$418 Find Cheap Flights from San Diego to Istanbul

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from San Diego to Istanbul departing on 9/15. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
1 adult
1 adult, Economy, 0 bags

KAYAK searches hundreds of travel sites at once for deals on flights to Istanbul

 
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from San Diego to Istanbul.
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from San Diego to Istanbul.
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Everything you should know

Cheapest round-trip
$829
Typical prices: $1,001-$815
Delta
Fri 9/4Thu 10/1
SAN - IST • 2 stops
Cheapest one-way
$432
Multiple Airlines
Tue 9/15
SAN - SAW • 3 stops
Top airlines
Cheapest • from $829 (round-trip)
Best reviews • 7.9 score
Airline reviews
Airline reviews
+1
+1
Airline reviews
Airline reviews
+1
When to book
in advance
Our data shows that travelers who book at least 4 weeks in advance save around 24% compared to booking last minute.
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Booking Insights
Flight Deals

Cheap Flights from San Diego to Istanbul (SAN-IST)

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from San Diego to Istanbul that are departing in the next months. While these flights were available on KAYAK in the last 72 hours, prices and availability are subject to change and deals may expire.
Discover the best prices for you by selecting your travel dates on KAYAK.

Recent round-trip flight deals from San Diego to Istanbul

Fri, Sep 4 - Thu, Oct 1
Delta Logo
1:05 pm - 3:30 am
SAN
-
IST
28h 25m
2 stops
Delta Logo
4:25 am - 8:48 pm
IST
-
SAN
26h 23m
2 stops
$829Delta
Mon, Jul 20 - Tue, Jul 28
Delta Logo
10:54 am - 3:30 am
SAN
-
IST
30h 36m
2 stops
Delta Logo
6:00 am - 11:43 pm
IST
-
SAN
27h 43m
2 stops
$833Delta
Tue, Sep 1 - Tue, Sep 15
Delta Logo
1:40 pm - 1:20 am
SAN
-
IST
25h 40m
1 stop
Delta Logo
6:00 am - 11:50 am
IST
-
SAN
15h 50m
1 stop
$837Delta
Tue, Sep 1 - Mon, Sep 28
Delta Logo
1:05 pm - 3:30 am
SAN
-
IST
28h 25m
2 stops
Delta Logo
6:00 am - 11:43 pm
IST
-
SAN
27h 43m
2 stops
$839Delta
Tue, Sep 1 - Sat, Oct 3
Delta Logo
1:05 pm - 3:30 am
SAN
-
IST
28h 25m
2 stops
Delta Logo
4:25 am - 6:54 pm
IST
-
SAN
24h 29m
2 stops
$840Delta
Sun, Aug 16 - Tue, Sep 15
Delta Logo
1:10 pm - 3:30 am
SAN
-
IST
28h 20m
2 stops
Delta Logo
6:00 am - 11:50 am
IST
-
SAN
15h 50m
1 stop
$841Delta
Tue, Aug 18 - Fri, Sep 18
Delta Logo
1:40 pm - 4:20 pm
SAN
-
IST
16h 40m
1 stop
Delta Logo
6:00 am - 10:48 pm
IST
-
SAN
26h 48m
2 stops
$846Delta
Wed, Sep 2 - Thu, Oct 8
Delta Logo
6:15 am - 1:20 am
SAN
-
IST
33h 05m
2 stops
Delta Logo
6:00 am - 9:52 pm
IST
-
SAN
25h 52m
2 stops
$851Delta
Tue, Sep 1 - Tue, Sep 15
KLM Logo
2:00 pm - 9:00 pm
SAN
-
SAW
21h 00m
2 stops
KLM Logo
8:50 am - 6:54 pm
SAW
-
SAN
20h 04m
2 stops
$998KLM
Tue, May 26 - Tue, Jun 2
KLM Logo
1:40 pm - 9:00 pm
SAN
-
SAW
21h 20m
1 stop
KLM Logo
8:50 am - 8:35 pm
SAW
-
SAN
21h 45m
2 stops
$1,014KLM
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for San Diego to Istanbul flights

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights from San Diego to Istanbul to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

How much is a round-trip flight from San Diego to Istanbul?

This analysis is based on the cheapest round-trip price found on KAYAK in the last 12 months by searching for a flight from San Diego to Istanbul departing in September.

What is the cheapest month to fly from San Diego to Istanbul?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights from San Diego to Istanbul, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the median of all values for each month.

The cheapest month for flights from San Diego to Istanbul is January, where tickets cost $529 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are July and August, where the average cost of round-trip tickets is $733 and $716 respectively.

How far in advance should I book a flight from San Diego to Istanbul?

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights from San Diego to Istanbul, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the average of all the values for each week.

To get a below average price on the flight from San Diego to Istanbul, you should book around 4 weeks before departure, which saves you about 24% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 15 weeks before departure.

Good to know

Cheapest flight$432
Flight from San Diego to Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport

When to book flights from San Diego to Istanbul

Are your dates flexible? Find out the best times to travel from San Diego to Istanbul based on our flight data from the last year. Discover the cheapest month and even day to fly.
Estimated round-trip price
KAYAK looks at all historical flight data for each date to provide a predicted price for one-way trips or round-trips with a duration up to 40 days. While we try to provide actual minimum prices for each date, some prices are predictions and actual prices may differ.

FAQs for booking flights from San Diego to Istanbul

  • Which airlines offer family-friendly flights from San Diego to Istanbul?

    If you are on a family vacation to Istanbul from San Diego, consider reserving your flight with American Airlines. One of the benefits of flying with American Airlines is the seating arrangement. The airline allows you to sit next to your child under 15. Also, American Airlines allows you to bring on board kids' convenient items, including pads, car seats, and strollers. The airline also offers in-flight entertainment, including Homer educational videos.

  • How can I catch the earliest flights from San Diego to Istanbul?

    Suppose you have an early flight the following morning; in this case, consider booking a hotel near SAN to escape the hassle of commuting amid rush hours. And the good news is that you have a wide range of options. For instance, Handlery Hotel San Diego, Hilton San Diego Airport/Harbor, and Old Town Inn are top places offering affordable accommodation services.

  • Which other Turkish Cities can I visit from Istanbul International Airport?

    Once you are at IST, you can go to several other cities because, besides being a destination for international travelers, the airport also serves as a departure for several domestic flights. You can visit these and other cities from IST; Bursa, Mugla, Ankara, Nevsehir, Alanya, Trabzon, Bodrum, and Bursa. These cities are accessible by flight, train, taxi, or rental car.

  • What is the best transport from Istanbul International Airport to Istanbul downtown?

    Take Havaist Line Bus at Sultanahmet the IST 1S to Taksim Square, taking approximately 1h 10min. You can also take the Metro from the M11 to Gayrettepe Station and change to M2, which drops you at Taksim Metro Station in about 40 minutes. Taxis are also available, but you’ll pay a little more, taking about 50 minutes.

  • What is the cheapest flight from San Diego to Istanbul?

    In the last 3 days, the lowest price for a flight from San Diego to Istanbul was $418 for a one-way ticket and $829 for a round-trip.

  • Do I need a passport to fly between San Diego and Istanbul?

    Yes, you'll most likely have to show a valid passport before boarding the plane in San Diego and on arrival in Istanbul.

  • Which airports will I be using when flying from San Diego to Istanbul?

    When flying out of San Diego you will be using San Diego. You will be landing at one of these airports: Istanbul or Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen.

  • Which aircraft models fly most regularly from San Diego to Istanbul?

    We unfortunately don’t have that data for this specific route.

  • Which airline alliances offer flights from San Diego to Istanbul?

    Star Alliance, SkyTeam, and oneworld are the airline alliances operating flights between San Diego and Istanbul, with Star Alliance being the most commonly used for this route.

  • What is the most popular layover when flying to Istanbul from San Diego?

    London is the most popular layover city among KAYAK users traveling from San Diego to Istanbul.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from San Diego to Istanbul?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights from San Diego to Istanbul.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from San Diego to Istanbul?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to Istanbul from San Diego is likely to change within 7 days, so travelers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights from San Diego to Istanbul?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional round-trip ticket. You could then fly to Istanbul with an airline and back to San Diego with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from San Diego to Istanbul?

    Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying to Istanbul from San Diego up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

KAYAK’s top tips for finding a cheap flight from San Diego to Istanbul

  • San Diego International Airport (SAN) is the leading air transportation hub for San Diego domestic, regional, and international flights. The common airlines to expect include Qatar Airways, Delta, United Airlines, Air Canada, Lufthansa, Emirates, JetBlue, and KLM.
  • If you are looking for sustainable flights from San Diego to Istanbul, consider flying economy class with JetBlue. The airline is one of the green and most eco-friendly flights on the route. Also, they are replacing their older aircraft with newer ones for fuel efficiency.
  • The layover cities when traveling from San Diego to Istanbul vary depending on the airline you are traveling in. The common layover cities, include Dublin, Frankfurt, Munich, London, New York, Salt Lake, Helsinki, Vancouver, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Miami.
  • Istanbul is served by 2 major airports, including Istanbul International Airport (IST) and Sabiha Gokcen Airport (SAW). The advantage of landing at SAW is that you'll enjoy shorter queues at the checkpoints. If you want to visit major destinations like Hagia Sophia, consider flying to IST since it's closer to this renowned site.
  • Suppose you intend to travel with your furry family from San Diego to Istanbul, consider booking a flight with United Airways. The airline not only allows your dog or cat in the cabin in a carrier, the airline, it has reasonable additional charges for the pets and also allows you to carry a small blanket for pet relief.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from San Diego to Istanbul

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from San Diego to Istanbul. Airline scores are aggregated from all reviews left by passengers on KAYAK after flying with an airline. KAYAK doesn’t show reviews that are older than 5 years. Learn how KAYAK collects reviews.
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from San Diego to Istanbul? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
7.9
DeltaOverall score based on 8459 reviews
7.2Food
7.8Entertainment
8.1Boarding
7.9Comfort
8.5Crew
Airline reviews

While they turned off most cabin lights to allow people to sleep, I was bothered by how bright the side lights still were. It was still quite bright for me in a window seat, when I wish I could have slept!

10.0 ExcellentTeresa, Apr 2026
SMF - LAX
Read more Delta reviews

While they turned off most cabin lights to allow people to sleep, I was bothered by how bright the side lights still were. It was still quite bright for me in a window seat, when I wish I could have slept!

Generally on time departures and arrivals, clean planes, sky miles membership provides great benefits (complimentary upgrades, etc).

N Everything was perfect from boarding to assistance to baggage in Tampa

Loved the crew! Sucks that we went from 1 hour and 8 minute layover to a 3 hour layover. But weather sucks like that.

Fast, lovely scenery, great info on the Delta flight screen about landmarks we were flying over. Great landing!

Long flight but comfortable and not freezing as I have experienced on Hawaiian flights to the islands. They gave us blankets just in case. Nice touch.

I took seat 15A in anticipation of window seat, there is no window.

Flight late, the waited for a long time for “personal” to arrive at gate to dock the plane in Rochester. So annoying. This flight was expected, why aren’t personel available for the jet bridge?

My recent experience was excellent on Delta! I flew with Delta Comfort and I was really comfortable in my seat. I enjoyed the in-flight service. The flight attendants were so friendly and hospitable. I love the snack on the flight as well. This was my first time flying on Delta and I will definitely consider flying with them again.

My flight was canceled on Sunday. Rebooking took three hours. Had to pay for accommodations another night. New flight was delayed for 5 hours, all that was sent was a 12 dollar food voucher, which doesn’t tell you how to use it. Then when we landed we had to sit on the plane for an hour before we could get off.

Outstanding even though the 330 was one of the oldest in the fleet. The difference was the attentiveness and responsiveness of a really experienced flight attendant. For airline food great variety of interesting choices and good tastes supported by a good wine selection.

As per usual when you Hit the UK it's a slow process through customs Not as efficient at Thailand for sure

It was really nice experience by flying this klm flight.I personally recommend everyone to please try this klm flight

It was really nice journey i personally recommend klm flight

The crew were unprofessional with a racist element. I was physically abused as well from one of the crew members

Crew is not the cheerful type. very slow meal service (this is their style as have flown this many times)

Empty seats next to me - wish it had been for a longer flight!!

Flight was on time, staff are friendly and helpful onboard.

Terrible last row seats many seats available but no offer to move to better seat

At the airport, terrible, I do not want to even remember it. It was too humiliating for a business class passenger.

For that price on Business class, I expected to have the pod seats. These were configured as 2/3/2 and my seat mate talked half the flight with a friend across the isle, loudly. Very uncouth.

The ground crew members at check in counter were courteous. The boarding was seamless. Flight departed as scheduled. Service on board was great

Very comfortable in business class. Excellent service. Good food. Smooth trip.

The seats seems abit small and the reclining is too much, the seat in front of me came back too much and made it uncomfortable for me.

As a first time flyer with Turkish Airlines. My experience was very good due to the factor that there were to many passengers on the my first flight compared to my connecting flight. However, I know that nothing is perfect and all companies are trying to accommodate their passengers to the best way possible. I will always say, a FEW INCHES will go LONG WAY. That's something all airliners should consider, and not only the money aspect!!! A long time commitment is better than one time service! Thank you

Staff at the airport wasn't helpful or friendly. Probably the worst airport experience I have ever had, going and coming. The staff on the plane was better. Still not super friendly or personable. However, they were not rude like airport staff. They ran out of certain menu items. Maybe could have been prepared better? Overall just ok.

It was a pleasant experience. In flight entertainment could have been better

The desk crew at the LAX crew could do better. A girl named Mahesi was very abrasive and unfriendly. She needs a better customer service uproar.

It was peaceful excited We enjoyed it always Turkish peaceful excited

Istanbul to Lahore flight was less than standard for international business class cabins. Seat did not were not flat and it did not operate easily. I had to push buttons hard repeatedly to operate the seat. I was in 5A seat

Boarding was disorganized. The door to one to the toilets wouldn’t lock. The plane was shockingly cramped, and clearly used for domestic flights due to the menus for items to sell domestic travelers. United should be ashamed of its small seats, tiny unclean toilets, and money grubbing stance toward services, compared to Lufthansa, Emirates, and most international carriers United is awful.

Not great!!! Seats in Business class were horrible; no cushion!!!

Terrible. Lost our luggage for 4 days. Did not advise passengers there was a strike in Barcelona Airport and had zero personnel on hand at airport to advise passengers on where to go to file claims. We had to fend for ourselves. No assistance at all other than an online claims submission process that we had to find out about on our own.

Lufthansa cancelled our flight from Los Angeles to Naples Italy on March 10 for scheduled flight on March 12 Very stressful experience trying to arrange alternatives. Will never fly again with Lufthansa

Service and food were excellent. Incredibly friendly and competent staff. Flight was delayed over and hour and I had to run between terminals to get my connecting flight.

Late flight Delays Poor service Poor staff Worst airline ever

Lufthansa still has a good level of quality compared to US airlines, especially with respect to (1) food quality - actually tasty, (2) good French red wine - free, (3) good movie selection. Also my ticket price includes 1 free check-in luggage, while some other budget airlines sneak in an extra $150 for a checkin.

The food could be better, more snacks. And have some plugs to chargue the phone.

Everything was really great just The aircraft was too old and sounded it will break during takeoff

Extremely pleased with the crew. Best flight attendants ever! Very friendly, genuinely caring and attentive.

Boarding was orderly, pilot and flight attendants were nice, entertainment options were good, and low sodium meals were quite tasty.

Flight delayed, connection was not at gate listed and so missed, staff were rude at Heathrow, phone tree stupid and difficult, took me 21 actual hours to reach my destination. Almost lost my hotel reservation after walking in a strange city alone after midnight because they would not put me up in a hotel at sfo or heathrow. I will never fly BA again and will tell all people and Instagram followers never to fly BA.

Check-in in SAN was long. ORD was good. Flight delayed On board crew was ok. No warmth or personality. LHrR barely made connection

Wish the food and overall service was better. They treat Business class passengers same as economy

They had us seating down for one hour just waiting on the plane

Flying with BA is always a good experience—even in economy class. It is better if in business and first class. Timely, breeze through security and timely connections

The issue was not with BA it was with the link yoiu sent fopr booking the flight

Loved the boarding option from Business class lounge, experience on flight was excellent, plenty of good food choices

Awful it always is unfortunately is the only way to fly direct to london

Check in was was and the agent was very friendly and helpful The lounge was nice...boarding was straight from the lounge Everything worked at our seats, and video entertainment was good ..food was mediocre

Everything you need to know for your flight from San Diego to Istanbul

Information on your arrival and departure airports