Travel

Which Ways may be Followed in Making Long Distance Travel

In order to travel between cities in Turkey there exist many alternatives you can benefit except for your personal vehicle.

Turkey is a country whose highway and airport network is quite wide. With investments made especially in recent years, 55 pcs airports are found in the country and all cities of the country may be accessed via highway.

As to road transport, it should be stated that Republic of Turkey Government have attached great importance to divided road project in recent years. Accordingly, departure and arrival roads are independent from each other. This situation also enhances travel comfort and become efficient for preclusion of traffic accidents.

Let us state that when İstanbul’s 3rd Airport which is envisaged to be completed in last months of 2018 comes into operation, it will be largest airport of the World with passenger capacity of 150 million. Due to being located at junction point of the regions like Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa, etc. we can say that İstanbul will become one of the most important centres from the point of  World airport network.

In addition to this, possibilities of conventional train and high speed train also exist. Since mountains in some regions of Black Sea and Mediterranean lie parallel to shore, train transportation is unavailable to these regions. Only to the regions outside these regions, you can access through train transportation. In the same way, efficiency and quality increase gradually in high speed train transportation which is already in service and the construction process of which lasts.

Now, let us analyse alternatives more closely you can use in travelling long distance in Turkey.

Road Transport

Transport type which is most frequently used for long distance transportation in Turkey. Namely, it is possible to go to 81 provinces of the country as well via bus travel.

You can purchase ticket from interurban bus stations, various offices in city or bus firms and over internet. Besides, option to make ticket reservation by phone is also present.

Between İstanbul, the largest city of Turkey and the capital city of the country, bus service is possible nearly at every hour of day. The distance between two cities is 450 km and this distance continues around 5.5-6 hours.

In order to allow you to visualize it better, let us look at distance and travel time between some cities:

  • İstanbul – İzmir: 472 kilometers, 6 hours
  • İstanbul – Gaziantep: 1146 kilometers, 13 hours
  • İstanbul – Antalya: 700 kilometers, 6.5 hours
  • Ankara – İzmir: 670 kilometers, 8 hours
  • Ankara – Erzurum: 876 kilometers, 10.5 hours

Before and after Ramadan Feasts and Feasts of Sacrifices, in the periods when official holiday time is long, bus tickets are consumed in very short time. Therefore, in making bus travel, it would be beneficial for you to consider the factors like official holiday, official and religious holidays, new year, start of schools, etc. and make an early reservation.

Air Transportation

Pretty prevalent airway network is found in Turkey. Third airport expected to be put into service at the end of 2018 and the construction of it is kept on will carry the title of being the largest airport of the World with its annual passenger capacity of 150 million.

Total 56 airports are available in Turkey and international flights are realized in 24 ones of these airports. In other words, international and local flights are made to each region of Turkey.

Therefore you should consider air transportation as an alternative in your long distance travels within Turkey in terms of being reliable and fast.

Railway Transportation

Railway transportation takes third place followed by road and air transportation in Turkey. In Turkey having 6 different railway regions, no train network is present in Eastern Mediterranean, Central Black Sea and some places of Mediterranean region. Outside these regions, nearly each place of the country may be reached with railway.

With high speed train investments made in recent years, High speed train services are offered between Ankara-Eskişehir-İstanbul and Ankara-Konya. Thanks to high speed train which travels with 250 km fixed speed in average, the distance of 234 km between Ankara-Eskişehir may be covered around 1 hour and 5 minutes.

Construction studies in Ankara-İzmir, Ankara-Sivas high speed train lines will also be completed in a few years.

Meanwhile, it would not be correct to proceed without mentioning it:  As Orient Express which travels from Ankara to Kars nearly cover the country from one end to other one and displays beauties of Anatolia throughout road, it finds approval in recent periods by domestic and foreign tourists.

By renting one compartment from Orient Express, you can watch different villages, towns and cities of Turkey from your seat, catch opportunity to know Anatolia more closely throughout the travel which lasts 24    hours.

Marine Transportation

On account of being a country surrounded on three sides by the sea, marine transportation in Turkey is widespread. Especially İstanbul, İzmir, Samsun, Mersin, İskenderun airports are busy ones in terms of international export and import.

However, from the point of long distance travel in Turkey, marine transportation covers fewer routes compared to other alternatives. Ferryboat services among İstanbul, Yalova, Bandırma and Bursa are rendered and in comparison with road alternative, transportation in shorter time is provided.

Expat Guide Turkey

Expat Guide Turkey is a news website that shares important events in Turkey and news concerning foreigners in Turkey. It also contains a guide to undiscovered places, city and district about Turkey.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Articles

Back to top button

Ad Blocker Detected

We earn income from advertisements in order to provide you with a better service. Please turn off your ad blocker and refresh the page to access the content.