Izmir to Selcuk train: from the airport platform to the gate of Ephesus

The Izmir to Selcuk train is the easiest way to reach Ephesus without a car: a direct regional train runs from the station at İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport to Selçuk in about an hour, and from Basmane station in central İzmir in about an hour and a half. Selçuk station sits in the middle of the town, about 3 kilometers from the lower gate of Ephesus, so the last stretch is a 40-minute walk, a short minibus ride or a ten-minute taxi to the upper gate.

We live and guide in Selçuk, and this is the route we give friends who fly in. Below is each step: the arrivals hall to the airport platform, the two rail options side by side, the ride south, the old station at the end of it, and the last three kilometers to the gate.

Written by the Gezginol guide team, licensed Ephesian guides based in Selçuk and Kuşadası. Sources: the TCDD Taşımacılık and İZBAN timetables and İzmir Airport's own transport page, listed at the end. Last reviewed: November 2026.

How do you get from Izmir to Selcuk by train?

Take a TCDD regional train toward Selçuk, Aydın, Nazilli or Denizli from the station at İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport, or from Basmane station in the city. It runs direct to Selçuk in about an hour from the airport. The alternative is İZBAN, the commuter train, with one change at Tepeköy.

Izmir to Selcuk train at a glance

From the arrivals hall to the airport platform

The railway station is part of the airport, across from the exit of the domestic terminal. If you land on an international flight, follow the signs marked Metro-İzban after baggage claim; they lead to a moving walkway and on to the station. Regional trains and İZBAN use the same station, so you follow the same signs whichever train you take.

For the regional train, buy a ticket at the station ticket window before you board. The fare is a few euros' worth of Turkish lira, so keep some lira handy. Then read the destination on the train itself. Regional trains for Selçuk, Aydın, Nazilli and Denizli all stop at Selçuk. Trains for Ödemiş and Tire leave from the same station and run the same way at first, then turn off after Torbalı and do not go to Selçuk. It is the easiest mistake to make on this line.

The train from İzmir airport to Selçuk: direct, about an hour

The regional train is the one we suggest for most arrivals: one train, no change, about an hour. In the 2026 timetables we checked, the trip from the airport to Selçuk took between 57 and 69 minutes. The same trains start at Basmane station in central İzmir about 25 minutes before they reach the airport, which makes Basmane to Selçuk about an hour and a half.

South of the airport the line runs through Cumaovası, Torbalı and Tepeköy, then across the farmland of the Küçük Menderes plain, past Belevi and into Selçuk. The trains are not frequent. In the 2026 timetables the direct trains left the airport roughly every one and a half hours from about 07:30, with a longer gap of about two and a half hours in the afternoon and the last departures in the evening. Timetables change, so check the day's departures on the TCDD Taşımacılık site or at the station window before you plan the rest of the day around one.

İZBAN: more trains, one change at Tepeköy

İZBAN, İzmir's commuter railway, runs far more often than the regional trains, but not straight to Selçuk. From the airport, board an İZBAN train for Tepeköy (some end earlier, at Cumaovası), ride about 34 minutes south, and change at Tepeköy to the shuttle train for Selçuk, which runs about once an hour. İZBAN has run to Selçuk since September 2017.

İZBAN is paid with the İzmirim Kart, İzmir's transit card, at the turnstile, not with a ticket from the window. It is the better choice when you land at the start of a long gap between regional trains. With a short wait at Tepeköy it gets you to Selçuk sooner; with a long one, the direct train may still win, so compare the two timetables before you choose.

Arriving at Selçuk station

Selçuk station was built in 1862 by the Ottoman Railway Company, taken over by the state railways in 1935 and rebuilt between 2015 and 2017. You step off the platform into the middle of a small town: most of Selçuk's family hotels and guesthouses are a short walk away, and the bus station, where the minibuses leave, is about eight minutes on foot. Our guide to Selçuk covers where to eat and what to see, and our self-guided Selçuk walk starts right where the buses and the train arrive.

If you are still choosing where to sleep, Selçuk's great advantage is the morning: Ephesus opens at 08:00, and from a hotel here you can be at the gate when it does. Our Selçuk or Kuşadası comparison sets out when the seaside town is the better base instead.

From Selçuk station to the Ephesus gate

The ruins begin about 3 kilometers from the station. There are three ways to cover the last stretch:

• Walk to the lower gate. About 3 kilometers from the town center, roughly 40 minutes on foot.
• Take a taxi to the upper gate. About ten minutes by road, around the hill. There are taxis in the town center; agree the fare before you set off.
• Take the minibus to the Ephesus junction. From Selçuk bus station, a dolmuş heading for Kuşadası stops on the main road at the Ephesus junction if you ask the driver for “Efes”; from there it is about a kilometer to the lower gate. Our Kuşadası to Ephesus notes describe that stop and the walk in.

Which gate you start from matters more than it looks. Most guided visits begin at the upper gate and walk the ancient city downhill, past the Library of Celsus to the Great Theater and the lower gate, which spares you the climb; our walk through the ancient city follows that order stop by stop. On your own, a taxi to the upper gate and the walk or a taxi back from the lower gate make a natural loop.

Two things make the day easier. Leave your luggage at the hotel first: the visit is a long walk on uneven marble, and a suitcase is no help there. And if your train gets in during the afternoon, do not rush: sleep in Selçuk and be at the gate at 08:00 the next morning, before the day's groups. Our note on how long to give Ephesus helps you plan the hours.

Arriving by train: let the station be your last timetable

Once you are in Selçuk, the planning can stop. Our private Ephesus tour picks you up at your Selçuk hotel with a licensed guide, a private car and driver, and lunch afterward, so the station is the last timetable you need to read. It is priced from €33 per person for groups of 8 or more; smaller groups get a private quote. Entrance tickets are paid separately at the gate price; we buy them ahead with our agency priority pass, so you walk in through the priority entrance instead of queuing at the ticket window. And we add nothing to the ticket. The fast pass is ours to give; the entrance fee stays exactly what the Ministry of Culture and Tourism charges at the gate, to the lira. You are paying us for the queue you skip — never for the ticket itself.

Two other ways we can help. If you would rather make your own way to the gate, our Hire Ephesian Guide service meets you there, priced by date and season (ask us for a special quote). And if you would rather skip the train altogether, we can collect you at İzmir airport or your İzmir hotel, on a private quote.

Izmir to Ephesus: the distance by road and by rail

Ephesus is about 80 kilometers by road from central İzmir, roughly an hour by car, and about 60 kilometers from İzmir airport. It lies in İzmir province, in the district of Selçuk, but well outside the city. By train, Selçuk is about an hour from the airport and an hour and a half from Basmane, and the ruins are 3 kilometers further. That is why, when people ask us how to get from İzmir to Ephesus without a car, our answer is the train to Selçuk and a short ride to the gate.

Izmir to Selcuk train FAQ

How to get to Ephesus from Izmir?

By train to Selçuk, then 3 kilometers to the gate. The direct regional train takes about an hour from İzmir airport and about an hour and a half from Basmane station in the city. From Selçuk, walk 40 minutes to the lower gate or take a ten-minute taxi to the upper gate. By road, Ephesus is about an hour from either.

How far is Ephesus from Izmir?

About 80 kilometers by road from central İzmir, roughly an hour by car, and about 60 kilometers from İzmir airport. Ephesus is in İzmir province, in the district of Selçuk, but well outside the city itself.

What is the closest airport to Ephesus, Turkey?

İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport (ADB), about 60 kilometers north of Ephesus by road. It has its own railway station, with direct regional trains to Selçuk, the town beside the ruins, in about an hour.

Is there an airport in Ephesus, Turkey?

No, not for passengers. The small Selçuk–Efes airfield near the town is run by the Turkish Aeronautical Association for light aircraft and has no regular passenger flights. Visitors fly into İzmir and continue by train or by road.

Which train from Izmir airport goes to Selcuk?

Any regional train for Selçuk, Aydın, Nazilli or Denizli. Trains for Ödemiş and Tire stop at the same airport station but turn off after Torbalı and do not reach Selçuk, so read the destination before you board. On İZBAN, take a train for Tepeköy and change there.

What if my flight lands after the last train?

Go by road. The last direct trains leave the airport in the evening, and the exact times change with the timetable, so check them before you fly. A taxi or a pre-booked transfer covers the 60 kilometers to Selçuk in about an hour.