Sabiha Gökçen Airport to Üsküdar
Sabiha Gökçen to Üsküdar is about 36 km on the Asian side — quickest and cheapest via the M4 metro and one Marmaray stop, with no bridge toll.
Üsküdar, İstanbulflowcomm / Wikimedia, CC BY 2.0Üsküdar is a historic Asian-side waterfront district facing the Bosphorus, known for its Ottoman mosques and ferry links across to Europe.
Every way to get there
Our verdict: for Üsküdar, a private transfer is the easiest door-to-door option (from €30). Travelling light on a budget? The bus is cheapest (from €5) but slower, with a change in the city.
What it costs for your group
The bus is charged per person, while a taxi or private transfer is one price for the whole car — so the more of you there are, the better door-to-door value looks.
| Group | Bus (per person) | Private transfer | Best value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo · 1 traveller | €5 | €30 | Bus |
| Couple · 2 travellers | €10 | €30 | Bus |
| Family of 4 · 4 travellers | €20 | €30 | Bus |
Which option should you choose?
| If your priority is… | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest price | Bus | From €1.5, though slower with a change in the city. |
| Speed & comfort | Private transfer | Door-to-door, fixed price, a driver waiting for you. |
| A group of 3–4 | Transfer or taxi | One flat fare splits cheaper than several bus tickets. |
| A late-night arrival | Transfer or taxi | Both run 24/7 when buses and the tram have stopped. |
By transport mode
Metro
M4 to Ayrılık Çeşmesi, then one Marmaray stop to Üsküdar — a single easy change.
Where to catch it: Airport metro station (M4 terminus).
Best for budget travellers near a stationPrivate transfer
Fixed price, door-to-door — all on the Asian side, so no bridge toll.
Where to catch it: Driver meets you in the arrivals hall with a name sign.
Best for families, groups & late arrivalsBus / shuttle
No direct line — take the Kadıköy coach, then Marmaray or a bus north to Üsküdar.
Where to catch it: Havabüs stand outside arrivals.
Best for solo & budget travellersTaxi
Around 1,050–1,500 TL, all on the Asian side (no bridge toll).
Where to catch it: Official taxi rank outside arrivals.
Best for small groups in a hurryCar rental
Per day.
Where to catch it: Car-rental desks at the terminal.
Best for travellers who want to exploreÜsküdar & İstanbul in photos
Buying tickets in İstanbul
From Sabiha Gökçen buy an İstanbulkart at the Biletmatik machines by the metro station inside the terminal (blank card about 165 TL, top up with extra credit). Tap it on the M4 metro to Kadıköy (roughly 42 TL, then transfer for the European side) or on Havabüs shuttles to Taksim and Kadıköy (about 440 TL to Taksim). The same card covers metro, Marmaray, ferries and buses. Machines accept cash and bank cards; you tap the card rather than paying any driver.
Taxi scams & safety in İstanbul
Sabiha Gökçen is on the Asian side and taxi fares to the centre are high, so overcharging is common. Take the official taxi rank, insist the meter runs on the correct tariff, and reject any flat quote or "meter broken" story; watch for detours across the bridges that inflate the fare with luggage. Do not accept a ride from touts in the hall. Uber and BiTaksi operate but send licensed taxis. The M4 metro or Havabüs is cheaper and predictable.
Getting from SAW to Üsküdar
There is a particular pleasure in arriving at Üsküdar before the city has fully woken — when the call to prayer drifts across the water, the ferries are just beginning to nose out from the quay, and the domes of the old Ottoman mosques catch the first flat light off the Bosphorus. If you are the sort of traveller who plans to be up at dawn on the waterfront, the good news is that Sabiha Gökçen makes this easy. Üsküdar sits about 36 km away on the same Asian shore as the airport, which means no crossing of the strait, no bridge toll, and none of the fuss that comes with hauling luggage over to the European side.
Why the Asian shore works in your favour
Most first-time visitors assume every route from the airport must involve crawling across a Bosphorus bridge, and they brace themselves accordingly. Here you can relax. Because Sabiha Gökçen and Üsküdar are both on the Anatolian side, every option below stays on dry, unbridged land the whole way. That single fact quietly shapes everything — the taxi meter climbs more gently, the drivers are cheerful, and the journey has a calm, unhurried quality that suits the district you are heading towards. Üsküdar has always been the contemplative counterpoint to the noisier European quarters, and the approach to it should feel that way too.
The rail route I would choose myself
For an early riser watching the budget, the metro-and-Marmaray combination is hard to better. You board the M4 at its terminus right beneath the terminal — trains come along every five minutes or so — and ride it to Ayrılık Çeşmesi. There you step across to the Marmaray, the line that runs beneath the Bosphorus itself, and it is a single stop to Üsküdar. One easy change, no guesswork. Figure on around 65 minutes door to platform, and a fare of only a euro and a half to two euros. There is something fitting about slipping under the strait by rail and emerging beside the very ferries that have carried people across it for centuries. If you travel light, this is the route that leaves you feeling you have already begun to know the city.
When you would rather not think at all
After a night flight, some mornings call for being met rather than navigating. A pre-booked private transfer — Kiwitaxi and Welcome Pickups both serve the route — puts a real driver in the arrivals hall to take your bags, and delivers you to your door in roughly 45 minutes for a fixed €30 to €40. The price is agreed before you land, which spares you any negotiation while bleary, and because the whole run stays on the Asian side there is no toll folded into the fare. It is the least eventful way to arrive, and on the right morning that is exactly the point.
The metered yellow taxi is the same journey without the pre-booking. Pick one up at the official rank outside arrivals; the trip takes about 45 minutes and the meter tends to settle somewhere between €24 and €33, or roughly 1,050 to 1,500 lira. Again, no bridge toll clouds the total. It is a sensible middle path if you would rather decide on the spot than commit in advance.
Buses, hire cars, and a word of honesty
There is no single coach that carries you straight to Üsküdar, so the Havabüs is only a partial answer here. From the stand outside arrivals you can take the Kadıköy coach — they run about every half hour, around the clock, from roughly €5 — and then finish the journey with a short Marmaray hop or a bus north along the shore. Budget close to 75 minutes for the whole chain. It works, but it asks more of you than the train does, and I would only reach for it if you happen to be heading for Kadıköy first in any case.
If your plans stretch beyond the city and you want a car waiting, the desks in arrivals — Avis and Sixt among them — will hand you the keys, with daily rates running from about €25 to €60 depending on the vehicle and season. For Üsküdar alone I would not bother; the old streets are close and walkable and the ferries are half the joy. But if the wider Anatolian coast is calling, a hire car is money well spent.
However you come, try to time it for the early hours. Üsküdar rewards those who arrive while the light is still soft and the water still quiet — and from Sabiha Gökçen, with no strait to cross, that is a genuinely easy thing to arrange.
