The national airline is Turkish Airlines (TK) (website: www.turkishairlines.com).

From Istanbul to Frankfurt/M is three hours five minutes, to London is four hours and to New York is 11 hours 15 minutes.

Ankara (ESB) (Esenboga) is 35km (22 miles) northeast of the city. To/from the airport: Havas buses (website: www.havas.net) go from the city centre to the airport every 30 minutes between 0430-2400 and leave the airport after flight arrivals (travel time - 45 minutes). There is a taxi service available into the city. Facilities: Duty free shops, bank/bureau de change, and restaurants and bars.
Istanbul (IST) (Atatürk, formerly Yesilkoy) is 24km (15 miles) west of the city (travel time - 30 to 50 minutes). To/from the airport: A Havas coach travels to and from the airport and the city centre at 0500, then every 30 minutes between 0600-2300. There are taxi services to the city. Facilities: Duty free shops, bank/bureau de change, bar, restaurant, and car hire.
Izmir (IZM) (Adnan Menderes). To/from the airport: Havas buses meet domestic flights and travel from the city centre once an hour on the hour. Facilities: Bank/bureau de change, bar and restaurant.
Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) is 40km (25 miles) from Istanbul, on the Asian side. To/from the airport: There are shuttle bus services to the city (travel time - 30 to 45 minutes) and to Atatürk International Airport (travel time - 60 to 70 minutes). Taxis are available 24 hours a day. Facilities: Duty free shops, bank, ATMs, business centre and restaurants/cafes.
There are other international airports at Adana, Antalya, Dalaman and Trabzon.

US$50 is levied only on Turkish nationals not resident overseas departing from Turkey.

Main ports: Antalya, Bandirma, Istanbul, Izmir, Marmaris and Mersin.
To/from Italy: Direct ferries operate in the summer between Ancona-Cesme and Brindisi-Cesme (website: www.marmaralines.com or www.mesline.com). There are currently no direct ferries between Venice and Turkey; passengers must travel via Greece and the Greek Islands. To/from Cyprus: Three routes exist on which sea buses, together with car and passenger ferries, operate: Alanya-Girne, Tasucu-Girne, Gazimagusa-Mersin. To/from Greece: There are privately operated ferry lines between Turkey and the Greek islands: Lesbos-Ayvalik, Chios-Cesme, Samos-Kusadasi, Cos-Bodrum, Rhodes-Bodrum, Rhodes-Marmaris and Rhodes-Fethiye. Cos-Bodrum is the only winter car ferry route. To/from Ukraine: Ferries operate between Odessa-Istanbul (website: www.ukrferry.com).

All ships, including private yachts, arriving in Turkish waters must go to one of the following ports of entry: Akcay, Alanya, Anamur, Antalya, Ayvalik, Bandirma, Bodrum, Botas (Adana), Canakkale, Cesme, Datca, Derince, Didim, Dikili, Fethiye, Finike, Giresun, Güllük, Hopa (Artvin), Iskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Kas, Kemer, Kusadasi, Marmaris, Mersin, Ordu, Rize, Samsun, Sinop, Söke, Tasucu (Silifke), Tekirdag, Trabzon and Zonguldak.

Train journeys can be made to Istanbul via some of the major European cities. The journey from London takes three days: Eurostar to Paris, Orient Express to Vienna (overnight), Avala to Budapest, overnight Ister to Bucharest and finally the Bosfor to Istanbul. There is also a less comfortable couchette car from Budapest to Istanbul. More information is available from the website www.seat61.com. Other international rail routes go to Bulgaria, Greece, Georgia, Germany and Serbia and Montenegro. For more information contact Turkish Railways (TCDD) in Istanbul (tel: (212) 527 0050/1 or 520 6575 (reservations); website: www.tcdd.gov.tr).
Rail passes: The Inter-Rail pass offers unlimited second-class train travel in up to 29 European countries (includes Morocco and Turkey) split into eight zones (A-H). Three different tickets are available: a ticket covering one zone (two to six countries, 16 days’ validity), a ticket covering two zones (six to 10 countries, 22 days’ validity) and an All Zone Pass (29 countries, one month’s validity). Ferry services between Italy and Greece are included. Passengers must be resident in Europe for at least six months before the pass is used. Travel is not allowed in the passenger’s country of residence. Travellers under 26 years receive a reduction of about 30 per cent. Children’s tickets are reduced by about 50 per cent. Supplements are required for some high-speed services, seat reservations and couchettes. Discounts are offered on Eurostar and some ferry routes. Available from Inter Rail (website: www.interrailnet.com).

There are roads from Bulgaria, the CIS, Greece and Iran. From London, drivers may either choose the northern route of Belgium-Germany-Austria-Hungary-Romania-Bulgaria, or the southern route through Belgium-Austria-Italy with a car-ferry connection to Turkey. Coach: There are regular services between Turkey and Austria, France, Germany, Greece and Switzerland, as well as Jordan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the Syrian Arab Republic. It is possible to travel by coach from London to Istanbul, changing in Frankfurt (travel time - approximately 70 hours). Tickets are available from National Express (tel: (08705) 808 080; www.nationalexpress.com).

Road conditions and driving standards in Turkey can be poor. Serious road accidents are common. All visitors should be extra careful when travelling around Turkey's road network.

Turkish Airlines (tel: (020) 7766 9300 (UK office); website: www.turkishairlines.com) provides an important network of internal flights from Istanbul, Ankara, Adana, Antalya, Dalaman, Izmir and Trabzon to all of the major Turkish cities.

A frequent car ferry crosses the Dardenelles at Gallipoli, from Canakkale to Eceabat and Gelibolu to Lapseki. Istanbul Fast Ferries (tel: (212) 444 3436; website: www.ido.com.tr) operates frequent seabus services from Bostanci, Kadiköy, Kartal, Yalova and Büyükada Island to Auça, Bakirköy, Karaköy and Yenikapi. Turkish Maritime Lines used to operate the Black Sea service and the Istanbul-Izmir route, but the company recently went out of business. It is hoped a new operator will take over the routes.

Many trains of the Turkish Railways (TCDD) (website: www.tcdd.gov.tr) have sleeping cars, couchettes and restaurant cars. Some are now air-conditioned. Fares are comparatively low, but are more expensive for express trains. Discounts of 20 per cent are available for students (though a Turkish student card may be required), groups, round-trips and passengers over 60. Children aged seven and under travel free. Tickets can be purchased at TCDD offices at railway stations and TCDD-appointed agents. The journey from Istanbul to Ankara takes five to nine hours, depending on the type of train.
Rail passes: The EuroDomino pass enables holders anything from three to eight days’ extensive travel within a one-month period on the entire rail network of their chosen country. It is valid in 26 European countries. To purchase a EuroDomino pass you must have been resident in Europe for at least six months and a passport number is required at time of booking. It is not permitted to purchase a pass for travel within your own country of residence. To qualify for the youth rates, you must be under 26 years on the first date of validity of the pass. Children aged four to 11 years inclusive pay half the adult fares rounded up to the nearest pound. Children under four years travel free. Seat reservations, couchette and sleeper charges are not included in the cost of the pass and are payable at the normal rate. Passholder fares are payable on some services. Available from Rail Europe (website: www.raileurope.co.uk/railpasses/eurodomino.htm).

There is currently huge investment in road building. Traffic drives on the right. In case of an accident, contact the Turkish Touring and Automobile Club (Turkiye Turing ve Otomobil Kurumu), 1 Oto Sanayi Sitesi Yani, 4 Levent, Istanbul (tel: (212) 282 8140; website: www.turing.org.tr). Coach: Many private companies provide frequent day and night services between all Turkish cities. Services are often faster than trains and competition between operators has led to lower fares. Tickets are sold at the bus or coach companies' branch offices either at stations or in town centres. One should shop around for the best prices. Coaches depart from the bus stations (otogar) in large towns and from the town centre in small towns. Car hire: Both chauffeur-driven and self-drive cars are available in all large towns. All international companies are represented. Documentation: An International Driving Permit is required for visits of over three months. Green Card International Insurance, endorsed for Turkish territory in both Europe and Asia, and Turkish third-party insurance (obtainable from insurance agencies at frontier posts) are also required. Cars can be brought into Turkey for a maximum of six months in one year. On entering, an entry-exit form is filled out. For longer stays, it is necessary to apply to either the Ministry of Finance and Customs or the Turkish Touring and Automobile Club.

Bus and trolleybus: Extensive conventional bus (and some trolleybus) services operate in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. There are buses in all other large towns. These are generally reliable, modern and easy to use. Tickets are bought in advance from kiosks and dropped into a box by the driver. Taxi: There are many types of taxi, share-taxi and minibus in operation. Taxis are numerous in all Turkish cities and towns and are recognisable by their chequered black and yellow bands. Metered taxis are available. For longer journeys, the fare should be agreed beforehand. A dolmus is a collective taxi which follows specific routes and is recognisable by its yellow band. Each passenger pays according to the distance travelled to specific stops. The fares are fixed by the municipality. The dolmus provides services within large cities to suburbs, airports and often to neighbouring towns. This is a very practical means of transport and much cheaper than a taxi. Taxis may turn into a dolmus and vice versa according to demand. Ferry: There are extensive cross-Bosphorus and short-hop ferries between the parts of Istanbul. Metro: Ankara has a two-line metro system. Further expansion is planned.

The following chart gives approximate travel times (in hours and minutes) from Ankara to other major cities/towns in Turkey.

	Air	Road	Rail
Istanbul	0.45	6.00	7.00
Izmir	0.50	7.00	10.00
Antalya	1.00	8.00	-
Erzurum	1.15	11.00	18.00