Izmir Airport to Foça: Transfer, Bus and What to See

Foça is a small harbour town built around two coves, with old stone houses, the walls of a medieval castle and a marine area that is protected for the Mediterranean monk seal. It is quieter than Çeşme or Kuşadası and sits in the opposite direction from the airport, so the transfer is the part that needs planning. This guide covers the options from ADB, the difference between the two Foças, and what is worth seeing once you are there.

Izmir Airport to Foça: Your Options

Drive times come from routing data and our route page. Allow longer on summer weekends and when the Izmir ring road is busy.

Option 1: Private Transfer

Our driver tracks your flight and waits just outside the arrivals exit. Once you have landed, the driver sends the exact meeting point and a short video on WhatsApp, so you do not need to look for anyone. Drivers speak English. The price is per vehicle, not per person, and there is no extra charge for traffic or flight delays. A Mercedes Vito takes up to 6 passengers with luggage, a V-Class VIP is available for smaller groups, and a Sprinter suits larger parties. Child seats are available on request.

The price starts from €115 per vehicle for the Vito, and the exact figure for your date and pickup time is shown before you pay. The details and a booking form are on the Izmir Airport to Foça page. For the way back, see Foça to Izmir Airport.

The route leaves the airport on the ring road, heads north past Izmir and then turns west towards the sea on the Foça road. The ring road is the unpredictable part. On the way back, our route page suggests a pickup about 5 to 5.5 hours before an international departure, which leaves room for the drive and for check-in.

Narrow Lanes at the Harbour

The lanes around the old harbour are narrow. The driver stops at the nearest street the car can use, and you wheel your bags the last stretch over old paving. Send us the name and address of your guesthouse when you book, and ask your host whether there is a short walk from the car.

Option 2: Taxi

Official taxis wait outside arrivals around the clock, with no night rate. We have no Foça price to quote for the rank, and on a run of this length the fare is large, so ask the taxi office for the figure before you set off and agree how you will pay. Our Izmir Airport taxi prices guide explains how the airport taxi office works. A transfer with the price shown in advance is easier to compare.

Option 3: Public Transport

Foça has no railway station and there is no airport bus that goes there. The usual public route is to reach Izmir bus station first, for example by taxi on the meter at ≈€28–33 (₺1,550–1,850), then take a regional minibus (dolmuş) or coach to Foça. A Turkey travel-planning site, last updated in 2019, says minibuses run between Izmir and Foça frequently all day in summer and puts the trip at about 1 hour 15 minutes. Timetables and fares change, so ask at the bus station desks on the day.

İZBAN, the Izmir commuter railway, has a station at the airport and runs north through the city to Menemen and ends at Aliağa. It does not go to Foça, and the onward connection from those stations is a bus or taxi that you would have to find on the day. With a suitcase, that chain of changes is the main reason most visitors choose a transfer. For other airport buses and trains, see our Izmir Airport bus and train guide.

Eski Foça or Yeni Foça?

The Foça district has two centres, and the name on your booking matters.

• Eski Foça (Old Foça) is the town people usually mean. It is built around the small cove of Küçükdeniz and the larger Büyükdeniz, with the castle at the smaller cove, a harbour front, small guesthouses and strictly protected old houses.
• Yeni Foça (New Foça) is a separate former municipality about 20 km away along the same coast. It is a quieter place and, by road from the airport, usually a little shorter than the drive to the old harbour.

Write the exact hotel or guesthouse name and say which Foça it is in. The two places look close on a map, but the drive between them is a separate journey.

What to See in Foça

The Harbour and the Old Town

Foça is a member of the Cittaslow network of slow towns. The old centre is small and best explored on foot: the harbour front, the lanes behind it and the stone houses that are protected by building rules. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism's GoTürkiye site also mentions a short climb to a hill with a sunset view, a pleasant walk before dinner.

The Castle and Ancient Phocaea

Foça stands on ancient Phocaea (Phokaia), an Ionian Greek city whose sailors founded Massalia, now Marseille. The medieval castle, also called Beşkapılar (Five Gates), stands at the Küçükdeniz cove, and the fortification walls around the old city go back to the sixth century BC and were restored in the Byzantine period. Little remains above ground beyond the outer walls.

The temple of Athena, the most important temple of ancient Phokaia, stood on a rocky rise at the north-east of the peninsula, and horse and griffon protomes found in its ruins in 2000 were being restored in 2022 by the Izmir Archaeology Museum for display at the museum, not at the site. Ask your host or the Foça municipality which excavated areas are open to visitors.

The Siren Rocks

The Siren Rocks (Sirenler) lie just off the coast and are tied in local tradition to Homer's Odyssey. They are best seen from the shore or from a boat. Boat trips are arranged locally, so ask at the harbour for the current options and prices.

The Monk Seal Protected Area

Foça is one of three marine protected areas in Turkey for the Mediterranean monk seal. The Foça Special Environmental Protection Area was declared by a Council of Ministers decision dated 22 October 1990 and was extended in 2007. The Mediterranean monk seal is listed as critically endangered, and the animals are shy. Sightings are not guaranteed, so treat any seal as a bonus. If you take a boat trip, keep your distance, never feed or chase an animal and follow the skipper's and the signs' instructions.

Day Trip or Overnight?

Foça works as a base for a few nights, and it is also a pleasant first night after a flight if you do not want to stay in Izmir. A same-day round trip from the airport is possible, but the drive in each direction takes well over an hour, so you would see little. For a longer stay, the north coast also puts you on the way to Pergamon: our Izmir Airport to Pergamon (Bergama) guide covers the site and its opening hours.

Summer weekends are the busiest time, because Izmir residents head for Foça, so a Friday evening arrival means slower traffic. Outside the season, some harbour restaurants close early, so if you arrive late, ask your guesthouse about a late check-in and a place to eat. For arrivals after dark, see arriving in Izmir at night.

If you want a driver to wait for you at a site or make a stop on the way, ask us on WhatsApp before booking. We will tell you what is possible and quote for it.

Practical Tips

• Shoes: bring shoes you can walk in on old paving and uneven lanes.
• Luggage: the last stretch to a guesthouse may be on foot. Send us the address so we can check access.
• Cash and cards: carry some lira for small purchases and boat trips.
• Booking: the price is shown before you pay. You can see all Izmir Airport transfer options or compare routes on the transfer prices page.
• Other directions: heading to the peninsula instead? See our guide to Izmir Airport to Urla.

Sources — checked on 22 October 2026: Foça Special Environmental Protection Area, Ministry of Environment · GoTürkiye, Cittaslow towns · İZBAN · Foça (Wikipedia) · Foça Castle (Wikipedia) · Foça transportation, Turkey Travel Planner · Athena Temple finds, Cumhuriyet
Euro amounts at €1 = ₺55.6.

Related guides: Izmir Airport (ADB) · Izmir Airport taxi prices · Izmir Airport bus and train · Izmir Airport to Pergamon (Bergama) · Izmir Airport to Urla · Arriving in Izmir at night

Frequently asked questions