Getting around · Plane · Car · Bus · Train
How to get from Ankara to Kars
Every way we could verify, sorted by door-to-door time. Airport and terminal transfers are inside the figures — the number you see is the number you live.
At a glance
Choose by time or starting fare.
Fastest checked option
Plane
4 hr door to door · $82–143
Lowest starting fare
Train
26 hr 26 min door to door · $15–33
These figures reflect the dates shown below, not live availability. Check the route, travel time and current fare with the operator or another reliable source before booking.
Ankara to Kars
PlaneFastest
4 hr door to door · $82–143 · checked Sept 2026
Direct AJet flights Ankara (ESB) – Kars (KSY), about 1 h 35 m in the air, daily; Kars Harakani Airport is a short taxi ride from the town centre.
Car
13 hr 5 min door to door · $140–292 · checked Sept 2026
Self-drive: rent a car, ~13 h 05 m (1075 km by road, OSRM, no stops). Cost shown: fuel plus a share of one-way rental.
Bus
15 hr 43 min door to door · $34–42 · checked Sept 2026
About 13 direct coaches a day each way (Bizim Iğdır, Kamil Koç, Doğu Kars, Turgutreis, Kars Kalesi, Aras, Metro), mostly overnight, taking around 15 h 45 m.
TrainLowest starting fare
26 hr 26 min door to door · $15–33 · checked Sept 2026
The daily Eastern Express (Doğu Ekspresi) leaves Ankara at 18:00 and reaches Kars about 20:26 the next evening (Kars 08:00 → Ankara about 10:30 next day), with seats and 4-berth couchettes. Private sleeper cabins run only on the separate Touristic Eastern Express, sold through agencies.
Kars to Ankara
Same modes, door-to-door times and fares in this direction — every leg was researched and verified separately, and the figures came out identical.
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