Travel & Transport in Turkey 

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Here are tips on travel in Turkey by plane, bus, car, train, ship & ferry. For transport from other countries to Turkey, see Getting to Turkey.

Turkey is fairly easy to travel in, but it's a big country (maps). Distances and travel times, in both kms and miles, are on each page in the Where to Go section.

Transport may be crowded on major holidays.

Here's how to compare costs for various means of transport.

PLANE
Turkish Airlines has flights among major cities which are convenient for longer distances, and relatively inexpensive (most fares are YTL79 to YTL200 one-way). Onur Air, Atlasjet, IzAir, and Sun Express have growing route systems and even lower fares. See also Major Airports and Airport/City Codes. More...

BUS
Thousands of modern, luxurious buses roar between Turkish cities and towns daily. This is how most Turks travel. Unfortunately, it's difficult to get fares and schedules (try here), but you can do that easily when you arrive in Turkey. Departures are frequent, and you don't need advance rservations on most routes. Here are sample routes, fares and travel times from Istanbul to many cities. More...

CAR
If you are an experienced driver and can manage a standard shift ("stick shift," not automatic) transmission, and want freedom of movement, consider renting a car in Turkey. More...

TRAIN
The Orient Express is gone, but train travel in Turkey is still useful, especially trains between Ankara and Istanbul. (Here's a map.) Expresses, Super Expresses and sleeping car trains are somewhat slower than the bus but offer more seating-room and comfort for less money. Otherwise, most of Turkey's trains are older and relatively slow, but still useful and quite cheap. More...

SHIP & FERRY
Sea of Marmara ferry services run between Istanbul on the north shore and Yalova and Bandirma on the south shore (map), and across the Dardanelles.

If you're coming by cruise ship, here's information on cruise ship ports and docks.

Denizline used to operate Istanbul—Izmir car ferry service, but that service has ended. There is no Istanbul—Izmir car ferry. Here's the news.

Many people use the Greek Island ferry services between Greece's Aegean islands and the Turkish mainland. You may also be interested in ferries among the Greek Islands and ferries between Turkey and Italy.