Getting from Istanbul to Ankara
· Updated · BootsnAll
Istanbul is the city everyone comes for. Ankara is the capital, chosen by Atatürk in 1923 precisely because it was not Istanbul, and it is where the government, the embassies and the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations are.
They are about 450 km apart, and the way you get between them changed completely in 2014.
The high-speed train
The YHT, Turkey's high-speed service, opened on this route in July 2014 and it is now the obvious way to travel. Journey time is around four to five hours, and ongoing tunnel works are bringing that down further.
Trains run from Söğütlüçeşme on the Asian side and from Pendik, rather than from Sirkeci in the old city, so allow time to get across. Ankara's end is the modern YHT terminal at the main station.
Book through TCDD, the state railway. Fares are cheap by European standards and the business class upgrade costs little.
The train is comfortable, punctual and goes city centre to city centre. It has taken most of the traffic off the air route, and it deserves to have.
Flying
An hour in the air, with frequent services to Ankara Esenboğa from both Istanbul airports.
The arithmetic is less favourable than it looks. Istanbul Airport is a long way out on the European side and Sabiha Gökçen is a long way out on the Asian side, and Esenboğa is about 28 km from central Ankara. Add check-in and you are close to the train's four hours, in a worse seat.
Fly if you are connecting from an international flight. Otherwise take the train.
Buses
Turkish intercity coaches are very good, run constantly, and take around six hours on this route. They are cheaper than the train.
The standard is high: assigned seats, an attendant serving tea and snacks, regular stops. Before the high-speed line the bus was the default way to travel in Turkey and it remains excellent for the many routes the railway does not serve.
Istanbul's main coach terminal, Esenler, is enormous and confusing. Buy from a company office rather than from whoever approaches you.
Driving
About five hours on the O-4 motorway, which is tolled and good. Driving in Istanbul itself is a different matter and a car is a burden there.
What Ankara is for
The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, which holds the Hittite collection and is one of the best archaeological museums anywhere. Anıtkabir, Atatürk's mausoleum, which is enormous and tells you a great deal about modern Turkey. And the old citadel quarter, Hisar, which is the only part of the city that predates the 1920s in any obvious way.
Two days is plenty. Ankara is a working capital rather than a destination, and it does not pretend otherwise.