Sultanahmet (Historical Peninsula)
Welcome to Istanbul..
Sultanahmet is the historical center of Istanbul. It is called the “Historical Peninsula”. In the Historical Peninsula there are many historical tourist monuments such as Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, Sultanahmet Mosque, Basilica Cistern. These places are visited by millions of tourists from around the world every year.
How to go to Sultanahmet (historical peninsula) from Airport
There are a few different ways to get to Sultanahmet (historical peninsula) from the Istanbul Airport. These are HAVAİST busses, metro (subway) and TAXIs. We’ll give you information about them below.
by HAVAIST Buses
HAVAIST buses are luxury buses that carry passengers between the Istanbul Airport (ISL) and Sultanahmet.
HAVAIST buses are served every 30 minutes, 24 hours a day. Takes you from the airport and takes you to Sultanahmet Square (historical peninsula).
It takes about 1 hour for HAVAIST buses to get from the Istanbul Airport to Sultanahmet Square.
HAVAIST buses fee is 18 liras (about 3 dollars). But you can’t pay with cash or credit card. You must use Istanbulkart (As with almost all public transportation in Istanbul) .
But don’t worry, there are buffets and vending machines available to buy Istanbulkart at the airport.
At the end of your trip, you can also come to the Istanbul Airport by HAVAIST buses from Sultanahmet.
by Metro (Subway)
ATTENTION!!! The Istanbul Airport Metro Line M-11 has not been opened yet. Construction is ongoing. It is expected to open within the year 2019.
From Istanbul Airport, you can go to Sultanahmet (historical peninsula) by metro.
For this, you will first arrive at Gayrettepe Station by the Istanbul Airport metro line M-11.
Then you will be able to reach Vezneciler Station by transferring to M-2 Taksim metro line at Gayrettepe Station.
The Grand Bazaar is located at the exit of Vezneciler Station. From the Grand Bazaar to Sultanahmet, you can visit the historical peninsula by walking or tram.
by TAXI
You can also go by taxi from Istanbul Airport to Sultanahmet Square (historical peninsula).
Taxis are waiting for you at the exit of the terminal.
There are 3 different color taxi services at Istanbul Airport. These are yellow, turquoise and black taxis.
Yellow taxis are the cheapest taxis in the tariff.
Turquoise taxis are 15% more expensive than yellow taxis.
Black taxis have 2 times the expensive tariff of yellow taxis.
Taxis can carry up to 4 passengers.
The Taxi fare is determined by the distance travelled and the same fee is paid for how many people ride in the vehicle.
Taxi fare (for yellow taxis) from Istanbul Airport (ISL) to Sultanahmet Square costs about 120 liras. (about 25 dollars)
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