Tours to Turkey from Odesa — Last-Minute Deals
With Odesa airport still closed, there are two ways to reach Turkey from the city. The first involves taking a coach to the airport in Chisinau and then a nonstop charter flight: Antalya, Dalaman and Bodrum are roughly two hours away by air, Istanbul slightly less. The second skips flying entirely: Odesa is a pick-up point on a coach tour route that crosses Romania and runs down Bulgaria's Black Sea shore on its way to Antalya airport. That puts every popular coast within reach, from pine-clad Kemer and sandy Alanya to yacht-filled Marmaris and Fethiye.
A package with flights covers return tickets between Chisinau and Turkey, an airport welcome and transfer, accommodation and travel insurance, and you pick the board basis, all the way up to all-inclusive; the Odesa–Chisinau leg costs extra. A coach tour bundles the ride to Antalya airport, insurance, the transfer and the hotel. The tour search lines up hotels and dates side by side, and a manager can tell you which route suits you best.
Plane or Coach?
| How to travel | Journey time | Things to know |
|---|---|---|
| From Starosinna by bus to Chisinau airport | About 5 h | Departures at dawn via the Mayaky–Palanca crossing; Moldova also admits Ukrainians with an ID card |
| Flight from Chisinau | ≈ 2 h, Istanbul ≈ 1 h 45 min | One airport serves every coast of the country |
| Coach tour from Odesa | Approx. 38–40 h to Antalya airport | No flights or changes, biometric passport only |
Take the earliest coach and you should be in Chisinau by late morning, which leaves enough time for a midday or evening departure; for flights at dawn, travel the previous day. Tours to Turkey from Chisinau covers airport parking, the trolleybus from the centre and check-in in detail.
Bus Tours to Turkey from Odesa
Odesa is one of the boarding points on coach routes that start in Kharkiv and Kyiv. From Odesa, the coach heads to Izmail, crosses Romania, follows the Bulgarian seaside, calls at Istanbul airport and pulls in at Antalya airport, and the whole trip lasts approximately 38–40 hours. A tour operator's representative meets the group there, and transfers take everyone to their hotels, exactly as for those who arrived by plane.
Travel, transfers, the hotel with its meal plan and insurance come as one package, for which two travellers pay from roughly UAH 15,400 in total. These tours run in season, from May until autumn. If Istanbul is your destination, get off at its airport, where a transfer will take you to the hotel.
Choosing a Resort
- Antalya airport, where both the planes and the coach arrive. Antalya is a city with the Lara and Konyaaltı beaches, Kemer has pines and mountains right by the water, Belek is known for five-star resorts, water parks and golf courses, Side pairs an ancient theatre with gently shelving sand, and Alanya has a clifftop fortress and the longest swimming season.
- The Aegean coast, by air only. Direct seasonal flights serve Bodrum with its castle and marinas, while Marmaris and Fethiye, home to the Ölüdeniz lagoon, are reached via Dalaman.
- The city on the Bosphorus. Istanbul means mosques, palaces and bazaars; flights operate all year, and in summer you can also get there by coach.
When to Go
- May. Daytime temperatures up to +27 °C with water around +21…+22 °C, a time when beach days mix easily with sightseeing.
- June – September. Peak season: daytime highs above +30 °C and sea temperatures of +25…+29 °C; coach tours operate during these months too.
- October. Known as the velvet season: off the Antalya coast the water stays at +24…+25 °C, and in Alanya people swim until nearly mid-November.
- Winter. A time for Istanbul and excursions: some beach hotels close, but holidays cost less.
Our guide to when tours are cheapest points out the best-value weeks.
Prices
Flying from Chisinau, prices for a couple's seven all-inclusive nights begin at around UAH 23,200 in Side and UAH 23,700 in Kemer; Antalya and Belek start at UAH 29,300, Bodrum at 36,500 and Fethiye at 45,200. Add the return coach fare between Odesa and Chisinau. The coach tour option is cheaper still. For a breakdown of the costs, read how much a tour to Turkey costs.
Passport, Visa and Border
- Passport. Six months of validity must remain after you enter Turkey.
- No visa needed. The visa-free allowance is 90 days per 180.
- ID card. Moldova lets Ukrainians in with one, though boarding the plane to Turkey requires a passport.
- Coach tour travellers need a biometric passport. At the Romanian border, officers scan your fingerprints and face for EES, and the system logs your exit when you leave Schengen at the Turkish border.
- Via Chisinau, there is no EES registration, as Moldova is outside the Schengen area.
- Leaving Ukraine. Rules on who may cross the border, particularly for men who could be mobilised and for children, are updated often; confirm the latest before you book.
Turkey from Odesa: Travellers Ask
What are the options for travelling from Odesa to Turkey?
The fastest is via Chisinau: about five hours by bus from Starosinna, followed by a flight of roughly two hours to Antalya, Bodrum or Dalaman. Prefer not to fly? Then join the coach tour, which picks up in Odesa.
Odesa to Antalya by coach: how long?
Plan on approximately 38–40 hours to Antalya airport; the road goes through Izmail and Romania, then along Bulgaria's seaside. Afterwards, a transfer drives you to your hotel.
How much does a tour to Turkey from Odesa cost?
The cheapest option with a flight via Chisinau is about UAH 23,200 for two (seven nights, all-inclusive), with the bus to Moldova paid separately. A coach tour costs less: roughly UAH 15,400 and up for a couple. The final price varies with resort, hotel and travel dates.
Which passport do I need?
If you fly from Chisinau, an ordinary passport with more than six months' validity on the date you enter Turkey will do. For the coach through EU countries, only a biometric one is accepted.
Which resorts can the coach tour reach?
The final stop is Antalya airport, from where transfers take tourists to Kemer, Belek, Side, Alanya and Antalya itself; on the way, the coach calls at Istanbul airport. For the Aegean coast (Bodrum, Marmaris and Fethiye), flying from Chisinau is more convenient.
Via Chisinau, Odesa travellers also fly to Egypt, Greece and Cyprus, while Bulgaria is a coach trip away, no flight needed.
