Travel Guide Turkey

Location

How to get there? Corendon operates cheap flights to Istanbul, Turkey but flights arrive at SAW Airport which is quite far from the center of Istanbul.

01/2008: Info about public transportation (from the Lonely Planet Thorntree forum)

Havas buses have been running between the city of Istanbul and Sabiha Gökçen airport since it has been opened. Now city buses (IETT buses, cheaper, more local kind of service) have finally arrived at SAW.
Even though they may not be as convenient as the Havas buses, they might be cheaper or get you into a different part of town quicker, or may be you just like the sound of it. All times are for workdays only (weekends + holidays = less service) and are FROM Sabiha Gökçen. Other direction: don’t know, may be someone else knows.
*Line 16 S
From S. Gökçen to Kartal and Koziyataği (must be gigantic shopping mall/Carrefour right beside a highway interchange relatively close to Kadiköy on the Asian side). There are buses between Koziyataği and Beşiktaş (close to Taksim).
First bus leaves SAW 5:30, 6:35, then one bus every 60-90 min, last bus at 21:00
*Line E S
From S. Gökçen to 4 Levent Metro (a five minute metro ride away from Taksim)
6.15, 6:30, 6:50, 7:10, 15:30, 16:15, 17:00, 17:45 only
All of the above cost 2 Express Tickets (whatever that means)
*line E 10
From S. Gökçen to Pendik Köprüsü (bridge), to Bostanci Köprüsü, to Kadiköy
First 6:00, then every 80 minutes, last 20:35

Tip for those of you who land there but intend to take a bus immediately, anywhere else than Istanbul, in the direction of the east : take a taxi to Pendik, the closest town, asking to be dropped at the "Metro otobus burosu"; from there, you'll be able to book for many different destinations. At first, I was trying to find fellow passengers to share a taxi to "Harem otogar", but it is much farther away. The "Metro" bus company is very reliable and has a sort of dispatch centre in Dudullu town, close to the main highway, which enables the buses to avoid the small and chaotic Harem otogar.

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