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Transportation |
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Access to Venue
Istanbul Ataturk Airport
Istanbul Ataturk Airport, 34.2 km to ITU Ayazaga Campus. From tha airport, thera are various options to getting into ITU Ayazaga Campus; you can take a taxi (about 65-70 TL (25 Euro, 31 Dolars), there is no night fare). You can use the express bus service called “Havatas” which departs half-hourly between 4AM to 1 AM and costs 10 TL to Taksim and by using M2 Metro line from Taksim you can go to the ITU Ayazaga Campus. You can use public bus line 96T Ataturk Airport-Taksim, costs 5 TL to Taksim and by using M2 Metro line from Taksim you can go to the ITU Ayazaga Campus. Also you can use the M1 Metro line, which is signposted “light rail” in the airport, to Aksaray. From Aksaray, you can transfer to M2 Metro line, which is reach to ITU Ayazaga Campus.
Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport
Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport, 44.8 km to ITU Ayazaga Campus. You can use the express bus service called “Havatas” which departs half-hourly between 5AM to 1 AM and costs 13 TL to Taksim and by using M2 Metro line from Taksim you can go to the ITU Ayazaga Campus. Also you can use public bus line E3 Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport- 4. Levent, costs 6.5 TL to 4. Levent and by using M2 Metro line from 4. Levent you can go to the ITU Ayazaga Campus. Another option is, you can take a taxi from airport to ITU Ayazaga Campus ( about 90-95 TL (33 Euro, 43 Dolars)).
Public Transportation
Istanbul's public transit system can be difficult to figure out; maps are rare and you often have to transfer, and pay another fare, to get where you are going. However, if you put some effort into it, you can avoid taxis and not walk too much. Each time you use a tram, metro, bus, or boat on the public transport system, you will need to use a token. The small metal/plastic tokens cost 3 TL and can be bought at various ticket kiosks & machines at bus, railway and metro stations. Ticket fares across buses, trams and metros are at a flat rate (i.e. not dependent on how far you go). Only cash in Turkish lira is accepted at ticket kiosks of public transport, no credit cards or foreign currency. Also be aware that the Istanbul subway system does not offer transfer tickets and as such each new line requires a new fare, unless you use an Istanbulkart or Akbil.
Istanbul Kart
Buying an Istanbulkart is a good idea if you are in Istanbul for more than a day or two, and intend to use public transport. This is a plastic card that looks like a credit card. It can be used as a ticket on buses, trams, suburban trains, metro and even the cross Bosphorus ferries. You touch the Istanbulkart to a reader when you get on the bus or enter the tram/metro platform. The great part for groups of travellers is that you can buy only one and touch it as many times as there are passengers (unlike London's Oyster card, there is no need to touch out). You can buy or refill them at designated booths located at any major bus, tram, to metro station, as well as some other places such as newspaper stands close to bus stops. An Istanbulkart provides a flat fare of 1.95TL for the first ride, which is a cheaper option in comparison to tokens used in Metro and speed trams (jeton, 3TL), but more expensive for buses. It is also 3,50TL to the Prince's Islands, instead of 5TL for
a token. Istanbulkart also allows discounts in transfers (when used multiple times within a limited period, roughly an hour and a half since the last time you used it). A deposit for the device itself is payable when you buy it (10 TL - or 7TL) which is not refundable, and neither is any credit left on the Istanbulkart (when bought at the Ataturk airport metro terminus, 4TL deposit will be already on the card when bought). Note that there are different booths for buying the card and for charging it, and charging booths accept only 5, 10, and 20 lira banknotes.
Once you have bought and loaded the card, your first journey costs 1.95TL (except for Metrobus, which costs around 3TL), then any change within approximately 2 hours costs progressively cheaper; second journey is 1.25TL, third is 1.00TL and so on. Note that changing metro line or travel type, i.e. ferry to bus, or metro to tram, requires you to go out of the turnstiles then to check back in to the new line or travel type. Therefore this is extremely more economic than buying individual jetton at 3TL per journey.
By Bus
Recently installed Metrobüs, long hybrid buses running on their special lanes separated from all other traffic and thus saving lots of time in Istanbul's usually congested roads, connect western suburb of Avcılar with Kadıköy in Asian Side via Bakırköy, Cevizlibağ which is just out of old city walls near Topkapı Gate, and Mecidiyeköy.
Most bus lines operate between 6AM and around midnight, usually with a reduced volume of services after 10PM. Some lines between major centres operate 24 hr, though, as is the Metrobüs, with about an hour intervals. After midnight, buses cost two tickets pp rather than the usual one.
24 hr Bus Lines:
- 73 Taksim Square-Ataturk International Airport
- 110 Taksim Square-Kadikoy
- 112 Taksim Square-Bostanci
- 25T Taksim Square-Sariyer
- 40 Taksim Square-Sariyer
- 89C Taksim Square-Basaksehir
- E10 Kadikoy-Sabiha Gokcen International Airport
- 15F Kadikoy-Uskudar
- 130 Kadikoy-Tuzla
- 34A Sogutlucesme(Kadikoy)-Edirnekapi (Metrobus)
- 34 Avcilar-Zincirlikuyu (Metrobus)
By Metro
Please click on here for larger metro map.
Istanbul's metro consists of two lines, the northern line is currently just a short stub connecting Yenikapı to Hacıosman via Taksim Square, and Mecidiyeköy and Levent in business district. There is a subway system “Marmaray” from Yenikapı to go to the Anatolian Side under the sea. There is also a funicular system connecting Taksim to Kabataş where you can get on ferries and cross to the Anatolian side, and also transfer to trams bound for old city. The separate southern line is most useful for visitors, connecting Aksaray (with its connections to the tram line onwards to old city) to Atatürk Airport, via the main coach station (Otogar). A connecting line between southern and northern lines, crossing Golden Horn on a bridge is completed. This is connected through Marmaray through an undersea tunnel to the Asian Side.
By Tram
Please click on here for larger tram line map.
A tram (line # T1) connects Zeytinburnu (connection to the metro line to the airport) to Kabataş (connection to the underground funicular to Taksim). The line is 14km long, has 24 stations and serves many popular tourist sites (e.g. in Sultanahmet) and ferries (e.g. Eminönü). An entire trip takes 42 minutes. There are two tram lines running on the same tracks, the line numbered as 38 in front of tram cars runs along the entire T1 line between Kabataş and Zeytinburnu, while significantly shorter line #47 runs between Eminönü and Cevizlibağ stations (the latter of which is abbreviated as C.bağ-A.Ö.Y. on the signage of tram cars). However, both lines call at stations that are of most interest to travellers through the Old City. During morning and evening rush hours every alternate tram runs as #47, while during the rest of the day, most run as #38.
By Boat
Unique Istanbul liners (large conventional ferry boats), sea-buses (high speed catamarans), or mid-sized private ferries travel between the European and Asian sides of the city. The crossing takes about 20 minutes and gives great views of the Bosporus. Be aware that sometimes the ferry when arriving at a dock can bounce off the pier accidentally, even on calm days. This can cause people to fall over if they are standing up, so it is advisable to remain seated until the ferry has come to an absolute stop. In Istanbul, liners from any
given quay generally take only a certain route, and these quays are signposted ‘X Iskelesi’ (“X Landing stage/pier”). For instance, Eminönü alone has more than 5 landing stages (including the ones used by other ferries apart from liners), so if you should head for, say, Üsküdar, you should take the ferry which departs from ‘Üsküdar Iskelesi’. Replace ‘Üsküdar’ with the destination of your choice. Istanbul liners travel on the following routes:
- Karaköy - Haydarpaşa - Kadıköy
- Kadıköy - Eminönü
- Üsküdar - Eminönü
- Üsküdar - Karaköy - Eminönü - Eyüp (The Golden Horn Route)
- Kadıköy - Besiktaş
- Kabatas - Uskudar - Harem
- Istinye - Emirgan - Kanlıca - Anadolu Hisarı - Kandilli - Bebek - Arnavutköy -Çengelköy (The Whole Bosphorus Route)
- Anadolu Kavağı - Rumeli Kavağı - Sariyer
- Eminönü - Kavaklar (Special Bosphorus Tour-Recommended For Tourists)
- Sirkeci - Adalar - Yalova - Cınarcık (The Princes' Islands Route)
Furthermore, the sea-buses (deniz otobüsü) follow the same (or more) routes, usually much faster than liners. Returning to Yenikapi from Kadikoy by sea-bus is a fast and convenient way to cross the Bosphorus; at Yenikapi there is a railway station with frequent trains to Sirkeci/Eminönü and the Yenikapi fish restaurant area is close by (or one stop on the train). Four main private ferry routes for travelling between Asia and Europe sides are:
- Besiktaş - Üsküdar
- Kabataş - Üsküdar (close to tram and funicular system in Kabataş)
- Eminönü - Üsküdar (close to tram in Eminönü)
- Eminönü - Kadıköy (close to tram in Eminönü)
Very useful are the fast ferryboats (travelling at 55 kilometers) running from several points, such as the Yenikapi - Yalova one, that allows you (with a connecting bus in Yalova) to be in Bursa centre in less than three hours. Prices are marginally higher and the gain in time is considerable, though the view is not as nice. All of the ferries, including private ones, can be paid for using the AKBIL system or the new Smart RFID Card that is in the process of introduction.
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