The most preferred public transportation method for international travel in Turkey is airlines. However, roads and railways can also be preferred in some cases. For intercity journeys, the most preferred method is buses... You will find some points that you may be curious about in this post...
Intercity Bus Terminal is called Otogar or Otobüs Terminali in Turkish. Let's look at same basic information such as prices, quality, free shuttles etc.
Prices & Quality
Pricing is determined in direct proportion to the quality, as you can imagine. On the other hand, it is almost impossible to find a difference of more than 20%.
Competition is all about free services and quality offered. Prices are determined based on single seat, express line (non-stop services), in-bus catering and the like. My own preference is a company named Pamukkale. This company connects cities such as Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir. In addition, there are free city shuttles at many points. The free treats (such as drinks, biscuits, ice cream) on the bus are very successful. There are also opportunities such as listening to music, watching movies, playing games. (Due to the law in Turkey, earphones are not provided to customers. I suggest you keep them with you.)Free shuttles within the city
Some bus companies offer free city shuttles to both departure and destination. This is a nice detail for competition. While some companies offer this opportunity on their own, sometimes a few companies or bus terminals may offer this opportunity for all companies.
For example, companies such as Pamukkale and Kamil Koç in Izmir offer free local shuttle services for their customers. On the other hand, there is a free city shuttle service provided by the bus terminal for all other companies.
When should you NOT Choose?A significant part of Turkey's population lives in Istanbul. You may not be able to find a place on the buses on the dates when this population moves en masse. In addition, bus drivers can be quite tired during these periods. Ticket prices can also be high.
The education system in Turkey consists of two main semesters. Students first take a two-week vacation at the end of January or the beginning of February. There is also another holiday of several months, such as mid-June. It will be busy as the holiday starts.
Families move from Istanbul to other provinces during Ramadan and Sacrifice Feasts. At the beginning of the feast, there is a mass movement from big cities to others.
International Bus Transport
Bus services are organized to border neighbors such as Bulgaria, Greece and Georgia. Companies such as Metro and Ulusoy have international lines. For example, with Ulusoy, you can find bus tickets from Istanbul to places such as Cologne, Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt. VIP Arda Tur also organizes bus services to places such as Vienna, Linz and Budapest.
Transportation is critical in most western cities, I always suffered the the bus situation when went to work with. It gets even worse in holidays time, less run, higher prices and more traffic on the streets. Hope this Christmas will be better.
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