Getting to Bodrum

Bodrum is located on a peninsula in Turkeys southwest, facing the Mediterranean Sea. It is accessible by road from Ankara, the capital city, but most holidaymakers fly into Bodrum Airport. There are also ferries from Datca across the bay as well as from Kos in Greece.

By car

Bodrum is located 840kms from Istanbul and can be reached by car in around 12 hours. In Turkey, traffic drives on the right and road signs are international. Where there are no posted speed limits, the legal speed limit is 40kms per hour in towns and villages; and 90kms per hour on the highways. Seat belts are compulsory and drivers must not use mobile phones while driving.

By bus

A number of intercity bus companies operate services to Bodrum from major cities in Turkey such as Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Adana, Bursa and Konya. From Istanbul to Bodrum, the journey takes 12 hours, while from Ankara, the trip can be done in 10 hours. Many of the bus services are night buses, which arrive in town in the early morning. If youre hopping along the coast, standard minibuses run regularly from all points east or west.

Within the city, minibuses (known as dolmus in Turkish) offer connections to all villages and beaches. They depart from the central bus station (otogar in Turkish), which is located on Cevat Sakir Street. You can get on at the bus station or anywhere along a route by signalling the driver to stop for you. Likewise, you can get off at any convenient point anywhere along the route; just tell the driver.

By air

Bodrum Airport, located 36kms northeast of town, offers flights to and from most major European destinations, with frequent services to London and Luton international airports in the UK. Flight time from London to Bodrum is 3 hours 30 minutes. A spacious new international terminal was completed in 2000. The old terminal, now reserved for domestic flights, is one kilometre away, a 15-minute walk across a grassy field.

Facilities at the airport include a limited number of shops, cafs and bars. A phone shop is open 24 hours, convenient for purchasing telephone cards if your mobile phone doesnt work straight away. The North Shield Pub is open from 09:00 until 23:00, and serves traditional English pub fare.

A widened highway between Bodrum and the airport has cut transfer time by car to only 30 minutes. HAVAS provides a bus service from the airport to the centre of Bodrum. Airport taxis are plentiful, and charge fixed rates to many destinations. A rate board posted at the terminals displays the fares to 44 cities and towns in the region.

By ferry

The Bodrum to Datca passenger and vehicle ferry service only runs during the summer season, from May until October. Its a daily service, taking 3 hours.
A hydrofoil ferry boat departs every day except Sundays around 17:00 from Kos in Greece to Bodrum. As with most of the seasonal domestic ferry services, the dates when the service begins and ends depends on demand, often not starting until June and finishing in September.

Taxis

Taxis are fairly expensive in Bodrum. Taxi stands are located outside the airports Arrivals entrance, near the port and at the central bus terminal. Airport taxis are plentiful, and charge fixed rates to many area destinations.