Ephesus is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Turkey, and many visitors would want to see it as well. Ephesus can be visited on a day trip from Istanbul. The city of Ephesus is 450 miles south of Istanbul. We recommend flying into Izmir and renting a car or using a transfer service there to drive to Ephesus. The airport at Izmir is 45 minutes away from Ephesus. You should fly into Adnan Menderes Airport (ADB) from Istanbul and there are flights almost on every hour.

Alternatively, you may travel from Istanbul in a bus. Although the bus services are quite good when compared to worldwide standards, we do not recommend it since the journey takes nine hours. It will take roughly 9 hours to drive from Istanbul to Ephesus. There may be no direct buses during the winter, therefore you’ll need to get on a bus that goes first to Izmir and then on to Ephesus. The distance between Izmir and Ephesus is about an hour by car.

We have several tour options with a flight from Istanbul and you can check them from here.