By plane

International visitors usually arrive via one of the Istanbul airports. Sabiha Gökçen (SAW IATA) the Asia-side airport has many European and domestic flights. Burulaş Bus runs hourly to Bursa Otogar taking 90 min, single 70 TL. You're looking for the yellow bus outside Arrivals.

Istanbul Airport (IST IATA) is Europe-side. Its flight connections are global, but you'll have to travel into city centre to find a bus or ferry onward.

1 Yenişehir Airport (YEI IATA) (43 km east of city). Anadolu Jet fly to Bursa from the eastern cities of Trabzon, Diyarbakır, Erzurum and Muş, but in 2021 / 22 many flights are suspended. In any case, given the distance of the airport, and its poor connections with the city, it might be easier to fly to either of Istanbul's airports then take the bus or ferry onward. From YEI to town take Bus 80 to the city (6 TL, pay on boarding by cash or Bursakart). This runs to Kent Meydanı, for the Metro. (updated Jan 2022)

By train

Bursa has no railway. A high-speed line is under construction and is due to open in 2023, but the project has been delayed several times.

Buses meet the YHT fast trains at Eskişehir then take two hours to Bursa. There are four connections a day with Ankara (journey time 4 hours), and two with Konya (for Karaman and Antalya). No point using this route for Istanbul as the ferry or direct bus is quicker.

2 Bursa railway station (Bursa Yüksek Hızlı Tren Garı). (updated Oct 2022)

By road

From Istanbul follow E80 / O5 east, which sweeps round in an arc over Osmangazi Bridge then southwest. You could save some distance but no time by taking the ferry from Pendik to Yalova. O5 continues south to Balıkesir and İzmir.

From Ankara follow D200 / E90 via Eskişehir; this road continues along the coast to Bandırma and Çanakkale.

By bus

Pamukkale buses run from Istanbul Anadolu / Harem to Bursa, taking 2 hr 10 min non-stop, single fare 180 TL as of February 2023. Kamil Koç (now part of Flixbus) competes on many of these routes, as do many other national and local companies. In general, as Bursa is a massive city that is too close to Istanbul and Ankara for direct airplane routes, the bus infrastructure is top notch, and bus terminals in major cities should have some bus heading towards Bursa every 20 minutes.

They also run every hour or two from Ankara, 5 hr 15 min, 150 TL - the YHT bus link is quicker. They're hourly round the clock from İzmir (4 hr, 140 TL), hourly from Çanakkale (4 hr 15 min), and every 3-4 hours from Antalya (9 hr, 200 TL). From Bergama five buses a day take 5 hr 30 min, 150 TL.

Another very convenient option is the BBBus running directly from Istanbul's two airports (Istanbul Airport and Sabiha Gökçen) to Bursa's Bus Terminal, operated by Bursa's municipal government. The Sabiha Gökçen bus goes every 30 minutes with multiple night buses. The Istanbul Airport bus seems to operate once every 2 hours, but the alternative is to take the Havaist connection from Istanbul Airport to Sabiha Gökçen airport, and then to take the Sabiha connection that operates more often. As of Feb 2023, the Sabiha-Bursa bus costs 130 TL one way, the Istanbul Airport-Bursa one costs 200 TL.

3 Bursa Otobüs Terminali is the station for all intercity buses, 10 km north of city centre on D575. It's a large modern place that feels like an airport, with ticket kiosks and cafes. One side has the inter-city buses, the other has the yellow town buses, buy your ticket from the kiosk before boarding. The main buses to the centre are #38, #96, and the turquoise "Heykel" buses. A tram also runs into the centre, with interchange stations to the other urban rail lines.

By boat

A very popular option among locals and tourists alike is to take the ferry across the Marmara Sea from various locations in Istanbul to Mudanya and Güzelyalı, not far from the city of Bursa.

İDO ferries sail five times a day from Istanbul: they start from Kabataş and pick up from Kadıköy then Yenikapı - this is just south of Sultanahmet and likely to be the most convenient for international travellers. They take just under two hours to Güzelyalı, usually non-stop but occasionally calling at Armutlu, for a single fare in 2022 of 40-55 TL. Yenikapı has direct connections to Istanbul's Marmaray and M2 Metro, making it a convenient option.

BUDO ferries sail five times a day from Istanbul Eminonu pier and take just under two hours to Mudanya (similar fares to İDO). This option is more suitable for tourists staying in the Sultanahmet/historical peninsula area.

Mudanya and Güzelyalı are 20 km north of Bursa. Dolmuşes and buses run from the piers (and may be included in your ticket) to Organize Sanayi Metro or Emek Metro in Bursa. See below for the Metro, you probably want Şehreküstü station for the old town and market area. Total journey time from Istanbul is 3 hours by either route.

See Yalova for another ferry route from Istanbul. Yalova is a one hour bus ride north of Bursa.