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Published: October 3rd 2010
Sabiha Gokcen (Istanbul) Airport, Transfers to/from Istanbul and the Taxi Rip-off
Monk had booked a flight from Dalaman to Istanbul on the Turkish airline Pegasus. At just about €30, it was the best value flight so far - almost a quarter of the price of the Aegean Airlines flight of about the same distance from Athens to Rhodes.
Most of the low-cost airlines, including the UK's easyJet, use Sabiha Gokcen airport, which is about 40km from the centre of Istanbul on the Asian side of the city. It's a lot less convenient than Ataturk airport on the European side and getting to and from it is not easy. There is supposed to be a rail link due to open in 2011 that will link Ataturk, the centre of Istanbul and Sabiha Gokcen. But for now, it's a hassle.
The airport bus goes every half-hour to Taksim Square in Istanbul, costs 13TL and takes about 1 hour. On crossing the bridge over the Bosphorus one is greeted by the sign 'Welcome to Europe'.
Taksim is the main bus station but is a bit of a distance from the Sultanahmet district where Monk and most other tourists tend to head for so, when carrying bags, it virtually necessitates a taxi ride into the old city. It can be done more cheaply by taking the funicular down the hill to Kabatas and then catching the tram to Sultanahmet.
Monk took a yellow taxi and insisted on the meter being set, having heard tales about the Istanbul taxi driver scams. The usual taxi driver chat ensued - 'Is this your first time in Istanbul?' etc, etc. Near Monk's hotel, the taxi driver claimed he could go no further because of the narrow streets. On asking the price, Monk was astounded at the 54TL asked for by the driver. He refused to pay it until he'd spoken with the hotel staff to check whether the price was reasonable - maybe one of the real resaons why the driver didn't go all the way to the hotel. After an argument, the taxi started moving off with Monk still in the car and the driver saying he was taking him back to Taksim. On the mention of 'polis' as Monk tried to open the door, the driver stopped and his attitude changed. He asked Monk how much he thought he should pay. Monk said 15TL. The driver eventually agreed to take it which made Monk think that even at 15TL he'd maybe overpaid.
It was still a 5-minute walk to the hotel along cobbled streets that the taxi could easily have negotiated. On mentioning it to the hotel receptionist, he agreed that 54TL was a rip-off and said that, depending on traffic, it should be anything from 10TL to 20TL. He was convinced it was some kind of meter scam. Monk felt that he'd done the right thing by giving him 15TL. As part of the argument after the taxi had finally stopped, Monk had written down the number of the taxi (which might have been another factor in the driver's attitude changing). The receptionist asked for the number and was adamant that he would pass it on to the tourist police saying that it was in the interest of the hotels to try to curb these rogue taxi drivers.
It was a bad introduction to Istanbul but not one that was going to dampen Monk's spirit or taint his view of the city that was to be his base for the next 5 days.
At the end of his stay in Istanbul, Monk found getting back to Sabiha Gokcen to be a lot easier. The cheapest way at about 16TL is tram, funicular and then the haf-hourly airport bus from Taksim, but it's not easy with bags. Fortunately, a private shuttle bus service operates that costs just 20TL and picks you up from your hotel. Travel agents in town sell tickets or there are booths around town, one in front of Ayia Sofia. Better still, most hotels can book it for you which at least gives you someone to chase up if it doesn't arrive. Monk did it this way. The pick-up was on time but it took 20 minutes or so picking up from other hotels. Overall, even with some heavy traffic, it took about an hour and a half to get to the airport. Much, much easier than Monk's journey into Istanbul but, unfortunately, there is no similar service to get FROM the airport.
One good thing about Sabiha Gokcen is that it does have free WiFi.
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Ali Ata
non-member comment
About Taxi Drivers
Never say it is your first time in Istanbul. Pretend like you know Istanbul.