Getting To And Around Turkey

Traveling to Turkey by Air, Land and Sea

By air

As well as the national Turkish carriers such as Turkish Airlines, other airlines like Alitalia, Air France, British Airways, KLM, Lufthansa, Olympic, SAS etc...  all offer regular flights to Turkey. Indeed there are over 100 airlines flying to Turkey from around the world. 

Most airlines fly into one of Istanbul’s two airports, Ataturk airport or Istanbul Sabiha, as well as to destinations around the country.

Most American visitors arrive in Turkey by flying directly into Istanbul and travelling on domestic flights from there. Turkish Airlines fly non-stop from New York or Chicago into Istanbul Ataturk, taking just over 10 hours. Thanks to a deal with American Airlines, you can connect to these flights from 15 major US cities. Delta Airlines is the only US-based carrier flying direct to Turkey. Most European-based airlines fly from North America with stopovers in Europe.

Which airlines fly from your country? Click here for a list of airlines flying to Turkey 

Generally speaking, airfares to Turkey are lowest in December and January and highest in June and July with May, August and September being slightly lower. As you would expect, April and October are lower still.

By sea

Many cruise ships sailing in the Eastern Mediterranean dock in Turkey. Major ports are Istanbul, Izmir, Cesme, Kusadasi, Marmaris and Antalya.

Turkey is also well served by passenger and automobile ferries connecting it to neighboring countries, which also allows entry by sea. Ferries between Turkey and the Greek Islands run regularly in the summer, with a reduced schedule in winter. There are also ferries between Turkey and Italy (Cesme-Brindisi) and between Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (Mersin-Magosa). 

Ferry services also operate between Istanbul and various Ukrainian ports as well as to locations on Russia’s Black Sea Coast.

By Land

Turkey has many border crossings with its neighbours and you can take advantage of the regular bus services that run between Istanbul and Athens and Istanbul and Vienna. Istanbul can also be reached by train directly from and via some of Europe´s major cities.

1.	Traveling to Turkey by Air, Land and Sea
2.	Getting Around Turkey Itself

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