We were booked to travel from Cork in the Republic of Ireland to Stansted to catch our flight to Bodrum via Istanbul (Sabiha Gökçen). Unfortunately the inward flight from Stansted couldn't land at Cork due to severe fog & was diverted to Shannon airport. We were then transferred by coach to Shannon to fly to Stansted. Only problem is that with the delay we were too late for our flight to Bodrum. When we arrived in Stansted we went to the Pegasus agent to explain what had happened.

There was a flight the next day but only to Sabiha Gökçen! After a couple of hours searching all London airports for alternatives we decided to take the flight to Sabiha Gökçen. I also did a bit of research on the overnight coach trip to Bodrum not really considering it as an option as 12 hours on a coach sounded to me like a nightmare! We were thinking we could may be stay in Istanbul for a day or so. We stayed that night in Bishop Stortford & got our flight in the afternoon.

When we arrived in Sabiha Gökçen, Istanbul, we checked to see if there were any flights to Bodrum from either of Istanbul's airports, but there were none. We said rather than stay in Istanbul we would take the plunge & try the coach! At the information desk we were told we needed to get to Kadiköy Otogar in Istanbul and we could get the public bus from just outside the terminal building to get us there. We spoke to a few people at the bus stop & they confirmed what we were told in the airport (nothing wrong with a second opinion when you are traveling blind!).

The bus number is E10 & takes about 35-40 mins. While on the bus my wife, Eileen got talking to a girl who turned out to be going to Kadiköy & she insisted on showing us exactly where to go. When we got to Kadiköy she got off with us, across the road & walking for a couple of hundred yards there were several coach company offices. Adette (the girl we met) came into the Ulusoy office & did all the talking for us. She was most helpful and simplified booking the tickets for us. The cost of the ticket was 128TL for us both.

The coach left at 10pm from the Ulusoy depot. A courtesy minibus picked us up from the office & took us to the depot, about 15 mins away. At the depot there is a restroom, restaurant etc. Really nice.

We boarded the coach and away we went on time. After 45 mins we found ourselves on a ferry crossing the Sea of Marmara. I was able to go up on deck and have a good look around take some photos etc. That journey took about 45 mins approx. The coach itself was fantastic. The seats could recline almost horizontal so no problem sleeping! Satellite tv, DVDs, music & personal headphones for entertainment. There is a steward on board to take care of all our needs. What seemed like every 1 1/2 to 2 hrs the steward would come around with, tea, coffee, water, mineral water etc... and to eat we were given cake, biscuits,rolls etc at different times on the journey. He would also give us freshening wipes to clean the hands after eating & he continued for the whole journey to cleanup & gather the rubbish, keeping the coach in mint condition at all times. All food & drinks were included in the price of the journey!

There were 5 or 6 stops during the journey. At each stop there were toilets & places to wash or freshen up. Also there were restaurants, McDonalds, Starbucks & mini markets etc.., all open 24/7! We were due to arrive in Bodrum at 10am in the morning. We arrived at 10.15 am, not bad going when you consider we drove through 6 inches of snow on the outskirts of Istanbul with snow ploughs clearing the way!

Obviously a flight would have been better but I can honestly say that we were really surprised with the quality of the service & if the need arose again to take the trip we wouldn't think twice about doing it.

All the best, Frank & Eileen.