Has anyone rented a car in Turkey? What was your experience? Safety? Would we need to pay someone to watch car when it is parked?? We want to include Istanbul, of course, and Cappadocia, Ephesus, and the coastal area. Perhaps we wouldn't drive ALL of it... but we are just gathering information now. Is big city driving there "crazy" like it is in an African city such as Nairobi? Or would it be more like Rome? Would we park the car carefully in a city and just not drive it there? Any other tips? Thanks...
Reply to this hi.
no problem with parking and dont worry to driving around turkey its safe and easy, if you would like to get some offer bout rental car agencies i will let u know just send me a message please
Reply to this I didn't drive in Turkey but used buses and taxis. Traffic is a bit crazy, but not too bad I think, people generally abide by the rules. Some of the roads down the West coast were pretty dismal, other were modern motorways. I don't think you need to worry about theft and so on, just take normal precautions. It is quite a safe country. Don't think you want to drive in the big cities, because finding parking space will be problematic. For the countryside it will be great, as you can stop everywhere. Gas is expensive compared to European prices. Don't know about rental prices. The bus network, on the other hand, is very convenient, in case you decide not to drive.
Reply to this You probably do NOT need a car in Istanbul (nor would you want one there as public transportation is pretty good). My suggestion is to fly from Istanbul to Cappadocia unless there is something you really want to see in between... The flights are extremely cheap (like $50 one way)...
When it comes to the coast - definitely rent a car. I was using the public bus transportation and it was a nightmare! I had to rely on all the places I was staying to get me my tickets and many people didn't speak English. I wish I had a car so I can truly take advantage of seeing all the beautiful towns from Fetithye to Antalya (Olympos, Kas)....
I met many people who rented cars in Antalya and drove through the coast up to Pamakulle and then to Ephasus. I personally loved Pamakulle (while others didn't care much for it...).
Good luck! Also - try to go peak season! I went to Turkey the beginning of October and the weather was cooling down and the coast seemed like one huge ghost town.
Reply to this except for Istanbul we drove all around turkey with no problem of traffic, safety or bad driving. we were there 2.5 years ago with our then
1 year old daughter. parking, petrol and the road were good.
we first took a car for 2 weeks to the north east
Kachkar Mountains for 1850km of driving (see map in the blog). for purly wanting to save time we returned the car in Trabzon and flew to ankara to a long leg covering Capadokia and SW turkey (
Old, Older, Ancient ) . returning the car again we flew to Anatolia and took another car all the way west to Bodrum (
Gule Gule Turkey ). our flight were just so we wouldn't need to do extra long drives with our small daughter and are not necessary at all if you have the time
a total driving of 5120 km in 1 month
Reply to this A few friends and I rented a car in Cappadocia so we could reach some of the out of the way places without a tour. We had problems in a big way. We ended up being given the wrong fuel by an attendant in a gas station that should have known better - You can read about it here:
Into the Mysterious Land of the Troglodyte. The roads were great and the signs were easy to follow, so as long as you fully understand which fuel your car needs (in Turkish) and make sure that that is the fuel you get you shouldn't have any problems.
That being said, some of my favorite adventures in Turkey happened because I was relying on public transport and my feet to get around.
Reply to this In response to: Msg #132178
Hi,
I just came back from Turkey.
My friends and I took the advantage of the local transport in Istanbul.
Later, we flew to Izmir and there we rented a car.
We drove along the coast i.e Izmir-Cesme-Kusadasi-Bodrum-Marmari-Turunc-Dalaman airport and flew back to Istanbul.
Driving is fine. People follow the rules and the higway is good.
You may want the GPS in your car and believe you me, it is very easy to explore on your own.
Gas is expensive ( 4.33 TL ) and parking is safe.
Enjoy your trip.
Stay safe
Reply to this In response to: Msg #132178
Driving in Istanbul will be difficult for you, unless you are very experienced driver. I was there 2 weeks and couldn't use to the traffic. However outside of the city I don't think that you will have any problems. One more good idea which I can give you is to book private tour of Istanbul. The transportation will be much easier and more comfortable. For my trip I May I arrange such a tour with <snip> and I'm quite satisfied with their services.
[Edited: 2011 Aug 20 08:45 - Jabe:6222 - No URL drops on forums, please.]
Reply to this We were in Turkey a year ago and rented a car <snip>
I can surely say that it is safe and you can park your car and will not worry about шею But it will be difficult to drive in the center of Istanbul as the streets are too narrow there. But other parts are quite ok and most likely you will need a car.
[Edited: 2013 Dec 21 02:29 - Roosta:95057 - No commercial links in the forums, please. See TOS]
Reply to this Cheap Rental Cars -
rentalcars.com I've used it several times on various locations, and I've recieved great service, correct pricing and delivery each time. Highly recommendable!
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