How To Reach Bodrum

Bodrum is a beautiful coastal city in south-west Turkey. Once upon a time, this city was called Halicarnassus and was famous for its Mausoleum of Mausolus which was one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. Today the city has a population of around 40,000 people and is a popular tourist hub. Located at the Aegean cost, you can easily reach this city from the Greek Islands of Kos & Rhodes by ferry. The best way to reach Bodrum, however, is by air as that is the quickest and not too expensive mode of transport.

There are daily flights to Bodrum from Istanbul via Turkish Airlines, Pegasus and Atlasjet. The Bodrum - Milas International Airport (BJV) is about 35 km away which is the nearest. There is a frequent shuttle service that makes round trips to the city centre and BJV airport. Other airports that are accessible to Bodrum are Dalaman (180 km) and Izmir Adnan Menderes (220 km). During peak tourist season, there are additional charter flights to Bodrum.

From India, you can take a direct flight to Istanbul from Mumbai or Delhi and then take the domestic flight to Bodrum.

Bodrum does not have its own railway station, which makes this mode of transport rather inconvenient for this location. Izmir is the closest major railway station to Bodrum and Aydin is the closest local station. From Istanbul, you can travel to Izmir via Ferry or Train. The only-train route takes about 14 hours, while the ferry+train route takes 8 hours. From Izmir, you can take a local train to Aydin and then a bus to Bodrum, which is another 3 hours' drive.

A similar train journey can be taken from Ankara to Bodrum via Izmir & Aydin. However, both these options take up a lot of time and are not all that cheap as compared to a direct flight.

Buses are a common mode of transport in Turkey and frequently used by the locals. There are many buses that journey to Bodrum on a daily basis, from all the major cities of the country. Istanbul to Bodrum is a 13-hour journey which can be done overnight to save on cost and time. Izmir to Bodrum is about 4 hours, from Antalya it is about 7 hours and from Ankara, it takes 10 hours. The Bus terminal is in the city centre itself, so once you reach there, it is easy to get around.

The other option is to hire a self-drive car or a private taxi. The distance from Istanbul is a little over 700 km and it could take up to 9 hours. The route to be taken passes through the popular city of Izmir.

Since Bodrum is located towards the south-western front of Turkey and it lies on the Aegean coast, a direct sea route is possible from Greece, which is located on the other side of the coast. The Greek islands of Kos and Rhodes offer ferry rides to Bodrum with an increased frequency during the summer season for tourists.

Bodrum is split between east and west Bodrum. While some parts of it can be explored by foot, getting around from east to west or to the other neighbourhoods is best journeyed on a Dolmus. The dolmus is like a shared taxi service which has a fixed route. There are frequent buses to Gümüşlük, Torba, Gündoğan, Göltürkbükü, Yalıkavak and others.

Local taxis might get quite expensive, but Uber service is available, which makes internal transfers more convenient.