Drivers bringing cars into Turkey must show their registration documents and driving license at the place of entry. If arriving from Europe, visitors must have a Green Card (available from insurance companies) as well as appropriate insurance. Driving license, passport, logbook, insurance certificate and vehicle registration must be carried at all times. Driving is on the right and drivers must give way to the right at all times. The speed limit on motorways is 120kph (70mph), 90kph (55mph) on main roads and 50kph (30mph) in towns. It is worth noting that traffic lights change abruptly from red to green.

Emergency breakdown service: Turkish Touring and Automobile Association (0212) 280 44 49

Routes to the city: The main motorway from the Turkish border at Edirne straight through to Istanbul, Ankara and beyond is the E-80, closely paralleled by the somewhat smaller D-100. The route to Antalya follows the E-80 to Izmit and then heads south on the D-650.

Driving times to Istanbul: From Ankara - 7 hours; from Antalya - 12 hours.

Coach services: The safest, cheapest and most convenient method of internal transport, especially for travel to southern Turkish resorts, is Turkey's vast system of intercity coaches.

Uluslararasi Istanbul Otogari or International Istanbul Bus Terminal (0212) 658 05 05 or 00 36) serves all international and domestic lines and is located in Esenler, about ten kilometers (six miles) from the city centre. Most of the major intercity companies have free service buses from central Istanbul to the bus station. These shuttle services leave - several hours before the scheduled departure time of the coach - from along Sirasilveler Caddesi in Taksim, which is also where all the ticket offices are clustered. Visitors can book tickets here any time before departure and most offices take credit cards.

Providers include: Kamil Koc  (0212) 252 72 23/4; Pamukkale  (0212) 249 27 91), which serve western and southern destinations; Ulusoy  (0212) 249 43 73; which serves international destinations, Ankara, the Black Sea, as well as Izmir and Antalya; Varan  (0212) 251 7474; which also serves international, western and southern routes, and Goreme Tourism. (0212) 658 1213), which serves Cappadocia. Long journeys are usually made at night, leaving Istanbul between 2200 and 2400 and arriving at the destination in the morning.