Turkey Transportation

Turkey is a fairly large country and the transportation of Turkey is sufficiently geared to negotiate the transportation routes in Turkey. The major transportation of Turkey consists of the following:

A common mode of transportation is the “Dolmus” which is a shared taxi or a van operating in almost all the transportation routes in Turkey. These vehicles operate between set points at a set fare and usually depart when the vehicle gets full. Though it is crowded especially during rush hours it is an inexpensive and convenient mode of transport. Again, if you are traveling in the old town of Istanbul, one would rather prefer the tram which is more convenient. There are public ferries as an alternative to land transportation if you are traveling between Asian and European districts of the city.

Istanbul is generally the final destination for international flights and also offers domestic flights to all operating airports in the country. Turkish Airlines has its hub here at Istanbul and just in case your tour starts or ends in another location you can ask for connecting flights or combined tickets. Turkish Airlines might also be able to provide discount rates as it is a destination partner to various airline organizations. Now, one also gets to fly on private airlines as they have been allowed to operate scheduled domestic flights between major airports.

Turkey has every corner connected by a fairly decent network of highways. The bus and minibus system is casual and easy to figure out. The bus terminal found in every major city and town in Turkey is called “Otogar”. The bus companies have their offices here sharing space with others. There might be some bus liners who have ticket offices centrally located in towns and cities with usually a shuttle service to the bus terminal. Some of the better companies offer express services which includes meals to major destinations. They do not make stops en route to collect passengers.

It can be quite an experience to travel on train. Although the services are limited and do not have all current standard facilities they can be quite convenient on certain destination routes. There are overnight trains that operate between major destinations and usually have compartments for two.