Car Hire in Turkey - Getting to Turkey

There are international airports at Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and some of the Mediterranean resorts, servicing many European cities, New York, several Middle Eastern countries, Karachi, North Africa, Bangkok, Singapore and Tokyo. Haggling with taxi drivers is the usually method of getting to your hotel.

Bordering seven countries, Turkey has road routes to Greece, Bulgaria, Syria, Georgia and Iraq, though the latter is off-limits to travellers. Buses depart regularly to Syria from Antalya and Merson, while it is possible to take non stop buses to from Istanbul to many Balkan and south Eastern European cities, even as far as Frankfurt and Munich. Long distance buses run to all borders from Ankara and Istanbul. Kars is the chief launching point to Georgia, Iran and Armenia.

The daily Istanbul Express links to Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy and finally ends in Munich. There are daily train and bus connections between Athens and Istanbul via Thessaloniki, but the two countries aren’t fond of each other so border formalities and departure taxes can be a headache.

Turkish Maritime Lines runs car ferries from Antalya, Marmaris and Izmir to Venice weekly from May to mid-October. Private ferries run between Turkey's Aegean coast and the Greek islands.