Arriving in Istanbul Late at Night: Airport Transfer Guide

Anyone landing in Istanbul at 23:30, after midnight or in the early hours shares the same problem: you are tired, your bags are with you and you are still working out how to get to the city. The good side of a night landing is that the roads are empty. The harder side is that your options are narrower than in the daytime and a delay can change the date. This guide covers drive times at night from Istanbul Airport (IST) and Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) to the central districts, crossing fees, and how to make your plan hold up.

How long does the drive take at night?

The times below come from Google Routes traffic predictions for a Tuesday night, with departures at 23:30, 01:00, 03:00 and 05:00. They are approximate and valid as of 2026. Across all four hours the difference is only a few minutes, so someone leaving just after midnight arrives in about the same time as someone leaving before dawn.

From Istanbul Airport:

• Taksim (about 45 km): 40–44 min
• Beşiktaş (about 46 km): 40–44 min
• Sultanahmet (about 49 km): 47–50 min
• Kadıköy (about 59 km): 46–51 min

From Sabiha Gökçen:

• Taksim (about 42 km): 33–40 min
• Beşiktaş (about 39 km): 30–34 min
• Sultanahmet (about 45 km): 39–42 min
• Kadıköy (about 37 km): 28–30 min

These are far shorter than daytime numbers. As we show in how early to leave for the airport, the prediction from Taksim to Sabiha Gökçen around 17:30 on a weekday is 87 minutes. At night the same road takes under 40. Once you land at night, there is almost no uncertainty coming from the road.

Crossing fees

Based on the values currently set in the booking system (approximate, as of 2026):

• Istanbul Airport to Taksim, Beşiktaş and Sultanahmet: no crossing fee on the fastest suggested option. Alternatives using the Northern Marmara Motorway add motorway fees and take longer.
• Istanbul Airport to Kadıköy: there is a bridge fee, about 75 TL, because you cross the Bosphorus from Europe to Asia. Through the Eurasia Tunnel it is about 495 TL.
• Sabiha Gökçen to Taksim: about 75 TL for the Bosphorus crossing and about 56 TL for the Kurtköy–Çamlıca section of the Anatolian Motorway, roughly 131 TL in total.
• Sabiha Gökçen to Sultanahmet: no bridge fee when crossing from Asia to Europe; about 56 TL for the Anatolian Motorway section.
• Sabiha Gökçen to Kadıköy: about 56 TL on the motorway option; no Bosphorus crossing.

Bridge and tunnel fees are included in your price. For motorway toll fees you choose at booking whether to pay now or pay the driver during the trip. The details are in our article on bridge, tunnel and motorway tolls.

From landing to the exit: where does the time go?

Empty roads do not mean you will not lose time on the way out. On international flights, passport control and the baggage belt take time after landing, and the queue varies a lot with the flight, other arrivals and the hour. We give no figure for it here, because an invented number would mislead you. Your driver's plan is built around your landing time, so while you work through those steps inside, your driver is already at the airport.

If your flight runs past midnight

A delay on a night landing can also change the date. A plane due at 23:40 that is pushed to 00:30 has technically landed the next day. If you enter your flight number when you book, your flight is tracked. When it runs late, our operations team updates the pickup plan to the new estimated landing time and informs your driver. If your flight is delayed past midnight, check your booking and let us know by WhatsApp or phone. We explain how this works step by step in what happens to your transfer if your flight is delayed.

What about public transport at night?

Metro, bus and airport shuttle services vary by line and day, and some lines run less often after midnight or not at all. We suggest checking current times with the operators themselves. If you do not want to change vehicles with luggage, children or a long day behind you, a door-to-door transfer is a separate option. For the options from Istanbul Airport to the centre see our Istanbul Airport guide, and for Sabiha Gökçen our Sabiha Gökçen guide.

Which airport makes more sense at night?

The night times show that for the Asian side, and Kadıköy in particular, Sabiha Gökçen is clearly closer: 28–30 minutes against 46–51 from Istanbul Airport. On the European side the gap narrows: for Taksim and Beşiktaş it is 40–44 minutes from Istanbul Airport and 30–40 from Sabiha Gökçen. When you choose a flight, time and price usually win out, but if you can choose by neighbourhood, our Istanbul Airport vs Sabiha Gökçen article helps.

Arriving late at your hotel

• Tell your hotel in advance that you will arrive late and ask whether reception is open at that hour.
• Enter the hotel address in full when you book. Being dropped on the wrong street at night costs time.
• Keep the hotel's phone number and your booking confirmation somewhere you can reach offline.
• Make sure your phone is on and reachable after landing.

Plan your transfer

On the booking page, enter the airport, your hotel address, the date and pickup time, add your flight number, see the route options and the price, and complete your booking online.