Hello!

I'm trying to work out travelling round the N and NW of Turkey, but am having difficulty in finding timetable information (in English). Any ideas? As I want to be moving on frequently from place to place, knowing what I can and can't do timewise is rather important...

Thanks!

I dont think the concept of 'timetables' has quite reached rural turkey. If you are looking for coach travel between towns then you need to speak to each individual bus company to find out when and where they go.

In regards to travelling from Ankara to the Black Sea and beyond. Busses leave the otogar (ASTI) pretty much on the hour. In other words, go to the otogar, find a sort of decent company like Metro and get on a bus to Samsun. Then at Samsun otogar find another bus to where you want to go. Or get a bus all the way to Trabzon if you like (but it is a long bus trip). It's very easy to find seats pretty much anytime except for religious holiday times. If you are going to go to Camlihemsin (and you should) and the highlands above (Ayder is the place to aim for) do not talk to travel agents in Trabzon. Just get a dolmus to Rize and then ask for another dolmus to Ayder. They leave all the time and you will save at least 100 dollars.

Oh, and we will be in Ordu on the Black Sea for a week or so as of next Tuesday. Get in touch for a beer by the Black Sea

a good website for basic info is turkeytravelplanner.com . it has links to some of the company websites, but as you already know, most of them are pretty useless. the local offices seem to be pretty useless too, but eventually you can find out what you need to know. anyway, turkeytravelplanner has basic ideas of times, and which companies go where. if you need any more help, let me know and i'll pm you.

Please don't recommend Metro... They drive to fast and crash too much

okay then. Go for Ulusoy

Thanks! Will avoid Metro, not too keen on crashes...

What I'm trying to do is hop from place to place, so for example, things like Bolu - Akcakoca - Eregli - Zonguldak in a
day. Is that madness? Can I really just turn up and hope for the best? Or should I have some hotel options lined up just in case?!

And what are people's opinions on trains? At least I've found timetables for those... The journey times seem pretty
long, but at least in one instance (Arifiye - Ankara) the tracks follow a route (Sakarya valley) I'm interested in.

i haven't used the trains as i heard that they usually cost about the same but take a lot longer and aren't as nice. the buses i have caught have been clean, quick, and easy to figure out and i would tend to keep using buses. maybe someone else knows. i also haven't been to the places you mention so no advice on turning or booking. good luck.

Just a small example.

I have once taken the train from Istanbul to Kars, which took 39 hrs. Just in comparison, with bus this would take approx. 24 hrs (That's what they say, I didn't tried it). I must say it was a once in alive time experience, but would not do it again.

Actually, trains are usually at least 50% cheaper than the buses. Istanbul-Ankara by bus will run you 45-50 ytl each way and by train it is only 22. Istanbul-Denizli (for Pamukkale) by bus is approximately 60 ytl each way & by train is it only 21.50. You can have your own bed in a sleeping compartment on the train for less than the bus. Who wouldn't want to be in a nice little bunk bed instead of getting that severe neck cramp which each bus journey produces? I've taken the overnight train to Ankara a couple of times & I had a blast! They have light meals, beer, wine & rakı available in the dining car. They are also cheap! A beer sets you back only 3 ytl. A big advantage for me is there being several toilets on the train. Those bus rides are torture for my pea-sized bladder!

On the longer journeys (as jan.prins noted) the train turns out to be significantly longer than the bus. However, on short to mid-range journeys it's not as notable. I travelled from Ankara-Istanbul by bus and because of road construction & traffic the journey took nearly 6 hours door-to-door. The overnight train is 8 hours.

Other than Ankara, there are a couple of other useful overnight train voyages from Istanbul: Konya & Denizli come to mind. I'm planning to visit Konya by train this fall.

Thanks Burbaco, I've loved train journeys elsewhere and am keen to try out Turkish trains! Though it wouldn't really make sense for most of what I want to do, I'm encouraged enough to shoehorn in at least one train ride. Overnight sounds like fun! I've always had to share to keep costs down so am very tempted by my own little bunk I wish figuring out the buses were simpler - ah well, it'll be a grand adventure