Getting to Ankara

Ankara is the capital of Turkey and is easy to reach by air, bus, train or car. The distance between Ankara and Istanbul is approximately 440 kms or an estimated drive time of five hours.

By car

Travellers wishing to drive to Turkey must have their car registration documents, international driving licence, insurance certificate and a Green Card available from the insurance companies, to avoid problems at the immigration centres.

It is fairly straightforward to drive to Ankara from Europe using the improved Istanbul bypass and the Ankara Expressway. If you want to drive around Turkey, you can connect on to the otoyols (multi-lane highways) that connect Istanbul to the major cities in Turkey. Follow the E80 to get to Ankara or the D100 if you do not wish to avoid the highways.

By rail

Almost all of the major cities in Turkey are linked by a railway network that is extremely efficient as well as being comfortable and reliable. Trains run regularly from Istanbul, which takes about five hours, and also from several other places in Turkey to Ankara. There are trains from many major European cities into Istanbul. Here passengers will have to transfer on to the Turkish railways to get to Ankara.

Some of the routes currently being used are London-Paris-Vienna-Budapest-BucharestIstanbul, London-Paris-Vienna-Belgrade-Sofia-Istanbul and London-Paris-Ancona which continues to Istanbul by ferry.

Bus

Buses from many major European cities travel to Istanbul, where you will find connecting buses to Ankara. The Turkish coach lines run services to Frankfurt, Vienna and Athens but there are also several other coach companies that depart from Paris, Budapest and other cities in Europe.

By air

Esenboga Airport, Ankaras international airport, is about 35 kms from the city centre. The airport handles domestic and international flights and caters to many passengers arriving from all across the world. Many passengers, especially those travelling from the USA, New Zealand and Australia fly directly into Istanbul and then take a domestic flight up to Ankara. The flying time is approximately one hour from Istanbul. Passengers may also choose to fly to Antalya and then continue their journey to Ankara.

There are airport buses travelling into the city centre every half hour, from 04:30 through until midnight and taxis are available 24 hours a day, but can be quite expensive. Some hotels will arrange to meet you at the airport for an extra charge.

Although the airport is fairly small, it does offer limited facilities such as an information desk, left luggage, ATMs, bureaux de change and baby changing rooms. There are also bars, cafs and restaurants serving both international and local cuisine.

The airport also caters to disabled passengers and is wheelchair accessible throughout. Passengers who require help at the airport should inform the airlines at the time of booking.

Taxis

Taxis are readily available in Ankara and travellers can either hail them on the street or make a telephone booking. Hotels will also be able to assist in making advance bookings for taxis, although the majority of taxis can always be found lined up outside main shopping malls and tourist sites throughout the city. The taxis are usually metered but it is always best to check and insist that the driver uses his meter.