Option 1: Havas airport coach (cheapest direct service)
Land and clear arrivals
ADB is compact; from gate to curb rarely takes long. The airport's official site, izmirairport.com, lists Havas shuttles among the ground transport options alongside city buses and the IZBAN rail line.
Find the Havas departure point outside the terminal
Havas runs coaches toward Cesme via Urla, serving Alacati on the way, a route the local guide LikeCesme describes as the most cost-effective year-round airport connection for the peninsula. Check the current timetable on havas.net before you fly, since departures are tied to flight banks rather than a fixed clockface.
Ride about 75 minutes
The guide AirportNavi lists the ADB to Cesme Havas service at about 75 minutes with a fare of 550 Turkish lira as of early 2026; treat the number as indicative and confirm the current fare with Havas.
Get off at the Alacati stop and cover the last stretch
The coach stops on the main road rather than inside the old town. Travelers on Tripadvisor's Alacati forum report a walk of up to 30 minutes from the highway drop-off to the center, so with luggage plan a short taxi hop or ask your hotel about pickup from the stop.
Option 2: private transfer (easiest door to door)
A pre-booked transfer meets you in arrivals and drives directly to your hotel door, which matters in Alacati because the coach stop sits outside the walkable core and stone-town lanes confuse first-time drivers at night. It is the default choice for families, groups splitting the cost, and windsurfers with board bags. You can book the Izmir airport to Alacati route online with Transfelo, which operates fixed-price airport transfers across Turkey with driver meet-and-greet.
Option 3: taxi from the rank
Metered taxis wait outside arrivals around the clock. For the roughly one-hour run to Alacati, AirportNavi estimates about 3,995 lira to Cesme as of early 2026, and Alacati costs in the same range. Agree that the meter is running before setting off, and expect to pay the motorway toll on top.
Option 4: rental car
All major agencies operate desks at ADB. The drive is simple: follow signs to the Izmir Cesme motorway (E881) westbound and exit for Alacati; Google Maps times the 85-kilometer route at just under an hour outside peak traffic. A car earns its keep if you plan cove-hopping and day trips, but note that old town hotels rarely have parking of their own, a point covered in the stone hotels guide.
Option 5: public transport via Izmir (slowest, cheapest)
There is no city bus from the airport straight into Alacati's center. Aggregators such as Rome2Rio list a Line 204 bus connection among seven ways to make the trip, and the airport is also linked to the city by IZBAN commuter rail and municipal buses per izmirairport.com. The practical budget route is airport to central Izmir by rail or bus, then a Cesme-bound intercity bus, then a local minibus or taxi for the final leg. Allow well over two hours and verify connections locally; with more than a backpack, the Havas coach is the better economy option.
Getting around once you are here
- The old town is entirely walkable; you will not need transport inside it.
- The windsurf bay is about two kilometers south of the center, a five-minute drive or taxi; see windsurfing in Alacati bay.
- Ilica and Cesme are about 10 and 25 minutes away by car, and in season minibuses shuttle along the main road between them; the beaches guide gives per-beach access notes.
- Continuing to Istanbul afterward? Flights from ADB are the quick link, and the Safaryar network's istanbultravelguide.com picks up the practical planning from there.