FAQ
A: There are no non-stop flights to make the 285-km (177-mile) trip between Ankara and Cappadocia, thetrains (see below) are slow and run mostly at inconvenient times, so the best way to go is by road:bus or car.
By Bus Nevtur buses depart Ankara's ASHTI(AŞTİ) main bus terminal about every two hours for Nevsehir (and vice-versa). The journey takes 4 hours, including a 25-minute stop about 1-1/4 hours into the journey to stretch your legs, use the toilet, have a glass of tea, a meal or a smoke (no smoking on the bus). The fare is TL 20.
When you arrive at Nevsehir's bus terminal, you'll be transferred to a shuttle minibus (servis) for the final part of your journey to one of Cappadocia's townssuch as Göreme, Uçhisar or Ürgüp. The cost of the minibus trip is usually included in your bus ticket fare.
Buy your ticket at Nevtur, ASHTI
(AŞTİ) ticket counter no. 50.
By Car
Fight your way through Ankara traffic to the E-90 highway south, following signs for Aksaray, 219 km (136 miles, 3 hours). At Aksaray, turn left (east) following signs for
Nevsehir, 73 km (45 miles, 1 hour).
Just at the junction of E-90 and the Nevsehir highway in Aksaray is the Orhan Agaçli Tesisleri, an elaborate commercial highway rest stop with a motel, restaurant, cafeteria, snack stands,toilets, souvenir shops, fuel and service stations, even a small mosque.
By Train
The main railway line runs from Ankara to Kayseri, then splits, one line running east to Sivas, the other south to Nigde, Karaman and Adana, skirting Cappadocia to the east and south.
Express trains take about seven hours to cover the distance between Ankara and Kayseri. (Compare this to the bus's four hours from Ankara to Nevsehir.)
Erzurum Ekspresi leaves Ankara in early afternoon and arrives at Kayseri in the evening. Güney Ekspresi departs Ankara early in the morning, and arrives at Kayseri in mid-afteroon. Çukurova Mavi Tren and Dogu Ekspresi depart Ankara in the evening and arrive at Kayseri in the middle of the night.
A taxi between Ankara Gar (railway station) and ASHTI(main bus terminal) takes about 10 minutes in light traffic, and costs about TL 10.
Q: How to buy bus ticket in Turkey?
Here's special information on getting to Cappadocia.
Turkey's bus system has so many companies and departures that it's usually not necessary to buy your ticket far in advance /strong>.
At holiday times, or when there are important special events or festivals (such as Istanbul's Formula 1 Grand Prix races), seats on the bus you'd prefer to take might be fully booked in advance.
So how does one reserve a seat on a Turkish bus?
If you're in Turkey, ask your hotel to telephone a good bus company and reserve your seat a day or two before you plan to travel. You then go to the bus terminal in advance and pick up your ticket. This way, you'll have a better chance of getting the seat you want (front, middle; sunny side, shady side) on the departure that's most convenient for you.
If you're not in Turkey, some of the major bus companies have online ticket reservations systems, but in general these are not easy for non-Turkish-speaking foreigners to use. Either they're all in Turkish, or difficult to navigate, or they simply don't work right (which is sadly common among Turkish travel websites). Still, it may be worth a try.
What about travel agencies? Few of them will agree to make bus reservations for you, because they usuallylose money on them. If you use a Turkish travel agency to reserve numerous other services for you (hotels, car rentals, flights, tours, guides, etc.), they may be willing to reserve your bus tickets for you, as these other services will pay for their time.
There are exceptions, such as Turista in Istanbul, which will make reservations for you on certain bus lines. If you ask for bus tickets, you should also consider reserving other services, such as hotels and tours, through the same agency.
Turista offers tickets for buses to many Turkish destinations, and also to Balkan and European destinations.