From Istanbul, Kayseri is your gateway into Central Anatolia. A popular skiing destination and food spot itself, it serves as a waypoint for travelers headed to Cappadocia, Kars, and beyond. Let’s find out how to get from Istanbul to Kayseri.
In today’s transportation guide, we will be asking ourselves how to get from Istanbul to Kayseri, the fastest, cheapest and the most scenic way. We will be looking at direct flights, overnight buses, the Dogu Express and car rentals, and we will share with you how we made the trip happen.
Key Takeaways
- Flying from Istanbul to Kayseri is the fastest option, with flights taking about 1 hour 25 minutes and affordable fares starting around $ 29. Use airport shuttles or taxis to reach Kayseri city center.
- Taking an overnight bus is a budget-friendly choice, costing about $ 42 and saving a night’s accommodation. Book tickets online for discounts and use local buses or trams to get into town from Kayseri Bus Station.
- For a scenic and relaxed journey, take the train via Ankara using the high-speed train and Dogu Express. It takes 12-24 hours and costs $ 20-$ 40. Book tickets early, especially for sleeper cabins.
- Our personal experience: We loved the scenic train route with private sleeper cabins, enjoying beautiful countryside views. It’s a great way to travel if you have extra time and want to avoid airports.
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Where to Stay in Kayseri
Piecing together your trip to Kayseri? Don’t forget to book your hotel in advance. They can help you set up your transfer to the city center.
These are 3 of the best hotels in Kayseri for your overnight stay:
Budget | Nüzhet Hotel | from $ 60 per night | |
Comfort | Four Mansions Hotel | from $ 131 per night | |
Luxury | Radisson Blu Hotel Kayseri | from $ 148 per night |
How to Get from Istanbul to Kayseri
Located in Central Anatolia, Kayseri sits at a distance of a little less than 800 kilometres from Istanbul, requiring at least 8 hours of nonstop driving. From Istanbul, you can get to Kayseri via domestic flights, overnight buses, cross-country trains and rental cars.
In the following, we will break down each travel option and share with you the exact itinerary and the estimated cost of each option. Let’s get to it.
The Fastest Way: Direct Flights to Kayseri via Istanbul Airport (IST)
Turkey can count on an extensive network of domestic flights from Istanbul, connecting all regions of the country with its biggest city and entry port.
From Istanbul Airport (IST) and Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW), you can reach no less than 45 domestic airports, among them Kayseri Erkilet Airport (ASR).
From Istanbul, Kayseri flights take just a little more than one hour, covering a little less than 650 kilometres as the crow flies, and ticket prices start from as little as $ 29 (or 26 €) per person. Prices tend to fluctuate a little according to the season you are travelling in, with the winter months being the cheapest.
The route is served by Turkish Airlines and the national low-cost carries Pegasus Airlines and AJet and luggage, all offering nonstop flights with luggage already included in the fare.
Located around 5 kilometres outside of Kayseri, you will have to take another mode of transport to get to your hotel in the city center. To get into Kayseri, you can either take the shared airport shuttle, a public bus just outside the airport, organise a transfer with your hotel or simply hail down a taxi to the center.
Would we recommend this option? Turkey is a huge country and domestic flights are the best way to cover a lot of distance in short time and a sure shot, if you only a have a week to spend in Turkey. While flight prices offer the most affordable fares overall, prices can quickly swell with transfer costs to and from the airports.
The Cheapest Option: Taking an Overnight Bus to Kayseri
Of course, it is also possible to get from Istanbul to Kayseri without having to take a flight. From Istanbul, there are multiple daily bus connections to Kayseri operated mostly by Metro Turizm and FlixBus (via Kamil Koç), but also a bunch of smaller bus companies.
From Istanbul, direct buses to Kayseri cost $ 41.82 (or 37.33 €) with fares being fixed across providers. The bus ride from Istanbul to Kayseri takes around 12 hours and is best done overnight. You can book your tickets online via the Obilet website where you will receive a 10% discount on your first booking.
From Kayseri Bus Station, you can take both the bus lines 916 and 921 or the tram line 3 to get to the city center which takes just around 10 minutes. A single ride currently costs 39 TL and you can get a local transport card at any of the electronic ticket machines.
Would we recommend this option? While, at first sight, the bus to Kayseri may seem more costly than a direct flight, you do have to consider as well, that you will travel much more comfortably and get to save on accommodation for one night, if you are comfortable sleeping on overnight buses.
The Scenic Route: Taking the Dogu Express
For those of you that have a little more time to spare and prefer not to skip of much of Turkey, either by flying or sleeping over it, taking the scenic route might just be the way to go. With a transfer in Ankara, you can get from Istanbul to Kayseri completely by train.
From Istanbul, you need to take a high-speed train to Ankara first, before transferring to the Dogu Express (Eastern Express) that connects the Turkish capital Ankara with one of its easternmost cities, Kars. On the way the Eastern Express stops in Kayseri.
From end to end, the train journey from Istanbul to Kayseri takes around 12 to 24 hours and costs between 1,000 TL and 2,000 TL per person, depending on the exact itinerary you choose. For comparison, this would be between $ 20 and $ 40, or 18 € and 36 €.
You can book your train tickets to Kayseri directly on the official Turkish Railways website. For the Dogu Express tickets, note that booking only opens 30 days before the departure date with tickets selling out fast during high season. Set an alarm to miss out on the most popular seats.
Would we recommend this option? Absolutely. For both the high-speed train and the Dogu Express, you can get sleeper cabins for overnight trips and daytime trips are arguably even better with some of the most romantic views of the Turkish countryside. Plus, you’ll save yourself a night in a hotel.
The Road Trip: Car Rental from Istanbul to Kayseri
If you are looking to get a little more off the beaten path, we have one more interesting transport option for you: renting a car. Renting a car in Istanbul allows you to travel to Kayseri at your own pace, with plenty of stops along the way, in Ankara, for instance.
At Istanbul Airport (IST) and Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW), you can find trustworthy car rentals from international providers starting from around $ 30 (or 27 €) per day. With gasoline prices of around 1.37 € per litre (or $5.81 per gallon), you won’t have to worry too much about fuel costs either.
From Istanbul, you’ll have about 775 kilometres to cover, requiring around 8 hours of driving in total. We recommend adding additional stops along the way, such as Ankara or one of the smaller cities, to get off the beaten path.
From Kayseri, you can also use your rental car to tour the Cappadocia region which will help you save lots of money you would have spent on tours otherwise.
Would we recommend this option? If you are looking for the most independent travel route from Istanbul to Kayseri, the rental car is the way to go. For couples and groups, this options isn’t too financially taxing either, since you’ll be able to split rental and fuel costs between up to five people.
Our Experience Travelling the Scenic Route
For our transfer from Kayseri to Istanbul, we chose to take the scenic route, first taking an overnight train from Kayseri to Ankara, spending two nights in the capital city, before continuing on to Istanbul on the high-speed train. On both trains, we opted for the private sleeper cabins.
While on the Dogu Express, we got lucky to get a 4-person sleeper cabin just for us, the sleeper cabin on the high-speed train to Istanbul as especially designed for couples, featuring just two beds and a sink to brush your teeth before heading to bed.
We thoroughly enjoyed traveling on the Dogu Express, first from Kars to Kayseri, then from Kayseri to Ankara, and cannot recommend it enough to other travelers. Setting aside a full day of travel “just” for a transfer may seem like a big compromise at first, but believe us when we say that the views make it worth 100x over.
Where to Stay in Kayseri, Turkey
Our reason for travelling out to Kayseri was visiting nearby Cappadocia . We did, however, not fancy jumping straight onto the bus to Göreme after our long train journey, so we spent a night in Kayseri first.
These are the best hotels to spend the night in Kayseri, if you plan to continue your trip by train or bus:
Budget | Nüzhet Hotel | starting from $ 60 per night | |
Comfort | Four Mansions Hotel | starting from $ 131 per night | |
Luxury | Radisson Blu Hotel Kayseri | starting from $ 148 per night |
Figuring out Your Itinerary? This is Where to Go From Kayseri
Usually, people take the train to Kayseri to continue on to the Cappadocia region from there. While this option is popular, it’s not the only one.
These are 3 ways your can continue your Turkey trip from Kayseri onwards:
- The Cappadocia route: By far the most popular way to continue from Kayseri is getting a bus to Göreme, the main town of Cappadocia. Spend at least 2 days in Cappadocia to go on one of the famed hot air balloon rides, get out into nature and learn about the region’s underground cities.
- The Dogu Express Route: Enjoyed the train journey? Keep it going then. From Kayseri, you can travel on the Dogu Express until Kars, in the far east of Turkey. Close to the Armenian border, you will get a completely different, much calmer impression of life in Turkey.
- The Georgian route: Done with your Turkey trip already? Continue on to Georgia then. To get from Turkey to Georgia, you can travel both overland and take a flight from Kayseri to Batumi. While similar to Turkey in some ways, Georgia offers a very distinct culture and amazing food.
The Bottom Line
In short, travelling from Istanbul to Kayseri is possible in multiple ways with prices being quite similar across the board. Rather than worrying about the cost, you can ask yourself instead, if you’d like to travel fast, comfortably or flexibly.
Personally, we’d always recommend travelling from Istanbul to Kayseri on the Dogu Express, the overland train connecting Ankara and Kars, since it’s the most unforgettable experience with scenic views of the Turkish hinterland.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best way to go from Istanbul to Cappadocia?
You can get from Istanbul to Kayseri most easily taking a direct flight from Istanbul Airport (IST) and Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW). The flight covers a little less than 650 kilometres, takes little more than an hour and costs around $ 29 (or 26 €) per person.
Does Kayseri airport have international flights?
Yes, Kayseri Erkilet Airport (ASR) does serve international destinations, though most affordable flights to Kayseri feature a transfer in Istanbul.
What is the distance between Istanbul and Kayseri?
Istanbul and Kayseri are located at a distance of around 650 kilometres as the crow flies, while you will need to cover a little less than 800 kilometres, if you travel from Istanbul to Kayseri by car.
Is it better to fly or drive from Istanbul to Cappadocia?
If you want to be fast, travel from Istanbul to Cappadcia by flight, either to Kayseri Erkilet Airport (ASR) for to Nevşehir Kapadokya Airport (NAV). If you want to stay flexible along the way and save money on tours, drive from Istanbul to Cappadocia instead.
Hey! We are glad you are curious about travelling the Middle East.
We are Nancy & Elias.
Over four years of backpacking and digital nomading made us fall in love with the Middle East. We have lived on the Red Sea coast in Egypt, lived in a Bedouin Camp in Jordan and travelled 6+ Middle Eastern countries overland.
As we continue to travel, we share our battle-tested travel advice on this blog, from travel reports and transfer guides to accommodation recs and saving hacks.
