Home / Istanbul /Istanbul Airport / İETT bus H-2 to Mecidiyeköy (night only) vs Havaist coach to Aksaray

IST → Istanbul · head to head

İETT bus H-2 to Mecidiyeköy (night only)orHavaist coach to Aksaray?

The short answer

These do not go to the same place, so price is not the comparison. The İETT bus H-2 to Mecidiyeköy (night only) reaches Taksim Square and the Gayrettepe–Şişli stretch of the M2, where the airport metro ends; the Havaist coach to Aksaray does not. Aksaray is the old city's transport hub, not its center: four T1 tram stops from Sultanahmet and one M1 stop from Yenikapı. Useful for the old city and for anyone changing to the M1 or the Marmaray; not for Taksim.

The Havaist coach to Aksaray is quicker: 1 h 30 against 1 h 45.

İETT bus H-2 to Mecidiyeköy (night only): 01:10–05:45. Havaist coach to Aksaray: Runs all night.

Priced against each other

Whole-party totals · adult fares
What each costs for the whole party, in TRY. The cheaper of the two is marked on every row.
TravelersİETT bus H-2 to Mecidiyeköy (night only)Havaist coach to AksarayDifference
1TRY 92.40TRY 470TRY 377.60
2TRY 184.80TRY 940TRY 755.20
3TRY 277.20TRY 1,410TRY 1,132.80
4TRY 369.60TRY 1,880TRY 1,510.40
5TRY 462TRY 2,350TRY 1,888
6TRY 554.40TRY 2,820TRY 2,265.60
7TRY 646.80TRY 3,290TRY 2,643.20
8TRY 739.20TRY 3,760TRY 3,020.80

Side by side

Where each one leaves you
bus · İETTİETT bus H-2 to Mecidiyeköy (night only)
From
Transportation floor -2 — the İETT stop the timetable calls İstanbul Havalimanı Garaj
To
Mecidiyeköy Metrobüs, beside Şişli-Mecidiyeköy on the M2, two stops from Taksim
Luggage
An İETT express bus; İETT publishes no luggage rule for it.
Runs
01:10–05:45
Journey
105 min

This line only exists at night. 01:10, 03:30 and 05:45 from the airport, every day. Miss the 03:30 and the next bus is over two hours away; after 05:45 take the metro, which starts at 06:03.

It is the cheapest thing that moves between 00:17 and 06:03 — TRY 92.40 against TRY 470 on the Havaist coach — and it takes 105 minutes to Mecidiyeköy.

The night fare is an open question. İbb's tariff doubles bus fares between 00:30 and 05:30 unless a decision says otherwise, and no document read here says whether one exists for the H-2. Budget for the rule as written on the 01:10 and 03:30 departures.

Pay with an İstanbulkart: a bank card is charged at the single-use price, TRY 120.

Mecidiyeköy is a Metrobüs and M2 interchange, not a square with hotels on it; the M2 will not be running when the 01:10 or 03:30 arrives except on Friday and Saturday nights.

İETT bus H-2 to Mecidiyeköy (night only): price for every party size →

See İETT's H-2 timetable
shuttle · Havaist (İBB), fare set by İBB — line HVL-1Havaist coach to Aksaray
From
Transportation floor -2, Peron 12
To
Aksaray Metro, at the western edge of the old city, via Nurtepe, Ayvansaray and Ulubatlı
Luggage
Two bags of no more than medium size free per passenger; TRY 120 for each bag beyond that.
Runs
All night
Journey
90 min

Runs through the night from the airport — 00:20, 01:00, 02:15, 04:00, 05:30 — then about every 40 minutes by day to 23:40. The overnight holes are up to an hour and three-quarters.

The T1 tram from Aksaray to Sultanahmet runs 06:00 to midnight (Metro İstanbul), so the night departures leave you at Aksaray with a walk or a taxi for the last stretch.

Same fare and time as the Taksim coach; pick by where you are staying, not by price.

Havaist coach to Aksaray: price for every party size →

Check Havaist times and fares

This compares two of 6 options. See all of them ranked for your party size →

The other comparisons at Istanbul Airport