By road

Highway D300 transects Turkey from Izmir on the Aegean coast via Konya, Kayseri, Malatya, Bitlis and Van right up to the border with Iran at Razi. It's a good fast highway, mostly undivided, but priority for the snowplows in winter.

From Ankara take O-21 south (toll) then join D300 towards Kayseri. You could also take D200 / E88 east past Sivas and Erzincan.

By bus

Buses run several times a day from Ankara (19 hours) and Istanbul (25 hours). From Adana change at Osmaniye for the bus from Hatay through Gaziantep, Şanliurfa, Diyarbakır and Batman.

Frequent dolmuşes run to town from Tatvan (100 km, 2 hrs) via the south lake shore, Highway D300. There are no direct services around the north shore. Dolmuses also run every few hours from Doğubayazıt (185 km, 4 hrs).

The border crossing to Iran, 100 km away at Kapıköy / Razi, is open for light vehicles, but no public transport crosses here: instead go to Doğubayazıt to travel via Bazargan.

Bus lines include Metroturizm, Van Yolu and Kamil Koç, now part of Flixbus.

1 Van Otogarı is at the highway junction 3 km northwest of town. Your inter-city ticket should be valid for the shuttle buses to town, check when booking.

By train

Van is the western terminus of trains from Iran, which resumed in 2025. They leave Tehran W & Su at 12:30 for Tabriz at 01:30, then four hours of border procedures at Razi / Kapıköy, to arrive at Van ferry pier at 11:00. Continue to Tatvan for next day's train for Kayseri and Ankara.

The eastbound connection leaves Ankara Tu & Su at 11:20, reaching Tatvan by 14:00 next day. You then have six hours to cross or circumnavigate the lake and join the train leaving Van at 20:00. This arrives in Tabriz 06:15 next morning and Tehran at 18:30. For times and tickets see TCDD, but you can't buy tickets from Iran this way.

2 Van Garı is 1 km north of the bus station, so it's 4 km from city centre. Buses and taxis will get you there. This is the main station, the ferry pier is not shown as a separate station.

By plane

3 Van Ferit Melen Airport (VAN IATA) is just 5 km from the centre, in the southwestern suburbs. It has daily flights from Istanbul (IST and SAW), Ankara, Adana and Izmir.

Taxis wait outside Arrivals, but you can also walk to the main road where dolmuşes take you to the city much cheaper. A city bus serves the security entrance to the airport, past the taxis and towards the main road.

From city centre, dolmuşes marked Hava Alanı leave from near Hotel Akdamar (Kazım Karabekir Cd), and take 15 minutes.

By boat

Ferries across the lake from Tatvan sail infrequently and irregularly and take 4 hours.