Izmir airport car rental & Hotel

Best deal, by far, that I could find for an Izmir airport rental was through Auto Europe (based in Portland, Maine.) The local agency they use for Turkish rentals is Sunrent. It is a pre-paid deal with voucher (as usual with Auto Europe).

Thanks Jack-much appreciatedI hope to pick the car up at Izmir airport and drop off at Antalya airport about nine days later-Apparently the roads are just two-way single lane, no divided hi-ways???? Any suggestions on good hotel in Antalya would be appreciate we hope to stay three nights there- We fly from Antalya to Kayseri-Any good recommendations on hotels in Cappadocia area would be appreciated. Thanks a Million-John PS-Can anyone recommend a good Hotel in Istanbul??

I stayed in several hotels in Istanbul on my last visit due to ash from the volcano. The Acra and Best Western Obelisk are sister hotels and very similar in operation style. I believe I like the Acra better but they are both very comfortable and centrally located near all the historical sites. I also stayed one night in the Agora Guest House and it was nice (and less expensive) but my room was small. It is across the street from the Acra. The Hippodrome is in the same neighborhood and although I did not stay there it looked nice but I think the rooms are also small. There is a nice artisan market in the area and lots
of nice restaurants to choose from.

Hi Paula--------Great feedback on Istanbul Hotels, much appreciated---------Rick Steves travel book recommends the Obelisk & Hippodrome----------I'll leave to, "She who must be obeyed" (My Wife) to make the final decision!!!---- Thanks a Million----- John

Antalya has lots of resort hotels catering to European beach visitors. My advice is to forego them in favor of staying in small places in the Kaleici, or old walled city. Two good places are the Paloma Pansiyon (small peaceful pension in a quiet street) and the Villa Perla (a bit of a ramshackle Ottoman mansion with tons of charm). A bit bigger and more upscale are the Alp Pasa and the Tuvana Hotels, but both are very Turkish in atmosphere. I've stayed in all four and would happily go back to any of them. If you are planning a one way car rental, I strongly recommend not arranging it through Auto Europe but through a local travel agent in Istanbul, asking for pickup at the Izmir airport and drop off in Antalya. You will likely get a much lower quote, and no drop fee. I would go online and get your cheapest quote from Auto Europe, then head for one of the big travel agencies on Divan Yolu in Istanbul and try your luck there. If they quote you a higher price, then just go online at your hotel and book through Atuo Europe. But I'm pretty confident that you will get a lower quote dealing directly with a local Turkish car rental place than through Auto Europe.

We spent a month in September in Turkey. We had a car for three weeks and for the most part driving was fine especially along the Mediterranean. There were some single lanes but for the most part there were multiple lanes. In Istanbul we spent a week at the Sultan Hill which is off the Hippodrome and near the Blue Mosque. We highly recommend it. In Cappodocia we based ourselves in Goreme, staying at the Sultan Cave Suites Hotel which is part of the Kelebek group. Again we would stay there again and as well they have an excellent restaurant. In Antalya we stayed at Hadrianus Hotel in the old part of the city. Our room was excellent and thye have a very nice garden where breakfast is served. We really enjoyed the Turkish bath there. It was quite an experience. Along the route to/from Antalya we stayed in Patera, one of the best beaches in Turkey. We used Golden Persion. We also spent time in Cirali staying at Canada House. Enjoy yourselves.

On Cappadocia hotels, there are a lot of options. Probably the most convenient to the majority of sites are in either Goreme or Urgup. Urgup has somewhat more upscale boutique hotels and Goreme generally tends to cater to more of the backpacking crowd. Still, you should find a good range of options between the two. I would recommend a cave hotel in any event. After all, when is the next time that you will get the chance to stay in a tufa cave?

Hi Steve in Ottawa-----and JER in Seattle-----Super recommendations, just what we needed, and good infor on highway conditions----Do you have any hotel recommedation for "Dalaman"--- Thanks a Million----John

Your first post describes picking up and dropping off your rental car at the same location; your second post describes picking up and dropping off in two different locations. I only mention this because recently, I too looked into using SunRent (by way of Auto Europe) out of Izmir, with drop off at another SunRent location. For one-way rentals, SunRent adds a healthy one-way fee, based on distance between the two cities. This fee does not show up in the Auto Europe price, and can add quite a bit to the total price. In my specific case, a 4-day rental, with pick-up/drop-off cities 185 miles apart, would require a €100/$135 one-way fee added to the $195 rental cost. Just something to keep in mind as you generate your itinerary.

Other correspondents are certainly right to point out that there are substantial one-way drop off fees with Auto Europe/Sunrent. All the big players (Hertz, Avis, Europcar, Sixt, etc.) seem to charge one. If you can find a local firm without one more power to you! Re: Road Conditions. This can be a disagreeable topic. Still, drivers should be aware that traffic fatalities per vehicle mile in Turkey are 10 times as high as U.S. rates. (This data is from the Turkey Road Travel Report from ASIRT (www.asirt.org - $30 donation.) This can make for a sometimes challenging driving environment. There is an absolutely fantastic web site on all aspects on travel in Turkey at www.turkeytravelplanner.com. On this site Tom Brosnahan (long time Lonely Planet and Frommers guidebook writer on Turkey) offers many useful tips on Turkish driving behavior and other aspects of road travel in Turkey. Definitely worth checking out for all potential "road warriors."

Hi Jack/Boston & Lamont/TexasThank you again for the valuable feedback-Our first idea was to rent the car at Izmir, make a "loop" drive down to Antalya and back to Izmir airport.The reason behind that idea,There is a "Sun Express" airline flight, direct to Kayseri from Izmir, very cheap. You are probably aware that nearly all internal flights fly via Istanbul and NOT direct between Turkish towns. Searching the net, we found "Pegasus airlines" flies twice a week direct from Antalya to Kayseri direct, departing 23.00hrs, flight time 1 hour- So it only made sense to drop the car off at Antalya airport and not drive back to Izmir,especially when you have limited vacation time-We,ve already booked our flight from Antalya$60.00 each- I'll do more research before booking our car rental Thanks a Million-John