Almost everyone who visits Lake Sapanca flies into Istanbul first. If your flight is not booked yet, one decision will shape the whole journey — and most people make it without thinking.
Lake Sapanca lies east of Istanbul, and almost everyone who goes there arrives by air. The decision that shapes the journey most is one people usually make for other reasons entirely: which airport they fly into.
Istanbul Has Two Airports, on Two Continents
Istanbul Airport sits on the European side of the city. Sabiha Gökçen sits on the Asian side.
Sapanca is east of Istanbul — the same side as Sabiha Gökçen. Land there and you set off towards the lake straight away. Land at Istanbul Airport and you cross the whole of Istanbul first, bridge traffic included, before the journey to the lake properly begins.
If your flight is not yet booked, look at what flies into Sabiha Gökçen. It is not a small difference.
If You Are Already Flying into Istanbul Airport
Nothing is wrong. It is a longer drive, that is all, and the price you are quoted is fixed — traffic does not change it and a late landing does not change it.
What we would not recommend is trying to save the difference by piecing the journey together yourself with suitcases in tow. The moment one connection is missed, the saving is gone and a good part of the day with it.
Arriving from a Cruise Ship
Sapanca is reachable from Galataport, and some itineraries give a long enough call in Istanbul to make it work. Check your ship's departure time carefully before committing, though. The lake is not somewhere you want to be watching the clock.
What a Private Transfer Actually Changes
One vehicle, door to door. From the terminal to wherever you are staying at the lake. No changes, no working out the last few kilometres after everything else.
A fixed price. Tolls included. The number you are quoted is the number you pay.
We watch your flight. If you land late, your driver is still there. No extra charge, and nothing for you to arrange.
Room for the luggage. A Mercedes Vito carries up to 6 passengers and 8 suitcases. For larger groups a Mercedes Sprinter takes up to 13 people and 15 bags — worth knowing, because bags are what usually decides the vehicle, not people.
What People Come For
The lake itself, the Maşukiye waterfalls nearby, and a kind of quiet that Istanbul does not offer at any price. It is close enough to be a day out and comfortable enough to be the base for a longer stay.
If you would rather see it and return the same evening, we run it as a full-day trip with the vehicle and driver staying with you rather than dropping you and leaving.
The Short Version
Sapanca is on the Asian side of the country, and so is Sabiha Gökçen. If you can still choose your airport, that is the one. If you cannot, it is a longer drive at a fixed price — and the road is the driver's problem, not yours.
