Turkey
 

What is the preferred way to get from Ephesus to Istanbul?
How long does it take? How much in US$ ?

i drove to ismir and then flew to istambul

Fodors thinks that Turkey is in Europe - try the other board. But you could look at buses as well as planes.

Have a look at http://TurkeyTravelPlanner.com - that's just the kind of question Tom answers.

Four ways to travel from Ephesus (Selçuk) to Istanbul:

1. Minibus from Selcuk to Izmir Otogar (bus terminal), then intercity bus to Istanbul; or bus to Bandirma to catch a fast ferry across the Sea of Marmara to Istanbul (breaks up the long bus trip); or bus to Bursa, then another bus to Yalova for a fast ferry to Istanbul (ferries more frequent than from Bandirma).

2. Train from Izmir (Basmane) to Bandirma, then fast ferry to Istanbul. Two trains a day, but only one is well-coordinated with the ferry. Read this: http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/t...n/6_eylul.html

3. Flight from Izmir's Adnan Menderes Airport to Istanbul. Many flights, some not much more expensive than the bus fare. Try to take the train from Selçuk to the airport, as there are no convenient buses, and a taxi costs about TL100. There are four trains a day. Here's info on the train: http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/g...transport.html

4. Rent a car and drive. This is only recommended if you want to make stops along the way. For example, driving north up the Aegean coast stopping at Foça, Dikili, Bergama (Pergamum), Ayvalik, Troy, Mt Ida, Çanakkale, Gallipoli, etc. You can take the fast car ferry from Bandirma to Istanbul, but plan ahead, as service is limited.

Tom Brosnahan
http://www.TurkeytravelPlanner.com

If you have lots of time and if you enjoy driving on mountainous roads, take the drive up from Antalya to Istanbul. The coastline is beautiful. Tom Brosnahan's website is fabulous for Turkey planning. We relied heavily on his info. Just North of Antalya was one of our favorite ruins in Side (rarely written about in guidebooks). Driving in Turkey was fairly easy - mostly country roads - but the maps are not great and you need a good sense of direction.