Airport transfers · 2026-09-19 · 8-minute read
Sabiha Gokcen (SAW) is Istanbul's second airport, on the Asian side of the city in Pendik, forty kilometres from the old city and a Bosphorus crossing away from Taksim. It is the base for Pegasus and a large share of the low-cost and European scheduled traffic, and it is the right airport for the Asian side's business district at Atasehir, the Asian Bosphorus hotels and the eastern suburbs - and the wrong one, or at least the longer one, for Sultanahmet and Beyoglu in the evening peak. This guide explains the terminal, the meeting point, the drive times to each district and the fares, and how to choose between SAW and Istanbul Airport, which has its own article.
Sabiha Gokcen has a single terminal with international and domestic arrivals exiting into one public hall; a pre-booked chauffeur meets you there with a name board. Drive times: Kadikoy 40-55 minutes, Atasehir 30-40, the Asian Bosphorus (Uskudar, Beylerbeyi) 45-60, Taksim 60-80, Sultanahmet 60-80, Levent 55-75, Besiktas 60-80 - considerably longer in the peak. Indicative private fares: EUR 40-70 for an executive sedan to the Asian side, EUR 55-90 to the European side, EUR 50-85 for a Mercedes Vito or V-Class to the Asian side and EUR 65-105 to the European. Book on the airport limo service page; Istanbul is on the destinations page.
The terminal
SAW's terminal was expanded in the 2010s and a second terminal building is under construction; for now, international and domestic arrivals exit into a single public arrivals hall on the ground floor, with the car-hire desks, the Havabus counters and a row of cafes. International passengers clear passport control (e-visa or visa on arrival for most nationalities; the queues are shorter than at Istanbul Airport but the hall is smaller and fills quickly in the evening bank from Europe), collect bags and exit through customs. A pre-booked chauffeur stands in the hall at a named point with a name board, and the morning text says where. The airport operator's passenger information lists the services. Outside, the taxi rank is in front of the terminal with a dispatcher; the Havabus to Kadikoy and Taksim leaves from the bus bays; and the car park where chauffeurs leave their vehicles is a short walk.
Drive times
SAW sits beside the TEM motorway on the Asian side; the European side is reached by the Bosphorus bridges or the Eurasia Tunnel.
| Destination | Normal | Peak (7:30-10 am, 5-8 pm) |
|---|---|---|
| Pendik / Kartal / Maltepe (the eastern suburbs) | 15-25 min | 25-45 min |
| Atasehir / Kozyatagi (the Asian business district) | 30-40 min | 45-70 min |
| Kadikoy / Moda / Bagdat Avenue | 40-55 min | 60-90 min |
| Uskudar / Beylerbeyi / Cengelkoy (the Asian Bosphorus) | 45-60 min | 65-100 min |
| Levent / Maslak (via the bridge) | 55-75 min | 80-120 min |
| Besiktas / Ortakoy | 60-80 min | 85-130 min |
| Taksim / Beyoglu / Galata | 60-80 min | 85-130 min |
| Sultanahmet / Eminonu (via the tunnel) | 60-80 min | 85-130 min |
| Sisli / Nisantasi | 60-80 min | 85-130 min |
| Istanbul Airport (IST) | 80-100 min | 100-150 min |
The Bosphorus crossings are the constraint for the European side: the 15 July Martyrs Bridge and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge queue for an hour in the evening peak, and the Eurasia Tunnel from Kadikoy to Sultanahmet is the faster route when the chauffeur judges it so. The tolls are included in the fare.
What it costs
- Executive sedan to the Asian side (Kadikoy, Atasehir, the Asian Bosphorus): EUR 40-70.
- Executive sedan to the European side (Taksim, Sultanahmet, Besiktas, Levent): EUR 55-90.
- Luxury sedan (S-Class): EUR 65-105 Asian side, EUR 85-140 European side.
- Mercedes Vito or V-Class (up to 6 with luggage): EUR 50-85 Asian side, EUR 65-105 European side.
- Sprinter (up to 14 with luggage): EUR 75-125 Asian side, EUR 95-160 European side.
- Sedan to Istanbul Airport: EUR 75-125.
- Hourly, sedan: EUR 35-65, three-hour minimum.
Tolls and airport fees are included; gratuity is not expected. The taxi from SAW is metered at about EUR 25-40 to the Asian side and EUR 40-60 to the European; the Havabus is a few euros to Kadikoy or Taksim and is excellent for a solo traveller. The comparison is in airport transfer vs taxi, and the regional context in how much does a limo cost.
Choosing between the two airports
For a visitor with a choice of flights, the airport should follow the hotel. Sabiha Gokcen is right for the Asian side - Atasehir's business towers, Kadikoy, the Asian Bosphorus hotels, the eastern suburbs - and acceptable for the European side outside the peaks. Istanbul Airport is right for the old city, Beyoglu, Taksim, Nisantasi, Besiktas and the Levent business district, and for anyone connecting on Turkish Airlines. In the evening peak the difference between the two for a Taksim hotel is thirty to forty minutes in IST's favour; in the middle of the day it is small. Pegasus and the low-cost carriers fly to SAW; Turkish Airlines and most long-haul carriers to IST; some European carriers to both. A transfer between the two airports is eighty to a hundred minutes and is a real market for connecting passengers, and the how airport transfers work article explains how a chauffeur handles a tight connection across the city.
The Asian side, from a chauffeur's seat
Kadikoy and Moda are the Asian side's lively quarter - the market, the restaurants, the ferry to the European side - with boutique hotels and a younger crowd. Bagdat Avenue is the shopping street through Suadiye and Caddebostan. Atasehir and Kozyatagi are the business district with the towers, the corporate hotels and the finance centre. Uskudar is the old town on the Bosphorus with the Maiden's Tower offshore. Beylerbeyi and Cengelkoy are the Bosphorus villages with the palace and the Sumahan hotel. Kandilli, Anadolu Hisari and Beykoz are the upper Asian Bosphorus. Pendik, Kartal and Maltepe are the suburbs beside the airport with the business hotels for the industrial zone. The destinations page lists the city.
Business travel on the Asian side
The Asian side's corporate district at Atasehir has grown into Istanbul's second financial centre, with the new finance centre, the banks' headquarters and the technology companies, and SAW is its airport: thirty to forty minutes off-peak, a fixed-fare sedan at EUR 40-70, a corporate account for the billing. The industrial zones of Pendik, Tuzla and Gebze to the east - shipbuilding, automotive, pharmaceuticals - bring engineers and executives who stay near the airport and use daily transfers to the plants. The executive car service page sets out the product.
The return transfer
SAW's departures hall is smaller than IST's and its security and passport queues in the morning bank for Europe are long for the space; allow two and a half hours for an international flight and two for a domestic one. From Kadikoy that means a pickup three and a quarter hours before an international departure in the peak; from Taksim, four. The chauffeur proposes the time; the IATA baggage guidance is the reference.
Booking
Enter SAW, the flight number, the hotel's name and district (with the side of the Bosphorus), passengers and bags, and the vehicle in the booker. The fare is shown in euros and fixed. The chauffeur's name, photo, vehicle and meeting point arrive by text on the morning. Istanbul Airport, Ankara, Izmir and Antalya are on the airports page, and the Antalya article covers the coast for those combining the city with a resort.
Arriving at Sabiha Gokcen, step by step
Passport control at SAW is faster than at Istanbul Airport because the hall is smaller and the flights are mostly European and domestic, but the same smallness means the arrivals hall is crowded in the evening bank when the Pegasus flights from Germany, Britain and the rest of Europe land together. The sequence is passport control (e-visa or visa on arrival; the Turkish e-visa site is the official one and the resort shops' offers are not), baggage claim, customs, and the exit into the single hall. The chauffeur stands at the named point with a name board; the morning text says which cafe or desk. From the hall the walk to the vehicle is a few minutes across the forecourt. The waiting allowance starts at touchdown and the how airport transfers work article explains how a long queue is handled.
The Asian side's business hotels
Atasehir's corporate hotels, the Bagdat Avenue hotels in Suadiye and Caddebostan, the Kadikoy boutique hotels and the Bosphorus-shore hotels at Uskudar and Beylerbeyi are the Asian side's stock, and each is a fixed-fare transfer of thirty to sixty minutes from SAW; the industrial-zone hotels at Pendik and Tuzla beside the airport are fifteen to twenty-five. A visitor whose meetings are in Atasehir and whose hotel is in Kadikoy is well served by hourly hire at EUR 35-65 with a three-hour minimum for the days between, and the private driver for a day article has the day-rate context for a day that crosses to the European side and back.
Two transfers, priced
A consultant landing from Frankfurt for a week at an Atasehir hotel: an executive sedan at about EUR 55 to the finance centre, met in the hall, thirty-five minutes on the TEM, then daily transfers on a corporate account. A family of four landing from Manchester for five nights in Beyoglu: a Mercedes Vito with a child seat at about EUR 85 to a Galata hotel, met in the hall, seventy-five minutes across the bridge off-peak with the toll included, against a taxi at EUR 50 and the question of whether the driver knows the lane; the Istanbul Airport article explains why the family might have chosen the other airport for the European side.
Weather and the seasons
Istanbul's winter brings fog and snow that close both airports for hours a few times a season, with diversions between the two and to Ankara or Izmir; a chauffeur tracking the flight is re-routed while the passenger is airborne and the fare does not change, as how airport transfers work explains. Summer is the peak for European leisure traffic at SAW, and the evening arrival bank in July and August is the hour when the hall is fullest and the name board earns its keep. The spring and autumn are the best seasons for the city and the quietest at the airport, and the fares sit at the bottom of the band.
The short version
A single hall on the Asian side; the chauffeur meets you at a named point with a name board; Kadikoy is forty-five minutes, Atasehir thirty-five, Taksim and the old city an hour and a quarter across the Bosphorus; the fare is fixed with the tolls included; and for a European-side hotel in the evening peak, Istanbul Airport is the better choice when the flights allow. Give the flight number and the side of the Bosphorus, and the booker shows the exact fare.
Licensed operators in Turkey
Turkey licenses chauffeured vehicles through the provincial transport authorities, with the D2 and the tourist-transport (TURSAB-linked) permits covering the VIP-transfer fleet, and the airport issues its own permits for pickups. A licensed operator's vehicle carries the permit plate and the chauffeur holds the professional licence; the hiring a private driver questions apply, and the what is a chauffeur article describes the standard. The unlicensed fringe at both Istanbul airports is real, and the chauffeur with a name board bearing your name at the named point is the licensed one.
