Turkey » Getting to Istanbul

 Istanbul is approximately 3 to 4 hours flying time from London.

By Air

Istanbul has two international airports: The larger is the Ataturk International in Yesilk 24 kilometers from the city center which used to be at the edge of the European part but now inside of the city, the more modern is the airport Sabiha Airport, 20 kilometers east of Asiatic side and 45 kilometers eastern from the European city centre.

By Train

The station Sirkeci is final stop for all railways on the European side. In long-distance traffic only one course drives daily (to Bucharest). Beyond the Bosphorus at the station Haydarpasa drive several times daily courses to Ankara, more rarely to other goals into Anatolia. For now the two stations are connected by ferry across the Bosphorus. The Marmaray project will connect the rail system with an interchange station which will also connect the metro system.

By Road

The E5, E90 and Trans European Motorway (TEM) are the three main roads leading to Turkey from European borders; and the inner city borders to the east. The motorway net around Istanbul is developed and is constantly extended very well. Motorways lead after Ankara and Edirne. There are 2 express roads circling the city. The older one called E5 is mostly used for inner city traffic while the more recent TEM highway is mostly used by intercity or intercontinental traffic. Bosphorus Bridge and Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge respectively, provide the Bosphorus Strait passes for these two highways.