How to Get from Izmir Airport (ADB) to Kuşadası, Selçuk and Ephesus

Most visitors to the southern Aegean coast fly into Izmir. The road south is a motorway to the Belevi junction, then ordinary roads to Selçuk, the town beside Ephesus, and on over the hills to Kuşadası. What matters most is where you sleep: Selçuk puts you beside the ruins, Kuşadası has the resort strip and the cruise port, and Davutlar and Güzelçamlı are quieter beach villages further south, close to Dilek Peninsula National Park.

Izmir Airport to Kuşadası and Selçuk: all options at a glance

*Drive times are for a clear road and come from routing data; allow more at weekends and on days when cruise ships are in port. The İzmir–Aydın motorway is a toll road (see the taxi section). Public-transport and taxi costs are not fixed; private-transfer prices are per vehicle, not per person.

Distances and drive times from the airport

Locally, Selçuk to Ephesus is about 3 km, Selçuk to Kuşadası 20 km (around 20 minutes), Kuşadası port to Ephesus 20 km (around 23 minutes) and Selçuk to Şirince 8 km.

Which base suits you?

• Selçuk: the best base if Ephesus is the point of the trip. You can reach the gates early, before the tour buses, and it is the closest of the three to the airport.
• Kuşadası: beaches, nightlife, resorts and the Samos ferry, with Ephesus a 20-minute drive away.
• Davutlar and Güzelçamlı: family beach villages and the closest bases for Dilek Peninsula National Park, but the furthest from the airport and the least served by public transport.

Option 1: private transfer

Your driver tracks your flight, meets you just outside the arrivals exit and, once you have landed, sends the exact meeting point and a short video on WhatsApp. The car then drives you to the hotel door, the cruise quay or your villa. Prices are per vehicle, not per person, and there is no extra charge for traffic or flight delays. A Mercedes Vito carries up to 6 passengers with luggage, and larger groups can book a Sprinter.

Summer traffic builds on the last stretch from Selçuk to the coast, especially on cruise days. Name your hotel when you book: in old Kuşadası some streets are narrow or pedestrian, and the car may stop a short walk away. See the prices for Izmir Airport to Kuşadası, Selçuk and Ephesus, Davutlar and Güzelçamlı, or compare them all on the transfer prices page.

Option 2: taxi

Official taxis wait outside arrivals at both terminals around the clock, with no night rate. The airport taxi office publishes a list for the south: ≈€65 (₺3,600) to Selçuk centre, ≈€71 (₺3,950) for Selçuk, Ephesus and Şirince, ≈€68 (₺3,800) to Kuşadası, ≈€88 (₺4,900) to Davutlar and ≈€93 (₺5,150) to Güzelçamlı. The meter must be running on every trip, and you may pay either the meter amount or the list price.

The two can differ a lot. To Selçuk they are close (meter about €61–70 / ₺3,400–3,900 plus toll), but to Kuşadası the meter works out at about €82–92 (₺4,550–5,100), well above the list, so ask for the list price there. The car toll on the İzmir–Aydın motorway from the airport to the Belevi exit is ≈€0.95 (₺53); the list does not say whether it is included, so ask before you set off. Card payment in taxis becomes mandatory on 16 November 2026, so carry some lira until then.

Option 3: Havaş airport bus

Havaş runs a single line south, leaving from the arrivals exits of both terminals. It stops at Selçuk (outside the State Hospital emergency entrance), Kuşadası bus terminal and Davutlar Junction (by the Bellona furniture shop). The fare is ≈€11 (₺600), and no separate Selçuk fare is published. Departures from the airport are at 02:00, 07:30, 09:30, 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00, 19:00, 21:00 and 23:30. The listed journey time to Kuşadası is 90 minutes; the time to Selçuk is not published, and it will be shorter.

The catch is the last mile: the stops are a hospital entrance and a bus terminal, not hotel doors, so most people need a taxi or minibus afterwards. Keep your passport handy, as intercity buses record ID details, and check havas.net or 0850 222 0 487 before you travel. For a late landing, the 23:30 and 02:00 departures are the only public option.

Option 4: İZBAN train and the Tepeköy shuttle

There is no through train to Selçuk. You ride the İZBAN commuter line from the airport station to Tepeköy (33 minutes), then change to the Tepeköy–Selçuk shuttle (26 minutes). The shuttle runs only 14 times a day (06:40, 07:50, 08:50, 10:05, 11:25, 13:00, 14:30, 15:45, 17:20, 18:35, 19:40, 20:45, 21:50 and 23:50), so the connection decides your day. From our reading of the published timetables the first workable link is the 07:10 train from the airport, arriving at Selçuk at 08:16, and the last is the 23:12 train, arriving at 00:16 after a five-minute change. Door to door that is about 65–90 minutes; İZBAN lists its times as approximate, so check izban.com.tr.

Payment is the difficult part. İZBAN does not accept bank cards, only the İzmirim Kart (sold at the İZBAN office at the airport station and in some cafés in the arrivals halls). The fare is distance-based, starting at ≈€0.70 (₺40) for the first 20 km, so Selçuk costs more than that; the exact amount is not published. The card is charged the fare to the end of the line on entry, and you tap the orange refund validator at your exit station within three hours to get the difference back. With large suitcases and a change of platform, it is a route for travellers who pack light. Regional TCDD trains on the Basmane–Denizli line are also said to stop at the airport and Selçuk without a change, but we could not confirm a timetable, so check TCDD.

Option 5: coach from the Otogar, then a minibus

Izmir's Otogar has frequent coaches to Kuşadası, around 81 trips a day on one booking site, taking about 1 h 15 min, for roughly €7 (₺400; fares vary with the day you buy). With no direct daytime public link from the airport to the Otogar, it suits you only after a night in the city.

Between Selçuk and Kuşadası, dolmuş (shared minibuses) reportedly run every 15 minutes in summer and every 30 in winter, taking about 20 minutes, for cash. The schedule comes from a tourism website, not the operator, so ask locally.

Kuşadası cruise port (Ege Port)

Ege Port sits on the seafront in the town centre and was Türkiye's busiest cruise port in 2025, with 617 ship calls and 995,303 cruise passengers. In the first six months of 2026 it handled 334,172 passengers, so the roads to Ephesus fill with coaches on busy days. The ruins are 20 km, about 23 minutes, away.

• Joining a ship: many passengers fly into Izmir a night early. Land the day before if you can: the road takes about 75 minutes, and a ship sails on schedule.
• Quay drop-off: a private transfer can take you to the port or a town hotel. Put the ship name and boarding time in the booking notes.
• Leaving a ship: if you fly out the same day, allow for disembarkation, the 75-minute drive and 3 hours at the airport before an international flight.

Visiting Ephesus

Ephesus is open every day. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism page shows 08:00 to 18:00, with the last ticket at 17:30; some secondary sources give later closing in summer, so check the official page for your date. Arrive when the gates open: the marble streets have little shade, and summer midday is hot and crowded.

• Ticket: around €40 for foreign visitors in 2026, including the Digital Experience Museum (reported price; the Ministry has already published a higher tariff that takes effect on 1 April 2027). The Terrace Houses cost around €15 extra. The Museum Pass Aegean, valid for 7 days, was reported at around €95; it only pays off if you plan several sites, and you should check whether it covers the Terrace Houses.
• Two gates: the Upper (South) Gate and the Lower (North) Gate, roughly 2 km apart. The Lower Gate has the main car and coach park. Taxi drivers often drop passengers at the Upper Gate and wait at the Lower Gate, so you can walk downhill through the site and be collected at the end. Agree this with your driver first.
• Other sights in Selçuk: the Ephesus Museum, the Basilica of St John on Ayasuluk hill and, 7 km from the town, the House of the Virgin Mary, reached only by car or taxi (a small fee is charged, and who operates the site has been disputed, so expect changes). Şirince, a hill village 8 km from Selçuk, has a pedestrian centre where cars stop at the edge.

Davutlar, Güzelçamlı and Dilek Peninsula

Davutlar has a Havaş stop at Davutlar Junction, so you still need a short taxi to the beach. Güzelçamlı has no direct service: take a taxi or transfer, or the Havaş bus to Kuşadası and a minibus from there. The airport taxi list gives ≈€88 (₺4,900) to Davutlar and ≈€93 (₺5,150) to Güzelçamlı. The gate of Dilek Peninsula National Park and Zeus Cave are at Güzelçamlı, 113 km from the airport; the park uses a QR-based entry system, and we could not confirm the 2026 fees, so check before you go.

Onward to Samos

Ertürk Lines runs passenger-only boats from Kuşadası to Samos (Vathy). Until 1 November 2026 there are two a day, at 08:15 and 09:15. From 7 November the service drops to Saturday only outbound and Sunday back, through December. Greece applies Schengen rules, so check your visa and passport validity. For an early boat, sleep in Kuşadası the night before.

Back to the airport

Havaş buses leave Kuşadası bus terminal at 03:00, 07:00, 09:00, 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00, 19:00, 21:00 and 23:00. In Selçuk, the shuttle to Tepeköy runs from 05:50 to 23:00. For a private transfer, book your return together with your arrival; your driver meets you at your hotel at the agreed time, and the booking form suggests a pickup time for your flight. Allow 3 hours before an international departure and 2 hours before a domestic one, as the airport advises.

Sources — checked on 19 October 2026: Havaş · İZBAN timetable · İzmirim Kart fares · Airport taxi price list · KGM İzmir–Aydın toll · Ephesus, Ministry of Culture and Tourism · Ertürk Kuşadası–Samos · Ege Port statistics · Izmir Airport
Euro amounts at €1 = ₺55.6.

Related guides: Izmir Airport (ADB) · Izmir Airport to the city, Çeşme and Kuşadası · Izmir Airport taxi prices · Izmir Airport bus and train · Arriving in Izmir at night · Izmir Airport arrival guide

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