South eastern Turkey - finding bus stops

Manchester, United...
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South eastern Turkey - finding bus stops
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Hi,

from reading other people's trip reports, I've got the impression that people have sometimes had quite a hard time finding bus stops/stations for their onward journey. As I want to see as much of the region as possible, I only have about a day and a half in each location.

People on this site have already told me to plan my journeys for the morning, so that's what I'll do. I'm also an early starter so I don't mind starting my journey very early, around 6.30ish onwards.

I've looked at many different guidebooks and none of them appear to have good maps for southeast Turkey. Obviously, I'd rather spend my time getting a feel for the place than hunting for a bus stop, so I'd like to be able to find them as quicky and as time-efficiently as possible. I don't mind getting taxis to the bus stop, although I don't speak Turkish nor Kurdish to tell the driver which stop I want to go to.

These will be my bus journeys:

Urfa-Mardin

Mardin-Midyat (just to visit Gulgoze by taxi)

Midyat-Hasankeyf

Hasankeyf-Van (I've heard there is a direct bus but can't find any other details)

Van-Dogubeyazit

Dogubeyazit-Kars (I know I have to change at Igdir)

So, if anyone can give me any details at all about these journeys (do I need to book tickets in advance? Can I pay on the bus or do I need to get a ticket from the ticket office? Where can I find the bus stop/station? Is it a coach or dolmus?) it would be a real help to me.

Thanks very much.

Istanbul
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1. Re: South eastern Turkey - finding bus stops
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The only places I had problems finding minibus stops was in Van and Dogubeyazit. Even the locals weren't sure.

In Turkey, and even more so in the South-East, things are very much go with the flow. I'd recommend not planning too much. When you arrive, ask your hotel to help you. Failing that, ask people on the street.

Hassankeyf is tiny so you won't have any problems finding the bus stop. Just to give an example of why not to plan too much, I was going to get a bus from Hassankeyf to Mardin but a man (someone from the hotel's uncle) happened to be driving that way, so took me and a Korean couple with him.

In Dogubeyazit, we missed the last bus back to Van, and after an initial panic that we would be stuck there for the night, through a combination of a kind off duty minibus driver and hitchhiking, we made it back to Van in less than two hours :)

Also you won't need to be able to speak Turkish or Kurdish to navigate the buses. Write down the name of the place you want to go (you should learn the Turkish letters so you can pronounce the place names correctly) and just show it to the driver/bus boy/people on the street.

Edited: 7 years ago
Istanbul
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2. Re: South eastern Turkey - finding bus stops
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Oh and by the way, we went from Van to Dogubeyazit via Muradiye, where there is a lovely waterfall. It was worth breaking the trip up like that, even though we had to resort to hitchhiking from the waterfall to the next village!

Manchester, United...
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3. Re: South eastern Turkey - finding bus stops
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Thanks for your help Kachika. I take your point about not trying to plan thing too much.

Is it generally the case that if you get a coach rather than a minibus, you need to get a ticket in advance?

Istanbul
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4. Re: South eastern Turkey - finding bus stops
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I didn't use any coaches in the East so am not sure. However, it's unlikely that buses would be full unless it was Bayram so I don't see any need to buy tickets very early. When are you travelling?

Manchester, United...
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5. Re: South eastern Turkey - finding bus stops
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Travelling at the end of May. Wasn't intending on getting tickets too early, just the day before when I'm in the city. Just wasn't sure whether it was a necessity or not. Thanks for your help.

Chesterfield...
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6. Re: South eastern Turkey - finding bus stops
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I'll reply here rather than on the LP :P

Arrangements vary from a proper bus station (Urfa) to a carpark full of minibuses (Mardin, Midyat) to the street somewhere with maybe an office to wait in (Dogu). People will always help you find where you want to get to though. The Turkish for 'Where' is 'Nerede', which can be useful.

Planning is fine, but as kachika says, don't be afraid to improvise, and don't worry if things get a bit weird (going from Mardin to Diyarbakir, I think everyone changed minibus 3 times for no obvious reason). In particular, Dolmuses seem to drop you off in random places on the edge of town a lot, so you may need to get a taxi to your hotel from time to time.

Manchester, United...
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7. Re: South eastern Turkey - finding bus stops
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Thanks Bedknobs...so you saw the fun on LP?!?! TA have now changed my username to hopefully prevent any future confusion with IDs.

I guess my posts do give the impression that I'm planning too much, I guess I just want to get the most out of it due to, on average, only have 2 days max in each location. You and Kachika have reassured me though, so thanks very much.

Manchester, United...
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....and I'm definitely going to learn a few essential words in Turkish! ;-)

Istanbul, Turkey
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9. Re: South eastern Turkey - finding bus stops
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MarkW, Here is an excellent video to learn Turkish. "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBSRn3cWxhk"

enigma...

Chesterfield...
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10. Re: South eastern Turkey - finding bus stops
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No problem, I'm a planner / worrier myself, so I know exactly what you're doing.

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