Istanbul - Turkey with Your Family: From Bustling Bazaars to Historic Sites - page 57

The first glimpse of Istanbul is
likely to be through the window
of a plane coming into Atatürk
Havalimani International Airport
(see p. 34) with the sprawl of the
city in one direction and the Sea
of Marmara in the other. The air-
port is around 25kms (about 15
miles) from the city centre.
Buses found right outside
run into the city every 30 min-
utes or so and take about 45
minutes. Their journey ends at
Taksim Square, in the heart of
Istanbul. The cost per person is
around 10 YTL (Turkish Lira).
A light railway system also
travels from the airport into the
Aksaray area of the city for con-
nections to other districts, such
as the Sultanahmet. Cost-wise,
it's on a par with the buses.
Taxis cost little more than
double the price for a bus, so are
perfect for a quick transfer for a
whole family. You can hail a
bright orange taxi from right
outside the arrivals terminal
Sabiha Gokcen ( www.sg
airport.com ) is the city's other,
smaller airport. Located in the
Asiatic area of the city, domestic
flights come and go from here. It
is used mainly by smaller airlines
providing internal flights.
Journey time by taxi into the
centre is about the same. Ditto
the cost. Unfortunately there is
no direct transport link between
the airports, so if you have an
onward journey it is best to
travel to Taksim Square and take
a bus to whichever airport you
are heading for.
By Road and Rail The three
largest bus companies are:

Kâmil Koç , Istanbul: b +90 212
658 20 00 ; Bursa: [phone]
Ulusoy , Istanbul: b [phone]
71 00 , www.ulusoy.com.tr
Varan , Istanbul: b [phone]
74 74 , www.varan.com.tr )
Train services are operated by
the Turkish State Railway
(TCDD , www.tcdd.gov.tr ). Trains
arrive at Sirkeci Station , right in
the heart of the city at Eminönü,
location of the Bosphorus cruise
trips, in a constant stream of
activity from cities around
Europe.

VISITOR
INFORMATION

Tourist Information
Offices
Istanbul offers so much for visi-
tors to see and do, from historic
monuments such as the
grandiose Topkapi Palace to
experiences like shopping for
trinkets in the Grand Bazaar or
in streets teeming with people.
Knowing where to start can be a
bit daunting. The answer is a
sharpish visit to the tourist
office, where the staff members
are friendly, helpful and have a
seemingly endless number of
leaflets and booklets at their fin-
gertips. There is one tourist
office in the arrivals hall of
the main Atatürk Havalimani
airport, further offices in the
Elmadag and Beyazit areas, and at
the maritime passenger terminal
in Karakoy. The Sultanahmet
Tourism Information Office in
the Sultanahmet district is central

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