Getting a tourist visa for Turkey

We have bundled all essential Turkey travel resources on one page! First things first, you will need a tourist visa to enter Turkey. This is the link to the official e-Visa application website for tourist visas for Turkey. Are you planning on having an extended stay? Then make sure you are not overstaying and use this calculator to avoid it!

FastTrack at Istanbul airports

If you have to deal with connecting flights, know that Istanbul airports can get overwhelmingly busy. Being able to use the fast lane can be a necessity instead of a luxury. Both Sabiha Gökçen and Istanbul Airport have a FastTrack system in place. You can skip the line if you:

• buy a one-time FastTrack pass for Sabiha Gökçen
• buy an IGAPass for Istanbul Airport (direct link to buying page)

Air Travel in Turkey – Turkish airports

Air travel within Turkey is also cheap. Find the cheapest flights using this search form.

If you are looking for a fast way to reach your next destination during your Turkey trip, the overview of all airports in Turkey below might be what you are looking for. Click on the logo with the arrow on the top left-hand side of the map to expand the menu with all Turkish airports in alphabetical order.

All Turkish Airports

Travel by bus in Turkey

During all times of the day and night, buses connect major cities. Have a look at all the intercity connections by bus in Turkey and buy your ticket online. These buses take you across province borders.

Within the same province, you will use the public transport system which consists of big buses bringing you to bigger cities within the same province. (e.g., Bodrum to Fethiye) You may have to switch buses at one point. Within the city boundaries, small vans called dolmuş take you wherever you need to be.

For Istanbul, consult the IETT website, which is conveniently available in English.

For other cities, have a look at the Belediye Otobüsü website. While this website contains an overview of bus lines for a lot of major cities, you may not find tourist destinations like Bodrum, Marmaris, or Fethiye on there. You can find them on the official Muğla province website.

Both websites are only available in Turkish, so here are a few guidelines to help you out:

Simply type your destination under ‘Nereden? / Nereye?’ and you will be able to select the dolmuş route you need. After that, click on the red button on the right ‘Seferleri Göster’ for the timetable. To make things easy:

• Hafta İçi: weekdays
• Hafta Sonu: weekends – Cumartesi: Saturday – Pazar: Sunday
• Kalkış: departure
• Otogar: bus station
• Havalimanı: airport
• Tüm: all

Car hire in Turkey

Do you want to hire a car in Turkey? Driving in Turkey is less daunting then a lot of people say it is. Granted, Istanbul is extremely hectic, and you will need to get used to the loose driving style of Turkish drivers, but on the other hand, you will have full control of your transportation in Turkey! If you are looking for a familiar and established company with offices all over Turkey, check out Europcar. They offer:

Train travel in Turkey

As slow travelers, we support train travel! It is the perfect way to enjoy the scenery and the journey. If you are thinking of traveling through Turkey by train, you will find information on train timetables, Turkish railway maps and more on the Rail Turkey Travel website. You can book your train ticket online here.

Here’s a direct link to all information about visiting Turkey’s main tourist attractions by train.

Biking Routes in Turkey

Biking is a great way to discover Turkey. This vast country has long nature stretches waiting to be discovered. Check out these cycling routes in Turkey with detailed maps for each route. On the website of The Eco Trails, there are several stunning routes covering ancient Caria and Lycia. The website is in Turkish only, but the detailed maps speak for themselves.

Do you prefer a more organized approach? Biking in Turkey and Spice Roads are specialized in biking holidays.

Walking & Hiking in Turkey

Not every season is walking season in Turkey, still, on the Culture Routes Society website you’ll find plenty of detailed hikes all over Turkey, including the option to filter per season. Other great hiking resources are Trekking in Turkey and Wikiloc. The last one has lots of hikes that are only described in Turkish, but with extremely detailed maps (containing even altitude markers), you shouldn’t have any issues using it.

Weather in Turkey

Turkey is a big country with a very diverse climate. If you are traveling outside of the summer months, it is wise to consult the weather statistics for the regions that you will be visiting. Depending on your location in winter, you can sit on the beach enjoying the winter sun, and walk in the snow 30 minutes later after driving up a mountain nearby.

We’ve decided to make things easy for you with a dedicated page about the weather in Turkey featuring an interactive map. Click on the map to be taken to the page. It also contains a 7-day forecast for each region.

Interactive Map of Turkey

Prepare your itinerary with our interactive map of Turkey. Each week; we add new things to see or do, making it the perfect tool to discover what each area has to offer.

Turkey travel guides

Other essential Turkey travel resources are travel guides. Here’s a sample of our favorite travel guides for Turkey.

Another good source of information and inspiration are the experiences of other travelers. You’ll find what they have to say on TripAdvisor.

Emergency numbers in Turkey

Let’s hope you won’t need to call any of these numbers during your stay in Turkey, but if you do need them, now you know where to find them.

• Ambulance: 112
• Fire: 110
• Police: 155
• Coastguard: 158
• Forest fires: 177
• Missing child/Women’s helpline: 183
• Health Line: 184

Note that both ambulance services and the health line work in collaboration with a dedicated International Patient Support Unit that offers its translation services 24/7 in six different languages. You can reach the call center directly at +90 850 288 38 38. They assist in English, German, French, Russian, Farsi, and Arabic.

Compare all major vacation rental sites in one place

For those who would love more choice, try Tripping.com, they show all vacation rentals of any major vacation rental website in one place, including HomeAway, VRBO, TripAdvisor, Booking.com and more! Saves you the time to go to each website one by one! 🙂

Find the best hotel for your stay

Do you prefer to stay at a hotel? You’ll find a stunning selection of affordable hotels on Agoda.com. They are part of the same group as Booking.com and Kayak, so you are in good hands. You’ll find lot’s of pictures and reviews from both Booking and Agoda clients to make an informed choice.

Booking.com

Find a pet-friendly hotel or restaurant

Are you bringing your pet to Turkey? Finding pet-friendly hotels, restaurants, and even activities is going to be high on your list. Fortunately, Bring Fido specializes in collecting all this information in one place. Find your perfect pet-friendly hotel in Turkey here.

Traveling with food allergies: FREE Turkish allergy cards!

Traveling with allergies can be daunting, especially if you’re in a country where you don’t speak the language. To help you travel freely and safely, we’ve made free Turkish allergy cards for the most common food allergies and Diabetes Type 1. Download your FREE Turkish allergy cards from this page.

Internet in Turkey – Free WiFi in Turkey map

Being on the road doesn’t mean losing internet access. You’ll find easy access to the internet in Turkey almost everywhere you go. And to make it even easier here’s a link to a map with hotspots offering free WiFi in Turkey. Just zoom in to see the point. You also have the option to filter out those places with unprotected password access. This might come in handy if you want to do some extra research or if you want to check our latest post while you’re in the country.

Religious & public holidays in Turkey: check out our complete calendar!

Before traveling to Turkey, make sure to check out our calendar with religious and public holidays. All holidays mentioned have a link to a page that explains if and how they may affect your travels. The calendar is updated each year. Find out when it is Ramadan in Turkey, what to expect from Sugar Feast or Sacrifice Feast or why public life stops for a minute on November 10th.

Accessible Travel in Turkey – Wheelchair Travel

We may venture off the beaten track quite a bit, but this doesn’t mean we’re not aware of people’s needs for accessible travel in Turkey. If you want more information about wheelchair travel, facilities for people with mobility issues or travelers with special needs such as dialysis, check out the Turkey accessible travel website.