Istanbul Airport Car Rental: Desks, Documents and Driving Tips

Yes, you can rent a car at Istanbul Airport at any hour: all the rental companies have desks on the landside of the domestic arrivals floor, and the airport says all of them operate 24/7. Its directory lists 22 companies, from international brands such as Sixt to Turkish firms such as Avec and Elitcar. Self-drive is a good fit for road trips out of the city. For getting around Istanbul itself, most visitors are better off with a car with driver or a fixed-price private airport transfer, and this page explains why.

This guide is about driving yourself: where to find the desks at IST and Sabiha Gökçen, which documents to bring, how tolls work, what the first drive into the city is like, and when renting a car really pays off.

Where the rental desks are

Istanbul Airport (IST). The airport says all its car rental companies are on the landside of the domestic arrivals floor, and that all of them serve 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you land on an international flight, clear passport control and customs first, then follow the car rental signs; you do not need a domestic ticket to reach the desks. The airport's own directory lists 22 rental companies with phone numbers, including Avec, Payless, Elitcar Rental, Sixt and Green Motion. The car is handed over in the airport car park, and the desk staff tell you where to find it.

Sabiha Gökçen (SAW). On the Asian side, the airport lists around 20 companies, including Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Europcar, Garenta, Sixt and Rent Go, also working around the clock in the arrivals hall.

Two practical points:

• Book ahead in summer and at holidays. Walk-up rates at the desk are rarely the best, and automatic cars and larger vehicles run out first.
• Choose the airport that matches your plans. If you are heading to Bursa, Sapanca or Ankara, collecting at SAW saves a Bosphorus crossing. For Thrace and the Black Sea coast west of the city, IST is better placed.

What you need to collect the car

Rental companies set their own conditions, so read the terms of your booking. In general, expect to show:

1. Your driving licence. The UK government's travel advice says UK drivers need a 1968 International Driving Permit or a UK licence notarised in Turkish, and that the 1949 IDP is no longer accepted. Rules differ by nationality, so check your own government's advice. An IDP is cheap to get at home and saves arguments at the desk.
2. Your passport. UK advice also points out that it is illegal not to carry photo ID in Türkiye, so keep your passport with you while driving.
3. A credit card in the main driver's name. Rental companies normally block a deposit on it. Debit cards are often refused for the deposit.
4. The booking voucher, if you booked through a broker.

Each company sets a minimum age and a minimum number of years with a licence, and some charge extra for young drivers or for a second driver. Ask before you book rather than at the counter.

Check the car before you drive away. Photograph every side, the wheels and the fuel gauge, and make sure existing scratches are marked on the handover form.

Tolls, fuel and the HGS tag

Turkish motorways and the Bosphorus bridges collect tolls electronically, and rental cars normally come with an HGS toll tag fixed behind the windscreen. You drive through the toll lanes without stopping, and the rental company charges the tolls to your card after the rental, sometimes with a service fee. Ask at the desk how they bill tolls and whether the tag is active.

Around Istanbul you will pass tolls on the motorways that link the airports with the city, on the northern bridge and on the Eurasia Tunnel under the Bosphorus. Driving in from IST, the motorway is the fastest way in, so assume the first trip includes at least one toll.

Fuel stations are frequent on the motorways and in the city, most are staffed, and card payment is normal. Most rentals are on a full-to-full basis, so fill up shortly before returning the car.

Your first drive: from the airport into Istanbul

Istanbul Airport is on the far northern edge of the European side, so the first part of the drive is fast motorway. The difficult part comes after, when you leave the motorway for the city's streets.

• Traffic. Weekday rush hours, from early morning and again from late afternoon into the evening, slow the main roads to a crawl. A trip that takes 45 minutes at midnight can take twice as long at 6 pm.
• The old city. Sultanahmet, around the Hagia Sophia and the Grand Bazaar, has narrow, steep and often one-way streets, tram lines and pedestrian areas. Many hotels there cannot be reached by car at all. Our guide to Sultanahmet hotels covers the hotels in the area.
• Beyoğlu and Taksim. İstiklal Avenue is pedestrianised, and the side streets of Galata and Cihangir are steep and tight.
• Navigation. A phone app works well and warns of jams. Take a local SIM or an eSIM, and set the hotel address before you leave the car park.

If your hotel is in Sultanahmet or Galata, think about collecting the car on the day you leave Istanbul rather than on arrival. Many travellers take a transfer to the hotel, see the city on foot, by tram and by ferry, and pick up a rental only for the road trip.

Parking in Istanbul

Parking is the hidden cost of a rental car in the city. Street spaces in central districts are scarce, and many small hotels in the old city and Beyoğlu have no car park. The municipal parking company, İSPARK, runs open-air and multi-storey car parks across Istanbul, and private car parks fill the gaps. Ask your hotel before you arrive whether it has parking or an arrangement with a car park nearby, and what it charges per night.

Do not leave anything visible in a parked car, and never park in front of a garage, on tram lines or in a marked bus lane.

Self-drive or car with driver?

The prices on the right are ours, from our tours below. For the city itself, a driver often costs less than it seems once parking, fuel, tolls and your time are counted. If you are weighing up that option, our page on how to rent a car with driver in Istanbul covers hourly, daily and airport hire in detail.

When a rental car really pays off

A self-drive car shows its value once you leave the city. Good drives from Istanbul include:

• Sapanca and Maşukiye, a lake and forest area east of the city, popular at weekends. If you would rather not drive, our Sapanca and Maşukiye day trip includes pickup.
• Bursa and Uludağ, the first Ottoman capital and the mountain above it. See our guide to Bursa and Uludağ.
• Şile and the Black Sea coast, north-east of the city, for beaches in summer.
• A multi-city Turkey trip, for example towards Ankara, Cappadocia or the Aegean. Distances are long, and many travellers combine a rental with a domestic flight. Our tailor-made Turkey tour page shows how we plan routes with drivers and guides instead.

For more ideas without a car, see our day trips from Istanbul.

Returning the car at the airport

Returning is usually quicker than collecting, but give yourself a margin:

1. Fill up near the airport if your rental is full-to-full.
2. Allow time for the drive. From central Istanbul to IST, plan on 45-90 minutes depending on the hour, more on Friday evenings.
3. Follow the rental return signs to the car park and leave time for the inspection. Keep your own photos of the car at return.
4. Allow time for the terminal. Check-in and security at IST can be busy, so aim to hand back the car well before you need to be at the check-in desk.

If you are flying out of SAW, remember that crossing from the European side to the Asian side means a bridge or tunnel and often heavy traffic.

Tours that cover this

If you decide against driving yourself, these cover the same ground with a driver:

• Istanbul Airport VIP transfer, private Mercedes Vito to your hotel: from $60 per group, 45-90 minutes.
• Istanbul private driver tour, Mercedes Vito for 8 hours: from $299 per group, 1-6 guests.
• Bursa and Uludağ tour from Istanbul with ferry, cable car and lunch: from $90 per person, 8 hours.
• Sapanca Lake and Maşukiye day tour with lunch and pickup: from $70 per person, 10 hours.

More options are on our Istanbul tours page.

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