Getting from Istanbul to Izmir (and return)
· Updated · BootsnAll
Izmir is Turkey's third city, on the Aegean, and it is the base for the Greek and Roman coast: Ephesus is an hour away, Pergamon and Sardis within reach, and the beach towns of Çeşme and Alaçatı just west.
It is about 480 km from Istanbul around the Sea of Marmara, and that journey has been transformed by a motorway.
The road that changed everything
The old drive went the long way round the gulf of İzmit and took eight or nine hours. The Osmangazi Bridge opened on 1 July 2016, spanning the gulf in one 2.7 km leap, and the full Istanbul to İzmir motorway followed, about 420 km of new road.
The drive is now somewhere between three and a half and five and a half hours depending on traffic and where in Istanbul you start. The tolls are substantial, the bridge especially, and they are worth it.
This also transformed the buses, which use the same road.
Buses
Turkish coaches are excellent and this is now a fast route for them: reckon on six to seven hours including stops, with departures through the day and overnight.
They are inexpensive, the seats are assigned, and an attendant comes round with tea. Buy from an operator's own office at Esenler in Istanbul rather than from a tout in the terminal.
Flying
An hour to Izmir Adnan Menderes, many flights a day, and cheap. For most travellers this is the sensible choice, because the surface alternatives take the better part of a working day.
Izmir's airport has a suburban rail link, İZBAN, straight into the city, which is unusually civilised and makes the flight genuinely quick end to end.
The train, and the ferry
There is no high-speed line to Izmir. The conventional railway around the Marmara is slow and not a serious option for this journey.
The more interesting surface route is a combination. Take a fast ferry across the Sea of Marmara from Istanbul to Bandırma, about two hours, and then the train on to Izmir, about six. It is a long day and it involves actual sea travel rather than a motorway, which some people will consider a fair trade.
What to do from Izmir
Ephesus is the reason most people come, and it is one of the best preserved classical cities in the Mediterranean: the Library of Celsus, the theatre that held 25,000, and the terrace houses, which cost extra and are worth it.
Alaçatı, on the Çeşme peninsula, is a stone-built village turned upmarket resort and is among the best windsurfing spots in the Mediterranean because of the reliable summer meltemi.
Izmir itself is more relaxed and more secular in feel than Istanbul, and the seafront at Kordon in the evening is where the city goes.
One note on entry
Turkey's visa rules changed recently. British, American, Canadian and Australian visitors now enter visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180. Other nationalities may need an e-visa, and the visa desks at airports have been closed permanently, so it must be obtained online before you fly.