1. After the City Program (Monday, June 8th), If you don’t join the retreat:
We plan to finish the city part evaluation and the floating academy program by 14:30 at the latest, on the Asian side at or near a downtown harbour.
- Departures from SAW Airport:
You can join the retreat group’s transfer. We can provide a lift, with drop-off suitable for flights departing from 18 00 onwards. For earlier flights, we can help to arrange a taxi. - Departures from IST Airport:
You can use direct airport buses from Kadıköy or use public transportation with several transfers. You may book flights departing from 18 30 onwards.
2. After the Retreat (Thursday, June 11th)
- Early Bus:
Will depart from the retreat resort at 12:30. A boxed lunch will be provided.
Suitable for flights from SAW departing 17:30+ and from IST departing 18:30+. - Later Bus:
Will depart from the retreat resort after lunch at 14:00.
Suitable for flights from SAW departing 19:00+ and from IST departing 20:00+.
3. After the Post-Conference Tour (from Mardin)
To ensure you can return to your home country outside of Turkey on the same day (June 15), the only viable option is flight TK2677. This departs Mardin (MQM) at 14:05 and arrives at Istanbul Airport (IST) at 16:05, allowing for convenient worldwide connections.
Please note that the official program schedule is still being finalized. As such, participants can safely plan to take the 11:30 airport bus from Mardin.
All other same-day flights (with THY or PGS) require an overnight stay in Istanbul (either in the city or at the airport). Therefore, if you are not taking TK2677 on Monday, June 15th, we generally advise extending your stay in Mardin by at least one extra night.
4. Self-Organized Departure from Istanbul (at any time)
- Allow extra time due to the city’s size and potential traffic or transfer delays.
- Public Transport: You can use the system in reverse as described in the arrivals section. By now, you will feel much more comfortable with it!
- Private Buses from Taksim: Use the same services as for arrivals:
- To IST: 45–75 minutes (direct route)
- To SAW: 60–120 minutes
For all other cases and details not covered here, please check the Forum or post an inquiry there.