hi ...

which airport is better for an up on arrival ticket to munich? SAW or Ataturk Airport? and tell me the best way of transportation please...ive been told istanbul is kind of dangerous and not safe..is that true?
thanks in advance

No, Istanbul is as safe as any city in Europe.
In terms of easy, Atatuürk airport is easier to get to, Sabiha Gökçen is quite a bit outside of town and can take up to 2 hours to get to in rush hour. However flights from SAW are often cheaper.

Any guidebook will tell you that Ataturk is a cheap combination of subway/tram rides away from the touristic areas--Sultanhamet and Taksim. Transfer from the subway to the tram at Zeytenburnu (spelling?) It takes about an hour.

As for safety: I probably feel safer in the touristic areas of Istanbul than I do in the comparable areas of my native Chicago. On my last trip to Istanbul, I had to catch a shuttle bus to Ataturk Airpoprt at about four in the morning just up a side street from the Blue Mosque (essentially across from Arasta bazzar--trams and subway weren't running that early). While I was waiting for the bus, I saw garbage men, cats, and drunken tourists straggling back to their hotels. And that's about it. It was actually quite peaceful. I sure didn't feel threatened or endangered, and I quite obviously looked like a tourist.

There is supposedly a scam where a "new friend" in Istanbul will want to take you to a particular bar for a drink--usually around Istiklal Cad.-Taksim Square. Don't go. And you might find the Sultanhamet carpet touts annoying, but they're sure not dangerous.

Relax and enjoy your trip.

Dangerous? Not at all!

I remember coming back to Istanbul for my flight back to the UK from a quick detour to Greece last year. Athens (and Greece in general) was horrible - not at all like the city I visited 40 years ago.
But on the (Turkish) train on the way back the guards shared their halva with me and then, walking up the hill towards SultanAhmet from the train station, no less than five people smiled and said 'welcome' to this solo 60-something traveller.
I felt like I'd come home!

Most budget airlines fly out of SAW so you'll find cheaper fare to Munich there. It takes about 2.5 hours to get to SAW from Sultamet (ferry + bus) vs 45 minutes to IST (light rail), but the airfare saving could be substantial.

tnx getyoung...actually, i dont have a ticket,yet and i kind of panic because of that..everyone keeps worrying me but i got no other way...also,the airline which is gonna get us to istanbul will give me ride from SAW to Taqsim sq.,so do u think ,considering my situation and not having a ticket to munich,i d better get to taqsim for free( from where i can take the subway to ataturk) or just stay in SAW and try to get an up on arrival ticket(if u think i got cheaper chances in SAW)? I`d be more than happy if u answered me in detail as im leaving in less than 48 hours..

Collguy - Have you looked around the various airline's sights for ticket prices and commections ?
You can buy online e-tickets for all airlines & flights that go from Turkey to Germany and .... buying a ticket in advance will be a lot cheaper than buying it on the day of travel.

I bought one way ticket from MUC to Izmir in May 1 day before for EU$100. It was with Sunexpress. Same day costs EU$120.

Generally, it is cheaper to buy in advance. But you're lucky (less likely now that you're at peak tourist season), you'd get good deal a few days before. You just have to check different websites.

I'd go with IST if the fare difference is less than $50 since once you factor in transportation, time and convenience since SAW is way out there. I think I saved $150 back in June going via SAW back to MUC and I bought the ticket a week in advance.

Hello!

Ataturk International Airport is a better option, cause it's closer to the city and therefore will cost you less to get to the hotel and back..

Good luck!

dear getyoung ,u didn`t finally tell how u evaluate the 2 options as i need a quick best answer: SAW or Ataturk for a quick cheap flight(up on arrival)to munich?thanks in advance

My preference is IST since it is closer to the city, as johnny3 mentioned, and you can get there with subway and tram. But you could potentially find a better air deals at SAW. The question is how much saving you need to switch to a more inconvenient airport (inconvenient here is referring to 2.5 hours to get to SAW; transport there is quite easy during day time--ferry then bus right off the dock).

For me, the price difference was over $150: $260 from IST to MUC vs $100 from SAW to MUC. So I chose SAW to save money.

Budget airlines Sunexpress and Pegasus Airlines fly b/w SAW and MUC. I think Pegasus also has flight b/w IST and MUC.