Travel - International
AIR: Turkey’s national airline is Turkish Airlines (TK). Other airlines serving Turkey include Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa and Swiss.
Approximate flight times: From Istanbul to Frankfurt/M is 2 hours 45 minutes, to London is 3 hours 30 minutes and to New York is 11 hours.
International airports: Ankara (ESB) (Esenboga) is 35km (22 miles) northeast of the city. THY buses go from the city 1hr 30 minutes before domestic flights and 2 hrs 15 minutes before international flights. There is a taxi service available into the city. Airport facilities include incoming and outgoing 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 – 30-50 minutes). A coach (THY bus) goes every 15 minutes to the THY terminal. There are taxi services to the city. Airport facilities include incoming and outgoing 24-hour duty-free shop, bank/bureau de change, bar, restaurant, and car hire (Avis, Budget, Hertz and Europcar).
Izmir (IZM) (Adnan Menderes). A THY bus leaves from the city 1 hr 15 minutes before departure. Airport facilities include bank/bureau de change, bar and restaurant.
Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) is 40km (25 miles) from the city, on the Asian side. It is Turkey’s newest international airport, and opened in 2001. There are shuttle bus services to the city (travel time – 30-45 minutes) and to Atatürk International Airport (travel time – 60-70 minutes). Taxis are available 24 hours a day. Facilities include duty-free shops, bank, ATMs, business centre and restaurants/cafes.
There are other international airports at Adana, Trabzon, Dalaman and Antalya.
Departure tax: US$50 is levied only on Turkish nationals not resident overseas departing from Turkey.
SEA: Major ports are Antalya, Bandirma, Istanbul, Izmir, Marmaris and Mersin. Turkish Maritime Lines (TML), the national shipping organisation, and a number of cruise lines run services to Turkey, including: Costa, CTC, Epirotiki, Golden Sun Cruises, ‘K’ Lines, Linblad Expeditions, Norwegian and Royal Olympic. Several ferry routes are available: To/from Italy: Ferries operate between Venice–Izmir, Venice–Antalya/Marmaris, Venice–Istanbul via Pireaus and Brindisi–Cesme. To/from Cyprus: Three routes exist on which sea buses, together with car and passenger ferries, operate: Alanya–Girne and Tasucu–Girne and Gazimagosa–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–Marmaris, Sömbeki–Datça.
Note: 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.
RAIL: There are connections from London (Victoria and Liverpool Street) via Hook of Holland and Cologne to Istanbul on the Istanbul Express, which also carries cars from several other European cities. There is a weekly sleeper from Moscow. InterRail tickets are available in the European part of Turkey as far as Istanbul. Other international rail routes go to Germany, Greece, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Georgia. For more information contact Turkish Railways (TCDD) in Istanbul (tel: (212) 527 0050/1 or reservations: (212) 520 6575; website: www.tcdd.gov.tr).
ROAD: There are roads from the CIS, Greece, Bulgaria and Iran. Drivers may either choose the northern route of Belgium, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, and then Bulgaria, or the southern route through Belgium, Austria and Italy with a car-ferry connection to Turkey. Coach: There are regular services between Turkey and Austria, France, Germany and Switzerland as well as Jordan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria. Eurolines, departing from Victoria Coach Station in London, serves destinations in Turkey. For further information, contact Eurolines (4 Cardiff Road, Luton, Bedfordshire, L41 1PP; tel: (08705) 143 219; fax: (01582) 400 694; website: www.eurolines.com or www.gobycoach.com).
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