İstanbul Airport to Princes' Islands / Büyükada
There's no road to the Princes' Islands: combine a drive or metro to a ferry terminal with the ~80-minute boat crossing to Büyükada. Allow well over two hours in total.
A car-free archipelago in the Sea of Marmara — Ottoman-era mansions, pine forests and horse-and-bike leisure — reached by ferry from Eminönü, Kabataş or Bostancı.
How far is Princes' Islands / Büyükada from İstanbul Airport?
Princes' Islands / Büyükada is 45 km (28 miles) from İstanbul Airport by road, about 2h by car outside rush hour. In a straight line it is 56 km. By public transport, M11 + M2 + ferry takes about 2h 10m including a change and costs ₺112.4.
Every way to get there
Our verdict: M11 + M2 + ferry is the cheapest way at ₺112.4 (2h 10m, with a change on the way). A private transfer from ₺1967 saves roughly 1h 5m and takes you to the door.
What it costs for your group
The metro is charged per person, while a private transfer is one price for the whole car — so the more of you there are, the better door-to-door value looks.
| Group | Metro (per person) | Private transfer (per car) | Best value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo · 1 traveller | ₺110 | ₺1,970 | Metro |
| Couple · 2 travellers | ₺220 | ₺1,970 | Metro |
| Family of 4 · 4 travellers | ₺450 | ₺1,970 | Metro |
Which option should you choose?
| If your priority is… | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest price | M11 + M2 + ferry | From ₺112.4, about 2h 10m, with a change on the way. |
| Speed | Kiwitaxi (to the ferry pier) | 1h 5m, from ₺1967. |
| A group of 4 | M11 + M2 + ferry | Four tickets still come to about ₺449.6 — less than a car. |
| A late-night arrival | HavaİST to Eminönü + ferry | It runs through the night (Coach 24/7; ferries roughly hourly). |
By transport mode
Metro
İstanbulkart covers both the metro and the ferry. The last legs depend on the ferry timetable.
Where to catch it: Transport level (−2), Exit 11 — metro to Kabataş or Yenikapı, then the island ferry.
Best for budget travellers near a stationPrivate transfer
The islands are car-free, so any road transport can only reach the ferry pier — you finish by boat.
Where to catch it: Driver meets you in arrivals and drops you at Kabataş or Eminönü ferry terminal.
Best for families, groups & late arrivalsBus / shuttle
The budget route: coach into the city, then the public ferry to Büyükada.
Where to catch it: Floor −2, HavaİST coach stand to Eminönü/Kabataş, then a Şehir Hatları ferry.
Best for solo & budget travellersTaxi
A taxi gets you to Kabataş/Bostancı; the crossing itself is by ferry.
Where to catch it: Official taxi rank at arrivals; taxi reaches the pier only.
Best for small groups in a hurryPrinces' Islands / Büyükada & İstanbul in photos
Buying tickets in İstanbul
At Istanbul Airport go down to the public-transport floor (level -2) and buy an İstanbulkart from the yellow Biletmatik machines. The machine charges a one-off card fee (shown on screen; it has risen with the 2026 fare increases) and anything you pay above it loads as credit, so you can ride straight away. Tap it on the M11 metro to Gayrettepe (a distance-based fare, 37.40–73.19 TL full fare since July 2026) or on Havaist shuttle buses (470 TL to Taksim or Sultanahmet, 515 TL to Kadıköy). One card works for the whole family by tapping per person. The machines take cash and contactless cards; Havaist coaches also accept bank cards on board.
Taxi scams & safety in İstanbul
The airport is far from the centre, so taxi overcharging is the big issue. Use the official taxi queue outside arrivals, check the meter starts on the day tariff, and be wary of drivers who say the meter is broken, quote a huge flat rate, or take a long detour. Refuse touts inside the terminal offering a private car. Uber and BiTaksi work here but dispatch licensed yellow/turquoise taxis. The M11 metro avoids all of this and is unaffected by traffic.
Step-free access in İstanbul
The metro built for the airport is the accessible spine, and the airport coach does run accessible vehicles — but only if you ask in advance.
- M11 metro runs from the airport to Gayrettepe with step-free access, and the interchange at Gayrettepe onto the M2 (for Taksim and Sisli) is step-free too. No booking needed.
- Station lifts are easiest to reach from the main station halls rather than the side entrances, so head for the main hall with a wheelchair or pushchair.
- HAVAIST coaches operate accessible midibuses, but they must be requested ahead: at least 1 hour in advance for airport-to-city, and 6 hours in advance for city-to-airport, through HAVAIST's contact channels or the counters on the transport floor.
- IETT city buses serving the airport are wheelchair accessible, and accessible taxis can be requested.
If you have not booked anything, the metro is the option that works on arrival without notice.
Getting from IST to Princes' Islands / Büyükada
Somewhere out in the Sea of Marmara, the engine noise of İstanbul simply stops. On Büyükada there are no cars, no horns, no queues of taxis idling at a red light: only pine forests, faded Ottoman mansions with their shutters half-closed against the sun, and the soft clatter of bicycles on a hill. It is the city's great exhale. But the calm comes with a caveat that no glossy photograph will tell you: there is no road to the Princes' Islands, and so getting here is always a story in two acts. First the land, then the water.
Why This One Comes With an Asterisk
From İstanbul Airport, Büyükada sits roughly 45 kilometres away as the crow flies, but crows don't have to change from wheels to a hull. Every option below (metro, coach, private car, yellow taxi) can only carry you as far as a ferry terminal on the shore. The archipelago is car-free by design and by law, so the last, best part of the journey is always the ~80-minute boat crossing itself. Sensible travellers allow well over two hours door to jetty, and honestly, half a day is the right mental budget if you want to arrive unhurried rather than sprinting for a departing ferry.
The three gateways worth knowing are Eminönü and Kabataş on the European side, and Bostancı over on the Asian shore. Which pier you aim for simply depends on how you cross the city first, and that is where the real decision lives.
Rails, Then a Wake Behind You
For the traveller who likes their journey to feel like part of the adventure, the metro is a quiet joy. From the transport level (−2, Exit 11) you pick up the M11, connect through the M2, and ride the tunnels out towards Kabataş or Yenikapı before stepping into the salt air at the pier. Trains run every eight to ten minutes, so the underground half is brisk and predictable; the whole chain takes around two hours and ten minutes. One small elegance: a single İstanbulkart covers both the metro and the ferry, so you tap once for the train and again at the turnstile before the crossing: no fumbling for separate tickets.
The downside is the water, not the rails. Island ferries run roughly hourly, so your last legs bend entirely to the timetable rather than the other way round. Arrive between sailings and you'll simply wait on the quay with a glass of tea — which, frankly, is no bad way to begin an island day.
When You'd Rather Not Think About It
Some arrivals — jet-lagged, luggage-laden, in no mood to decode a metro map: just want to be handed to the shore. A pre-booked private transfer does exactly that: a driver meets you in arrivals and delivers you to the Kabataş or Eminönü ferry terminal in around 65 minutes, running 24/7 for a fixed fare of around €35–50. It is the smoothest land act you can buy. Just hold onto the truth of it, this is not door to door, because there is no door on a car-free island. The transfer ends at the pier; the crossing is still yours to make by boat.
The yellow taxi tells the same story in a slightly different accent. From the official rank at arrivals it'll cover the road to Kabataş or Bostancı in roughly an hour, on demand around the clock, typically €51–60. Faster to organise than anything, but the meter runs on İstanbul traffic, and the taxi reaches the pier only. After that, everyone (prince and pauper alike) boards the same ferry.
The Slow, Cheap, Honest Route
If your budget matters more than your afternoon, the HavaİST coach is the old-fashioned choice with real charm. From floor −2 the coach runs 24/7 into the heart of the city, dropping you near Eminönü or Kabataş, where a Şehir Hatları public ferry finishes the job. Allow around three hours all in, for roughly €11–13 (a fraction of the taxi) with the same roughly-hourly ferries setting the rhythm at the end.
It is slow, and it will eat your morning. But there's something fitting about earning Büyükada the patient way: watching the domes and minarets slide past the coach window, then the whole city drop astern as the ferry pulls out, until the loudest thing left is the wind in the pines. However you reach the shore, remember to catch a ferry back with daylight to spare — the island keeps its own gentle, unhurried time, and the last boat waits for no one.
