We hire a car every time we go to Turkey, the other half drives, not me. We've never had any problems apart from getting lost trying to get through the big towns, and once getting stuck in a sand dune! We usually order a car to pick up at the airport, which makes the transfer much quicker as well. Would highly recommend it, as long as you take it steady, there's so many lovely places to see at your own pace. Can't remember the name of the firm we use, but I'll ask him when he gets home and post again tomorrow. We don't pay anything until we get there.

My experience is exactly the same as Plumbuds, although I am the driver.

I would also add that you must carry the cars documents with you at ALL TIMES, together with your ORIGINAL Driving Licence, and your Passport (copy of Passport will suffice). Any motoring fines that may be incurred are payable on the spot!

We almost always use http://www.turkeycarhire.com/index.html for our Hire Cars, as they will deliver to both Bodrum and Dalaman Airports for no additional charge. They have always been punctual, and on the one ocassion that we had a breakdown, they had a replacement car organised and delivered to us within the hour.

Apparently it's Pegasus Rent A Car we've used for the last couple of years.

i drive all the time last year i drove from istanbul to hisaronu 900km what a great drive roads are brill tolls are cheapish and the parc alayna littel chefs are great they don't rip you off
but driving is not that difficult but al;ways carry your passport while driving as the traffic polis prefer this to a licence for your on the spot fines
also if you do have an accident don't leave your car stay with it until they arrive and clear you to go

I would recommend driving but look out for the stray dogs the big ones really make a mess of the car

Driving on the whole is great, the roads are very good, well signposted and on the whole quite quiet except the big towns and cities where it is absolutely frantic. Everyone else knows where they are going and you are in their way! It is fun to go off the main roads on to the rural ones but large scale road maps are quite difficult to find and the occasional herd of goats may cause some delay.

it depends on where you will drive. In big cities it may be a bit difficult in rush hours due to crowd. On the other signalization is about to be great in every destination.

We're thinking of hiring a car for a few days while in Olu Deniz. This is our first trip to Olu Deniz but we have hired a car before in Greece. What are the roads like around Olu Deniz and are there any car hire places actually in the town itself?

We drive in Turkey for around a couple of months a year. Car hire is fairly expensive as is petrol but I like the freedom it gives me. From Dalaman, Pandora cars are very good, in Marmaris we have often hired them through Marmaris Transfers and always been happy. I have found that traffic fines are not payable on the spot but you are given a ticket which then must be presented and paid at the post office and I think you can also do it at a bank. There are often speed traps on the road between Marmaris and Dalaman. You should consider taking out extra insurance for windscreen, tyres and under car damage as many roads are bad with loose stones and pot holes. I drive assuming that everyone else is crazy, they tend to over and under take at the daftest moments. The worst offenders are often scooter drivers with their wife, baby and dog on board. I have even seen one with a table strapped on the back. Another time we were driving behind a coach and the 2 back wheels fell off so it pays to be very observant at all times and expect the unexpected. I feel that one of the most dangerous maneuvers is the left turn as many drivers will overtake you when you are turning left and have known of several friends involved in accidents in this way. I hope none of this will put you off though as we have had several years of incident free driving in Turkey, just be extra careful.

There is no good road conditions on Dalaman,also turkish drivers are fast and unrespect.So it is kinda dangerous to rent a car..

akinson,

That's a bit of a sweeping statement! I've found the main roads to be fine and in some instances, they're in better condition that the pot hole ridden ones we have in parts of the UK at the moment! Turkish driving style is a little different than the UK, but I wouldn't say they are fast and unrespectful in general. Of vourse you get those that are, but you get that wherever you go.

Darren

I too feel that is a sweeping statement. Yes there are plenty of crazy drivers but they are not all like that. I have driven frequently in Turkey and have never been involved in an accident. I have seen quite a few accidents and as I said before you have to take care and maybe more alert than in UK. I wouldn't say it is dangerous to hire a car though. One thing you should do is check the car over and get the the tyre pressures checked.

i have driven fom istanbul to hisaronu a couple of times and there is not any problems with there roads in turkey,yes they are fast but then so are we on emptyish roads i would say driving in turkey is far safer than driving in france (well norther france ) they are nutters there,
if you learn the rules you will not have a problem, the use of a horn is not done in anger its just a reminder and the flashing of headlights is just a warning simple peeps

I think the problem is not knowing the way people drive in Turkey. As maverick says there are differetn rules for using your horn or flashing lights and if you don't understand this then it could seem like people are drving crazy. Yes, they can soemtimes drive crazy but they do that in the UK. My husband said there is no way he would drive in London beacuse everyone is so rude and drive so badly, he reckons Turkey is much safer whereas I am completely at home driving in London but I was always too nervous to drive in Turkey!

I think I am going to try this year though, I think it would be nice to hire a car rather than wait for someone else to drive us around for a change.

Kedi I drive in London all the time and yes they are rude and agressive in Istanbul it is busier than London but I found it good fun and not aggressive I find driving in turkey far more relaxing than the Uk, but that may just be me

Hi- we are off to Dalyan for 2 weeks next Aug - 2 adults and a 6yr old. It will be our first time in Turkey. When we booked we asked our travel agent about hiring cars and he said he wouldnt recommend driving over there.

We are used to hiring cars in Greece and the slightly crazy driving over there but we were surprised he was so against driving in Turkey. It would be my partner that did the driving and he is quite a confident driver. My question is what are peoples experiences of driving over there? One of our favourite things to do on holiday is go off the beaten track

thanks

Merged with exisitng topic. Dazbo HT Mod

Totally ignore your travel agent would be my advice!!

If you can cope with the scooters in Greece you will easily cope with Turkey. The Turkish drivers car drivers are similar to anywhere in the Med (possibly slightly better) and scooter riders have less of a death wish than Greeks. Roads are a mixture of good/bad/diabolical (so again just like anywhere in the Med). There are Jendarme checkpoints all over Turkey, but as a driver of a hire car I have only been stopped once at a checkpoint - as soon as I said Rental car he waved us on!!

The only thing I will say is that in a recent survey Turkey came out as the second most expensive place in the world for buying fuel so remember to factor it into your budget. When we returned from Icmeler last friday the Lira was weak against the pound so we were getting 2.82 lira to the pound in the resort (the most cost effective way of changing your currency). At this rate fuel was the equivalent of £1.50 a litre - but if the pound weakens before next year this will get even worse.

HTH

Enjoy Turkey - we do!!

Dave

I forgot to say - unless you want to Hire from the airport and return your car to the airport then you will get a better price by haggling in the resort. If you are going for 2 weeks I would suggest you won't need a car for 2 weeks so given the price of fuel I would hire for a few days in the middle of your holiday and use the local Dolmus ( a local public transport system that you get on and off anywhere for a fixed price) for getting around locally.

Dave

When you hire your car check on the insurance cover. You can get a policy in UK before you go which will cover you for excess and things like tyres and windscreen. I think my annual one was around 40 pounds. Your travel agent has probably never driven in Turkey and has heard many horror stories. Turkey does have a high accident and death rate on roads. I have seen some very stupid drivers and the overtaking is often manic. Recently we saw a scooter at night on the worng side of the road, no lights on carrying a torch! That said I drive every visit and get the car from Dalaman and then I save on the cost of transfers. Our transfers would be 170 pounds return and a weeks hire car costs me 126 pounds so even with petrol it is worth it. I love the freedom of being able to drive around and see places. You just have to take extra care and be very alert. The only time that maybe I would advise against driving (although I did it) is at the end of Ramazan when they have the sugar festival. The visitors to resorts from larger cities such as Istanbul are totally manic and treat all roads like a race track. I hear that this year the number of accidents and fatalities reached an all time high.