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Getting From Kusadasi to Izmir to Istanbul (on time!)

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My wife and I are doing the 13 day RS Tour of Turkey which ends in Kusadasi morning of November 1. Read this in the forum: "On the final morning of your tour, the tour bus can take you (no charge) from the tour hotel in Kusadaşi to the airport in Izmir, in time for a late morning flight." If the tour bus doesn't leave by 7:00 or 7:30 AM latest, I'm afraid we won't have time to make an 8:55 AM flight from Izmir to Istanbul; and then make the 1:50 PM Turkish Air flight from IST to SFO. (We have already purchased round trip flights in and out of Istanbul, with the return flight leaving at 13:50 / 1:50 PM)

I'm thinking our only alternatives would be (1) to leave the tour a day early - Friday, October 31 - get up to Istanbul and spend the night at an airport hotel . . . or (2) stay with the tour to the end, arrange for a personal shuttle, taxi, or ?? very early November 1 from our Kusadasi hotel to the Izmir airport.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Posted by
3356 posts

Kusadasi to Izmir’s Airport is 70-80 minutes and can be longer when there is traffic congestion, which is common in metropolitan Izmir— particularly during the morning rush hours.

Unfortunately, I think it’s not likely that you could get to the airport in time for an 8:55am flight. You might need to head for Izmir the evening before the day of your flight home.

Posted by
672 posts

My personal rule when traveling internationally is to be at or near my departure airport the night before. There's a lot that could go wrong otherwise. So I would be in Istanbul the night before. I also took this tour at the same time of year, and the bus to the airport isn't necessarily going to have a prompt departure from the hotel, what with everyone checking out. Some people in our group had 10:00 flights and they were fine, but there's no way with an 8:55 flight you could be assured of making it.

Posted by
3356 posts

You could take the 7:55am -8:25 am Pegasus Airlines flight to IST. That would be plenty of time to connect with your flight home if you take a shuttle/ taxi to ADB in the pre-dawn hours.

Posted by
3341 posts

Your guide will advise whether taking the tour bus is the best option. They usually poll tour members and try to group people together to make sure they get to their onward transportation in time. It may be that you need to arrange a taxi or private shuttle (potentially shared with other tour members) to get you to Izmir airport in time to catch your flight. 8:55 is quite an early departure so I'm guessing you'll not be able to use the tour bus. No need to leave the tour early, just make sure to talk to your guide early in the tour so you can make the appropriate arrangements.

Have fun, I loved the tour hope you do too!

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