Van: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Van is a city of 525,016 people in Turkey, 1,708 m (5,604 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Van Ferit Melen Airport (VAN), 5 km (3 mi) from the centre. Our booking partner lists 62 places to stay.
Key facts
Daylight in Van runs from about 9 h 32 min a day in late December to 14 h 54 min in late June (computed for 38.49° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Van is served by one airport with scheduled flights. The closest large one is Van Ferit Melen Airport (VAN), 5 km (3 mi) from the centre, with a longest runway of 9,022 ft, which limits it to short and medium-haul aircraft.
Flights to Van: every airport, routes and times
Buses to Van · Driving and car hire
Where to stay
Our booking partner lists 62 places to stay in Van. Of the 15 with a star rating, the largest group is 3-star (6), and 4 are five-star. Across 12 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 8.1 out of 10. Guests have left 3,201 reviews in total.
Hotels in Van: the full picture, and book
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Diyarbakır, 284 km — flights · trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Mosul, 241 km (Iraq) — flights
- Erbil, 262 km (Iraq) — flights
- Tabriz, 258 km (Iran)
- Yerevan, 211 km (Armenia)
- Tbilisi, 376 km (Georgia)
- Kirkuk, 348 km (Iraq)
- Sulaymaniyah, 373 km (Iraq)
- Erzurum, 240 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Orūmīyeh, 182 km (Iran)
Twin towns and sister cities: Basel, Bursa, Odesa.
Common questions
Which airport serves Van?
Van Ferit Melen Airport (VAN), 5 km (3 mi) from the centre.
How big is Van?
About 525,016 people live in Van, across 1,938 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Van in?
Europe/Istanbul, currently UTC+3.
What currency is used in Van?
The Lira (TRY). Traffic drives on the right.
How many hotels are there in Van?
Our booking partner lists 62 places to stay in Van, bookable on this site.
Which cities are near Van?
Diyarbakır (284 km), Mosul (241 km), Erbil (262 km), Tabriz (258 km), Yerevan (211 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.