How to get to Istanbul ?

Getting to Istanbul by Plane
Istanbul has two international airports – Ataturk International Airport of the European side (Yesilkoy) and Sabiha Gokcen International Airport on the Asian side (Kurtkoy).

Ataturk International Airport
The biggest and busiest airport in Turkey is Ataturk International Airport. There are scheduled flights from all over the world. Ataturk Airport in Istanbul handles both international and domestic flights and is 25 kilometers (16 miles) to the west of central Istanbul. To travel from the airport to Taksim Square, the following alternatives are available. The best and biggest airline in Turkey is Turkish Airlines (THY). If booked fairly in advance, THY may offer good deals. See Turkish Airlines Web Site for online reservations & booking.

Sabiha Gokcen International Airport
The newer airport in Istanbul is Sabiha Gokcen International Airport. If arriving from Europe, the best tip is to fly in with one of the low-budget airlines that fly in to SGA. There are many airlines offering routes between various European cities and Istanbul. Easyjet, Skyeurope, Condor, Myair, Sun ExPRESS, Fly Norwegian, Corendon, Germanwings,Tulfly and Pegasus is some of many.

Getting to Istanbul by Train
Sirkeci Railway station on the European side of Istanbul is also known as the last stop of Bosphorus Express. There are trains to Istanbul from the following destinations, From Europe; Kishinev (Mol), Budapest (Hun), Beograd (Ser), Bucharest (Rom), Athens, Thessalonica (Gre) and Sofia (Bul). There are connections from Cologne to Istanbul on the "Istanbul Express", which also carries cars from several other European cities. There is a weekly sleeper from Moscow. Trains bound for Thessaloniki, Athens, Sofia, Belgrade, Bucharest and Budapest (with transfers to Munich and Vienna) also leave from Sirkeci. InterRail tickets are available in the European part of Turkey as far as Istanbul.

Getting to Istanbul by Bus
Istanbul has quite a big bus terminal, "International Istanbul Intercity Bus Terminal" which is at Esenler. (10 Km to Sultanahmet, Old city). With 168 ticket offices and gates, its own metro station, shops, restaurants, police station, clinic, the Esenler Otogar is virtually a town in itself. Almost all international buses first visit this bus terminal. There are regular Coach (Bus) services between Turkey and Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldovia and Switzerland. Buses from Europe are following the Greece and Bulgaria routes mainly. The two main routes are like this; Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria - Turkey and Germany, Italy, Ferry to Greece - Turkey.