Ankara to Istanbul runs about 32 times a day, with the first departure around 06:20 and the last around 20:37. One passenger pays between £14.29 and £33.49, every fee included, depending on the operator and the way you travel. Services cover 358 km and are run by 6 operators across 3 modes.
What one seat costs
The spread between the cheapest and dearest typical fare on this corridor, across 6 operators and 3 ways of making the journey. The operator sets the price on the day.
Typical fares · Priced for 19 October 2026
£14.29 to £33.49
- 114%Moves across the booking window
114%When it runs, leaving Ankara
Typical first and last departure on this corridor.
- 06:20First departure
- 20:37Last departure
- 32Services per day
- 100%Run direct
06:20
20:37
32
100%12Go issues the ticket, and you book it here on Orlero.
Buying this journey
Pick a departure for Ankara to Istanbul and pay on tickets.orlero.com, our booking site.
The price is the one 12Go sets, with every fee shown before you pay.
12Go issues the ticket, and you book it here on Orlero.
Buying this journey
Pick a departure for Ankara to Istanbul and pay on tickets.orlero.com, our booking site.
The price is the one 12Go sets, with every fee shown before you pay.
Fares by date
What this journey usually costs, by departure date. It shows which days run dearer.
Typical fares
- about £26.55Mon5
- about £23.24Tue6
- about £25.60Wed7
- about £25.13Thu8
- about £23.72Fri9
- about £24.65Sat10
- about £22.77Sun11
- about £16.65Mon12
- about £15.70Tue13
- about £17.11Wed14
- about £20.89Thu15
- about £19.47Fri16
- about £19.47Sat17
- about £19.47Sun18
- about £14.29Mon19
- about £14.29Tue20
- about £14.76Wed21
- about £19.01Thu22
- about £16.65Fri23
- about £17.11Sat24
- about £16.65Sun25
Based on what this route has cost recently. The live fare is confirmed when you book.
The flight gets you into Istanbul. These two partners take it from there, and the bed is theirs to book.
A room in Istanbul for the night the flight gets in
Sort by distance from Istanbul Halkali and you can see which places are ten minutes on foot and which are not.
Search Istanbul on Booking.comOr compare on Expedia
Partner links. We earn a commission when a booking completes, and it never changes what you pay.
When to book Ankara to Istanbul
The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.
- £14.7690 days
- £18.0660 days
- £13.3545 days
- £12.4030 days
- £16.6521 days
- £19.4714 days
- £22.777 days
- £25.603 days
- £26.551 days
- Cheapest lead time
- Fares bottom out around 30 days ahead, at £12.40.
- How much it moves
- The gap between the cheapest and dearest lead time is 114 percent. The dearest point is £26.55, 1 days out.
- What that means
- Today sits inside the cheap window, which closes about 30 days before departure. Waiting from here has usually cost money on this corridor rather than saved it.
Book now Fares on this route are lowest around 30 days ahead. You are inside that window.
This corridor, specifically
Facts that apply to Ankara to Istanbul and to no other route on the site.
Clocks
Both ends keep the same time, so the arrival is the departure plus the journey.
The shape of it
358 km
352 km as the crow flies, 2% further by the route services take. The bearing runs west.
Who lives at each end
3,517,182 → 15,701,602
Population at the departure city and at the arrival city, which is usually what decides how often anything runs.
The route
What the journey looks like
Direct or connecting, how far the route really runs, and what happens when a connection is missed.
- How far it really runs
- The route covers 358 km against 352 km in a straight line, a detour of 2 percent. Track and road geometry account for the difference.
Istanbul is large, and the road in from IST can take longer than the last hour of the flight. Cars are not our business.
A car waiting when you land in Istanbul
Settled in advance, so the ride into Istanbul costs what it said it would rather than what the rank says.
Book a transfer from IST with Welcome PickupsOr check Daytrip
Partner links. We earn a commission on a booking, and the fare is the same as going direct.
Who runs this route
The flight gets in hours before any room is ready. Holding a bag is not what we sell.
Left luggage near Istanbul Halkali
Most of the points near Istanbul Halkali open before the first train and shut after the last one.
Check Istanbul on StasherOr try Bounce
Partner links. We earn a commission on a booking, and the price is the same as going direct.
Questions about Ankara to Istanbul
The questions people actually ask about this journey, answered from the same prices and times the page above is built on rather than written once and left to go stale.
How long does it take to get from Ankara to Istanbul?
Ankara to Istanbul covers 358 km. Each operator's own departure and arrival times for the date you pick are in the search at the top of this page, beside the total price.
How much does it cost to travel from Ankara to Istanbul?
The cheapest fare from Ankara to Istanbul is £14.29, as of 4 October 2026. A typical fare across the next three weeks is £43.87. Both figures are the total for one passenger, including taxes, supplier fees and our service fee, so nothing is added at checkout.
What is the cheapest way to get from Ankara to Istanbul?
The cheapest way from Ankara to Istanbul is by coach, at £14.29 for one passenger on 19 October 2026. The comparison table on this page shows what each mode costs side by side.
When should I book Ankara to Istanbul?
Fares from Ankara to Istanbul bottom out around 30 days before departure, at £12.40. Across the whole booking window the gap between the cheapest and the dearest lead time is 114 percent, measured on 4 October 2026. Booking inside the last week has consistently cost more on this corridor.
Which day of the week is cheapest for Ankara to Istanbul?
Tuesday is the cheapest day to depart from Ankara to Istanbul, at £15.70. That is the median of 21 priced departure days across the next three weeks, as of 4 October 2026. Shifting a departure by one day is usually worth more than shifting the booking by one week.
Which month is cheapest for Ankara to Istanbul?
February is the cheapest of the next 6 months to travel from Ankara to Istanbul, at £12.40 for one passenger. Each month is priced on its fifteenth, so the comparison is like for like rather than a mix of weekends and midweek departures.
Who runs services from Ankara to Istanbul?
6 operators sell services from Ankara to Istanbul across 3 modes: AJet, Ariana Afghan Airlines, FlixBus, Pegasus Airlines, TCDD Taşımacılık, Turkish Airlines. Journey times, fares and fare conditions differ between them, and the operator table on this page compares all of them on speed, flexibility and what is provided on board.
Is there a direct service from Ankara to Istanbul?
Every service we sell from Ankara to Istanbul is direct. No connection is needed, so there is no missed connection risk to plan around on this corridor.
How much CO2 does the journey from Ankara to Istanbul produce?
Travelling from Ankara to Istanbul by train produces about 11.6 kg of CO2 per passenger, the lowest of any mode on this corridor. The same journey by Flight produces about 75.9 kg, roughly 7 times as much for one passenger.
Which station or terminal do services from Ankara to Istanbul use?
Services from Ankara to Istanbul by train leave from Ankara Gar and arrive at Istanbul Halkali. Allow about 44m in total for reaching the departure terminal and leaving the arrival one, which is already included in every door to door time on this page.
Can I change or refund a ticket from Ankara to Istanbul?
2 of the 6 operators we sell from Ankara to Istanbul allow a change or a refund. A change on a changeable fare costs £4.28. The operator table on this page names which is which, and the condition is shown again before you pay.
Where these numbers come from
Places, coordinates, operators, which operator serves which pair, and every distance on this page are real and come from open data. Where a corridor has a filed timetable the departure times are real too, and ferry fares are the prices the operators publish themselves.
Observed service A carrier record names this operator on this pair, carried through unchanged.
Prices come from the supplier wherever we hold a live quote. Elsewhere we show an indicative price built from the real distance, the real operator and a fare curve over lead time, day of the week and season. Those are labelled Estimated fare and cannot be booked.
Defined in full at Door to door, Fares, The booking window, Carbon, Distances
- On this page
- Every figure above was computed for Ankara to Istanbul on 4 October 2026: 358 km of route against 352 km in a straight line, 56 services a day, 6 operators a cheapest fare of £14.29, and 3h 10m door to door on the fastest mode. The return direction is computed separately and its numbers are not these numbers.
Being on the water gives Istanbul a set of days out that do not start at a station.
Day trips out of Istanbul and across Türkiye
Day trips that leave Istanbul in the morning and cover a good part of Türkiye by evening.
See Istanbul on GetYourGuideOr browse Viator
Partner links. We earn a commission on a booking, and it never changes the price.
The two ends, compared
Ankara reaches 162 places in 35 countries on services we hold, over distances from 56 to 9,107 km. Istanbul reaches 455 places in 123 countries, from 19 to 14,949 km.
Other ways to make this journey
Leaving Ankara
- 162Places you can leave for
- 35Countries
- 18Operators
35
18Arriving in Istanbul
Leaving Istanbul
- 455Places you can leave for
- 123Countries
- 113Operators