Although I have read up on it, I would appreciate some tips from those of you who have some first hand experience with public transportation in Istanbul. Is it reliable? I am assuming it's pretty much the same as in any european city... but any "head's up" to share? I am relying on it to get to the airport VERY early on a Saturday morning.
Thanks in advance!
Posted by
Seattle, USA
990 posts
How early is VERY early? As I recall, the metro and trams don't start running till around six am. You might want to check more specifically on that, since I don't typically use public transit quite that early! It's clean, efficient, and reliable, but, like many cities' systems, it may not operate early enough for a very early morning flight.
Posted by
Normal, Illinois, USA
24 posts
Agreeing with the previous poster, I was impressed with Istanbul's public transportation. If I remember correctly, the metro ran from around 6 in the morning until midnight-ish
Posted by
Corsicana, Texas, USA
354 posts
Depending on your location, you can catch an airport shuttle bus as early as 4:00am.
Posted by
Bellevue, WA, USA
811 posts
your hotel can get you on a shuttle bus to the airport if before the metro line. another alternative is spend the night near the airport at a neighborhood hotel and then have them drive you in. The cost of the trip would be part of the hotel cost, so you can save a little bit of money. Or, there is an airport hotel which is very expensive, but it's in the airport so you're as close as you can be.
Posted by
Honolulu/Seattle, HI/WA, USA
2787 posts
We were in Istanbul in May & June of 2010 (last year already!) and used public transportation many, many times. We rode the trams (light rail) all over the place. You must buy tokens at close-by shops (windows actually) or from machines if available. We got a map from the TI as well as RS Istanbul Guide Book to figure out the places we wanted to go and what trams to ride to get there. We encountered so many friendly english speaking locals that we never felt lost.
One local even walked us to a store that sold cat food so we could feed all of the strays that are in Istanbul. We took a taxi from our hotel (Sutten Hill?) to the airport and for the life of me I can not remember what that cost. I would return to Istanbul anytime. Happy travels.
Posted by
WPB, FL & Firenze
3112 posts
I stayed at the Instanbul Ataturk Airport hotel in October. While not cheap, I found a very good internet rate on the hotel's website and thought it was an excellent option for my 6:30am flight. I made the short 5 minute walk from the hotel to the international terminal, although free shuttle was also available.