The best way to do this is to dive to Italy then ferry to Izmir.

My son did this trip - by bicycle. Obviously his route was a little different as they didn't use motorways. They wanted to see as much of Europe as possible and so rode to Athens and caught a ferry to Rhodes and then over to Marmaris. They could have gone to Kos then Bodrum. They said it was all very straightforward but of course didn't have all the formalities to complete that you would have with a car. I'm pretty certain they said these were car ferries. Anyway I'm just mentioning it as an alternative route. They rode down through Croatia, Albania etc and said they were really pleased they did this rather than the ferry from Italy as the scenery and experiences were memorable. I suppose it depends on how much of a hurry your friends are in.

Toyed with this idea a while ago.
I was warned off driving through Croatia and Albania etc. because of security risks.
However, I do know of one pensioner who did exactly this to see his "girlfriend" in Calis, stayed one night and drove home.
When interviewed by local press (UK) he claimed that the locals en route were helpfull and friendly.

I was really worried when they said they were going to ride bicycles through Albania! However they said that this was the most interesting leg of their journey where the people were the most helpful and friendly, at no point on the entire journey and especially in Albania did they feel in any danger. Also the roads were very quiet.

Hi Zonda,

It depends on which route they want to take. If it's the quickest route they should go the Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria way.

Driving to Italy and taking the ferry from there to Turkey is hugely expensive and time-consuming.

I'm not sure if your friends are aware, but you can only take a British registered car to Turkey for a maximum of 6 months. You have to take it out the country after that.

Regards

Strawberry

Yes they are aware, you don't actually have to take it out of the country though. There is a compound at Dalaman airport which is 'officially' not Turkey and it can go in there for a day and come out with all the correct paper work.

Hi Zonda mate, what route did your mate take when he did the LD drivng? he probabably knows better than anyone
strawberry is right, you cant keep a foreign plated car in Turkey for more than 6 minths unless you prove you are retired, have residency, jump through 50 miles of red tape, go to about 20 offices to get docs, stamps, have a bank and bank statementsguarantors, go to British consul, and a hundred other official places. then you get your foreigners plates put on the car, leave a cash deposit more than the car is worth which the turkish customs keep and won't give back to you if you sell the car in turkey, or are late putting it in the depot when leaving the country. my mate was just one day late and was fined 12,000 tl
Anyone will tell you it's a big no no and headache importing a car and costs you more than the car is worth.
the compound you're talking about is Turkish by the way, I don't know who told you it wasn't. it's part of the customs depot in turkey
my advice is to FORGET IT MAN.
gb

Zonda_ wrote:

Yes they are aware, you don't actually have to take it out of the country though. There is a compound at Dalaman airport which is 'officially' not Turkey and it can go in there for a day and come out with all the correct paper work.

Hi Zonda,

Whoever told you all that is wrong.

You can only keep a foreign registered car in Turkey for a maximum of 6 months. After that you have to take it out the country for AT LEAST 6 months. You can then bring it back into Turkey for another 6 months, and then once again you must take it out of the country - and you can never bring it back into Turkey again. If you don't remove it from the country the car will be impounded; you'll have a huge fine; and you could be sent to prison.

To actually IMPORT a car into Turkey you need to be retired; have a residency permit, and your own home. As Groovybaby rightly says you need to re-register the car, where you'll be given new yabanci registration plates. The time and effort it takes to do all this is astronomical, and on top of that the Turkish authorities will then demand a 'deposit' from you of approximately what the car is worth; so if the car is worth, say, £10K you have to put £10K - in cash - into a holding account, which the Turkish Customs freeze and keep. This is to stop you selling the car in Turkey and making a huge profit.

When you leave the country (even on a short trip) you MUST leave your car with Customs, otherwise you'll be fined a huge amount or sent to prison. Sometimes both.

The red tape and huge cost makes importing a car into Turkey totally unworthwhile and pointless. I wouldn't like to say what would happen in respect of the 'deposit' if your car was stolen, or written off in an accident, but I don't imagine the Turkish authorities would rush round with your holding deposit the next day! Legally, I suppose they could say that despite the car being stolen it still belongs to you, and for that reason they can't give you your money back. I really don't know what happens in that scenario, but I wouldn't chance it all for the sake of a car. Although cars are more expensive to buy in Turkey than they are in the UK, it would work out much CHEAPER to buy one over there.

Regarding Dalaman Airport having a compound which is not 'Turkish' - that's utter nonsense. If there was such a place, and people could pop there for the day and get all the necessary paperwork, there'd be THOUSANDS of British cars in Turkey!

Strawberry