Taxi Transfers To and From Istanbul Airport

After arriving at Istanbul Airport (IST), please make sure to retrieve all your luggage from the baggage claim area before exiting to locate your choice of transfer. Available options include rental cars, public buses and taxis.

Taxis at Istanbul Airport

The taxi cabs officially serving the airport are affiliated with Airport Cab Drivers Cooperative and they can be found in the official taxi ranks located at the exit doors of Plaza Section Domestic and International Flights Passenger and outside the exit doors on the departures level, 2nd floor.

Taxis waiting in other locations are not affiliated with the airport and the safety and service of using these taxi cabs cannot be guaranteed.

The official taxis come in three different categories: C, D and E, offering different levels of comfort and service with fares reflecting it.

The official taxis charge as per taximeter tariffs administered by UKOME, the Istanbul Transportation Coordination Center.

• Category C cars are orange and offer the lowest rate. These vehicles are small and economical vehicles such as Renault Clio or Fiat Aegea.
• Category D vehicles are blue or turquoise and are more comfortable, medium-value cars like Opel Insigna.
• Category E taxis are black, luxurious and provide premium services.

Category C/Orange has the basic tariff the other two categories are based on. The rates for category D/Blue/Turquoise are 15% higher than the orange rate, while the Black/category E taxis’ rates are 70% higher than the fare for the orange taxis.

With taxis being a shortage in Istanbul the black market is thriving and the airport is not spared from this, which is why it is important to not only choose a taxi from one of the official taxi ranks, but to also make sure the taximeter is reset and started as the journey begins. Flat rates are not allowed when taking an official taxi cab.

Same rates apply during nights as during the days and are based per ride no matter how many persons travel and no additional fees that are not listed on the tariff charts can be requested from customers. Fees that are listed on the chart include any tolls or fees necessary to get to the destination. This includes if the customer specifically requests that the Eurasia Tunnel to be used when crossing between the European and the Anatolian sides of the city, which will also include the toll charges that apply on the taxis return trip as it has been on the customer’s request to take this route when other routes without the toll charges are available.

It is furthermore recommended to have a navigation app downloaded and open during your journey to be sure that the driver has picked the quicker route, although sometimes what seems quicker might not be due to traffic jams and other reasons.

It is also advised to make sure to have cash as most taxis in Istanbul do not accept credit or debit cards, and it tends to be cheaper to pay in Turkish Lira, although it is usually possible to pay in euro or even US dollar, due to the exchange rate.

Have the address for the hotel written down on a note that can be handed over to the driver as most drivers do not speak English to make sure they get the address correctly from the moment the journey begins.

The taxi service offered is door-to-door and the driver will drop you off at the exact location of your destination even when it means taking the taxi cab through narrow and chaotic streets.

Below is a list of approximate basic tariffs to various destinations. These are based on journeys during light traffic when it flows and that is just not the case with the Istanbul traffic most of the time, so make sure to calculate that the journey will be more expensive than shown in the list and in very heavy traffic it can be a lot more expensive and take a lot longer than anticipated.

On paper the average journey from the airport to most locations in Istanbul will take between one and one and a half hours, but in heavy peak hour traffic it can take twice the time and sometimes even longer.

Taxi Rates from IST:

Destination: Orange Taxi - Turquoise Taxi - Black Taxi

• Aksaray: 155₺ - 175₺ - 300₺
• Bakırköy: 175₺ - 195₺ - 340₺
• Beşiktaş: 155₺ - 175₺ - 300₺
• Beylikdüzü: 210₺ - 240₺ - 420₺
• Etiler: 160₺ - 185₺ - 320₺
• Kadıköy: 200₺ - 230₺ - 400₺
• Levent: 150₺ - 170₺ - 300₺
• Maslak: 140₺ - 160₺ - 280₺
• Otogar: 150₺ - 170₺ - 300₺
• Sabiha Gökçen Havalimanı: 260₺ - 300₺ - 520₺
• Şişli – Mecidiyeköy: 150₺ - 170₺ - 300₺
• Sultanahmet – Sirkeci: 170₺ - 195₺ - 340₺
• Taksim: 150₺ - 170₺ - 300₺
• Tarabya: 150₺ - 170₺ - 300₺
• Tuzia: 290₺ - 335₺ - 580₺
• Yeşilköy: 180₺ - 210₺ - 360₺

Pre-arranged Airport Transfers at IST

It is possible to book a taxi or arrange for transfer privately in advance of arriving at Istanbul Airport. These transfers are arranged by traveler or their representative and it will allow the traveler to go straight to the waiting driver and vehicle, on level -2 of the airport terminal, instead of waiting in line for an on-demand taxi.