When you travel to Turkey, keep this in mind: Turkey is big: 1700 km (1056 miles) from east to west, if you travel by road, a trip takes up to several days.

But you can fly from Istanbul (west) to Erzurum (east) on Turkish Airlines (TK) in about two hours for a one-way fare of about US$130. Most other TK domestic flights cost US$ 55 to US$120.

Because of the way international airfares are structured, it is often far cheaper to purchase your Turkish domestic flight tickets within Turkey rather than in your home country.If you have a credit card you are able to book online tickets in 2-3 min.(www.flypgs.com or www.atlasjet.com are budget airline companies and both web-site are available for online bookings.)

A good Turkish travel agency can also make your flight reservations and get the tickets to you, usually at no extra cost.

You can also buy your tickets at the airport, but with Turkish tourism booming, there may be no seats left on the plane. Advance reservations are highly recommended unless you are a very flexible traveler.

Other low-fare Turkish airlines are Onurair and Sun Express. EasyJet also flies from the UK to Turkey.

Sun Express, a Turkish-German joint venture, flies from Austria, Germany and Switzerland to Turkey, and within Turkey from Izmir's Adnan Menderes Airport to Adana, Antalya, Diyarbakir, Erzurum, Kayseri (for Cappadocia), Konya, Trabzon and Van.

But be sure to check airport transfer costs as well!

Most long-haul international flights land at Istanbul's Atatürk International Airport.

Turkish Airlines is a high-quality international airline with good service, a young fleet, worldwide routes and domestic connections to every important Turkish city.www.thy.com.tr