Best Method to get from Kusadasi to Marmaris for 1:15 pm Ferry to Rhodes

Have you asked the RS office about this?

ViaMichelin says that's almost 130 miles and the fastest route is through Mugla, but almost none of it is on highways, so the estimated driving time (no stops, no getting lost) is 3 hr. 45 min. Folks here tend to think that VM is optimistic.

You can fiddle around with Rome2Rio and try following the bus links. I ran afoul of Turkish-language websites and gave up.

I should have mentioned that we will not have a car. We could ferry to Samos, then ferry to Rhodes. But it's a slow trip. We have tried looking into a bus to Marmaris, then ferry to Rhodes, but can find little information on the Kusadasi bus schedule. The ferry information is saying to arrive at 12:15 for passport control.

Great idea! I'll check with the RS office.

I figured you didn't have a car; I meant that the long driving time indicated an even longer trip by bus. You'd have to hope for a really early bus departure--and a reliable one. Perhaps once you join up with your tour, you'll find there are others who want to go to Rhodes, in which case a private driver might be reasonably affordable.

Our tour sales team is unlikely to have this info but your tour guide can certainly help once you arrive to Turkey. They might also be able to reply in advance; see their info at http://www.srmtravel.com/RickSteves.html.

I made the bus trip in the reverse direction once. It did require a connection. Rome2Rio suggest two route options with Kamil "Coach", one of the biggest bus operators, but I also don't find the schedule on their web site. The key is that Rome2Rio only suggests one departure daily from Kusadasi.

If you can be flexible about whether to catch the ferry on the same day or to overnight in Marmaris, that would save some worry in advance.

Thanks acraven and Laura!

A driver sounds like the best solution. I have sent a note to SRM Travel to see if they have any suggestions.
Gail