Istanbul travel guide, tourist info, visa procedure,
airports, exchange rates, public transportation by bus,
plane, train, railway, tramcar, metro, sea, ferryboats
Istanbul Airport (New Airport) was fully opened
on April 6th 2019, when the older Ataturk
Airport was completely closed same day. Istanbul
Airport's IATA code IST, which was being used by
Ataturk Airport. Although the
capacity of the new Istanbul Airport is one of the
biggest in the world, it is considerably farther
than Ataturk, being located roughly 40 km away from city
center.
Sabiha Gokcen International Airport, opened in 2001.
This airport, with a capacity of 3 million international
passengers per year, is on the Asian side of Istanbul,
42 km away from Taksim Square in the city center.. Havabus
is the airport bus provider offering shuttle services
to Taksim Square with departures linked to the flights.
See below for public transportation option from
Istanbul's airports
to city center.
Airlines
Most major European airports are 2-4 hours away from
Istanbul by air, and from the east coast of North
America it is about a 10-hour journey. Istanbul is
readily accessible from all parts of the world, and
served by more than 50 airlines.
Turkish Airlines (THY)
is the national carrier. Turkish Airlines (THY) offers
direct flights from 77 cities around the world.
Flight Distances
The list of distances from major cities to Istanbul (air
miles)
City |
Miles |
City |
Miles |
City |
Miles |
Athens |
349 |
Madrid |
1564 |
Zurich |
1000 |
Amsterdam |
1253 |
Moscow |
1028 |
Tel Aviv |
688 |
Berlin |
992 |
Oslo |
1520 |
Kuwait |
1605 |
Bucharest |
305 |
Paris |
1277 |
Bahrain |
1697 |
Budapest |
614 |
Prague |
868 |
New York |
4538 |
Brussels |
1226 |
Rome |
839 |
Los Angeles |
5220 |
Copenhagen |
1144 |
Sofia |
271 |
Rio de laneiro |
6400 |
Dublin |
1568 |
Stockholm |
1290 |
Buenos Aires |
7570 |
Helsinki |
1295 |
Vienna |
748 |
Beijing |
4159 |
Lisbon |
1860 |
Warsaw |
842 |
Tokyo |
5291 |
London |
1423 |
Zagreb |
947 |
Cape Town |
4908 |
Istanbul Airport (New Airport) was fully opened
opened on April 6th 2019. It may take up to 1 hours to
reach city center, depending on traffic conditions of
the time you arrive. There is no direct subway connection to
the new airport, yet. A taxi ride should cost
around 25-30 US Dollar from airport to Taksim square.. You
can also use
HavaIst Airport Shuttles to come
to Taksim Square, Yenikapi (closer to M1 Metro Line and
old city Sultanahmet) and 15 Temmuz / Esenler Bus
terminal (connected to M1 Yenikapi metro, with
interchange station at Aksaray to Sultanahmet / Kabatas
T1 tramcar line). HavaIst tickets are sold on the buses
and will cost around 3-4 US $). It may take 1 hour or
more to reach to the city center, depending on traffic
conditions at the time you arrive.
Sabiha Gokcen International Airport on the Asian side of Istanbul,
42 km away from Taksim Square. Transportation with
standard public transportation would be very difficult
for the tourists.
The most
comfortable and comparatively economic way of getting to
Taksim from Sabiha Gokcen Airport is using privately operated
Havabus airport shuttle buses. Tickets are sold on
the buses and will cost you around 3-4 US $. They depart
every half an hour (last departure from airport is at
01:00 a.m). Havabus shuttles do
not go to old city / Sultanahmet district, You need to
use additional
M1 metro,
M1 tramcar combination or a short taxi ride from
Taksim to Sultanahmet. An honest taxi ride should
cost around 30 US Dollar from Sabiha Gokcen Airport to
Taksim square.
Public buses are operated by
IETT company, a corporation
owned by Istanbul Municipality. There are public buses
to almost every corner of the city. There are also
"private public buses" (Ozel Halk Otobusu) which are
also operated under the control of IETT. Although they
are owned privately, the pricing and ticket system is
the same. In 2009 an express public bus system was
launched between major locations, known as Metrobus. As
the name suggests, these are big buses running on a lane
assigned only for them on the main roads. Thus they move
faster, independent form city traffic. Metrobus lines
combine outer residential districts of the city and are
not very useful for tourist transportation.
Alternative public transportation systems are tramcar,
metro and subway lines operated by Istanbul Ulasim. The
most useful rail transportation options for tourists are
M1 Otogar / Bus terminal - Yenikapi;
M2 Yenikapi -Taksim -Haciosman metro lines,
and
T1 Zeytinburnu - Sultanahmet - Kabatas tramcar
line.
Marmaray line, a 76.6 km (47.6 mi) long commuter
rail line, comprising a subway rail tunnel under the
Bosphorus strait, and the modernization of existing
suburban railway lines along the Sea of Marmara from
Halkalı on the European side to Gebze on the Asian side.
Marmaray line is rather useful for people living in
Istanbul than tourists, which combines the residential
districts on European and Asian sides of Istanbul.
If you will stay in the city more than one week and your
intention is to use public system very often, it is
highly recommended to buy
Istanbul Kart (Card),
which can be purchased and refilled at kiosks available
in central bus and metro stations. Istanbul cart can be
used for all public transportation systems, including
IETT buses, ferryboats, subway, light metro and trams.
Otherwise, public transportation tickets and tokens can
be obtained from ticket automats or from kiosks near
major stations. Public
transportation with IstanbulKart for one way costs roughly
around 0.5 US$ in Istanbul (based on volatile
exchange rates). After first use of Istanbul card,
you get approximately %30-40 discount for maximum 5 different
"combining lines" you take within 2 hours. Ticket costs
will be deducted from the amount of money you deposit into your
Istanbul Card in Turkish Lira.
The company
owned by Istanbul municipality which was controlling all
maritime lines within city has been divided in 2
companies in 2010 for a privatization program. Now,
Urban Maritime Transportation company
Sehir Hatlari operates conventional ferryboat lines and
IDO
operates fast ferryboats and Sea Buses (Deniz Otobusu).
Fast and conventional ferryboats run between various
coastal districts of Istanbul.
Kadikoy - Haydarpasa -
Karakoy;
Eminonu -
Uskudar; Eminonu - Kadikoy;
Besiktas - Kadikoy; Besiktas - Uskudar;
Kabatas -
Prince Islands; Kabatas - Kadikoy;
Kabatas -
Bostanci (sea bus);
Yenikapi - Yalova (fast ferry), Yenikapi - Bursa
(fast ferry); Yenikapi - Kadikoy - Bostanci (sea bus);
Uskudar - Eminonu -
Eyup (Golden Horn / Pierre Loti) are the most popular
sea transportation routes.
Kabatas ferry pier (vapur iskelesi) can be reached by
funicular from Taksim square, and by
T1 tramcar from old city,
Sultanahmet. Eminonu /
Sirkeci ferry piers are located some 10-15
minutes walking distance from Sultanahmet square, can
also be reached by the tramcar. Yenikapi sea bus pier is
located on the coastal part of Aksaray district, some 10
minutes walking distance to
Aksaray tram station at town square.
Most enjoyable ferryboat journey would be taking the
morning Bosphorus cruise (Bogaz turu) of
Sehir Hatlari from Eminonu to
Sariyer. Bogaz turu takes a little over an hour and
it stops at several other small towns and fishing villages along the
Bosphorus. You can also book guided half day morning /
afternoon
Bosphorus tours including transfer from your hotel.
Istanbul's
International
cruise port is located centrally not very far from
Taksim and Sultanahmet, in Salipazari, Karakoy district.
Huge ships of international cruise liners dock here.
Western tourists who arrive in Turkey by cruise liners and
sleep on the ship are allowed to enter Turkey without a
visa, with the permission given by the local custom
authorities as soon as you set foot ashore.
Most
intercity buses and coaches terminate at the colossal
Esenler Otogar, about 10 km west of the city center,
located on the European side. The station can be easily
reached via the Otogar stop on the M1. Companies may
also have courtesy minibuses or taxis which will allow
you to easily access the center of the city. Buses
depart/arrive for all regions of Turkey as well as for
international destinations including cities in Bulgaria,
Greece, Republic of Macedonia and Romania. The terminal
is huge and each company has a separate office. "Harem
Otogar" is the major hub for the buses on the Anatolian
(Asian) side, which can be reached easily from the
European side with a Ferryboat. Turkish bus companies
mostly don’t have a toilet inside the buses. Buses stop
for rest and needs usually every 4 or 5 hours. Rest
duration is around 30 minutes.
Trains to Europe via Bucharest or Sofia historically ran
from Halkali, terminal station combined to the Marmaray
metro & rail system that connect to city center.
Trains are not as popular as intercity coaches for long
distance transportation, with a much smaller and less
frequent network.
There are rail connections from Istanbul to Ankara,
Izmir and some Eastern Anatolian cities. Trains are
old-fashioned and most of the services are much slower
than buses, although between the three main cities there
are Mavi Tren and Ekspres trains which are faster and
more comfortable.
High Speed Railways in Turkey began service in
2009. Turkish state railways company,
TCDD has branded its high-speed service as
Yüksek Hızlı Tren or briefly YHT. High speed trains currently operates on two
lines: the Ankara - Eskişehir portion of the
Istanbul - Ankara high-speed railway and the Ankara - Konya
high-speed railway, which opened in August, 2011.
Reservations are essential for intercity journeys, and
there are several classes of seats and sleepers.
Turkish Lira - Live Exchange Rates
Please remember that the exchange rates on this table
are average rates. The exchange offices and banks
applies higher rates when you sell a foreign currency,
lower rates when you buy it. You can also exchange
popular international currencies - mainly Euro and US
Dollars - in other places such as big markets, dress
shops, restaurants, hotels, night clubs etc if you buy
something from them. Tourist hotels would exchange money
without buying anything. But note that they will
charge extra commissions in these places; roughly around
5- 10 %. For this reason it is wise to change your
money during office hours in day time at the banks or private money exchange offices, since there are many of
them in central districts. Changing money at private exchange offices are
much faster because they only deal with money-exchange, while you will
need to wait in line for a while at the banks. Also
avoid exchanging a lot of money at the airports, where
the rates are also not very favorable. Do not trust taxi
drivers with money exchange. If you need a taxi ride to
get away from the airport, either bargain them for a
fixed price in Euros / US Dollars, or buy a small
amount of Turkish Lira at the airport, sufficient to
reach your hotel or city center.
Tourism Police
Address: Alemdar Mh
Yerebatan Caddesi No: 6, Sultanahmet. (across from
the main entrance of Basilica Cistern)
Phone: +90 212 527 4503
Tourist Information Offices
Tourism Information Offices provide the information and
documents about Istanbul like brochures, leaflets maps
etc. for local and foreign tourists. Both the
firstcomers and repeat visitors have the opportunity to
learn about the developments about Istanbul from our
experts.
Note: All of our offices, except Taksim Tourism Office,
serve during official and religious holidays. Visiting
hours and days are everyday between 09:00 - 17:30
1 - Sultanahmet
Address: Binbirdirek Mah. Divan Yolu Cad. No:3 Atmeydanı
Sultanahmet Fatih / Istanbul
Phone : 0212 518 18 02 / 0212 518 87 54
2- Sirkesi
Address : Next to Sirkeci Train Station Ankara Cad.
Hocapaşa Mah. No:140 Sirkeci Fatih / Istanbul
Phone : 0212 511 58 88
3 - Taksim
Address : Next to AKM, Directorate of State Opera and
Ballet entrance floor Taksim / Istanbul
Phone : 0212 233 05 92
4 - Sabiha Gokcen Aişrport
Address : International Arrivals Kurtköy / Istanbul
Phone : 0216 588 87 94
5 - Istanbul Airport (IST)
Address : International Arrivals floor Arnavutköy /
Istanbul
Phone : 0212 891 62 05
6 - Galataport
Address : Kılıçali Paşa Mahallesi, Meclis-i Mebusan
Caddesi Beyoğlu / Istanbul (Customs area)
The hours of the Information Office is planned according
to the arrival and departure of the ships.
Important Phones
Governorship : (+90-212) 514 17 50
Municipality : (+90-212) 512 55 00
Hospital : (+90-212) 588 48 00 / 113 / Ambulance: 112
Police : (+90-212) 635 00 00 / 155
Newspapers and Magazines:
Foreign newspapers and magazines are available in
big cities and tourist areas. Also there is also Hurriyet's
Daily News published in English which covers
international and local news .
Tipping:
At various establishments like hotels, restaurants,
Turkish baths, barbers and hairdressers, tipping at a
rate of 5%-15% of the total is common. Taxi and "dolmus"
drivers on the other hand, do not expect tips or even
rounded fares.
Visiting a mosque:
Before entering a mosque, Muslims wash themselves and
remove their shoes. Foreign visitors should also remove
their shoes and show the respect they would any other
house of worship and avoid visiting the mosque durin
prayer time (5 times a day). Women should cover their
heads and arms, and not wear miniskirts. Men should not
wear shorts. (In certain famous mosques, overalls are
provided for those not suitably dressed.)
Local time:
GMT+3 hours all seasons .
Attention: In 2016 Turkey adopted daylight saving
time for winter period also which was being adjusted
only in summer. The time zone is constantly GMT + 3
thereafter.
Petrol:
Super (peremium) - Unleaded (at some places).
Normal (regular) - Diesel.
Electricity:
220 volts AC/50 Hz. all over Turkey.
(Industrial:380 V) Plug: European round/ 2-prong plug.
Water:
Although tap water is safe to drink since it is
chlorinated, it is recommended to get advice from the
concerned authorities of the places resided.
Weights and Measures:
1 inch = 2.54 centimeters , 1 centimeter = 0.3937 inches
1 yard = 0,9144 meters, 1 meter = 1.0936 yards
1 mile = 1,6093 kilometers, 1 kilometer = 0.6214 miles
1 pound = 0,4536 kilograms, 1 kilogram = 2.2046 pounds
Area:
1 acres = 0,4047 Hectares, 1 hectare = 2.471 acres
Capacity:
1 UK gallon = 4.546 litres, 1 litre = 0.2199 UK gallons
1 US gallon = 3.7831 litres, 1 litre = 0.2643 US gallons
Tourist
visa procedure for Turkey considerably differ
depending of the nationality of visitors, but it is easy
in most cases. Since 2013 Electronic Visa application system was
launched which can be obtained online.
The
Electronic Visa (e-Visa) Application System was launched
on 17 April 2013 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
the Republic of Turkey. This system allows visitors
traveling to Turkey to easily obtain their e-Visas
online in approximately three minutes. It is possible to
obtain e-Visa 7/24 at everywhere with internet
connection. The applicants can obtain their visa after
they fill in the necessary information concerning their
identity, passport and travel dates and pay visa fee
online.
For detailed information
please click here
See also:
Major
Districts in Istanbul
Historical Landmarks
Culture
and Art Guide
A Brief
History of Istanbul
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