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Bus or trains in Turkey

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We will be attending a wedding in Istanbul in September 2026.
We’d like to visit places like Troy or Heliopolis, and other ancient sites. Although we’ve driven all over Europe over the years, we’d prefer sitting back to enjoy the views. So I’m looking at bus, trains, taxis, or private car and driver options. Or day trip recommendations.

**We are late 60s early 70s and would like to avoid the stress of driving, parking, planning routes etc. not reading road signs, etc or worrying about tolls, speeding tickets etc. Trying to avoid the stress of fussing with each other because the travel is stressing us out😂
Thank you!

Posted by
11936 posts

Well, you could easily visit both of them. And if you're heading down towards Pamukkale, which is near where Heliopolis is, you should go a little bit farther and visit Ephesus. Ephesus is really incredible. You can stay in the nearby town of Selçuk to visit there.

I was in Turkey for 2 and a half weeks, about 18 years ago, and I traveled by bus all over the place. I really enjoyed the experience in the Turkish buses, which are nothing like buses in the States. They usually have reclining seats, TV screens, food to eat, and so on. In fact, their bus terminals are more like airport terminals.

That would definitely be the least expensive way of seeing these placesd. I will leave it to someone else to suggest a private driver as I don't know of any.

One other method of getting there would be to fly from Istanbul to Izmir, and then get a driver or bus from Izmir to Selçuk. After seeing Ephesus, take the bus (or hire a driver) and make your way to Pamukkale to see Heliopolis and then on up to Canakkale to visit Troy and then back to Istanbul.

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