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Car rental in Ankara starts in arrivals at Esenboğa Airport (ESB), 28 km north-east of the centre and a 30–40 minute drive away. With a car waiting at ESB you skip the shuttle-taxi shuffle, reach the hotel before dinner and roll out for Cappadocia or Gordion at first light.
A couple met their host at the ESB exit gate at 02:10. Five minutes of paperwork, and they were on the D140 to Kızılay while the chain-counter queue was still waiting for a shuttle bus.
Ankara is the capital and a business hub, not a beach town. Summers are dry and hot, winters cold with snow on the plateau. A car earns its keep year-round — weekday meetings, weekend runs into Central Anatolia, and the Esenboğa-Kızılay shuttle saved every single time.
Payment, deposit and cover
Most European travellers arrive with a credit card — what Esenboğa desks expect. The deposit hold sits between $150 and $550 depending on class: lower for economy, higher for SUVs and premium. It's released after return if there's no damage or open fine. Debit-only travellers should ask first — international chains insist on a credit card, while some local suppliers accept cash deposit or run zero-deposit with extended insurance.
One traveller skipped the upgrade to save twenty dollars a day, then handed back a curbed alloy at ESB and paid seven hundred. A full policy on a compact in Ankara is one of the better deals you'll see all trip.
Third-party liability is mandatory and included in every rental. CDW and theft protection are usually bundled too, but with an excess equal to the deposit — a scrape on a kerb in Kızılay can still cost real money. A Super CDW upgrade drops the excess, often to zero, for a few dollars a day.
Pickup at Esenboğa
Esenboğa Airport (ESB) sits 28 km north-east of central Ankara, just outside Akyurt district. The drive into town runs 30–40 minutes on the airport highway, longer at peak. Most counters are in arrivals; staff walk you to the pickup lot or a short shuttle. The exact meeting point is on your booking voucher — save it offline before the flight.
Counter hours follow the flight schedule rather than 24/7. If your flight arrives after midnight, arrange the handover the day before. A manager meets you with your name on a placard — most useful for connecting flights via Istanbul, which often land at ESB late.
A family booked the meet-and-greet for a 23:55 ESB landing on a Sunday. The manager was waiting at the kerb by gate D, signed contract in the boot light, on the road to Çankaya in eight minutes.
If you'd rather skip the airport, many suppliers deliver the car to your hotel or an address in Ankara, with a fee scaled to distance from ESB. Travellers heading down to the coast often collect in Ankara and drop in Antalya — one-way fees apply and depend on the route.
Rates in Ankara vary throughout the year depending on the season and the rental length.
How expensive is renting a car in Ankara: average daily rates for a one-week car rental, across all car classes.
Three things before pickup
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Book your ESB car ahead
Summer and Bayram push rates up and thin out the economy fleet — two or three weeks ahead gives you both choice and price.
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Take full-to-full fuel
Collect full, return full. The prepaid full-to-empty policy charges you for petrol you don't burn.
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Confirm the deposit method before you fly
Credit-card hold, cash deposit and zero-deposit-with-insurance are three different routes — sorting it at the counter at 1 a.m. rarely goes well.
Driving in Ankara
Speed limits are 50 km/h in towns, 90 on rural roads and 120 on motorways unless signs say otherwise. Cameras are dense around Ankara, especially on routes towards Konya and Istanbul. BAC is 0.05% for a private car and zero when towing or driving commercial. Handheld phone use is fined; seatbelts mandatory front and rear.
Cameras around Ankara have a habit of sitting on the slope after a flyover, where 120 quietly becomes 135. Cruise control pegged at 120 on the O-4 keeps you out of the post.
Tolls run on the HGS electronic system — no cash lanes. Rental cars almost always have an HGS tag fitted; a full Ankara–Istanbul (O-4) run costs only a few dollars. Charges are billed back with an admin fee. Camera fines follow the same pattern: the plate hits the rental company, who pass it on with an admin fee. A 15-day early-payment discount applies; unpaid fines can block the car from leaving the country.
Parking and districts
Central districts — Kızılay, Çankaya, Kavaklıdere — run on metered street parking and underground lots. Ulus and the old citadel area are tighter; pick a paid lot and walk. Ankara sits at almost 900 m on a high plateau, and winter here is nothing like Istanbul: snow, ice, sub-zero nights. Many rentals run winter tyres from December to March — confirm at booking, especially if you're heading east.
Frequent Questions
Expect a hold of roughly $150–550 on the main driver's credit card, depending on the class and supplier. Economy cars sit at the low end; SUVs and premium models at the high end. The amount is blocked at pickup and released after return if there's no damage or unpaid fine — usually within a few business days.
Most international desks in Esenboğa require a credit card in the main driver's name for the deposit hold and won't accept debit or cash. Some local suppliers offer cash-deposit or zero-deposit options if you take extended insurance — check the payment terms before booking rather than at the counter.
If your licence is printed in the Latin alphabet (UK, US, EU, etc.) an IDP is recommended but usually not required. Non-Latin licences need one. Some suppliers ask for it regardless, so carrying it avoids any back-and-forth at the desk and costs only a few pounds at your home auto club.
The usual minimum is 21, with at least one year of driving experience. Premium, large SUV and luxury categories often require 25 or older. Drivers aged 21–24 typically pay a young-driver surcharge added at pickup, so check the figure in your rental terms before you book.
Mandatory third-party liability is included by law in every rental. Collision damage waiver and theft protection are usually included as well, but carry an excess (deductible) equal to the deposit. You can reduce or remove the excess with a full-coverage upgrade — often called Super CDW — usually for a modest daily fee.
Most rental counters are in the arrivals area at ESB; staff direct you to a nearby pickup lot or a short shuttle. The exact meeting point is in your booking voucher — confirm it before you fly, especially for late-night arrivals. Have your voucher, licence and credit card ready at the desk.
Esenboğa (ESB) is about 28 km north-east of central Ankara, in Akyurt. By car it's roughly a 30–40 minute drive on the airport highway, depending on traffic and time of day. That makes airport pickup the most convenient option, especially if you're heading straight onto a road trip.
Hours vary by supplier and many cover the main flight schedule rather than a full 24-hour day. If your flight lands very late, arrange an out-of-hours or meet-and-greet pickup in advance so no one is waiting by a closed desk. Manager-with-placard handovers work well at ESB.
Economy cars typically start around $20–30 per day, with compacts and crossovers higher and premium models from roughly $60+. Rates rise in summer and around public holidays, and dip in the spring and autumn shoulders. Book early for the best availability and rate at the airport.
Turkish motorways and major bridges use the electronic HGS system — there's no cash lane. Rental cars almost always have an HGS tag fitted, and tolls are billed back to you after return, usually with a supplier admin fee. Ask the supplier how toll billing is handled at pickup so the line isn't a surprise on the invoice.
The fine is registered to the car's plate and reaches the rental company, which then charges it back to you with an admin fee. Paying within 15 days normally earns a discount; after that the full amount is due. Unpaid traffic fines can also block the rental car from leaving the country.
Yes — Cappadocia (Göreme) is about a 3–3.5 hour drive south-east of Ankara on good highways, making it a popular road trip straight out of Esenboğa. The route is straightforward; just keep your HGS tag topped up for the tolled sections and refuel at larger stations rather than rural ones.
Popular drives include Gordion, the ancient Phrygian capital roughly 45 minutes west; Beypazarı with its Ottoman houses around 1.5 hours away; and Lake Tuz (Tuz Gölü), the vast salt lake to the south. All are easiest with your own car, as public transport on these routes is limited and infrequent.
Yes, one-way rentals are common — Ankara to Istanbul and Ankara to Cappadocia are the routes most travellers ask for. A one-way drop fee usually applies and varies with distance and the destination city. Confirm the fee and the exact drop-off location with the supplier at booking.
Ankara sits on a high plateau and gets cold, snowy winters, so winter tyres are advisable from roughly December to March and are often fitted on rentals in season. If you plan mountain or eastern routes in winter, confirm the car has them before you leave the city — and don't rely on summer tyres on any mountain pass.