See Turkey#Get in for visa requirements. From 2020, most EU, UK, CIS and South American visitors do not need a visa. Those from many other countries including Australia, Canada and US can get an e-visa online, valid for 90 days.

By plane

1 Istanbul Airport (IST IATA). Istanbul's chief airport, and the main port of entry into Turkey, is 30 km northwest of the city in Arnavutköy, on the Europe-side Black Sea coast. It was opened in 2018 / 19 and replaced Atatürk Airport. It has a very wide range of international flights, by Turkish Airlines and other carriers, and domestic flights at least daily to all the major Turkish cities. There's car hire and the usual passenger facilities. Metro line M11, public buses, and taxis are available to the city centre. A second metro line is under construction from the airport to the western district of Halkalı. (updated Feb 2023)

Getting to and from Istanbul International Airport

By metro – The M11 metro line connects the airport to the city, providing a fast and affordable option. The metro station is outside airport exit 11, in front of the parking lot, where you can purchase an 'Istanbulkart.' To reach your destination, you will likely need to transfer and possibly walk a short distance. The Istanbul metro operates from 06:15 to 00:15.

By bus – Two companies, Havaist and IETT, provide transport to and from Istanbul International Airport, though neither offers a direct connection to the popular Sultanahmet area. You can reach other parts of the city using IETT independently or in combination with other transportation modes. Havaist's luxury buses (iSt-1) take you to major transit hubs like Aksaray Metro Station (the trip takes about 90 minutes depending on traffic). Havaist operates non-stop every 25-30 minutes, and a ticket costs €5.42 or $5.99 (October, 2024). The bus station is located on Level -2 at the airport. Here, you can purchase an 'Istanbulkart,' which is valid for all forms of public transport, including public restrooms. Airport shuttle tickets can also be bought online via the Havaist app or website, where you can also find the list of stations and timetable. If you choose city buses or trams, note that travel can be challenging if you have luggage or arrive during peak hours. The vehicles may be crowded, and transfers between lines often involve a bit of walking.

By taxi – Taking a taxi offers a comfortable transfer, but it may not be fast due to Istanbul's heavy traffic. A ride to Sultanahmet typically costs approximately €27.92 (according to airport guide as of October 2024), depending on the time of travel since taxis do not have fixed rates. Fares are the same day and night, and tipping is optional. The ride of about 50 km takes around 50 minutes. Official taxi stands are located outside each level of the airport. Yellow (orange) taxis are the most affordable, but you can also opt for a more comfortable blue taxi (15% more expensive) or a black luxury taxi (70% more expensive). Avoid using unofficial vehicles, and be aware of common taxi scams. Taxis can be booked online, using standard services, or through mobile apps (Uber, Bolt).

2 Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW IATA). Istanbul's Asia-side airport is 30 km east of city centre. It has many domestic flights, often by Anadolu Jet the budget offshoot of Turkish Airlines. Pegasus and other carriers have flights across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Western Asia, especially in summer when this is a low cost route to the Turkish beach resorts and Northern Cyprus. None of the airlines that use Sabiha Gökçen have announced plans to relocate to the new Istanbul Airport: it's big enough to take them, but not convenient for Istanbul's Asia side. There's only one terminal, with a full range of passenger facilities, but ground-side procedures here are laborious and arriving two hours before your flight is cutting it very close. There's a security check just to enter the terminal (they will inspect but not confiscate liquids), then the usual check after bag-drop to get air-side. The ground-side departure hall is comfortable. If you have a long stopover here, the LGM CIP Lounge is a good deal, with unlimited free beer, wine, soft drinks, light meals and snacks for €12 entry per person. (Some connection times are very long, as the outbound flight tries to scoop arrivals from far and wide.) There is a hotel at the airport, some half-a-dozen at Kurtköy 2 km north, then another dozen at Pendik town (on the Marmara coast near the YHT station) 6 km south. (updated Feb 2023)

Getting to and from SAW:

By metro – Line M4 runs from the airport to Kadıköy, taking about an hour. The line is not well-connected to the rest of the metro network, but you can continue to the European side by ferry or transfer to the Marmaray train at Ayrılık Çeşmesi.

By train – Sabiha Gökçen Airport is 12 km from Pendik YHT railway station, take a taxi or bus 132H to catch fast trains east to Ankara and Konya.

By bus:

Havaist – It works on both airports. A prepaid solution is available via mobile application.

Havabüs – It runs from the airport to Taksim in the city centre (50 km, 60-90 min), Yenisahra an Asia-side transport hub (50 min) and Kadıköy the ferry quay for Eminönü in Sultanahmet Old City (60 min). Buses run every 30 min between 04:00 and 01:00. Buy your ticket on the bus, Istanbulkart is valid.

City bus (İETT bus) – They are the cheapest, with the main routes:

to Kadıköy by bus E-10 (via Kurtköy, runs 24 hours) or E-11, taking 60-90 min, more in heavy traffic. You need a two-zone ticket.

to Taksim and elsewhere on the European side, take bus E-3 to 4. Levent metro station. It runs 24 hours, takes 2 hours and needs a three-zone ticket.

Other routes include E-9 to Bostanci, 16S to Metrobus Uzunçayir, KM-20 to Pendi̇k & Kartal Metro, KM22 to Cevi̇zli̇ Platforms, E-18 to Altuni̇zade & Ümrani̇ye, and 122H via Yeni̇şehi̇r to 4.Levent Metro.

By shuttle – Inquire with your accommodation or find online.

By taxi – To Taksim should cost around €20 (as of May 2022).

Other arrival airports are only worth considering for the far northwest of the country and never for Istanbul itself. For instance for Edirne you might consider Sofia or Plovdiv then the intercity bus. But it's almost certainly quicker, cheaper and less hassle to fly into IST then take the bus or train west.

Atatürk Airport closed in 2019. Beware (!) of out-of-date road signage and maps, and crooked taxi drivers who will take you to a demolition site. Driving out from the city, you should be heading noticeably north, maybe on D020, or O-3 to turn north on O-7. If you're keeping south on D100, the old place is where he intends to take you.

By train

Wikivoyage has an article on Rail travel in Turkey

Since the heyday of the legendary Orient Express, travelling by train has been the classic way of reaching Istanbul. It's still an interesting journey, but the trains no longer reach their classic termini. Those from Europe terminate at Halkalı west of the city, where you change to the frequent cross-city Marmaray train to reach the centre. Those from the east terminate at Söğütlüçeşme in Kadıköy on the Asian side.

This means that Istanbul has two large terminus stations that don't have any mainline trains. 3 Sirkeci on the European side is on the Marmaray network, with cross-city and Metro trains deep underground but nothing at street-level. 4 Haydarpaşa in Asia has no trains at all. Both stations are worth a quick visit as monuments to a bygone age of rail travel. And both of them have ticket offices, though it's usually simpler to buy online from the website of Turkish Republic State Railways, TCDD.

Turkish railway officials have repeatedly said that both Sirkeci and Haydarpaşa termini will be used once again, at least for some services. But as of 2024 no concrete plans have yet materialized and given the usual scale of delays to rail projects in Turkey it might be a while until trains return to these grand old stations.

Trains from the east

YHT high speed trains (yüksek hızlı tren) run to 5 Söğütlüçeşme on the Asian side, close to their future Haydarpaşa terminus. Two trains a day continue under the Bosphorus calling at Bakırköy in the western suburbs and terminating at Halkalı. They don't stop anywhere in the Sultanahmet or Old City area, and they don't connect with the Europe trains; change to the frequent Marmaray trains for both purposes.

There are frequent YHT services from Eskişehir (3 hours) and Ankara (4½ hours), and three per day from Konya (4½ hours). One per day runs from Karaman via Konya. Two run from Sivas via Ankara. YHT services are affordable and very popular, so book a few days ahead to guarantee a seat even though the price remains the same no matter when you book. Change in Konya for Adana and in Ankara for Erzurum, Kars and Tatvan (which has connections to Tabriz and Tehran in Iran).

On the eastern edge of the city, YHT trains also call at Bostanci, Pendik and Gebze. 6 Pendik, 25 km east of city centre, is a convenient stop for transfers from Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen airport (10 km, taxi or bus). Consider this route if you intend to fly into Istanbul and immediately head east. Pendik itself is a small township with hotels and cafes, with the bus station and taxi ranks north side of the YHT station.

The Ankara Express is an overnight passenger service between Istanbul and Ankara. It leaves Istanbul Halkalı nightly at 22:00, picking up at Söğütlüçeşme, Bostanci and Pendik plus nine other intermediate stations, reaching Ankara before 07:00. The return service has the same times, taking about nine hours, and there are seats and sleepers plus a dining car.

Trains from Europe and European Turkey

A sleeper train departs Sofia around 18:30 nightly, running via Plovdiv, Kapikule on the border, and Edirne, to terminate at Halkalı by 10:00. From June to Sept the Bosphor Express (with couchettes but no sleeper berths) departs Bucharest at 10:10, running via Ruse to Kapikule. Here it's coupled to the train from Sofia, and all passengers have to get out for border procedures, before continuing to Halkalı. The westbound service leaves Halkalı at 20:00 to reach Sofia by 09:40 and Bucharest at 17:30 next day. From Oct to May the through-train from Bucharest doesn't run, so you change at Ruse then again at Kapikule, with a similar timetable. (Bear in mind that Romania and Bulgaria have daylight-saving time in summer but Turkey doesn't.) Trains from Budapest to Bucharest, and from Belgrade to Sofia, don't connect with the onward trains to Turkey, so you need an overnight stay.

TCDD quote fares for these trains in euros. In 2025 a basic single from Sofia is €26. Add €10 for a couchette, €15 for a bed in a shared 2-person cabin or €35 for the entire cabin.

The Budapest-Belgrade line remains closed for engineering works. Belgrade-Sofia trains may be running but are not confirmed, you might have to take local trains and change at Niš and Dimitrovgrad. Altogether it's better to reach Turkey via Bucharest. There's also a regional train once a day from Kapikule via Edirne to Halkalı, and another from Uzunköprü.

For a luxurious stylish journey, once a year the Venice Simplon Orient Express runs from Paris to Istanbul. You travel in lovely restored 1930s luxury coaches and enjoy first-rate cuisine. Tickets start at €17,500; sorry, your Eurail pass won't help here.

Between Halkalı and downtown use the Marmaray cross-city suburban train, and allow an hour; trains run every 15 min (and see "Get around").

7 Halkalı railway station (Halkalı garı), İstasyon Cd., İstasyon Mah., 34303 (25 km west of central Istanbul). The current terminus. This station has few facilities here, in particular, nowhere to change currency until you get downtown. Ticket machines for the Mamaray trains only accept Turkish cash except for a single one which now takes cards, though it will likely have a long queue when you arrive. (updated Mar 2024)

By bus

Turkey has an extensive system of intercity buses for travel around the country, as well international routes. The majority of intercity buses servicing both European and Asian parts of Turkey depart and terminate at the Esenler Bus Station. Many of the bus companies have offices around the city and free courtesy mini-buses known as a "servis," collect passengers from the city and take them to either the main bus stations or their own mini-terminals near the main motorways.

European side

Alibeyköy

The 8 Alibeyköy Terminal (Alibeyköy Cep Otogarı) is a secondary hub for the European side and is located at Güzeltepe near the outer beltway of Istanbul. Despite its orderly and cool steel-and-glass look, and much smaller size compared with Esenler, this is an unexpectedly chaotic bus station.

Buses from Anatolia stop here en route to Esenler bus station, 20–25 min further.

The T5 tram line connects this bus station to the M7 metro line, which can be used to get to Mecidiyeköy, a major hub for public transport and the business center of the city, the BRT Metrobüs line, and to Eminönü all the while providing the passengers a scenic ride along the Golden Horn. There are also somewhat infrequent shuttle services available although none heads for Sultanahmet, they are slower than the tram, and don't expect their drivers to speak much English.

Esenler

Often called simply 'the Otogar' (Bus Station) or occasionally 'Bayrampaşa Otogar', the colossal circular complex 9 Esenler Terminal (Esenler Otogarı), is located at Esenler (although officially within the Bayrampaşa district), about 10 km (6 miles) northwest of Sultanahmet. This is the city's main bus station (☏ +90 212 658 0505) for intercity (including Gallipoli) and many international routes (such as Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria).

With 168 ticket offices and gates, shops, restaurants, hotel, police station, clinic and mosque, the Büyük Otogar ("big bus station") is a town in itself, but as it lacks a central information desk, you will have to research online on more generic websites like https://infobus.eu or ask around the individual offices for prices and timetables for your destination.

It is served by the Otogar metro station on the M1 metro line, that splits there into M1A and M1B. Connections to major destinations within the city are as follows:

Sultanahment: From the Otogar metro station you can take the metro to Aksaray or Zeytinburnu and then easily connect with a tram to Sultanahmet (about 30 minutes via Aksaray) or Kabataş/Taksim. If you travelling with a lot of luggage you may prefer to transfer between the tram to the Metro at Zeytinburnu as the stations are side by side, whereas at Yusufpaşa it is necessary to carry your luggage up and down the steps of an underpass to get to Aksaray Metro station. Going via Zeytinburnu will take longer. The journey will be cheaper if you purchase and recharge an İstanbulkart from the machines at the entrance to the metro station.

Beyoğlu: Take the M1 Metro line to Yenikapı, then change there for the M2 Metro line in the direction of Hacıosman, and get out at Sishane or Taksim. An alternative is to take IETT bus 830 which departs from the bus station at 06:00. 07:00, 07:35, 09:00, 11:00, 13:15, 15:55, 17:15 and 18:35 M to Sa, and at 11:00, 13:00, 15:00 and 17:15 on Sundays. It takes approximately 60 minutes to reach Taksim Square. You'll need a Jeton or İstanbulkart to pay for your fare.

Bus connections: The main lines from the centre include 28O from Beşiktaş, 75O from Mecidiyeköy, 91O from Eminönü, and 83O from Taksim. Refer to the IETT website for timetables. Esenler is approximately 39 km from the new Istanbul airport. They are connected by the HVIST-5 airport bus service operated by Havaİst. The journey takes 60 to 75 minutes.

Courtesy mini-buses: Some bus companies such as Pamukkale operate servis between the bus station and various pickup and drop-off points around the city.

Note that despite having been renamed the 15 Temmuz Demokrasi Otogar (also called the 15 Temmuz Şehitler Otogar) in memory of those who died during the abortive coup attempt of 15 July 2016, most bus companies continue to use the Esenler Otogar name only.

Asian side

Buses travelling to and between Istanbul's Esenler bus station and Anatolian destinations stop on the Asian side of Istanbul to pick up and drop off passengers.

If you are travelling between the European side of Istanbul and Anatolia it's worth considering getting on or off the bus on the Asian side as it takes anything between 1h 15min and 1h 45min hours off the total travel time.

For many years the principal bus station on the Asian side of Istanbul has been at 10 Harem (pronounced hah-REHM; not to be confused with the ladies' quarter of the Topkapı Palace with the same name) right on the Bosphorus, south of Üsküdar and north of Haydarpaşa.

From Harem, regular car ferries (which take walk-on passengers) cross the Bosphorus to Sirkeci (just east of Eminönü) on the European side (every 30 minutes M-Sa 05:30-23:00 Su 07:00-22:00). There are also regular passenger ferries from Kadıköy and Üsküdar south and north of Harem to Beşiktaş and Kabataş on the European side. Dolmuşes and many bus lines make the quick run to Üsküdar, from where you can also connect to the M5 metro line, and Marmaray cross-city suburban train.

Many of the bus companies (especially the larger ones offering a long list of destinations) have relocated to 11 Dudullu Terminals as these locations provide a more convenient access to the major motorways. While some of these hubs are relatively close to various stations of M5, none are directly on that metro line, so better catch the servis minibuses into various central areas, including Harem, Kadıköy and Üsküdar.

Reserve a seat in advance as some buses arrive on the Asian side from Esenler with no empty seats.

By boat

There are Black Sea ferries several times a week to Chornomorske, the main port for Odesa in Ukraine, taking 27 hours. They run all year and take vehicles; indeed trucking is an important part of their business, as so many travellers nowadays fly. The ferry terminal is at Haydarpaşa, by the old railway station. These ferries used to sail to other Black Sea ports but they no longer do.

Additionally, reflecting Turkey's deepening diplomatic ties with Libya, a ferry sails between Istanbul and Misrata once per week.

There are no other international ferries to Istanbul - see "Get around" for local ferries around the Sea of Marmara. Cruise ships usually dock on the European side, to 12 Galataport, closer to the historic centre. These ships are on cruise itineraries, check with the operator whether a point-to-point journey ending in Istanbul is possible.

The piers of 13 Yenikapı and 14 Kadıköy host ferry lines to nearby cities such as Bursa an Yalova.

By car

Istanbul lies on the European highway E80, and relatively short distance north of E90, both stretching from Lisbon at the opposite end of the continent. As for the Asian highways, AH-1 from Tokyo, and AH-5 from Shanghai pass through the city before terminating at the Turkish-Bulgarian border in the west, but they are not signposted in Turkey.

Traffic in Istanbul can be manic; expect a stressful drive because you will be cut off and honked at constantly. It seems that half of the cars in Istanbul are parking while the other half is stuck in traffic.

Even if you are on a one-way road, always expect someone coming towards you. The city hosts more than 1½ million cars and there is a strong demand for building of new or alternate highways which of course fill up with traffic as soon as they're built.

If you've arrived in Istanbul by car, and you're not familiar with the streets, it's better to park your car in a safe place and take public transportation to get around.

The parts of the city on either continent separated by the Bosphorus are connected by three bridges and a road tunnel. All require paying a toll to cross, and none accepts cash: payment must be made by using electronic stickers called HGS, obtainable from post offices.

On weekdays, there are potentially hour-long traffic jams on the highways leading to bridges, especially those two closer to the city centre, and particularly heading west in the mornings and east in the evenings, since most people live on the Anatolian side but work on the European side.

There is a great shortage of parking in Istanbul, and existing lots are quite expensive. You will see many cars parked on the sides of the road, in front of garage doors even.

Street signs are rare. It is a common thing to pull over and ask for directions, something the natives and taxi drivers do quite often.

By bicycle

The Sultan's Trail (2,500 km) and the Sufi Trail (800 km) are cycling and hiking trails approaching the city from the west and the east, specifically Vienna and Konya respectively. The former retraces the campaign of Suleiman the Magnificent onto the Habsburg capital, while the latter follows an Ottoman Hajj pilgrimage route.

Otherwise, you will have to approach the city on D-100 from either direction, or on the northern (and relatively less busy) route D-020 from the west, and perhaps switch to the bike paths along the Marmara coast once the suburban development begins, as all other main routes leading into the city are classified as motorways, and thus the bikes are forbidden on them.

By thumb

Istanbul is huge, so you'll need public transport between your accommodation and your pick-up/drop-off point. Leaving the city, the best routes are:

West into Europe: you want to be on main highway E-80. First take bus 448 from Yenibosna metro station (southern line, near Ataturk Airport) north towards Mimarsinan. Get off after about 5 km when you cross the E-80.

East into Asia: again, you want to reach highway E-80. Probably the closest you can start thumbing is Pendik: reach it by metro as described for the YHT railway station. Then start hitching on D-100 which will join E-80. A local lift as far as Gebze or Izmit will also be close to that highway.