Landing at IST, Flying from SAW: Plan the Airport Change

If you land at Istanbul Airport (IST) and leave from Sabiha Gökçen Airport (SAW), you need to travel between two separate airports. Havaist has a direct coach: the timetable checked for this guide showed 515 Turkish lira per passenger and an average road journey of 120 minutes. That is the coach ride, not the time you need between flights. Check the IST → SAW route on Havaist.

Your plan also needs time to leave the first airport, reach the departure stop, wait for transport and complete the next airline’s procedures. Start with the airport codes on both tickets before buying anything else.

First decide whether this connection works

Ask the airline or booking provider what happens if the first flight is late, particularly when the flights are on separate bookings. Also establish whether you must collect and recheck checked baggage. Do not assume a baggage tag or a single booking screen means an airport change is protected.

The road journey takes you outside the airport. Check entry requirements for your passport through the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, rather than assuming that permission to stay airside covers this trip.

Then write down four times:

1. When your next airline requires you to be at SAW, including its check-in and bag-drop deadlines.
2. When you would need to reach SAW to allow for those procedures.
3. When your transport must leave IST, allowing for road delays as well as the advertised journey.
4. When you can realistically be outside IST after landing, entry formalities and any baggage collection.

If the fourth time is later than the third, the plan does not fit. If it only fits when everything goes perfectly, change the flight arrangement before relying on a faster car.

Taking the direct coach, step by step

Open Havaist’s timetable, choose İstanbul Havalimanı as the starting point and Sabiha Gökçen HL as the destination. Read the departure list for that direction; it is not the reverse timetable.

The checked result was HVL-11, platform 13. Havaist identifies its IST departure area as Arrivals, floor −2. Follow the airport signs to the coach area, then check the destination on the service before boarding. Recheck the platform in the route result on your travel day.

Havaist asks passengers to be at the stop at least 15 minutes before departure. Its open ticket does not reserve a particular departure or seat. Leave room in your plan for waiting; do not treat buying online as a guaranteed seat on the next coach. Havaist ticket and boarding conditions.

Compare the price for everyone travelling

At the checked fare, the coach portion costs:

These totals cover the stated coach fares. They do not establish a child discount or include excess luggage charges. Havaist’s published allowance is two pieces, up to 30 kg combined, with size limits of 75 × 55 × 30 cm per piece; extra luggage depends on space and charges. Check the current luggage conditions if your bags fall outside that allowance.

For a car, compare a written price for the vehicle and the whole party against that group total. Give the carrier the number and size of bags, not just the number of people. Ask whether road charges and waiting after the arriving flight are included. Use a dated vehicle offer for this comparison.

If the flight is late or you arrive at night

Check the next actual departure on Havaist’s route page before leaving arrivals. The checked schedule includes overnight services, but the intervals vary: an average road time does not tell you how long you will wait.

If the next coach no longer fits, ask for a car’s realistic pickup time and road estimate. Do not assume a car can recover an impossible connection. Contact the onward airline while you still have time to discuss its options.

For a booked pickup, send the flight details and keep the agreed contact method available. Confirm when the waiting allowance starts, what happens if entry or baggage takes longer, and what an extension would cost. Our guide to waiting time and extra costs explains what to get in writing.

Save this before you fly

Keep both airport codes, the onward airline’s deadlines, the Havaist route page and your backup contact in one note. A useful connection plan ends with you ready for the next flight—not simply arriving at the second airport’s curb.

GetTransfer Editorial · Company-authored guide. Sources checked on 24 October 2026. Prices and services can change; use the linked operators for your travel date.