Hi,
I am traveling into Sabiha Gokcen airport (SAW) in a few weeks, and wondered if anyone could advise of the best way (on a budget) to get to the Sultanhamnet area of Istanbul? Is visa available at SAW airport?
Thanks,
Ping
Posted by
Washington DC Region, USA
7054 posts
Look on the airport website for shuttle services. VISAs are a requirement for entry so I would assume this airport functions the same as Ataturk.
Posted by
aptos, CA
12 posts
Did this back in June. You'll be met at the Airport by people selling tickets on minibuses. They cost $15.00 U.S. and take about 1.5-2 hours (including waiting/drop-off time) hours depending on traffic, which can be bad depending on time of day. The biggest delays with this type of transport are: Waiting about 15-30 minutes for the minibus to fill up to leave, and then dropping off the other minibus passengers at their hotels. However, they will drop you right at the front door of your hotel, and it's the cheapest option, and very convenient door-to-door service. I was worried about this transfer as there was LITTLE information online, but as with MOST places in the world, capitalism takes over, and people wanting to make money from tourism figure a way to make things work for tourists...and it all works out!
The other main option is to get your own driver/taxi. Whether you get your own taxi or a private driver arranged through your hotel, it will run about $60.00, and will take about 1 hour for the drive. This is the actual drive time without traffic.
Visa service is easy at the airport, but will be a large line... First you will stand in a line at the airport to buy your visa stamp, and after you have bought your visa, you will get in a second line to go through immigration. This can take a while, as both lines can be somewhat large...the second being much larger. Be prepared to wait an hour or more.