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Airport-Sultanahmet: Metro & Tram

 

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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 public transport in about one hour for less than YTL3.

Use your Akbil electronic transit pass and it will cost even less.

A taxi might cost around YTL25 during the day, 50% more in the middle of the night, and take between 25 and 45 minutes or an hour for the trip, depending on traffic and your city destination.

From Atatürk Airport to Sultanahmet by Metro & Tram:

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 Metro).

Stop along the way to get some New 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 and follow the Hafif Metro 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 a Metro token (jeton) at the booth—the price is marked on a paper sign in the window, and should be less than YTL2—or, better yet, buy an Akbil electronic transit pass, and board a Metro train for Aksaray (map). The trains from this station all go to Aksaray, so you can't get the wrong train.

Get out at Zeytinburnu, the 6th stop.

Exit the Metro and 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 terminal at Kabatas.)

If you have an Akbil you can use it to enter the tram and the transfer between lines will be free (ie, the fare you paid to get on the Metro will also get you into the tram). If you pay by token, you'll need another token for the tram.

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.

Ride 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 the Golden Horn, ferry docks, or the terminus for European trains at Sirkeci, stay on the tram to the 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.

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

From Sultanahmet to Atatürk Airport:

Get in a Zeytinburnu tram in Sultanahmet at the stop on Divan Yolu at the northeastern end of the Hippodrome and ride it to the end of the line (Zeytinburnu).

Following the Metro signs, climb the stairs, enter the Metro station, descend the stairs on the other side of the tracks 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.

Here's an alternative: by suburban train, for slightly more money, in slightly less time.


Otogar to/from Sultanahmet by Metro & Tram

Istanbul Metro

Istanbul Trams

Akbil Electronic 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

 

Tram Sign, Istanbul, Turkey