Travelling to Turkey

Turkey is also connected to several cities in Europe, Iran and Syria by bus. Bulgaria is connected to Istanbul via daily bus service from Emniyet Garaji bus terminal. In Bulgaria, the buses connect Sofia, Plovdiv, Haskovo and other north-eastern Bulgarian towns to Turkey. Buses also run from Romania, Macedonia and Kosovo to Istanbul.

All the cross-country buses terminate at Büyük Otogar, the main bus terminal in Istanbul. The bus terminal has 168 ticket offices along with the metro station and restaurants. It also has hotel, police station, clinic and mosque.

Alpar Turizm operates buses to and from Plovdiv, Sofia, Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania. Derya Tur, Drina Trans, Fatih Turizm and Huntur Turizm are other operators that provide bus services to and from Istanbul.

From the Pelopponese Bus Station in Athens, buses leave for Istanbul on daily basis. This bus also connects Xanthi, Komotini, Thessaloniki and Larissa with Istanbul. Direct buses also connect Istanbul to Teheran and Aleppo in Syri. Operators for these buses are Ulusoy, Metro Turizm and Derya Tur.

Other countries that are connected to Istanbul by bus routes are Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Iraq. Buses to all these countries operate to and from Emniyet Garaji bus terminal in Istanbul.

Apart from cross country buses, various inter-state and intra-state buses also operate in Turkey. Generally, these buses are operated by Ulusoy, Kamil Koc, Varan and Pumukkale.

Inter-state bus service is available for western Anatolia, Aegean region, Mediterranean region and Black Sea coasts. Further, buses also connect major cities like Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. Within Turkey, one can also find buses for Kusadasi, Cappadocia, Gallipo, Pamukkale, Oludeniz/Fethiye and Koycegiz.

Inter-state and cross country buses in Turkey are owned by private companies. Snacks and beverages are provided to passengers. However, some big companies also have facilities for lunch and breakfast. No bus in Turkey has on-board toilets. Several companies operate buses with luxury seats. Buses halt at restaurants every 2 to 3 hours during the journey. Smoking is prohibited in the buses.

A bus journey between Istanbul and Thessaloniki costs 2,572.53 INR, whereas the buses between Istanbul and Athens charge 4,001.72 INR for one way trip. For travelling on a bus between Vienna and Istanbul, one needs to pay 6,860.09 INR. The fares are subject to change according to the season and bus company.