Sabiha Gökçen Airport
Located in the Asian side of the city, Sabiha Gökçen International Airport is the second most important airport in Istanbul after Istanbul International Airport. Many low-cost airlines prefer flying into it.
This airport bears the name of the world's first female fighter pilot: Sabiha Gökçen, who began to fly in 1936 at the age of 23.
The airport was built to ease the burden on the now-closed Atatürk airport and is currently used by more than 29 million passengers every year.
How to Get to Istanbul from Sabiha Gökçen
The 50 km to the city can seem even further due to poor public transport connections.
Below, we've ordered the various means of transport from cheapest to most expensive, or from least to most convenient, depending on how you look at it.
Public Bus
There are five bus routes which leave from the airport, but four take you to the Asian side of the city and only one to the European side, and ends just 8 kilometres north of Sultanhamet. This line (E3) stops at the Levent metro station, from where you can get to Taksim in just four stops.
The E3 line leaves from the airport more or less every hour, between 7 am and 2:30 am.
Shuttle Service
The Havas company offers a bus service connecting Sabiha Gökçen with Taksim Square, running every 30 minutes. The travel time is approximately 1.5 hours and the price is 90 TL (US$ 2.60) per person each way.
Taxi
The price of a taxi from Sabiha Gökçen Airport to the center of Istanbul is between 500 TL (US$ 14.50) and 1,000 TL (US$ 29), depending on the area of your hotel. Remember that there are no fixed prices in Istanbul taxis, so if they give you a fixed rate they will probably want to charge you more than what the trip is really worth.
Transfer Service
This is the most convenient and recommended way to get to your hotel. A driver will be waiting for you at the airport with a sign with your name and will take you to the hotel easy and hassle-free.
- Book transfers in Istanbul to your hotel
Metro
Metro line M4 connects Kadikoy with Sabina Gokcen Airport in about 45 minutes. You can reach this station by transferring at other stations such as Eminonu, Kabatas and Besiktas.
