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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
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