Driving in Turkey: Essential Tips, Road Rules & What to Expect

Driving in Turkey is a great way to see the country. While it’s mostly a breeze, here are some things you should know and money-saving advice for renting a car

Arriving at our hotel in Çanakkale after the first full day of driving in Turkey, we congratulated each other with the satisfaction of worldly explorers.

We had just driven out of Istanbul, deciphered Turkey’s toll roads, caught a car ferry, and found our hotel. 

We had traversed back roads, highways, and motorways, found toilets, and saw what we wanted to see, but we didn’t go wrong once.

We were brimming with an overwhelming sense of achievement. Except it wasn’t much of an achievement at all.

Driving in Turkey is very easy. The roads are good, the signage is clear, parking is straightforward, and navigation is simple.

As an added bonus, driving is a relatively cost-effective way to see the country.

However, like any foreign excursion, there are things you should watch out for.

DRIVING IN TURKEY: OUR ROAD TRIP TIPS

Turkey is one of the most exciting places to undertake a good old-fashioned road trip.

The big tourist attractions, such as the incredible ancient ruins and magical Cappadocia, are best seen on your own schedule. In addition, there are hidden roadside gems that can only be properly discovered in your own wheels.

Here are all our tips for a successful Turkey road trip.  

1. UNDERSTAND TURKEY’S MOTORWAY TOLL SYSTEM

Turkey has a modern motorway system which has recently been converted to a High-Speed Toll System called HGS (Hızlı Geçiş Sistem).

The tolls are collected automatically via 3 systems:

• HSG Sticker (most common): An electronic device in the form of a sticker is fitted to the car, which automatically collects the toll as you drive through the gates.
• OSG Transponder: A tag that collects the toll is installed on the car. You must drive through a lane marked “OSG” if you have one of these devices.
• License Plate Scan: The system will scan your license plate if no toll is installed. However, this only works for Turkish cars.

Check which device your hire car company has when you pick up the vehicle. As you approach a toll booth, follow the lanes marked HGS or OSG, depending on which device you have.

Your hire car company will charge you at the end of your rental.

TOLL COSTS

The toll costs differ considerably, so it’s difficult to estimate them. Your hire car company will be able to give you the latest prices, but here are some of the popular routes. Prices are in Turkish Lira.

MOTORWAY	CAR	MINIVAN	MOTORCYCLE
İzmir – Çeşme	42	45	16
Istanbul – Edirne	134	154	55
Istanbul – İzmir	1045	1695	755
Kurtköy – Akyazı	410	650	300
Malkara – Çanakkale	1005	1325	250

2. AVOID NARROW LANES IN OLD TOWNS

While the motorways are in good condition and very easy to drive on, the narrow lanes in old towns are not.

Here, the infrastructure is full of crumbling charm, character-filled potholes, and stalls spilling out onto already narrow streets.

Some lanes are extremely tight, steep, and made of paving stones – of which most are missing.

Roads can be blocked by double-parked cars, a street can become one-way overnight, and pedestrians saunter on the road with no regard for personal safety.

Avoid the centre of old towns where possible and park on the outskirts instead.

3. DON’T PULL UP RIGHT TO THE TRAFFIC LIGHTS

When the traffic lights go green in Turkey, you have very limited time to respond before the cars behind you start beeping.

Initially, I found this a bit intimidating, but after a few days of driving in Turkey, I realized this was more support than impatience.

If you pull up to the line at a junction, you can’t actually see the traffic lights, which will be behind you if you are too far forward.

So Turks will let you know the lights are green by tooting their horn behind you.

So, when approaching an intersection, keep an eye on the traffic lights and make sure you can still see them before you stop.

4. KNOW THE SPEED LIMITS

The mystery of the speed limits in Turkey baffled us throughout our trip, so it’s good to know what they are.

You may notice the speed limit is reduced for a junction but then never go back up. This is because the speed applies until the next intersection. The speed returns to the default limit (see below) if there is no sign at the next intersection.

We saw a speed limit of 82 km/h in a couple of places, which a reader told us was factoring in the 10% legal provision.

There are various speed limits for each of the different roads, which we have summarised below. However, keep a close eye on the signs as there are many special speed limits as well.

SPEED LIMITS IN TURKEY

• Private Motorways – 140 km/h
• State Motorways – 130 km/h
• Dual Carriageways – 110 km/h
• Single Carriageways – 90 km/h
• Built-Up Areas – 50 km/h

5. KNOW WHEN A ROUNDABOUT ISN’T REALLY A ROUNDABOUT

There’s a slightly confusing intersection set up in Turkey that looks like a roundabout, but it isn’t a roundabout.

It’s just a large intersection with a central island, where cars turning left onto the main road stop to give way to traffic already on the road.

Cars already on the main road (the double-lane road) don’t need to stop (or even slow down) because the intersection does not obstruct their lanes at all.

It’s something you need to keep an eye out for because, if you treat it like a normal roundabout, you’ll soon realise cars are not giving way for you as you would expect them to.

Roundabouts are rare in Turkey, so these special intersections are easy to spot.

6. MAKE SURE YOUR HOTEL HAS PARKING

Parking was never really a problem for us in Turkey, except for a few larger cities. Most of the towns we visited had a lot of easy parking on the street.

However, it’s still a good idea to book hotels with parking (of which there are many) as hotels near town centres may have limited space.

Sometimes hotel parking just meant there was plenty of space on the street, other times it meant leaving your keys with the staff to shuffle your car around as necessary.

7. LEAVING YOUR CAR KEYS AT THE OTO PARK IS SAFE

Parking at the major attractions was also very easy. All sites have ample parking, which is either free or costs 5 to 10 Turkish Lira.

Occasionally – at some smaller sites – we would get people offering to look after our car. A polite “no thanks” is all it takes to move on.

There are no parking ticket machines in Turkey. If you park in a spot you need to pay for, someone will come up to you to take payment.

In bigger towns, we usually parked in car parks (Oto Parks). In many Oto Parks, you need to leave the keys with the attendant as they pack the cars in like sardines.

We had no issues doing this, and our car was always there when we got back! Oto Parks costs around 5 – 10 Turkish Lira for a couple of hours.

8. USE GOOGLE MAPS & COMMON SENSE TOGETHER

Navigating around Turkey is surprisingly easy. The modern road system has very good signage, especially if you are heading to a major attraction.

Towns and cities are marked in the regular blue or green signs you see all over the world, and major tourist attractions are marked on brown signs.

We used Google Maps for all our navigation, which generally did a very good job.

Sometimes, however, Google tried to take us on the most efficient route, even if this meant going off the main highway and taking much smaller backroads.

Our advice is to follow Google Maps, but if it starts directing you off major roads when there are signs to your destination pointing in another direction, follow the road signs instead.

9. DOWNLOAD GOOGLE MAPS WHILE THE WIFI IS GOOD

These days, when even the most basic hotel has pretty good Wi-Fi (plus lots of cafes, restaurants, and museums), we rarely bother getting a SIM card in a new country.

This worked fine for us in Turkey because we’re not totally dependent on Wi-Fi. Yet.

The only time it could have been a slight problem was when we were out on the road. So, we always downloaded Google Maps for the entire distance we were travelling the next day.

That way, we would have all the driving instructions we needed to find our destination.

After you download the maps, make sure you don’t close the Google App on your phone, or you’ll lose the information.

10. UNDERSTANDING TURKEY’S HIGH-QUALITY SERVICE STATIONS

In Turkey, shiny new petrol stations, even on the most deserted roads, spring up at regular intervals.

However, one of the most surprising things about service stations in Turkey is the quality of the food.

You won’t be settling for rubbish junk food; this is quality food at very reasonable prices. They also have some of the cleanest toilets you’ll find in Turkey.

In Turkey, attendants work at the fuel stations, so you won’t need to fill the car yourself.

We generally found that all service station attendants understand the term “full.” However, if you want less, you might need to write the number down.

11. KNOW YOUR HIRE CAR DETAILS BEFORE YOU GET THERE

When we collected our hire car in Istanbul, the staff didn’t know the details of our booking and gave us about 4 different prices over the hour we were standing there.

We strongly recommend you bring all your paperwork with you and know exactly what you have paid for upfront and what you haven’t.

Also, keep a cool head and remember you’re on holiday.

We generally don’t take additional insurance when we hire a car, but at 48 Turkish Lira per day, we thought it was well worth getting.

As in most places, car rental companies charge a considerable amount for picking up and dropping off in different locations.

However, in Turkey, these fees are not too bad. We were charged 250 Turkish Lira to pick up in Istanbul and drop off in Antalya.

12. STAY BACK MORE THAN YOU NORMALLY WOULD

Some of the driving in Turkey can be erratic. Indicating happens very rarely, cars will wander into your lane or just pull out in front of you.

Overtaking is done with the maximum amount of risk, and the hard shoulder is often used as a substitute lane.

Tractors and other slow-moving vehicles saunter along the roads at slow speed, and others will whip past you in a flash.

It’s nothing that should put you off driving in Turkey, but give the car in front of you plenty of room to allow for any crazy manoeuvres.

13. ENGLISH IS YOUR FRIEND

Like in most countries, the Turkish people love it when you practice a bit of their language.

However, if you get pulled over by the Police, this is not the time to demonstrate your Turkish language skills.

We were pulled over a couple of times because police roadblocks are not uncommon in Turkey, but a greeting of “Hello, how are you?” in our best English accents had us waved on without any further questions.

We often saw police set up at the start of a town, pulling over cars indiscriminately. They also have cardboard cutouts of police cars warning about speeding set up on the side of the highway. None of this was a problem for us.

We generally found the police either very friendly or not interested in tourists at all.

SHOULD YOU DRIVE IN TURKEY?

You do not need a car in the big cities, but if you are heading into the countryside then, yes, absolutely.

It’s an easy place to drive, and the road network is good, with clear signage. Parking was straightforward, and there were plenty of service stations.

Turkey’s public transport system is mainly built for locals and not for visitors. So, if you want to head off to more out-of-the-way destinations, then hiring a car is a sensible option.

Having your own car also means you can select what you want to see and how long you want to see it for.

There are a lot of great sights to see in Turkey, and some of the scenery from the car window is excellent.

Being able to stop when you want and take photos is all part of the fun. We often saw tour groups sitting around gift shops or in large industrial tourist-geared restaurants waiting for their escape.

Finally, driving in Turkey is not too expensive, making it not only a sensible option but also a decent value. Check out the prices below.

HIRING A CAR IN TURKEY

Hiring a car can be notoriously challenging. There are many different providers, all providing different add-ons and levels of insurance, making it difficult to compare prices and know what you have bought.

The best portal we’ve found for booking hire cars is Rental Cars.

They have access to cars from all the major companies so that you can compare prices for different car sizes across each provider. 

TURKEY RENTAL CAR INSURANCE

Be careful to check what insurance comes with your rental car agreement. Most upfront costs come with basic insurance covering theft, third-party damage, and liability; however, it often comes with a significant excess.

There are 3 ways to deal with this:

OPTION 1: BASIC INSURANCE

Take the risk and stick with the basic insurance that is included in your rental agreement.

In this case, if you have an accident, the car hire company will charge you an amount of up to the excess.

OPTION 2: REFUNDABLE EXCESS GUARANTEE

Purchase a refundable excess guarantee package from either your rental company or insurance4carhire.

In this case, the car hire company will charge you up to the excess for any damage, but you can claim it back from wherever you purchased your excess guarantee.

OPTION 3: ANNUAL EXCESS GUARANTEE

You can also purchase an annual refundable excess guarantee package from insurance4carhire.

This makes sense if you are likely to hire a car 3 or more times a year, as it will be cheaper than continually buying a one-off package.

Purchasing a refundable excess guarantee package is MUCH cheaper than the amount you will pay for insurance at the car rental company desk when you pick up the car.

But it does involve the extra hassle of claiming the excess guarantee back from your insurer.

WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED TO RENT A CAR IN TURKEY?

In our opinion, there is no need to hire a GPS as an extra when renting a car in Turkey.

Many cars now come with GPS, and if they don’t, Google Maps is probably a better option anyway because it’s more up-to-date.

You’ll need the following documentation to pick up your hire car:

• Passport
• International Driving Permit (If required).
• Credit Card

The car hire company will hold the ‘excess’ on your credit card in case it needs to charge you for damages. Check whether your rental car company accepts your credit card and whether there is enough of a limit to cover the excess.

Keep all your documentation with you when you are driving. There are regular police checkpoints, especially on more touristy roads, and they will often ask you for the paperwork provided by the rental company.

The minimum age for driving in Turkey is 18; car hire companies will require you to be at least 21.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS – DRIVING IN TURKEY

Turkey is well equipped for a road trip with modern infrastructure, mostly clear signage and frequent availability of fuel and other services. But before you hit the road, here are some of the common questions about driving in Turkey.

WHAT SIDE OF THE ROAD DO YOU DRIVE ON IN TURKEY?

In Turkey, you drive on the right side of the road.

CAN TOURISTS DRIVE IN TURKEY?

Yes. Tourists can drive in Turkey; however, you need to be at least 21 years old to hire a car.

CAN I DRIVE IN TURKEY WITH A FOREIGN DRIVING LICENCE?

Yes, you can drive in Turkey for up to 6 months a foreign driving licence. Please note that visitors from some countries require an International Driving Permit as well as a valid driving licence.

DO I NEED AN INTERNATIONAL DRIVING PERMIT TO DRIVE IN TURKEY?

The official Visit Turkey website says that you can drive in Turkey with a foreign driver’s license. However, an International Driving Permit is recommended.

However, most other sources state that a foreign license is valid for up to 180 days.

We didn’t have an International Driving Permit, and we didn’t have a problem picking up the car or when we were stopped by police.

If your driving licence is printed in non-Roman alphabet (Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, etc), an International Driving Permit is required.

In the UK, you can get an IDP from any PayPoint shop. British licence holders will need permit number 1968, which costs £5.50 and can be obtained from any Post Office.

In the US, you can apply for an IDP online or in person at an AAA Branch.

Please note that you must always have your driving licence, even if you have an International Driving Permit.

MORE TURKEY GUIDES

• More great things to do can be found in our guide to visiting Istanbul.
• Travelling around? Read our guide to the best places to visit in Turkey.
• Try these incredible hikes in Cappadocia (maps included).
• Here are the best things to do in Antalya.
• Take the ultimate scenic voyage in a Cappadocia Hot Air Balloon ride.
• Plan your trip with our Turkey Itinerary.
• Here are the best things to do in Cappadocia.
• Relive history in the best ancient ruins in Turkey.
• Plan the ultimate 4-days in Cappadocia with our detailed itinerary.