Istanbul Travel Guide

By Plane

From the United States & Canada -- Turkish Airlines (tel. 800/874-8875; www.turkishairlines.com), American Airlines (tel. 800/433-7300; www.aa.com), and Delta Airlines (tel. 800/221-1212; www.delta.com) offer the only direct nonstop service to Istanbul from the U.S. Turkish Airlines flies direct to Istanbul's Atatürk Airport (IST) from New York (JFK) and Chicago (ORD), with access to connecting flights from other U.S. cities on American Airlines. Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines announced that it would be instituting direct flights to Istanbul from Washington, D.C., in 2008, so keep your eyes open for this new service. Delta provides direct service from Atlanta (ATL) and New York (JFK). These airlines are just the tip of the iceberg; most major international airlines flying to Istanbul offer flights from U.S. cities much too numerous to inventory, either as part of their own network or in partnership with an American airline. Choosing one involves a change of planes in the airline's home country hub, but this slight inconvenience is often accompanied by cheaper, more comparable fares.

The following telephone numbers are for the U.S. and Canada. Log on to the airline websites for your local contact number. Air France (tel. 800/237-2747; www.airfrance.com), Alitalia (tel. 800/223-5730; www.alitalia.com), Austrian Airlines (tel. 800/843-0002; www.austrianair.com), British Airways (tel. 800/247-9297; www.british-airways.com), Continental (tel. 800/231-0856; www.continental.com), Iberia (tel. 800/574-8742; www.iberia.com), KLM/Northwest (tel. 800/255-2525; www.nwa.com), Lufthansa (tel. 800/645-3880; www.luftansa.com), Swiss International (tel. 877/359-7947; www.swiss.com), United (800/UNITED; www.united.com), and US Airways (tel. 800/428-4322; www.usairways.com) all provide service to Istanbul, usually with a stop at their hub in their home country. In addition, Lufthansa flies to Ankara (ANK) and Antalya (AYT), and Austrian Airlines flies to Ankara (ANK). More often than not, Turkish Airlines will provide the connecting flights to other Turkish destinations.

There are currently no direct flights to Turkey from Canada, but negotiations are on for Turkish Airlines to establish direct service, so keep your eyes open for this development. For now, Air France, Alitalia, British Airways, Delta, KLM/Northwest, and Lufthansa all provide connecting service out of Toronto (YYZ). From Montreal (YUL), flights are available on Air France, Alitalia, British Airways, Delta, Iberia, Northwest, and Lufthansa. Vancouver (YVR) is serviced by British Airways, KLM/Northwest (via Seattle), and Lufthansa.

From the United Kingdom -- The only nonstop service to Istanbul out of London is provided by British Airways (tel. 0845/77-333-77) and Turkish Airlines (tel. 20/7766-9300), which also flies nonstop from Manchester (tel. 161/489-5287). Air France (tel. 0845/082-0162), Alitalia (tel. 0870/544-8259), Austrian Airlines (tel. 0845/601-0948), KLM/Northwest (tel. 08705/074-074), Lufthansa (tel. 0845/7737-747), and Olympic (tel. 8706/060-460; www.olympicairlines.com) offer connecting service through their home port, providing service from many other major cities in the U.K. as well.

There are also charter airline options. Onur Air, Senlikkoy Mah. Çatal Sok. 3, Florya (tel. 0212/663-9176; www.onurair.com.tr), offers service from several U.K. cities into Dalaman (DLM), Bodrum (BJV), Izmir (ADB), and Antalya (AYT) via Istanbul; and from various cities throughout Europe. SunExpress (tel. 0232/444-0797; www.sunexpress.com.tr) flies twice-weekly from London's Stansted Airport to Izmir in summer only. British Airways (tel. 0870/850-9850 in the U.K.) flies direct from Gatwick to Izmir 4 days a week.

From Australia & New Zealand -- There are few choices for connecting flights to Turkey. In partnership with Turkish Airlines, Qantas (tel. 13-13-13 in Australia, or 64-9/357-8900 in Auckland; www.qantas.com) will get you from Sydney, Auckland, and Brisbane, connecting you to a Turkish Airlines flight into Istanbul. Olympic Airways (tel. 612/9251-2044 in Australia; www.olympicairlines.com) has overnight flights from Sydney and Melbourne via Athens. Other flights from Sydney are offered on British Airways (tel. 1300/767-177 in Australia, or 0800/274-847 in Auckland), Singapore Airlines (tel. 612/9350-0100; www.singaporeair.com), KLM/Northwest (tel. 008/221-714), and Lufthansa (tel. 1300/655-727). From New Zealand, Singapore Airlines flies out of Auckland and New Plymouth; from Australia, British Airways flies out of Brisbane and Melbourne; and Lufthansa services Brisbane.

Arriving at the Airport -- Before 2001, flights into and out of Istanbul's Atatürk Airport operated out of a dingy old terminal. This old terminal is now the domestic terminal, and a new contiguous, state-of-the-art international terminal makes deplaning, passing through Customs, and heading into the city as effortless as can be expected in a transport hub that welcomed 6.5 million visitors in 2007.

There are two main bonuses of arriving at this airport. First, although an entry visa is required by most of us, obtaining one is as simple as stepping up to the visa window located adjacent to the passport control area. The second is that the airport is but a 10- to 20-minute ride into town, depending on what type of transport you've arranged and your ultimate destination.

Getting into Town from the Airport -- At the time of this writing, most hotels were competing for your business by offering additional services -- such as free pickup at the airport. Check with your hotel to see if yours is one of them.

Because taxi fares into both the Old City and Taksim are still very affordable, I recommend this door-to-door option first over the alternatives suggested below. A taxi into Sultanahmet from Atatürk Airport should cost around 16YTL ($14/£6) and a ride into Taksim around 25YTL ($22/£9.50), depending on traffic and whether or not you go the scenic route.

By Bus: If your destination is around Taksim, there is the reliable and convenient Havas shuttle bus (toll-free: tel. 0212/444-0487), departing every 30 minutes from just outside the airport exit (9YTL/$7.85/£3.40; trip time 40 min.). You could also take the cheaper and rarer green municipal bus no. 97 (1.30YTL/$1.15/50p), but because Havas is so convenient and reliable, the public bus is not an option I recommend.

It's unlikely that guests heading to the deluxe hotels along the Bosphorus will be taking public transportation into town. Nevertheless, Havas also runs a shuttle from Atatürk Airport to the entrance of Akmerkez at Etiler (10YTL/$8.70/£3.80; trip time 45 min.), where taxis are regularly awaiting passengers.

By Metro/Tramway: If you're on a budget and feeling like going the whole nine yards of independent travel, take advantage of the newly completed train connection between the airport (entrance is downstairs next to the international arrivals terminal; 1.30YTL/$1.15/50p) and the Old City all the way up to Kabatas and Taksim. This service connects the airport to Zeytinburnu, where you will need to transfer aboveground to the tramway into the historic part of the city (stops include Beyazit, Cagagoglu, Sultanahmet, Gülhane, Sirkeci, Eminönü). The tramway continues all the way to Kabatas, with stops at Karaköy, Tophane, and Findikli; from the last stop, there's a brand-new funicular transporting passengers up one of Istanbul's steeper hills to Taksim. The whole trip costs 1.30YTL ($1.15/50p) if you use the Akbil; otherwise it'll be 1.30YTL ($1.15/50p) per transfer. The trip will take a little over an hour. Remember though, you'll be hot, tired, hungry, and luggage laden for this convoluted, albeit convenient, journey.

By Train

Direct trains from Europe depart daily from Bucharest and Budapest and take about 27 and 40 hours, respectively -- and that's without any border delays. It is your responsibility to obtain visas where required (either transit or tourist, depending on your travel plans) for every border that you will cross. If you're coming from Greece, trains leave regularly for Alexandropolis, where you must go through Customs. You can catch a bus to Istanbul from the Alexandropolis train station. Depending on how long you get hung up at the border, it can take anywhere from 6 to 8 hours to get to Istanbul. Visas are readily available at the border crossing.

Of course, the Orient Express is still an option (tel. 800/524-2420 in the U.S. and Canada, 0845/077-2222 in the U.K., 1-800/000-395 in Australia, and 00-800/8392-3500 in New Zealand; www.orient-express.com). Departing from Paris once a year in late summer (Aug. 29, 2008) and passing through Zurich, Innsbruck, Vienna, Budapest, and Bucharest, the journey takes 6 days/5 nights and costs a meager $8,350 (£4,175).

Sirkeci Station (tel. 0212/527-0050) has been serving train passengers arriving (and departing) Istanbul from European cities for well over a century and has served as a model for railway stations throughout central Europe. A tram stop is immediately outside the station entrance, but don't rely on this if you're first arriving, as there is no ticket kiosk at this stop.

By Car

With global warming issues and petrol prices in the stratosphere, driving to Turkey makes bad sense. But some people just insist on the comfort of their own vehicle, so be prepared for the red tape of sorting out multiple transit visas and at least 4 days of hard driving. There are two traditional routes to take: The "northern" one through Belgium, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. Or the "southern" one through Belgium, Germany, Austria, and Italy with a car ferry connection to Turkey. Drivers planning to stay longer than 3 months must have an International Driving Permit (IDP), which also comes in handy in out-of-the-way places where the local police can't decipher your national version. You'll also be required to provide proof of third-party insurance at the Turkish border.