Transport in Turkey: 18 Top Tips for Getting Around by Bus
We spent six weeks travelling by public transport in Turkey, from Istanbul in the very west of the country to Kars in the very east of the country.
We travelled exclusively overland by buses/coaches/minibuses and a couple of trains, using a variety of different companies, some journeys lasting ten hours, while some lasted twenty minutes.
And, I have to say that we were pleasantly surprised by how comfortable it really was.
Through trial and plenty of error, we learnt how the bus system works. Yes, it might seem a bit chaotic, but it’s an organised chaos. Find all our tips in this ultimate guide to transport in Turkey.
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1. Be Aware That Turkey is HUGE
The country is massive! To travel from Istanbul to Cappadocia (so the west of the country to the centre) takes a good twelve hours. Most of the journeys between major cities were at least seven hours long, so we just got used to it. The longer the journey, the more comfortable the bus (generally).
2. Night Buses are a Really Good Option
Because of the long distances, check if a night bus is available. We took several night buses on the longer journeys over ten hours, and they were pretty good!
Comfortable, made regular stops to use the toilets and services, had air con. We really were impressed with the night buses. You get to save on a night’s accommodation too, so, win win.
3. THE Most Useful Phrases You Need When Getting on a City Bus
Şehir Merkezi. Pronounced ‘sheh-hear merkezzy’, this phrase means city centre. Presumably, you’re at the bus station miles out of the centre, and your accommodation is in the centre.
Even if you don’t speak any other Turkish and the bus driver speaks no English, you can ask for şehir merkezi and will end up going in the right direction.
Top tip! Heading back to the station, ask the bus driver for ‘otogar’, which means bus station and is said exactly as it looks.
4. Service Stations Don’t Cater Well for Vegetarians
All the food that we saw at the service stations was very heavy on the old meat. We would buy a coffee, but bring plenty of snacks and a packed lunch with us because it always looked a bit risky.
The ultimate vegetarian Turkish packed lunch is ready made cig kofte in a flatbread – spiced bulgur wheat patty. You can get them at most grocery shops in the fridges.
5. Buses Serve Complimentary Tea/Çay
Most of the long distance buses we took, served complimentary tea throughout the journey. Some even served a variety of drinks and snacks – biscuits, chocolate etc. for zero charge. Such luxury.
6. Main City Bus Stations are Generally Miles out of Town
To get from most city bus stations, you will need to get a bus into the city. With our backpacks, we would be willing to walk up to 40 minutes to our accommodation, and there were no bus stations that fell into this category, (except Kars but that’s a different story for further down the page!).
7. Download Turkish Language to your Phone for Offline Use
Download the Google Translate app and download the Turkish language. Even if you don’t have any internet connection, you can still communicate with people. The further east you go in the country, the less widely spoken English is.
And because of this, always double check your tickets before walking away from the stand. We booked a ticket with Kamil Koc at Gaziantep bus station to Sanliurfa. They told us it was leaving at 1pm.
When they printed the ticket and gave it to us, it said 01:00 not 13:00. The ticket agent was adamant that 1pm meant the morning. Anyway, check your tickets before leaving the desk.
8. Have Your Passport and Enough Cash to Pay for your Tickets
Every single ticket we bought for intercity buses required us to show passports. Most companies did not accept card as payment for bus tickets.
Varan in Istanbul and Kamil Koc in Denizli and Gaziantep were the only two occasions where we could pay with card.
9. Don’t Rely on One Transport App
Rome2Rio seems to be most people’s go-to when checking transport, and while this has great capabilities, it doesn’t capture everything. When we ventured towards the east of Turkey, Rome2Rio became less and less reliable. I would recommend checking 12Go, Rome2Rio, and Obilet to get a well-rounded picture of all of your options and companies.
10. Paying Fares on City Buses
City buses have different rules for each city, so it’s not the easiest system to navigate. Some cities require a city specific transport card. Some accept cash only. Some accept card only.
So, doing your research beforehand is pretty much essential to a smooth ride the other side to your accommodation. If you have accommodation booked, ask your host about the buses. More often than not, we were given great tips from our hosts about buses, fares etc.
11. City Specific Transport Cards
12. Loads of Bus Companies Service the Same Routes
If you head to Esenler Bus Station in Istanbul, you’ll probably find over fifty bus companies with different kiosks. Chris and I split up to tackle this, wandering in to each kiosk saying our destination.
Most other bus stations have much fewer, but still ask around and find the best prices and times for you.
13. You Might Have to Pay to Use the Toilet
I’d put the ratio at 75/25:charge/no charge. So, it’s best to carry a few lira coins with you. Because you have to pay to use the loos at the service stations/bus stations, they’re generally in pretty good condition.
Also be aware that the further east you travel, the more likely that the toilets will be squatters (holes in the ground). The few that I did venture in to, had mostly squatters and then maybe one Western toilet.
14. You Might Be Asked to Switch Seats because of the Gender of Another Passenger
We only experienced this once in the east of the country. Chris and I were sat together, and then a guy was sat across the aisle with a seat free next to him. The guy asked Chris to sit next to him so that the woman could sit next to me instead of sitting next to him.
There is also something similar if you book your tickets online – we only did this a couple of times. When you book your ticket, you have to declare your gender to enable the system to seat you where is deemed appropriate. This is obviously a cultural thing, but is far removed from anything that I had experienced before.
15. Travelling from Van to Kars? Keep your Passport Handy
The route from Van to Kars takes you through many checkpoints. Armed police officers will likely come on to the bus and take your passport.
We never had any problems (we were the only tourists) and neither did anyone else on our bus. During the seven hour journey, our bus had to stop on six occasions. Keep your passport to hand so that you’re ready.
16. Kars Turgutreis Bus Station Runs a Free City Shuttle
📍 Yusufpaşa, Küçük Kazım Bey Cd. No:2
We got off the bus after a seven hour ride through six police checkpoints and it was dark. Our accommodation was a 40 minute walk away – the max that we would walk with our backpacks – so we strapped ourselves up and headed off.
Just before we left the station, a guy in a minibus asked us if we wanted a lift. We said ‘no, thanks’. Then he told us it was for free. Ermmm… really?
Kars was our last stop across Turkey and we hadn’t come across any other free shuttles into the city so far. In we jumped. He dropped us exactly where we asked him to for no charge. Well, thank you very muchly.
Heading to Kars to explore the ancient ruins of Ani? Read this blog post for everything you need to know before you go.
Savvy Traveller Pro Tips 🇹🇷
After exploring Turkey for six weeks, these are our favourite booking tools that we couldn’t travel without!
17. You Might Not Need to Show a Ticket
On the occasions that we did have physical or mobile tickets, we were not asked to show them. The bus company has a printed sheet of paper on the bus, with a record of you, your seat number and final destination. They will likely just come down the aisle and double check your final destination with you.
If you have a Turkish SIM, which I highly recommend you do!, the confirmation will be texted to you.
18. Be Wary of Scams
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. At Izmir bus station, I had a random man buy me two Izmirim Kart (the local transport card) for no reason.
Always come prepared with small notes so that you don’t have to hand over a large note and ask for change. If you do hand over a large note, always check your change. If you have been short-changed, stand your ground, make a fuss; the last thing the scammer wants is for others to cotton on to their scheme.
Looking to Travel from Kars to Batumi in Georgia by Bus?
It’s totally doable! The route isn’t direct and it will take you all day, but it’s an adventure. We have a whole blog post on how to travel from Kars to Batumi with all the detailed info you need to make the trip yourself.
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