Buses go most everywhere in Turkey. They arrive at and leave from popular destinations very frequently.
They can travel fairly fast, although be aware that the travel times listed in guide books are sometimes a bit optimistic. Don't overlook the time spent waiting for the bus to leave, and the huge difference in travel time between a true ekspres bus and one that stops several times along the way.
Here is an attempt at a partial map, times between cities in hours:
Istanbul
[#]-------------+
/| \ 6
6/ | \
/ |8 \ 4.5
/ | Ankara[#]-----------+
Canakkale[#] | /|\ \ Kayseri
\ | 8 / | \ 4 [#]-----------[#]Malatya
5\ | +------------+ | +----+ / 5
\ | / + \ /1.5
Izmir[#] 3\ [#]Nevşehir/Göreme
1| 3 \ /
[#]--------[#]---------[#]---+2.5
Selçuk Denizli \ 7 / Konya
\ /
4-5\ /5-6
\ /
\ /
[#] Antalya
|1.5
[#] Olimpos
|
Start by going to the otogar,
or bus station.
This may be a modern facility almost like an airport,
like the otogar in Antalya, at right.
Or it may be a simpler facility, like the otogar in Denizli, seen below. |
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Sometimes it's an array of shops and bus station offices, as in Göreme, below. |
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The long-haul buses are very nice rides.
The yardımcı, or attendant, will probably serve tea, soft drinks, and cold water, using a tiny "kitchen" in the stairwell. And you will stop along the way for tea, a snack, and a toilet break: |
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If you are going to a smaller town,
or on a shorter trip,
you may take a minibus like these in Denizli,
at right:
Or, for short trips, a dolmuş like these parked in Göreme, below, and seen from inside, at lower right: |
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