Is It Cost-Effective to Rent a Car in Istanbul?

When traveling to Istanbul, finding the best way to make it easier to travel to different areas of the city is always an important issue, and for this reason, the answer to the question, "Is It Cost-Effective to Rent a Car in Istanbul?" can help a lot; because Istanbul is a city full of spectacular and extraordinary places and is one of the best options for spending a memorable vacation.

Easy Traffic in Istanbul

Istanbul is a large and crowded city with an abundance of historical, natural, cultural, etc. attractions in all its parts, making it easy for any traveler with any taste to find options to enjoy their trip; in such a situation, regardless of whether you have come to Istanbul with tours or you have booked flight ticket for your trip, you should choose one of the types of public transportation to easily travel to different places.

This is even though Istanbul has one of the most diverse public transportation networks, and usually what still causes travelers to face problems in their traffic are:

·        Not knowing the accurate fare amounts.

·        High fares for taxis, minibuses, and vans.

·        Boarding minibuses and vans that are full of passengers.

·        Long waits at the stations for the bus, metro, metrobus, and tram to arrive on time.

·        Unfamiliarity with all streets, routes of bus, metro, metrobus, and tram stations,

·        Need to have an "Istanbul Card" and know how to charge it to use the bus, metro, metrobus, tram, and sea bus.

All these things, are regardless of your familiarity and mastery of the Turkish language for talking to drivers or asking ordinary people for the correct direction; in such a situation, the best and most affordable option for travelers is to rent a car in Istanbul. Therefore, you can enjoy your trip more by knowing the price of daily car rental in Istanbul and its benefits as an effective solution for easy traffic and reducing your travel expenses.

Car Rental in Istanbul

As mentioned, using public transportation in Istanbul requires patience and a relatively high cost, which can be greatly reduced by renting a car. The main reason for this recommendation can be stated by mentioning a simple example so that you can understand more about the reasonableness of this suggestion.

In Turkey, the BiTaksi application is one of the most common applications for quickly finding a taxi, and as you can see in the picture below, the cost of going from Sabiha Airport to Taksim Square with "BiTaxi" is 680–900 liras, and with "Taxi," it is equal to 1000–1300 liras; this issue becomes problematic and very expensive for you when you want to travel to several places in different areas of the city during a day.

In such a situation, you will surely be interested to know that you can rent a car for a whole day and easily go to several places during a day with the same amount that you pay for only one route. Also, using routing applications will help you find the shortest route with the least traffic and reach your destination quickly and without problems.

Easy Conditions for Renting a Car

According to what was said, in addition to helping to manage passengers' expenses more easily, renting a car will make your transportation much faster and easier, for example, to several shopping centers in Istanbul or its tourist attractions. For this purpose, you only need to prepare the following documents before the trip and submit them to the relevant company, which are:

·        A valid passport

·        A valid international driver's license

·        A valid driver's license issued by your own country

·        Flight ticket (if you have traveled by plane to Istanbul)

The important thing is that each of the car rental companies in Turkey, in addition to following the general rules set by the government, also have their own rules. Therefore, if you are looking for easy conditions for renting a car in Turkey, it is enough to get the daily reservation price from several companies and compare them; also, knowing the opinion and experience of friends who have had this experience before can help.

At the same time, note that the companies whose offices and parking lots are in the main airports of Turkey are mostly exempted from tax, and for this reason, they provide their cars at a lower price to their customers.

Renting a Car without a Driver Abroad

Sometimes, for various reasons, such as not having the necessary documents to rent a car or unwillingness to drive in another country, passengers can use the option of "Rent a Car with a Driver (Transfer)". In this way, the driver will take them to another destination, such as a tourist attraction or a shopping center, at the designated time and origin (for example, from the airport or hotel).

But if you have the required documents and want to go to your favorite places at any time of the day, renting a car is the right decision; because in addition to reducing your expenses and managing your travel budget more easily, you can enjoy your trip more and visit more tourist attractions.

Where to Stay When Traveling to Istanbul?

One of the good services that the metropolis of Istanbul has considered to better host travelers and tourists is to provide all kinds of accommodations with different prices and qualities. These accommodations, which include various options according to the needs and budgets of travelers, the most common of which is booking a hotel.

In other words, you can choose from luxury and 5-star hotels to boutique hotels or regular inns, in the area of your choice that is closer to tourist centers, public transportation, shopping centers, etc.

Another option for travelers and tourists is to rent a furnished house in Istanbul, which in addition to the possibility of renting them in the different areas of the city, you can also use the facilities and services of a 5-star hotel; also, benefiting from more privacy and dedicated space, along with the facilities and equipment of a fully equipped house, making them a suitable option for long-term trips to Istanbul with family members and friends.

Therefore, it can be said that the choice between booking a hotel or renting a house in Istanbul, completely depends on your taste, budget, and travel conditions, and you can easily use a set of services and facilities in both types of accommodation.