Getting There

By Plane

Partnerships among international airlines have blurred the lines of air travel, and changing market demands force airlines to continually adapt or change their services. Check with your travel agent or with the airlines directly for specific services.

From the United States & Canada -- Turkish Airlines (tel. 800/874-8875; www.turkishairlines.com) and Delta Airlines (tel. 800/221-1212; www.delta.com) offer the only direct nonstop service to Istanbul from the U.S. Delta provides direct service from Atlanta (ATL) and New York (JFK). Turkish Airlines flies direct to Istanbul's Atatürk Airport (IST) from New York and Chicago (ORD). Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines announced that it would be instituting direct flights to Istanbul from Washington, D.C., in 2008, so keep your eyes open for this new service. These airlines are just the tip of the iceberg; most major international airlines flying to Istanbul offer flights from U.S. cities much too numerous to inventory, either as part of their own network or in partnership with an American airline. Choosing one involves a change of planes in the airline's home country hub, but this slight inconvenience is often accompanied by cheaper, more comparable fares.

Note: The following telephone numbers are for the U.S. and Canada. Log on to the airline websites for your local contact number. Air France (tel. 800/237-2747; www.airfrance.com), Alitalia (tel. 800/223-5730; www.alitalia.com), Austrian Airlines (tel. 800/843-0002; www.austrianair.com), British Airways (tel. 800/247-9297; www.british-airways.com), Continental (tel. 800/231-0856; ), Iberia (tel. 800/574-8742; www.iberia.com), KLM/Northwest (tel. 800/255-2525; www.nwa.com), Lufthansa (tel. 800/645-3880; ), Swiss International (tel. 877/359-7947; www.swiss.com), United (tel. 800/UNITED-1 [864-8331]; www.united.com), and US Airways (tel. 800/428-4322; www.usairways.com) all provide service to Istanbul. In addition, Lufthansa flies to Ankara (ANK) and Antalya (AYT), and Austrian Airlines flies to Ankara. More often than not, Turkish Airlines will provide the connecting flights to other Turkish destinations.

There are currently no direct flights to Turkey from Canada, but negotiations are on for Turkish Airlines to establish direct service, so keep your eyes open for this development. For now, Air France, Alitalia, British Airways, Delta, KLM/Northwest, and Lufthansa all provide connecting service out of Toronto (YYZ). From Montreal (YUL), flights are available on Air France, Alitalia, British Airways, Delta, Iberia, Northwest, and Lufthansa (tel. 800/563-5954). Vancouver (YVR) is serviced by British Airways, KLM/Northwest (via Seattle), and Lufthansa.

From the United Kingdom -- The only nonstop service to Istanbul out of London is provided by British Airways (tel. 0845/773-3377) and Turkish Airlines (tel. 20/7766-9300), which also flies nonstop from Manchester (tel. 161/489-5287). Air France (tel. 0845/082-0162), Alitalia (tel. 0870/544-8259), Austrian Airlines (tel. 0845/601-0948), KLM/Northwest (tel. 08705/074-074), Lufthansa (tel. 0845/7737-747), and Olympic (tel. 8706/060-460) offer connecting service through their home ports, providing service from many other major cities in the U.K. as well. There are also charter airline options. Onur Air, Senlikkoy Mahallesi Çatal Sok. 3 Florya (tel. 0212/663-9176; www.onurair.com.tr), offers service from several U.K. cities into Dalaman (DLM), Bodrum (BJV), Izmir (ADB), and Antalya (AYT) via Istanbul; and from various cities throughout Europe. SunExpress (tel. 0232/444-0797; ) flies twice-weekly from London's Stansted Airport to Izmir in summer only. British Airways (tel. 0870/850-9850 in the U.K.; ) flies direct from Gatwick to Izmir 4 days a week.

From Australia & New Zealand -- There are few choices for connecting flights to Turkey. In partnership with Turkish Airlines, Qantas (tel. 13-13-13 in Australia, 64-9/357-8900 in Auckland) will get you from Sydney, Auckland, and Brisbane, connecting you to a Turkish Airlines flight into Istanbul. Olympic Airways (tel. 612/9251-2044 in Australia) has overnight flights from Sydney and Melbourne via Athens. Other flights from Sydney are offered on British Airways (tel. 1300/767-177 in Australia; 0800/274-847 in Auckland), Singapore Airlines (tel. 612/9350-0100), KLM/Northwest (tel. 008/221-714), and Lufthansa (tel. 1300/655-727). From New Zealand, Singapore Airlines flies out of Auckland and New Plymouth; from Australia, British Airways flies out of Brisbane and Melbourne; and Lufthansa services Brisbane.

Arriving at the Airport

Immigration & Customs Clearance -- Visa windows are conveniently located adjacent to the immigration line at the port of entry; simply proceed to the visa counter before you get in the immigration line, and have your money ready -- cash only, please. Visas obtained on entry can be paid in U.S. dollars, euros, or British pound sterling.

Getting There by Train

Direct trains from Europe depart daily from Bucharest and Budapest and take about 27 and 40 hours, respectively -- and that's without any border delays. It is your responsibility to obtain visas where required (either transit or tourist, depending on your travel plans) for every border that you will cross. If you're coming from Greece, trains leave regularly for Alexandropolis, where you must go through customs. You can catch a bus to Istanbul from the Alexandropolis train station. Depending on how long you get hung up at the border, it can take anywhere from 6 to 8 hours to get to Istanbul.