Any suggestions for the best transport from Ataturk airport to Sultanahmet (with lots of luggage)?
Thanks
Posted by
Arlington, TX, USA
281 posts
Mickey, If you are making a hotel reservation for at least 3 nights you can probably negotiate an airport pickup. Many hotels will offer this. If not, the best option is to take a taxi. I am not sure what the current fare is and it will depend somewhat on your arrival time. If you need Turkish Lira there are ATM's after clearing customs. Then agree on the fare and have the address of your hotel handy. A taxi is not that expensive and better than taking public
transportation with luggage.
Posted by
Bothell, WA, 1
11 posts
Yes, I recommend the airport transfer too. I just rechecked and it was 25 euros last Spring payable to the hotel so no money exchanges hands with the drivers except for a tip. It is more expensive than the other options but I am not comfortable taking luggage on the public transportation in Istanbul because depending on time of day it can be quite crowded and I like to be attentive to my pockets...... The way it works is the hotels have a pool of agents (think coordinators) who stand in a long row where everyone exits from International arrivals. After getting your luggage, you just look for your name/hotel name on the sign. Then they select the next available driver and introduce you and off you go. Usually a small van or larger sedan.
Posted by
Mission Viejo, Calif., USA
1010 posts
My husband and I were in Turkey in September. We were on a Tauck cruise/land trip from Greece to Turkey. Our hotel director told us to ALWAYS have the hotel make the reservations. The taxi dirvers in Turkey are very dishonest. Some of them are such crooks, they will let you out down the street from the destination. Then they demand more than what you had agreed to pay. This happened to a few people on our Tauck tour. We personally stayed in three different hotels in Turkey. We had problem with three taxi drivers. We even had to have somebody from one of our hotels come out and argue with one taxi driver. He wasn't going to give us back our luggage, after we decided not to go with the particular taxi driver. There are so many smokers in Turkey, it ruined our trip. We would have never gone to Turkey had we known so many people smoke. It was disgusting.