How To Get From Istanbul Airport To City Center?
Istanbul Airport To City Center Distance
After landing at Istanbul airport, every passenger’s concern is getting from the airport to the city center. Fortunately, before I traveled to Istanbul, I had read about how to get from Istanbul airport to the city and knew that there were different ways.
In this article, I will share my experience with you and introduce all the ways to reach the city center.
How many ways are there to go downtown?
Table of Contents
Generally, there are four ways to reach the city center. The most expensive is the taxi, and the cheapest is the subway.
Istanbul is a big city, and everyone’s definition of the city center may differ. My goal in this article is to go from the airport to Taksim Square, the costs of which are as follows.
| Travel Time | Cost in Lira | Cost in Dollars | Vehicle |
| 45 to 60 minutes | 1500 lira | 30 to 50 dollars | Taxi |
| 45 minutes | 60 Lira | 2.5 dollars | Subway |
| 150 minutes | 17 Lira | 0.5 dollars | Public IETT buses |
| 80 minutes | 170 Lira | 6 dollars | Havaist buses |
Istanbul Airport to City by bus
The first time I wanted to go from the airport to Taksim Square, I went to the -2 floor of the airport to board Havaist buses. These buses suit people who want to avoid paying much money and carrying luggage.
As I was leaving the terminal, I learned I should go to platform number 16, where the buses are located. Havaist buses run 24 hours a day and at specific times, which are as follows.
| 12:00 | 11:00 | 09:30 | 08:30 | 07:30 | 05:40 | 04:40 | 02:40 | 01:50 | 01:00 | 00:20 |
| 23:30 | 21:30 | 21:30 | 20:30 | 19:15 | 18:00 | 17:00 | 16:00 | 15:00 | 14:00 | 13:00 |
There were different buses, each going to other parts of the city. If you plan to go to Taksim Square like me, you should take HVIST-16, but if you want to go to Sultanahmet, you should take HVIST-12.
Another method I do not recommend is using the yellow Public IETT buses. Using the yellow buses is better if your luggage is light and you want to avoid paying a lot to get to the city center. But you should know that you must change several lines to reach the city center using IETT buses because there is no direct bus from the airport to the city center.
To board these buses, go to the -2 floor of Istanbul Airport and buy an Istanbul Card from the yellow counters. Paying for the bus is only possible with an Istanbul Card.
Read the article “How Much Does Istanbulkart Cost” for information about the Istanbul card.
Istanbul Airport to City by metro
If your luggage is small and you want to go to Taksim Square in the shortest possible time and at the lowest cost, the metro is the best choice.
I went to Istanbul airport several times by metro to prepare the report and returned to my hotel by metro again.
To board the subway, I followed the red signs with the letter U and went to exit number 11. A subway passes there every 10 minutes from 6 am.
To go to Taksim Square, I took the M 11 line, which is purple. Exactly 5 lines later, I got off at Kağıthane station. First, I couldn’t find the M7 line, but after some searching, I realized I had to exit the station and go to the street.
Following the signs, I found the M7 line and got on. Then, I got off the metro at the Shişli-Mecidiyeköy station and went to the M2 line. After 2 stations, I arrived at Taksim Square.
My trip took 50 minutes, which was faster than other ways. But the crowded subway bothered me a little. My cost in this way was about 60 Liras.
Travel route by metro and combined with bus on Google Map
Use a taxi
The way that may be expensive but I highly recommend it is by taxi.
Taxis are available around the clock in front of the airport. The distance from the airport to Taksim Square is about 45 km, and due to the heavy traffic in the city, it took me about 50 minutes to reach Taksim Square. Traveling by taxi was very convenient, as I could put all my luggage in the trunk and go to my hotel safely. Considering the crowded streets, the fee I paid was 1500 lira. I used yellow taxis, which were cheaper than others.
Blue taxis are 15% more expensive than yellow taxis, and black taxis are among the most luxurious and costly taxis available at the airport.
Travel route by taxi on Google Maps
Long story short
In this article, I explained how to access the city center in a very short and useful way. Bring some lira to use public transportation on your trip to Istanbul easily.
