İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport to Selçuk (Ephesus)
İzmir Airport to Selçuk (for Ephesus) is about 64 km — and uniquely, a direct TCDD regional train runs from the airport station to Selçuk several times a day.
Selçuk (Ephesus), İzmirCarlos Delgado / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0The gateway to Ephesus — one of the best-preserved ancient cities on earth — plus the Temple of Artemis and the Basilica of St John, reachable by direct train from the airport.
Every way to get there
Our verdict: for Selçuk (Ephesus), a private transfer is the easiest door-to-door option (from €40). Travelling light on a budget? The bus is cheapest (from €5) but slower, with a change in the city.
What it costs for your group
The bus is charged per person, while a taxi or private transfer is one price for the whole car — so the more of you there are, the better door-to-door value looks.
| Group | Bus (per person) | Private transfer | Best value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo · 1 traveller | €5 | €40 | Bus |
| Couple · 2 travellers | €10 | €40 | Bus |
| Family of 4 · 4 travellers | €20 | €40 | Bus |
Which option should you choose?
| If your priority is… | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest price | Bus | From €3, though slower with a change in the city. |
| Speed & comfort | Private transfer | Door-to-door, fixed price, a driver waiting for you. |
| A group of 3–4 | Transfer or taxi | One flat fare splits cheaper than several bus tickets. |
| A late-night arrival | Transfer or taxi | Both run 24/7 when buses and the tram have stopped. |
By transport mode
Train
The gem for Ephesus visitors — no need to go into İzmir first. Selçuk station is a short walk or dolmuş from the site gate; check the day's limited timetable.
Where to catch it: Adnan Menderes railway platform inside the terminal (the same station as İZBAN).
Best for budget travellers near a stationPrivate transfer
Best if you're on a tight sightseeing schedule or arriving outside train hours.
Where to catch it: Driver meets you at arrivals.
Best for families, groups & late arrivalsBus / shuttle
Cheap with a transfer; the direct train is usually simpler.
Where to catch it: İZBAN or Havaş to the İzmir otogar, then a Selçuk-bound coach or minibus.
Best for solo & budget travellersTaxi
Direct but costly; get an estimate first.
Where to catch it: Official taxi rank outside arrivals.
Best for small groups in a hurryCar rental
Lets you pair Ephesus with Şirince and the coast in one trip.
Where to catch it: Car-rental desks at the terminal.
Best for travellers who want to exploreSelçuk (Ephesus) & İzmir in photos
Buying tickets in İzmir
İzmir Adnan Menderes has the İZBAN commuter train straight from beneath the terminal into the city (about 30 minutes). Pay with the reloadable İzmirim Kart, sold at the kiosk by the escalators down to the platform for around 75 TL plus whatever credit you load; the same card covers İZBAN, metro, trams and buses. Alternatively buy a Bilet35 paper multi-ride ticket. Load credit at the kiosk or machines with cash or card, then tap at the turnstile; you do not pay any driver.
Taxi scams & safety in İzmir
The İZBAN train is fixed-fare and bypasses traffic, so it sidesteps most taxi problems. If you do take a taxi, use the official rank outside arrivals and insist on the meter; treat a flat quote, a "broken meter", or a luggage surcharge as red flags. Do not follow touts inside the terminal. Uber operates in İzmir but generally dispatches licensed taxis, and app ride-hail can be caught at the departures kerb. Keep small notes so a driver cannot withhold change.
Getting from ADB to Selçuk (Ephesus)
There is a particular kind of thrill in stepping off a plane and, within the hour, walking the marble streets where Antony courted Cleopatra and St Paul preached to silversmiths. Selçuk is the modern town that keeps the gate to Ephesus — one of the best-preserved ancient cities on earth — along with the lonely column of the Temple of Artemis and the ruined Basilica of St John on the hill above. It sits about 64 km south of İzmir Airport, and here is the detail that makes an archaeology romantic's heart quicken: a direct train runs from the airport's own platform straight to the edge of antiquity, no city detour required.
The Rail Line That Runs Back Two Thousand Years
Most airports strand you in a scrum of shuttles. İzmir hands you something rarer. Down inside the terminal, sharing the Adnan Menderes railway platform with the İZBAN commuter service, the TCDD İzmir–Selçuk–Denizli regional train pulls in and rolls south through olive country to Selçuk in roughly an hour. The fare is almost comically small — a few pounds, somewhere around £3–6 — for a journey that deposits you a short walk or a quick dolmuş from the site gate.
But romance must bow to the timetable. This is a regional service, not a metro: only about six departures a day, spaced across the hours, with the last useful trains running well before nightfall. Miss the one you wanted and you may wait a long while for the next. So treat it as a scheduled appointment rather than a turn-up-and-go — check the day's limited timetable before you commit, and plan your arrival around a departure. Get it right and it is, hands down, the loveliest and cheapest way an Ephesus pilgrim can reach the ruins.
When the Train Won't Wait for You
Land at midnight, or with a tour bus meeting you at dawn, and those six daily departures simply won't line up. That is what a private transfer is for. Firms such as Kiwitaxi and local operators lock in the fare when you book — roughly £40–60, agreed before you land — then drive you door-to-door to Selçuk or your hotel in around 50 minutes. It is the sensible choice when you are on a tight sightseeing schedule, travelling with luggage and companions, or simply arriving outside the train's hours. You pay for certainty, and on a day built around a single precious afternoon among the ruins, certainty is worth buying.
The Thrifty Detour and the Metered Dash
If the train has stopped for the day but your budget hasn't loosened, there is a coach route — cheaper than a transfer, though slower and less graceful. Take the İZBAN or a Havaş shuttle up to the İzmir otogar, the main intercity bus station, then change onto a frequent Selçuk-bound coach or minibus. Plan for around £5–9 all in, and close to 105 minutes once the transfer is counted. It works, and it is honest travel; but for the money and effort saved, the direct train is nearly always the simpler, happier option when it is running.
For pure door-to-door speed at any hour, the airport taxi rank outside arrivals will run you to Selçuk in about 55 minutes. Expect roughly £55–80, and — as anywhere — ask for an estimate before you set off rather than after. It is direct and it is available around the clock, which on a bleary-eyed late arrival can be exactly the mercy you need, even if the meter stings.
Wheels of Your Own, and the Coast Beyond
There is one more temptation, and it is a good one. The car-hire desks in the terminal — Localrent, DiscoverCars and the usual names — put you behind the wheel for something like £22–40 a day, with a drive of about 50 minutes down to Selçuk. The appeal isn't Ephesus alone; it's everything you can string onto the same key. Climb to the hillside village of Şirince for its fruit wines in the afternoon, then chase the Aegean coast at your own pace, without a single timetable to obey. For travellers who want to make Ephesus the opening act of a wider Ionian wander, a hire car turns the whole peninsula into your itinerary.
Whichever you choose, the destination rewards you the same way. Arrive early or late in the day when the light rakes low across the Library of Celsus and the great theatre empties of coaches — and remember, if the stars align, that you can reach all of it on a modest regional train that leaves from beneath the very terminal where you landed. Few gateways to the ancient world are quite so easy to walk through.
