By plane

1 Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport (ADB IATA) (off D550, 16 km south of city centre), ☏ +90 232 455 0000. This has frequent flights from Istanbul IST and SAW, Ankara and Antalya, and daily from several other Turkish cities plus Ercan in Northern Cyprus. There are also flights from Athens, Frankfurt and across Europe. Operators include Turkish Airlines, Pegasus, Ajet (formerly known as Anadolujet) and SunExpress (which has a hub here) so this competition keeps fares low. The airport has the usual facilities including car hire. (updated Apr 2024)

To town:

İzban suburban trains run every 10 mins to Alsancak Station north of city centre. Change at Hilal for the metro downtown - this station and its surroundings are messy and not easy to navigate. You need an İzmirimkart (below) for the train and subway.

ESHOT bus 202 runs hourly round the clock to Republic Square, taking most of an hour. You need the İzmirimkart to ride it.

Bus 200 runs north to Mavişehir, Bus 204 runs to Bornova metro station, and Bus 206 goes to Şirinyer Aktarma in the southern district of Buca.

HAVAŞ buses here are similar to the other airports they serve: their website oozes corporate guff about transport solutions, and is too cool to publish timetables or fares.

By train

Izmir is not yet on Turkey's high-speed YHT network, so trains are a ponderous overnight affair, when daytime buses cover the distance in half the time. A high-speed railway is under construction and might open by 2027, though 2207 seems just as likely. Until then, the main services (all daily) are:

İzmir Mavi ("Izmir Blue Train"), 14 hrs overnight from Ankara via Eskişehir (which has YHT trains, but not at night) and Kütahya, departing around 18:00.

Konya Mavi ("Konya Blue Train"), 12 hrs overnight from Konya (which has YHT trains, and connections for Adana and Antalya), via Afyon and Manisa, departing around 19:30. Most coaches have seats only and sleepers may be out of supply for the nearest dates.

Ege Ekspressi, 9½ hours daily from Kutahya via Tavsanli, Balıkesir, Soma, Akhisar and Manisa, departing around 09:30 and returning north at 06:30.

Göller Ekspresi ("Lakes Express"), 8 hrs overnight from Isparta via Denizli (for Pamukkale), Nazilli, Aydin and Selcuk (for Ephesus and Kuşadası), departing around 22:00. No sleepers available.

6 Eylül Ekspresi ("6th of September Express"), 6½ hr daily from Bandırma (with ferries from Istanbul) via Balıkesir and Soma, departing around 08:00.

Buy tickets at the station, or in theory online, but the TCDD website has been broken for many months.

2 Basmane railway station (Basmane Garı), Anafartalar Cd. Terminus for all long-distance trains. Few facilities here, but there are eating places just outside. It's on the Metro. (updated Apr 2024)

By boat

"We then sailed on up the narrow strait with wailing. For on one side lay Scylla and on the other divine Charybdis terribly sucked down the salt water of the sea."

- Homer's Odyssey Book 12 Line 234

- Sail close to Scylla, she devours six of your crew for sure but the rest get through. Charybdis may let you through or suck down the entire ship.

- Try for a middle way you're in peril from both. Which do you choose?

As of 2024 there are no ferries to Izmir beyond local services round the bay; no blame attaches to Scylla or Charybdis. See Çeşme#By boat for the ferry from Chios.

Konak Terminal. (updated Mar 2025)

By bus

Buses from Istanbul run hourly round the clock, taking 8 hours, for a fare in 2024 of 1100 TL. They may call on the way at Gebze, Bursa, Balıkesir and Manisa.

From Ankara buses also run hourly, taking 8 hours via Afyon, Uşak and Salihli (for Sardis). From Adana takes 14 hours via Konya.

Bus lines include Metro Turizm, Pamukkale and Flixbus.

3 Otobüs Terminali, Kemalpaşa Cd, Bornova, ☏ +90 232 472 1010. The inter-city bus station is 6 km east of city centre. It's huge and has cafes for food and drink, pay toilets, left luggage store and car hire. All the bus lines have ticket kiosks; when a bus is about to depart, the agents will shout a last call for that destination. A dolmuş ride downtown should be included in your inter-city ticket, enquire when buying. Several town bus and dolmuş routes call here and you could take one to Bornova to join the metro. (updated Apr 2024)

By road

From Istanbul follow O-5 toll motorway all the way. It's 480 km, say 5½ hours allowing for traffic at each end.

From Ankara is 590 km, eight hours along E96 via Afyon and Uşak.