Transfers in Istanbul

Transfers in Istanbul are first of all a matter of two airports standing on opposite sides of the strait. Istanbul Airport sits on the European side, about an hour from Sultanahmet in easy traffic and considerably longer at rush hour. Sabiha Gökçen is on the Asian side, and the road from there to the historic centre crosses a bridge, which makes it far more traffic-dependent. Cars are usually Mercedes Vito vans: luggage, a pushchair and four adults fit without argument, and the price is per vehicle rather than per head.

The other half of this section has nothing to do with airports. A car with a driver is taken for five hours, eight, or with three more added on top, and the transfer then becomes a way of seeing the city without the metro or street taxis. The same listings cover trips beyond Istanbul: Bursa, the thermal town of Yalova, and Şile and Ağva on the Black Sea coast. A return transfer to the airport is booked as a separate item, which beats hunting for a car on departure day.

Practical notes. Give your flight number when booking: the driver tracks delays and shifts the meeting time, and free waiting after landing runs about an hour. Ask for a child seat in advance. At rush hour allow ninety minutes to two hours from either side, especially when crossing the bridge. For a night flight, check whether the rate you picked operates around the clock — not all of them do.