Rental Car; International Driving Licence required?!
 

Dear Happy Travelers!

We're going to Croatia in this Sept. and will rent a car in Split Airport.
Do we need International Driving License to rent a car in Croatia?
We're Turkish nationality.
If some Turkish members have some info, it would be helpful but we'd like to know any other nationalities as well for our information.

Thanx for your advice!

Is it hard to get one in Turkey? If not, it's always wise to have one in case you want to cross a border, or the law has changed since the last time others were there.

You need to check with the rental company. If they do not require it you won't need it.

not quite true Jeff.

While the rental car co may not require an IDP, it is a legal requirement in many countries such as Italy and Austria.

If stopped by the police you may be required to produce one.

"You need to check with the rental company."

Quite untrue.

Car hire companies are concerned only with their own rules. In some European countries (most notoriously Italy), hire companies allow non-European foreigners to hire with a national driving licence, but the police require an IDP. So, as long as nothing goes wrong, you're fine: but get involved in an accident and you're in serious breach of the law if you're not from the EU and you've not got an IDP.

I've no idea whether Turkey's licences conform to the EU standard, or what Croatia's rules are. But unless someone quotes chapter and verse about Croatia's rules as they apply to Turkish licence-holders, I'd email the Croatian tourist office for clarification ([email protected] )

We were stopped in Croatia in the Fall for speeding and were not questioned about the IDP whatsoever. Thank goodness because we did not have one! No issues (except for the hefty fine!).

Dear All,

Thanks for your advice!
We've checked more and found that;
- In Turkey, it takes so much steps, time and costs to get IDL.
- According to drivetravel com,
IDL is not "required" but "recommended" (in case a renter is stopped by police), except licences in non-Roman alphabet languages.
This page will be quite helpful to who is planning to travel with a car;
http://www.drivetravel.com/carrent/idp/index.shtml#need
In this page you can find in Italy IDL is "required".

Anyway, if somebody has some experience of being caught by police while driving, please let us hear such reports.

Thanks!!!