İzmir Airport to Selçuk & Ephesus
Prices last verified: 11 September 2026For history travelers heading straight to Ephesus. Yes, you can go south from the airport without going into İzmir. Take the İZBAN southbound, change at Tepeköy onto the Selçuk branch, and tap out at Selçuk — it is one İzmirim Kart journey, not two tickets. The catch is the change: the Selçuk branch runs about fourteen times a day, so the wait at Tepeköy can be anywhere from a few minutes to over an hour. The Havaş coach toward Kuşadası also calls at Selçuk, which is often the simpler option with luggage.
Compare your options
Cheapest first · total price for your group.
Also running: Havaş coach (Kuşadası service) — the operator publishes no fare, so it is left out of the price comparison, not ruled out.
Group totals for 2 travellers, for options running at 14:00 — the same fares and times as the table below. Official fares come from the operator's tariff; estimates are our own figures.
Showing daytime services for 2 travellers. Rows marked Estimate use our own figure because the operator publishes no fare; everything else comes from an official tariff. The private transfer row is a clearly-marked partner option.
Landing in the evening or late at night? Some of these stop running. Check what actually operates at your arrival time.
Plan my exact journey →
Public transport to Selçuk & Ephesus
İZBAN south with one change at Tepeköy. This route skips İzmir city entirely. It is cheap and scenic, with one thing to plan around: the Selçuk branch is infrequent.
For airport-wide detail on this option — fares, other routes, last departures — see the İZBAN train guide.
- 1
Buy a physical İzmirim Kart, then board the İZBAN toward Tepeköy
Get your card at the station kiosk beneath the terminal — 200 TL, one per traveler. The free Digital İzmirim Kart in the app cannot be used on İZBAN, so the physical card is not optional here. İZBAN blocks 122.16 TL when you tap in at the airport, so load at least 125 TL before you go to the platform. The station has one platform for both directions, so check the departure board and take the train toward Tepeköy, not the one toward Alsancak or Basmane. This route never passes through central İzmir.
- 2
Change at Tepeköy onto the Selçuk branch
Get off at Tepeköy and follow the signs for the Selçuk train. Do not tap out here — you are changing within the same journey, and tapping out would end it and charge you for the shorter distance. The Selçuk branch runs about fourteen times a day, roughly 06:40 to 23:50, taking 26 minutes. Depending on your arrival the wait can be short or well over an hour, so check the İZBAN timetable before you travel.
- 3
Ride to Selçuk and tap out (about 1½ to 2½ hrs total)
The train heads south through farmland to Selçuk station, right in the town centre. Tap out on the orange refund validator as you leave — that is what releases your blocked balance and charges the real ₺102.64 fare. Including the change at Tepeköy, plan on anywhere from about 1½ to 2½ hours from the airport depending on the connection.
- 4
Walk or take a taxi to your guesthouse or Ephesus
Most guesthouses are a short walk from Selçuk station. For the Ephesus site entrance, take a 5-minute taxi or a 30-minute walk. You can also ask your pension in advance — many will pick you up from the station.
Taxi from İzmir Airport to Selçuk & Ephesus
This goes direct south on the motorway, about 50 minutes. Use the official rank, meter on. Typical fare is ₺2,400 · ≈ €51 (estimated range on the meter, motorway toll on top), taking about ~50 min. For the meter rules and the airport-taxi scam to avoid, see taxis in Turkey.
Public-transport alternatives
There is no through train from the airport to Selçuk — every rail journey changes at Tepeköy. Check both the İZBAN timetable and the Havaş coach times before you commit, because the connection, not the fare, is what decides this route.
Private transfer to Selçuk & Ephesus
Shown for fairness — a fixed-price private car. This is a partner option, marked as such.
Fixed pricing per vehicle, with an embeddable booking widget and strong Turkey/Mediterranean coverage.
Fixed price to Selçuk & Ephesus, driver meets you at Arrivals, waits if your flight is delayed. Quoted directly in the comparison table above — see private transfers explained for when a fixed-price car is genuinely worth it.
Check İzmir Airport transfer pricesSome links are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Commercial relationships never change how we rank the options — they are ordered by price, and where two prices overlap we say we cannot tell them apart rather than picking the one that pays us.
Late-night arrivals
Landing late for Selçuk & Ephesus? Taxi (metered) and Private transfer are available at any hour, and Havaş coach (Kuşadası service) (02:00) has a departure in the small hours. Everything else has stopped until morning — check the exact departure against your own landing time. See late-night arrivals for real taxi and transfer costs and a full decision tree.
Frequently asked
Can I really get south without going into İzmir city?
Yes. The airport is on the İZBAN line, and a southbound train toward Tepeköy takes you away from the city, where you change onto the Selçuk branch. At no point do you enter central İzmir — this is the key fact most English-language sources miss.
How bad is the Tepeköy connection?
It is the one real friction point. Airport-to-Tepeköy trains run frequently, but the Tepeköy-to-Selçuk branch has only about fourteen departures a day — currently 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, taking 26 minutes. Depending on when you land, the wait can be a few minutes or well over an hour. Check the İZBAN timetable for the day you travel and work backwards from the Selçuk departure you want.
Train vs. a private transfer — what’s the real trade-off?
For two travelers the train route is about ₺605 all in: ₺103 each for the İZBAN fare to Selçuk, plus two 200 TL physical cards, because anti-passback means each person needs their own and the free app card is not valid on İZBAN. It takes roughly 1½ to 2½ hours depending on the Tepeköy connection, and is tight with big suitcases. If you already have cards from a previous visit the cost drops to the ₺206 of fares. A private transfer is around ₺2,600 for the car, door-to-door in about 50 minutes. Neither is "right" — it depends on your bags, budget and patience.
Is there a coach to Selçuk as well as the train?
Yes, and with luggage it is often the easier choice. The Havaş coach from the airport toward Kuşadası calls at Selçuk, stopping in front of the State Hospital emergency department. Published departures are 02:00, 07:30, 09:30, 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00, 19:00, 21:00 and 23:30. Havaş sets the Selçuk fare — we have not been able to confirm a published figure for that intermediate stop, so check it with the driver or on the Havaş site rather than budgeting from the Kuşadası price.