Sabiha Gökçen to Karaköy and Galata: Tunnel, Ferry or Marmaray

Karaköy and Galata are about 42 to 50 km from Sabiha Gökçen Airport (SAW) by road, roughly 45 to 50 minutes by car when traffic is light and well over an hour at rush hour, because the airport is on the Asian side and Karaköy is on the European shore. The most enjoyable public transport route is the M4 metro to Kadıköy and a city ferry straight to Karaköy pier. Marmaray and the Havabus coach to Taksim are the other options. For a car waiting at arrivals, our private airport transfer starts from $60 per group.

Karaköy is the waterfront at the mouth of the Golden Horn, and Galata is the hill directly above it, crowned by the Galata Tower. They are next to each other, but for an arriving traveller they behave quite differently: Karaköy is flat and reachable by car and ferry, while much of Galata is steep, cobbled and narrow. Where your hotel is on that slope matters as much as which route you take from the airport.

The road: tunnel or bridge

The car has to get from the Asian side to the European side, and there are two sensible ways to do it for Karaköy.

Through the Eurasia Tunnel. OpenStreetMap routing gives this as the shortest route, about 42 km with a free-flow time of around 47 minutes. The car runs west along the D-100 on the Asian side, goes under the Bosphorus in the Eurasia Tunnel and comes out on the Marmara shore road below the old city. From there it cuts across the historic peninsula and over the Golden Horn to Karaköy. The tunnel is tolled in both directions and charges a lower rate at night.

Over the 15 July Martyrs Bridge. About 49 km on the TEM motorway, with a similar free-flow time. The car crosses the first Bosphorus bridge, comes down Barbaros Boulevard to Beşiktaş and follows the shore road past Dolmabahçe, Kabataş and Tophane into Karaköy. The bridges only charge vehicles going from Europe to Asia, so in this direction there is no bridge toll.

Which one wins depends on the hour. The tunnel approach and the D-100 are slow at commuter times, the bridge approaches are slow at the same times, and a driver who does this run daily will switch based on live traffic. As a rough guide:

• Late night and early morning: about 45 to 50 minutes.
• Weekday middle of the day: often around an hour.
• Weekday mornings, late afternoons, Friday evenings and rain: 75 minutes or more.

The last part of the drive is often the slowest. The Karaköy and Tophane shore road carries buses, trams and taxis, and on cruise days the area around the Galataport terminal is busy.

Metro and ferry: the way to arrive by water

This is our first choice for anyone travelling light. It avoids every road crossing, and you arrive the way people have reached Karaköy for centuries.

1. M4 metro from the airport to Kadıköy. The airport is one end of the M4 and Kadıköy the other. Metro İstanbul gives the full journey as about 52 minutes, with trains from 06:00 to midnight. You pay with an İstanbulkart from the station machines.
2. Walk to the Kadıköy pier, a few minutes from the station.
3. City ferry to Karaköy. Şehir Hatları's Kadıköy–Karaköy–Eminönü line calls at Karaköy first. On weekdays the first boat leaves Kadıköy at 06:10, they run about every 20 minutes from 07:00 to 19:40, then about every half hour until the last departure at 01:00. The Kadıköy–Karaköy–Beşiktaş line also stops at Karaköy.

The crossing is short, and the view of the old city skyline opening up as you approach is one of the best first impressions Istanbul offers. Karaköy pier is on the waterfront next to the Galata Bridge, so hotels on the flat streets behind it are a short walk away.

The weak points: the metro stops at midnight, and the walk from the metro to the pier and on to your hotel is fine with a backpack, much less so with two large suitcases.

Metro and Marmaray: staying underground

If you prefer not to wait for a boat, there are two rail routes under the Bosphorus:

• For Karaköy: take the M4 to Ayrılık Çeşmesi, one stop before Kadıköy, and change to Marmaray. Ride under the Bosphorus to Sirkeci. From Sirkeci, the T1 tram runs over the Galata Bridge to Karaköy in two stops, via Eminönü, or you can walk across the bridge.
• For upper Galata and Şişhane: stay on Marmaray to Yenikapı and change to the M2 metro north. Three stops later, after crossing the Golden Horn on the metro bridge, you reach Şişhane, at the top of the Galata slope. From there most hotels around the Galata Tower and Tünel are downhill.

The Şişhane option is the one to know if your hotel is near the Galata Tower, Galip Dede Street or the top of İstiklal Avenue. Arriving at the top and walking down with luggage is much easier than climbing up from Karaköy.

Havabus to Taksim, then down the hill

Havabus has no stop in Karaköy, but its Taksim line works for upper Galata. According to its timetable page:

• Fare: ₺485 per person.
• Journey time: about 1.5 hours, depending on traffic.
• Departures from the airport: every 30 minutes from 06:30 to 01:30, with extra services for delayed flights between 01:00 and 04:00.
• Route from the airport: via Kavacık, the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, 1. Levent, Zincirlikuyu and Dolapdere to Taksim, ending at the Gezi Park metro exit.

From Taksim, the M2 runs one stop south to Şişhane. Or take a taxi down; it is a short ride but the streets are one-way and often jammed. The coach is most useful after midnight, when the metro has stopped and you want something cheaper than a taxi for the long crossing.

Comparing the routes

The public transport times are our own estimates from the published line times plus changes. They are fairly reliable because none of them depends on road traffic.

The last 200 metres: Karaköy versus Galata

This is where the two neighbourhoods part ways.

Karaköy is the flat strip along the water and the grid of streets behind it, between the Galata Bridge and Tophane. Many hotels here are in converted 19th-century office buildings and warehouses, and a car can usually stop close to the door. A few larger hotels sit on the waterfront around Galataport and Tophane. Arrival is straightforward.

Galata is the slope between Karaköy and the top of İstiklal. The lanes around the Galata Tower are steep, cobbled and often pedestrian or one-way, and the small square around the tower is for pedestrians. Hotels and apartments there are often reached on foot from the nearest street a car can use. A driver who knows the area will choose the closest drop-off, which may be above or below your hotel, and help with the bags.

Two tips for Galata stays:

• Ask your hotel where cars stop. Most Galata hotels have a standard answer, and passing it to the driver in advance saves a lot of circling.
• Use the hill to your advantage. The historic Tünel funicular runs between Karaköy and the top of İstiklal, and the M2 stops at Şişhane. Going up by funicular or metro and walking down is far easier than the reverse.

For what to do on your first evening, see our guide to things to do in Galata and Karaköy, the Galata Tower page and our note on Istiklal Avenue and Taksim. If you are still deciding where to stay, our where to stay in Istanbul guide compares Galata with Sultanahmet and the Asian side.

Joining a cruise at Galataport

The Galataport cruise terminal is on the Karaköy and Tophane waterfront, so many passengers flying into Sabiha Gökçen are really heading for the ship. A few practical points:

• Check the check-in window your cruise line gives you. If you land early, a hotel night in Karaköy or a few hours in the area is easier than waiting at the port.
• Large luggage and a fixed time make the ferry and metro routes less attractive. A booked car, with the driver tracking your flight, removes most of the risk.
• Cruise days are busy on the shore road. Allow more time for the last kilometre.

If you have a full day in port, our Istanbul shore excursions start from the terminal, and the Istanbul Modern museum is right next to it. Our sister site Get Istanbul Tours also covers private tours of the city.

Going back to Sabiha Gökçen from Karaköy

Many low-cost flights leave SAW early in the morning, and that is when the ferry and metro routes are weakest: the M4 starts at 06:00 and the ferries do not run through the night. Havabus's coaches from Taksim to the airport start at 03:00 and run every 30 minutes until 22:00, so for a dawn flight you can take a short taxi up to Taksim and catch one.

For most people with luggage, a taxi or booked car from Karaköy is the simplest choice before sunrise. The roads are empty, but the trip back from Europe to Asia pays the bridge toll, and the tunnel is tolled either way. Follow your airline's advice on check-in time and add at least an hour for the drive.

Tours that cover this

• Istanbul Airport VIP transfer, private Mercedes Vito to your hotel: from $60 per group, from SAW or IST.
• Yedikule Fortress, Galata and Balat half-day tour: from $45 per person.
• Istanbul full-day tour with Bosphorus cruise, Balat, Galata and lunch: from $57 per person.
• Istanbul street food tour of local neighbourhoods: from $90 per person.

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