Winter Tyre Requirement & Mountain Routes: Winter Car Rental in Turkey
Turkey is a country of great geographical diversity. While it is 20 degrees and sunny on the Mediterranean coast, roads in Eastern Anatolia may be iced over. That is why, when renting a car, the winter tyre requirement, mountain-route conditions and the need for snow chains are critical topics to know. In this guide we explain all the legal and practical aspects of winter rental.
Legal Winter Tyre Requirement in Turkey
Under the Highway Traffic Regulation, winter tyres are a legal requirement for commercial vehicles between 1 December and 1 April. Rental cars are also classified as commercial; therefore every vehicle you rent during this period must have winter tyres.
Violations carry an administrative fine of over 3,000 TL. As the driver, you are held responsible for this fine, not the rental company. So when collecting the car, be sure to check for the M+S (Mud + Snow) or snowflake symbol.
When Are Winter Tyres Used?
Winter tyres provide much better grip than summer tyres at temperatures below +7 degrees. They are critical in the following conditions:
- Snowy and icy road conditions
- Low temperatures on wet asphalt
- Mountain passes and high-altitude areas
- Access roads to ski resorts
Mountain Route Recommendations and Airport Distances
Turkey's main ski resorts and their distances to the major airports:
- Uludağ (Bursa): 180 km from Sabiha Gökçen Airport, 3 hours by ferry
- Kartepe (Kocaeli): 100 km from Sabiha Gökçen Airport, the closest option
- Palandöken (Erzurum): 12 km from Erzurum Airport
- Erciyes (Kayseri): 40 km from Kayseri (ASR) Airport
- Sarıkamış (Kars): 55 km from Kars Airport
- Ilgaz (Kastamonu): 250 km from Ankara (ESB) Airport
Are Snow Chains Required?
On ski-resort roads and at gendarmerie and traffic checkpoints, snow chain checks are carried out. In heavy snowfall, non-4x4 vehicles are not allowed to pass without snow chains:
- 4x4 / AWD vehicles are usually exempt from the chain requirement
- For front-wheel-drive (FWD) sedans, chains are often mandatory
- Snow chains can be rented optionally from the rental company (50–100 TL per day)
- Checks are strict on the roads to Uludağ, Palandöken and Erciyes
SUV vs. Sedan — the Decision in Winter Conditions
- SUV / 4x4: Strongly recommended for ski-resort access, snowy mountain roads and high altitude.
- Sedan + winter tyres: Sufficient for intercity main motorways and winter travel in flat regions. It causes no problems on the Istanbul–Ankara and Ankara–Konya routes.
- Economy hatchback: Suitable only for in-city use; not recommended for mountain routes.
Winter Rental with RentaCarSAW
On the RentaCarSAW platform, all vehicles rented in the winter season are delivered with winter tyres as standard. When filtering, you can choose the vehicle type (SUV, 4x4, sedan), add the snow-chain option and find the right vehicle for your route. If you are planning a ski holiday, our advisors recommend the route–vehicle–insurance–chain package from a single point of contact.
For winter rental and ski-resort routes, contact us: +90 850 304 94 30 or WhatsApp +90 544 581 94 30.
