I'm trying to rent a car at Antalya airport for 16 Oct and returning it to Denizli-Cardak airport on 17th Oct. So far the only company that came back to me with a quote is charging 150EUR in addition to the car rental rate because I'm dropping it back to a different location. I would greatly appreciate if someone could recommend a car rental company which would accomodate my request without charging such large additional fees as mentioned above.

Maybe not an answer but a place to llok.
I used Economy Car Rantals, who then found me a car with Dekar.

My total was 435 euro for 15 days, pick-up drop off Istanbul airport. 4-door car (and free upgrade)

So... I'm curious about your itinerary. That is one very long drive....and, having been to Antalya...I'd skip it.

Michel,
Thank you for your quick response. My wife-to-be wants to see the eternal flames at Olympos, hence why we're flying to Antalya. I also want to see Pammukale hence why we're flying from Cardak-Denizli. For sure it is alot to accomplish in 24 hours. How long to you think it would take to drive from Olympos to Pammukale?

OK, I'm going to take part of that back. You could get from A. to C. faster if you leave the Med and go directly. (~250 km)

We followed the shoreline.

What we found long was that the drive along the Mediteranean was very twisty and slow...I'm talking 20-30 miles an hour in places. And a bit tiring too. We did it in stages...Antalya to Kas to Marmaris. From Marmaris we headed inland (going to Bursa).

Funny, we also were headed to Olympos, based on a friend in Antalya's recommendation. So we left the main road, headed down this side road...and then into a backpacker's haven, and kept going, road got bumpier...then we gave up We had road time ahead of us...I know, we should have kept going.

TO mess with your time....
If I could recommend something memorable, I'd say go to Kas and psend a night at the Kas Hotel. Kas is a small
fishing village, very scenic, nice town on side of hill. The Kas hotel has rooms on the Med, and by on I mean 30' from the water, super views, no windows, you here the sea lapping against the shore....our best memory.
It took about a day to get to Kas, with lunch and pit stop along the way. It owuld be ~4+ hrs from Kas to Cardak. Maybe not this trip.

As a note, the highways in Turkey are very nice. We were cruising at 140km/hr on the way to Ankara and were being passed. Signage on highways were good, bit dicier once you get into cities.

Your inquiry can be handled by the one of the largest car hire company in Turkey with offices nationwide.
Contact to Aysin at [email protected] You can get a car without drop charge.

Happy travelling,
Murat

Hi just a response to your question. Firstly the flames of the Chimaera are located in the neighboring village of Cirali and NOT in the village of Olympos. So if you went to the Olympos village ( back pakers haven ) you would end up driving back up to the main highway towards Antalya and then back down into the village of Cirali instead.

Secondly the flames are best seen at night or just before dusk to get the full effect. Remember to bring a flashlight and good pair of walking shoes. Walk up while it is still light out to view the ruins to the god of Hephaistos ( there are a few ruins to see along the path ). Wait until it gets dark and then make your way back down.

The walk up is about 1km and will take the average person 20-30 minutes.

A direct frive from the Antalya airport to Cirali will take about 1.5 hours following the D-400 highway towards Kumluca. If you have the time try to visit the ruins of Phaselis about 20 minutes before Cirali..just off the main highway.

The road signs are very good and keep an eye out for the brown historical ones.

As Michel said the best and most direct way to get from Cirali to Pamukkale is to drive back towards Antalya ( by - passing the city center) and then turn off at the sign for Korkuteli following this road. The road itself is a major highway to get to Denizli and the time from Antalya will be about 2.5 hours.

BTW the village of Cirali is not a backpakers haven....it is a bit more upscale than the funky treehouses. Plus the other advantage is they both share the same long beach. More crowded twowards the Olympos entrance however but much more comfortable on the Cirali side. Plus getting to the beach is much easier and closer.

However since you are travelling in October you will have missed any crowds.

sorry one last thing...check out this web site as it might give you a few ideas.

http://travelswithbillandnancy.com/turkey-1.htm

''Travels with Bill and Nancy'' as they have travelling to a few of the places that you have described in the travel plans.

Just a quick note to everyone to thank you for the invaluable information you have provided to me regarding my posting. Murat, thank you for putting me in contact with Aysin regarding the car rental.

Honeymoon et al:

I have driven the Antalya stretch to Denizli/Pamukkale through korkutelli....good road, and yes, my journal says we made it under three hours....no traffic at all, wide open spaces...the view of Pamukkale's cliffs when you approach from a few miles away is a dramatic one. Strange, we rented our car in Urgup (from Europe Car) and dropped it in Marmaris three weeks later, no drop charge and at that time the rate was $35 a day (1997).

Stu T.