Hello
I will be taking the Best of Turkey tour in 2023.
The last stop is Kusadasi and RS will provide transportation to Izmir airport. What is the best airline to return to mainland Europe? I’m open to the destination except for Great Britain, although I would prefer returning to Italy.
I appreciate your help.
"Best" is subjective. All other things being equal, I'd pick Turkish Airlines over any alternative. Great airline.
That said, it's probably going to depend mostly on what your destination would be, and how much you care about a nonstop flight to your destination (there are some of those - to Frankfurt, Munich, Amsterdam, Paris, Dublin, Brusels, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Athens, Milan, Geneva and more...plus multiple UK airports which you want to avoid...). If you don't mind connecting in Istanbul, there are plenty of choices. If Italy is your target, there's a nonstop flight to Milan on SunExpress (a Turkish-German low cost airline). If you don't mind a stop in Istanbul, you could get to almost anyplace in Europe with that one stop (including several Italian cities).
Thank you David.
David, were you not happy with the Turkey tour? I would appreciate your input. At this point in time I can change to another tour.
It depends as mentioned on where you are going and what you define as best. Izmir is a small airport with not a lot of options, SunExpress has flights to couple of European cities as noted. But, they are mostly a charter airline and while they will sell tickets their flights are not that frequent, it might be once or twice per week. Lufthansa is also an option, and Aegean flies between Izmir and Athens, where you can connect to several Italian cities.
Another option is to skip the bus to Izmir and instead take the ferry to Samos, from where there are flights to a couple of Italian cities.
@Sandra - I did not take the tour, so can't provide any feedback about it (I'm sure it's a great tour 😎). I traveled independently with my spouse -- we spent about 2 weeks in Turkey during early March 2020, just as the pandemic was blowing up.
Turkey is awesome, we want to go back. I'm sure you will enjoy it.
With the end of summer, most nonstop flights from Izmir to European cities have ended. There are very few nonstop flights to Europe from Izmir which means you usually have to return to Istanbul and connect with a flight there. The few remaining nonstop flights from Izmir are to Berlin, Frankfurt and Stuttgart and they all will be suspended by the end of September, likely to return next Spring.
There are nonstop flights from Samos’Airport to both Rome and Milan. The 90-minute ferries from Kusadasi to Samos’ Port at Pythagoreion is about two miles from Samos International Airport (SMI).
OP's trip is in 2023.
It's true, though, that international flights to/from Izmir are highly seasonal -- that is, they mostly run during peak tourist season (summers). Generally true also for many flights to coastal tourist resorts in Turkey (and elsewhere around the Mediterranean)...so always check schedules carefully before building a plan around specific flights.
If you go to https://www.flightsfrom.com/explorer/ADB?mapview, you can see all the places with direct flights from Izmir. Click on a destination and you can see which airline(s) fly there.
Hi David- I didn’t catch that the trip was next year until you just pointed it out.
The alternative airports—Samos, Kos and Rhodes —to gargantuan IST Airport in Istanbul are good ones. Since Samos Airport is only two miles from where the ferries from Kusadasi dock at Pythagoreion. it’s the most convenient. It also has direct flights to Italy which is really nice since you can skip connecting in Athens which the others generally do.
Next time going to Turkey I’ll look into flying into Izmir or Antalya- as IST feels like you’re in a Tom Hanks movie and will never get out of the airport!
Yeah, IST is certainly a huge airport. After you arrive there on a loooong international flight, you'll get plenty of opportunity to stretch your legs and get the blood flowing again (lots of walking). But if you are coming from North America, that's where your flight will land, so not much choice (unless you are coming from someplace closer). On our last trip to Turkey we came from Paris and connected in IST to a domestic TK flight to Izmir, and it wasn't a bad experience. The other airports are certainly smaller and more manageable though.
At this point in time I can change to another tour.
I'm very biased, but I hope you stay on the Best of Turkey tour. As you can read in my "3 Weeks in Turkey" trip report, I took the Best of Istanbul and Best of Turkey tours this May/June. I loved both tours and can't wait to get back to Turkey to see more!
I booked United from Denver to Istanbul. The return flight from Izmir was on SunExpress to Munich, and a United flight from there.
Thank you everyone for the tidbits of information. I will look into SunExpress as an alternative with a direct flight to mainland Europe. I will get my Tom Hanks experience on arrival into Istanbul!. I’ve flown EasyJet many times, so I’m aware of the concept and limitations.
Thankfully I am not arriving jet lagged. I should be fully rested after 2 weeks in Paris then making my way by train to Stresa for a few days.
I appreciate everyone’s input.
