Getting To Turkey
There are so many ways to get to Turkey and the departure points of Fethiye, Olympos, Demre or Bodrum to embark on your Go Sail Turkey cruise.
Here are some of the best routes into, out of and around Turkey, plus ways to get directly to where your boat will depart from.
AIR
Going to Turkish coast via Istanbul
We highly recommend Skyscanner as the first place to look for any direct or indirect flights to Turkey. The site is easy to use and the best price is usually there!
Turkey’s busiest international airport is the newly-built Istanbul Airport in north-west Istanbul. Istanbul also has a smaller airport in the south-east of the city, called Sabiha Gökçen International Airport which mainly services cheap flights from Europe and some domestic flights.
Turkey’s national carrier is Turkish Airlines, which has direct flights from Istanbul to most capital cities around the world. It has a good safety record, and prides itself on its service.
From both Istanbul airports, there are good connections to Dalaman airport (for Fethiye cruise departures), Antalya (for Olympos and Demre) or Bodrum airport. The best companies and prices seem to be with Pegasus (for Dalaman), AtlasJet (for Antalya flights) and Turkish Airlines (for all internal flights). Pegasus and Atlasjet have one-way flights from Istanbul to Dalaman and Antalya for as little as 35 Euros one-way!
From UK/Ireland & rest of Europe directly to airports on Turkey’s coast
Pegasus, TUI, Jet2, Turkish Airlines, Ryanair and EasyJet offer direct flights between London airports, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Newcastle, Dublin and other UK/Ire airports and Turkey’s coastal airports (Dalaman, Antalya, Bodrum), usually from as little as £75 GBP one-way.
Many travellers fly with budget airlines from UK to the Greek island of Rhodes (Easyjet and Ryanair) and then take the ferry across to Fethiye. Another popular route is UK to the Greek island of Kos (Jet2, Easyjet, British Airways), followed by fast ferry across to Bodrum. See more details on our ferry section below.
In general, there is not much variation in fares to Turkey from one European city or another. Most European national carriers fly direct to Istanbul for around €200 euros return. Remember that Germany has the biggest Turkish community outside Turkey, which has resulted in great deals between the two countries. For example, Lufthansa has direct flights to Istanbul from €160 return.
See Skyscanner for full schedules and prices of all UK and other European flights.
From Australia
You can fly to Istanbul with Etihad, Emirates, Virgin, Qantas, Malaysia and Singapore Airlines from Sydney or Melbourne.
You can often get cheaper flights with European airlines such as Lufthansa, but you’ll have to transit in a European city first before catching a flight back to Istanbul.
From New Zealand
You can fly to Istanbul from Auckland on Emirates and they seem to have the best fares but Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand are also worth checking.
From USA and Canada
Turkish Airlines offers flights to Istanbul from New York (JFK) and Los Angeles (LAX).You might get a cheaper flight with Lufthansa or KLM, but you’ll have to change planes in Europe.
Most flights from Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver connect with flights bound for Istanbul in Europe (usually UK).
Most flights from Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver connect with flights bound for Istanbul in Europe (usually UK).
FERRY FROM GREECE TO TURKEY
By Fast Hydrofoil from Greece
This is becoming more and more of a popular route (instead of flying), as many travellers explore some Greek islands before or after their Turkey sail.
The Rhodes to Fethiye fast hydrofoil link is the most commonly taken crossing (takes only 30 mins!) and we strongly recommend booking it in advance for high season.
There is usually only 1 hydrofoil per day (except for 2 on Sundays in July and August).
You can book your FETHIYE-RHODES-FETHIYE hydrofoil with FERRYHOPPER below.
The Rhodes to Marmaris ferry routes are also well worth looking into (book with FERRYHOPPER below)
There are also many flights into Kos Island, so it’s worth exploring that island, then taking the ferry between that island and Bodrum (again, FERRYHOPPER is your one-stop shop below).
Ferry from Italy to Turkey
Train
A real experience is the Bosphorus Express (also known as the Trans Balkan Express) which runs between Istanbul and Bucharest in Romania, through Bulgaria.
Bus / Coach
Coach services to Istanbul tend to run only from Germany, Italy, Austria and Greece so if you’re travelling from other Western European cities, you might need to catch a connecting coach.. Example one-way fares and travelling time to Istanbul are: Frankfurt €140 (45 hours), Munich €120 (42 hours), Vienna €115 (36 hours), and Athens €75 (20 hours). There are also buses to Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina (Sarajevo).