Flying out of Izmir

I would contact the RS office with this question.

They should be able to tell you what time the bus leaves and when it gets to Izmir.

I took the tour several years ago. The tour bus was scheduled to leave at 9 am, so I booked an 11 am flight back to Istanbul. One couple had a very early flight out and took a taxi, which the guide helped arrange. Some of the others on the tour had 10 am flights, so our guide arranged to have the tour bus leave at 8 am (which we all agreed with). An hour was about enough for a local flight, but for international you should probably allow at least another hour.

The Turkey tour itinerary page has this note under Hotels and Flights:

Our tour bus will provide free transportation to Izmir on the last day of the tour, departing immediately after breakfast (around 8 a.m.) and arriving at the Izmir airport by 10 a.m. If you want to ride the bus, you'll need to book a flight that departs after 11 a.m.

Laura--

Perhaps add that info to the Day 13, "Itinerary", notation.

It mentions one can take the tour bus, but the way it is set up now, one has to look somewhere else ( "Hotel and Flights") for the details.
Burying the info in the 3rd of 7 paragraphs in a separate caption is less than ideal.

Just a thought.

Super, I got it! I'm a separate note, do you still do the hot air balloon ride?

Yes, Scott, the hot air balloon ride is offered as an optional activity. You pay the balloon vendor separately, $200, when I went on the RS tour in October. The 6th day presents the best time to go. We got up at 4:30 am and arrived back at the hotel after the ride to join the group for the rest of the day's activities.
Someone else asked this question under the section: Rick Steves Tours and the thread is Cappadocia Balloon rides... There are 2 replies detailing the sequence of events. It is definitely worth the time and money!

So our flight from Izmir to Istanbul just got cancelled, leaving us in a jam. We are booked on a R/S Greek tour two days after our R/S Turkish trip ends. How hard is it to drive from Izmir to Ataturk Airport ? Or other inspirational ideas?

What is your date for the flight? Have you looked at flying direct from Izmir to Athens without going through Istanbul? There are direct flights on some days of the week for under $100. Check skyscanner.com.

Isn’t there a later flight? We flew Pegasus Air from Izmir to SAW in Istanbul on the Asian side. Granted that’s not what you’re trying to do, but perhaps look into other airlines.
As someone else said, perhaps you can find a flight to Athens from Izmir.