car in Turkey

Hotel Search Box:

City
Lodging Type
Rating