Bursa is about 155 km from Istanbul and two to three hours by car over the Osman Gazi Bridge, so it works as a day trip. Trabzon is 1,050 km away on the Black Sea coast: fly the two hours, then use a car with a driver for Uzungöl and Sümela.
These are the two escapes Istanbul visitors ask about most, and they need completely different planning. This guide gives the real distances and times, what each place is actually worth seeing for, which season suits it, and what a private car with a driver costs in each city.
How far is Bursa from Istanbul and how long does it take?
About 155 km and two to three hours by road, depending on which side of Istanbul you start from and how the Gulf of İzmit is crossed. Since the Osman Gazi Bridge opened in 2016, the drive no longer loops the long way round the gulf, which is what used to make Bursa a five-hour proposition.
Where you begin matters more than the distance. From Sabiha Gökçen airport on the Asian side you are already pointed the right way. From a hotel in Sultanahmet or Taksim you first have to cross the Bosphorus, and that alone can cost 45 minutes in the morning peak.
| Route to Bursa | Distance | Typical time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sabiha Gökçen airport by car | About 155 km | 2–3 hours | Motorway all the way over the Osman Gazi Bridge. No Bosphorus crossing needed. |
| European-side hotel by car | About 240 km | 3–4 hours | Add the Bosphorus crossing and city traffic before the motorway begins. |
| Fast ferry, then road | Sea crossing plus about 30 km | 2–3 hours in total | Ferries run from the European side to the Bursa coast; you still need a car for the last stretch inland. |
| Istanbul airport (European side) | About 260 km | 3.5–4 hours | The longest of the four. Worth checking whether your Turkey flights can use Sabiha instead. |
Ferry sailings and their timetables change by season and by operator, so confirm them for your date. The driving times are the ones our Turkish chauffeurs record on real transfers, and the airport figure matches the two to three hours quoted on our Sabiha airport to Bursa transfer page.
What is worth seeing in Bursa in one day?
Four things, and they sit close enough together to do in a single day: the Grand Mosque, the silk bazaar, the mountain, and the Ottoman village on its slope. Bursa was the first Ottoman capital, and unlike Istanbul it has kept that period at walking scale.
- Ulu Cami, the Grand Mosque (completed 1399): twenty domes over a fountain that sits inside the prayer hall rather than in the courtyard. It is the reason many visitors come.
- Koza Han (1491): the silk merchants’ courtyard, still trading in silk and now in tea. The building is the market, which is what makes it different from a modern bazaar.
- Uludağ: the mountain above the city, reached by the long cable car from Teferrüç. Turkey’s best-known ski area from roughly December to March, and a cool green escape in August.
- Cumalıkızık: a 700-year-old village of painted Ottoman houses on the lower slopes, listed by UNESCO together with the historic centre of Bursa in 2014.
Add the food. Bursa is where İskender kebab was invented in the 1860s, and the city’s chestnut candy is sold in every second shop in the old centre. A day here is a genuine change of pace from Istanbul rather than a smaller copy of it.
When should you go to Bursa?
April to June and September to October for the city, and December to March if Uludağ is the point of the trip. The mountain and the city sit at very different heights, so one date can give you two climates in the same day.
In winter, check the cable car before you commit the morning. High wind closes it, and the road up the mountain then becomes the only way, which needs winter tyres and time. In midsummer the reverse is true: the city is hot and humid, and the mountain is where everyone goes to breathe.
How do you get from Istanbul to Trabzon?
By air. Trabzon is roughly 1,050 km from Istanbul along the Black Sea coast, which is sixteen to eighteen hours of driving. The flight takes about two hours, and both Istanbul airports run several a day. Nobody sensible drives it as part of a two-week holiday.
The car matters after you land, not before. Trabzon airport sits on the coast, and everything people come for is inland and uphill: mountain roads, hairpins, fog on the plateau in the afternoon, and villages where a wrong turn costs an hour. This is the trip where a local driver earns his fee twice over.
Two to three days is the right length. One day for Sümela and the coast, one for Uzungöl, and a third if you want the Ayder plateau in Rize. Our page on hiring a car with a chauffeur in Trabzon sets out the daily rates and what they include.
What are the main things to see around Trabzon?
Three destinations carry the region, and all three are day trips from the city rather than places to base yourself. Distances look short and take longer than they read, because the roads climb.
- Sümela Monastery, about 50 km south in the Altındere valley. A Greek Orthodox monastery built onto a sheer cliff face at roughly 1,200 m, founded in the fourth century and reopened to visitors after a long restoration. Allow half a day with the walk up.
- Uzungöl, about 100 km south-east and an hour and three-quarters each way. A lake in a steep wooded valley with a mosque at the water’s edge. Go early: afternoon cloud settles into the valley through the summer.
- Ayder plateau, about 150 km east in Rize province. Alpine pasture, hot springs and tea terraces on the way. It is the longest of the three days and the one people most often say they wish they had kept.
In the city itself, the Atatürk Mansion and the Trabzon Hagia Sophia fill a comfortable half-day, which is usually the arrival afternoon. The Black Sea coast is not a beach holiday; the region’s appeal is green, wet and mountainous, and the weather is closer to northern Europe than to Antalya.
What does a car with a driver cost in Bursa and Trabzon?
In Trabzon our published day rates start at $120 for a seven-seat Mercedes Vito and $150 for a twelve-seat Sprinter, with the driver, the fuel and the road fees included. A day rate is the right unit there, because the mountain destinations are round trips from the same city.
Bursa is priced per transfer instead. From Sabiha Gökçen the one-way fare starts at $220 in a Mercedes Vito, $250 in a Mercedes E-Class and $300 in a Sprinter, including the meet and greet inside the terminal. Both cities use the same rule as the rest of our network: the price covers the whole vehicle, not each seat.
If you are landing in Istanbul first, the practical order is to settle the airport leg before anything else. Our guide to getting from Istanbul Airport to your hotel covers that first hour, and a driver for the days in the city itself is booked through car hire with a chauffeur in Istanbul.
Should you choose Bursa or Trabzon?
Choose by how many days you have, not by which is prettier. Bursa fits into an Istanbul week without changing the shape of it. Trabzon is a separate holiday inside your holiday, with flights, hotels and at least two nights.
If the same trip continues into the Balkans, the pattern repeats: one main road, a few stops worth the detour and a fixed price for the car. Our guide to the Sarajevo to Mostar road trip sets out that drive in the same detail.
- One free day: Bursa. Leave early, be back for dinner in Istanbul.
- Two free days: Bursa with a night, so Uludağ and Cumalıkızık both get proper time.
- Three days or more: Trabzon. Fly out in the morning, drive the plateau, fly back.
- Travelling with older parents or small children: Bursa. The Trabzon mountain roads are long, winding and tiring in a way the photographs never show.
Whichever you pick, fix the car before the dates fill up in July and August. Send your flight numbers and the number of travellers through our contact page, or set the transfer up directly on the online booking form, and the team confirms a fixed price in writing before you fly.
How far is Bursa from Istanbul by car?
About 155 km from Sabiha Gökçen airport on the Asian side, which takes two to three hours over the Osman Gazi Bridge. From a European-side hotel it is roughly 240 km and three to four hours, because you must cross the Bosphorus and clear city traffic before the motorway starts.
Is Bursa worth a day trip from Istanbul?
Yes, if you start early. The Grand Mosque, the Koza Han silk bazaar, the Cumalıkızık Ottoman village and the Uludağ cable car fit comfortably into one day. Bursa was the first Ottoman capital and keeps that period at walking scale, which Istanbul no longer does.
How do you get from Istanbul to Trabzon?
By plane. Trabzon is about 1,050 km along the Black Sea coast, which is sixteen to eighteen hours of driving, while the flight takes roughly two hours from either Istanbul airport. Hire a car with a driver after you land, because the sights are inland on mountain roads.
How far is Uzungöl from Trabzon?
About 100 km south-east of the city, which is an hour and three-quarters each way on climbing mountain roads. Go in the morning: cloud settles into the valley during summer afternoons and the lake disappears. Most visitors combine it with a stop in the tea terraces on the way back.
What does a car with a driver cost in Trabzon?
Day rates start at $120 for a seven-seat Mercedes Vito and $150 for a twelve-seat Sprinter, including the driver, fuel and road fees. A day rate suits Trabzon because Sümela, Uzungöl and Ayder are all round trips from the same city rather than one-way transfers.
When is the best time to visit Bursa and Trabzon?
Bursa is best in April to June and September to October, or December to March if you are going for the Uludağ ski season. Trabzon is a summer and early autumn destination, from June to September, when the plateau roads are open and the highland villages are at their best.
Sources
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre — Bursa and Cumalıkızık: the Birth of the Ottoman Empire (inscribed 2014).
- Road distances and driving times: Google Maps driving routes, checked 10 September 2026.
- Transfer and day rates: Tripyana’s Bursa and Trabzon service pages, updated September 2026.