What budget to travel Turkey? Money and currency

What budget for activities and outings Turkey?

We can't say it enough: if you can, take advantage of the low season to leave, when the beaches are yours and the prices of hotels, restaurants and other services are at their lowest due to the drop in the number of visitors. The months of October or March are very pleasant, each in its own way, and the flow of travelers is quite reasonable at this time. During the winter season, you will not miss the Asian tourists, Chinese, Koreans and Japanese, who love the ancient sites and the low temperatures.

The best way to visit Turkey's museums and monuments for less is with the MüzeKart+ or MuseumPass. The first is a discount card for Turkish nationals and foreigners with a residence permit. The second is the version for tourists. The MüzeKart+ costs 70 TL per year and allows unlimited access to all museums in the country. The MuseumPass Turkey costs 450 TL and gives access to all monuments and museums in Turkey, including the must-see sites: Pamukkale, Ephesus, Göreme in Cappadocia...

Please note! The pass must be used within 15 days of its first use. The MuseumPass is also available in a "1 region at a time" variant: Istanbul (295 TL), Mediterranean Sea (295 TL), Cappadocia (175 TL) and Aegean Sea (295 TL).

Note that, following the economic crisis of 2018, the country has revised all of its entrance fees for major sites, monuments and museums... upwards, it goes without saying: prices sometimes going from simple to triple, or from free to paid. The changes are still evolving, so don't be surprised if some of the prices announced in this edition differ from those you will encounter on site. Prices generally increase every November^1.

Would you like to visit without spending a penny? It is possible! Put on your shoes, put on your swimsuit, open your eyes and your nostrils and you can go for long hikes, trekking, swimming, fishing and observing the fauna, flora, stars and local life! The country offers you a thousand opportunities and a unique playground. Anatolian plains, islands, mountains of the Black Sea, indented coasts of the Mediterranean, turtles, storks, creeks, lakes, long sandy beaches, turquoise waters of lagoons... You will be spoilt for choice!

It is possible to haggle in Turkey, but this custom has its codes and its limits. This "haggling game" applies in bazaars and markets but not in stores where prices are fixed. Moreover, it is common for the shopkeeper to give a small price if you buy several pieces. A discount is often given for cash payments. Do not offer a price first. Wait for a counter-offer of half or a quarter of the price and you may get a 40% discount. Prices are quoted inclusive of VAT. If there is a problem, the VAT included is called "KDV Dahil".

As elsewhere in Europe and in the world, happy hours are a good way to have an aperitif at a lower cost. In Turkey, some bars offer extremely long and generous happy hours, from mid-afternoon to early evening.

What budget to eat Turkey?

Lokanta (self-service restaurants where the customer chooses from a selection of dishes displayed in the window) are very common in Turkey and offer everything from meat, rice, vegetables and mezze for a very reasonable price. This solution offers a varied and convenient choice of dishes, which is why it is the preferred canteen for many. Kebapçı (kebab restaurants), köfteci (restaurants specializing in the famous meatballs flavored with herbs and spices, köfte) and pideci (where the long Turkish pizzas are served) are other inexpensive and cheerful alternatives when you are hungry and want to eat on the go. Also, among the "inexpensive" staples of Turkish daily food are börek (a puff pastry speciality filled with cheese, potato or spinach, usually eaten for breakfast), gözleme (a kind of Turkish pancake with the same filling), the inevitable simit (the "Turkish pretzel" sold in the street for a mouthful of bread or in bakeries and cafes), the famous doner kebab (the Turkish version is eaten without sauce), the no less famous and stambouliotebalık ekmek (literally "fish bread", a sandwich with fish, salad, tomato, onion, often freshly caught in the Bosphorus), the midye dolma (mussels stuffed with rice that you eat standing up in a hurry) and, of course, the innumerable toasts and çorba (soups) that are eaten for nothing.

If you wish to enjoy an alaturca tea, stop in a çay bahcesi (literally "tea garden"), usually the tulip glass is 1 or 2 TL. A typical and welcome break!

What is the budget for accommodation Turkey?

Apart from the starred establishments and luxury resorts, the country is full of superb addresses at very affordable rates. If you haven't had the time to take note of the good deals found for you in this guide, trust your instinct and your sense of observation. Above all, if you are there, trust the welcome you receive and ask to visit the room before you book. As elsewhere, campsites and youth hostels will be the most attractively priced options.

Travel budget Turkey and cost of living

Turkey is a country where two worlds literally coexist. One offers prices that are almost the same as ours, or even higher depending on the area. It is that of a wealthy minority and one feels it more particularly in the big cities like Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Antalya, not without forgetting the fashionable seaside resorts attracting the high society: Bodrum, Çeşme, Marmaris, etc. The other is for the vast majority concerned with much more modest wages. The Turkish minimum wage is about 8,500 TL (about 420 euros), which is not much when you consider that a basic rent in a big city is about 1,000 TL. This can be seen on a daily basis. To give an anecdotal but revealing example: you can drink a tea between 2 TL and 8 TL.

For a European, however, the cost of living in Turkey is particularly interesting since, since 2018, the euro is particularly strong against the Turkish lira. To give you an idea of the budget: public transport is at interesting rates, from 3 to 5 TL (around 20 cents of euro) with a transport card like Istanbulkart. As far as hotels are concerned, for a night in a basic hotel with breakfast, count on about 300 TL (15 euros) in the city center. For a little more comfort, you will quickly cross the 1,000 TL (50 to 60 euros) mark during the tourist season. At Christmas, New Year's, summer and during the Formula 1 Grand Prix, prices can triple. In addition to these events, there are also religious holidays, the dates of which change every year based on the lunar calendar. As far as restaurants are concerned, you can easily eat for less than 100 TL (5 euros) in the small restaurants of the "Good and cheap" category. To spend less, consider kebabs (meat but also fish), which will satisfy you for 25 TL (equivalent to 1.25 euro). Small neighborhood restaurants do not usually serve alcohol, although some are starting to offer beer in places that are very popular with tourists. Budgeters can also go to a bakkal (grocery store) and ask for a half or whole loaf of bread for 8 TL (40 euro cents) and then choose the filling from the stall. After a 47.4 percent tax hike on alcohol imposed by Recep Tayyip Erdogan's conservative party in early 2022, liquor remains very expensive in Turkey. A 70 cl bottle of raki now costs 249 TL (12 euros). Local beer costs between 20 and 30 TL (between 1 and 1.50 euro).