Car rental in Turkey

Renting a car is a great way to see Turkey without the crowds of tourists travelling in the same sightseeing bus with you. 

A drive to Cappadocia, an area of spectacular volcanic scenery, canyons, and cave monasteries will be a great experience. And, of course, hot air balloon rides. 

It will be great to drive along the Antalya coast: Antalya, Alanya, Side, Kemer are popular resorts with excellent infrastructure. The trip is a delight for all travellers who will find here everything they like: azure seas, beaches, water parks, oranges, local cuisine, and clubs.

A rental car can take you to places that can’t be reached by public transport, and those are often the most interesting places.

Turkey has excellent roads with clear markings and signs at all forks clearly visible and duplicated in English. It's so easy to drive on Turkish roads that you won't get tired even after hours of driving.

What you need to rent a car in Turkey

You’ll need the following documents:

• Driver’s license with transliteration in the Latin alphabet
• ID or passport
• Bank card

The driver must be over 22 years old and have at least 2 years of driving experience. Check out this article about renting a car in Turkey with our customer’s experience.

The most popular cities for car hire in Turkey

Traffic regulations

Turkey uses international road signs, but instead of the mandatory stop sign “STOP”, the equivalent road sign “DUR” is used. Standard brown signposts lead to the sights. The traffic regulations are standard and easy to follow.

Police do not hide in ambushes, but stand openly on the highway, which can be considered unusual by some tourists. You may be stopped for an identity check even if you haven’t done anything wrong.

Toll roads

In Turkey, motorways connecting major cities, as well as some bridges and tunnels, are toll roads. The tools are relatively low: €1-3/100km for motorways, €1-3 for bridges over the Bosphorus, and €11-18 for bridges over the Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles.

The toll is paid via an automatic gate system that detects the car, scans a special HGS sticker, transponder or car number and then charges the money from the linked account. If you want to use toll roads when renting a car, please notify the rental agent in advance to activate the HGS sticker.

Parking in Turkey

In large cities, free parking is only available near large shopping centres and public parks. You pay for parking in advance through an inspector in a yellow or orange vest. Municipal parking facilities are generally cheaper than private parking facilities. But there's always an available space at the private ones.

You can stop in paid parking areas for 15 minutes free of charge.

Gas stations

Gas stations are frequent on the highways. The fuel is slightly more expensive than the European average, but the quality justifies the price. There are such network gas stations as Shell, BP, Sunpet, and Lukoil.

If there are no attendants at the gas station, fill it up yourself: 

• Insert the nozzle into the tank
• Engage the latch on the handle to lock the fill lever open
• Pay at the cashier's office.

Cash and cards are accepted. To pay in cash, you need local money.

Mobile service

The most important thing to remember is that you can't buy cheap SIM cards from unauthorised dealers in Turkey. It's a scam. On average, SIM cards cost 300-350 Turkish Liras (~€15-17).

There are three providers in the country: Vodafone, Turk Telekom, and Turkcell. SIM cards are sold at the airport, in authorised retail stores, in large shopping centres, and other popular locations. But... the cost of the same SIM card will be different in different places.