Kusadasi to Istanbul

One option is to fly from Izmir to Istanbul. Kusadasi is a short drive south (an hour or two). There are several public bus and private transportation options between the two cities. I have not used them, so you'll need to do a bit of research to find the best one. Good luck.

David,
I'd suggest giving Rick's company, ETBD, a quick call. The Tour Department most likely will have specific info on this, and I would guess they would gladly share it with someone considering this tour. On the two RS tours we've taken in the past, information on how to get to major airport hubs was included with our pre-departure info.....but, like you, I'd want that info during my pre-booking research. I've only visited Istanbul and Kusadasi, but we loved our visit to Turkey. We were on a small ship cruise, so transportation from one location to another was not something we did on our own. Rick's trip looks great. Enjoy.

David - If you just want to get back to Istanbul right away, book a flight on the last day of the tour as the bus should be going to the Izmir airport that morning (see the last day of the day by day tour itinerary on this website). The details are included in the tour packet or as Margaret suggested call tour department. They can tell you what are the best flight times to book in order to take the tour bus to the airport. There are other options... When we went a few people took a few days and went back to Istanbul by bus stopping at sights along the way and others took the tour bus to the airport. The rest of us took the ferry to Samos (and on to other Greek islands or a flight to Athens). Excerpt from tour description: Day 13: Tour Over After Breakfast
You can hop a ferry to the Greek island of Samos (where you'll find easy plane/boat connections to other islands and Athens), or take the tour bus to nearby Izmir for quick flights to Athens or Istanbul and home. Güle güle!