Five weeks till Turkey - What money to take?

j-bean60

We are going to Turkey (Marmaris) on 3rd August for 2 weeks (3 adults).
We have been before, but the last time was 4 years ago. On the previous occasions we took some Turkish Lira, some sterling and used our bank debit cards to withdraw cash from cash machines towards the end of the holiday. Everything was fine.
However, we no longer have debit cards. We had to change our bank account a couple of years ago due to being in debt and we now only have a HSBC basic bank account, with a self service cash card, not a debit card.
Does anyone know if the cash machines in Turkey will take the HSBC self service cash cards? (They don't have the usual chip in them like a debit/credit card does.)
I was planning to take a small amount of Turkish lira to tide us over the first day or so and the rest in sterling, but I'm a bit nervous about having a lot of cash with us.
Any advice would be gratefully received.
Thanks

dwichmann

j-bean60 wrote: »

We are going to Turkey (Marmaris) on 3rd August for 2 weeks (3 adults).
We have been before, but the last time was 4 years ago. On the previous occasions we took some Turkish Lira, some sterling and used our bank debit cards to withdraw cash from cash machines towards the end of the holiday. Everything was fine.
However, we no longer have debit cards. We had to change our bank account a couple of years ago due to being in debt and we now only have a HSBC basic bank account, with a self service cash card, not a debit card.
Does anyone know if the cash machines in Turkey will take the HSBC self service cash cards? (They don't have the usual chip in them like a debit/credit card does.)
I was planning to take a small amount of Turkish lira to tide us over the first day or so and the rest in sterling, but I'm a bit nervous about having a lot of cash with us.
Any advice would be gratefully received.
Thanks

i went to Icmeler about 3 years ago, they accepted Lira, Euros and Pounds. the preference seemed to be for pounds to be honest. in fact i ended up paying the turkish equivalent of £5 at the airport for a coke becuase i only had lira. Take english money would be my advise.

old_motters

Rather than taking vast amounts of cash in any currency that could get lost/stolen a pre-paid credit card or travellers cheques would be best.

j-bean60

old_motters wrote: »

Rather than taking vast amounts of cash in any currency that could get lost/stolen a pre-paid credit card or travellers cheques would be best.

Thanks for the replies. How do you go about getting a pre-paid credit card? I've read a little bit about them but don't really understand which is the best. How long does it take?

old_motters

j-bean60 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. How do you go about getting a pre-paid credit card? I've read a little bit about them but don't really understand which is the best. How long does it take?

FairFX is apparently quite good. I did see a travel agent on the high street offering one recently, thomas cook I think.

j-bean60

Thanks, I'll have a look next time I go into town.

noisysaver

Once you've paid for your visa and had your swine flu check, the absolute BEST way to get currency is inside the main towns or cities.

You are in a very powerful position with a fistful of sterling and can haggle a deal far far better than any exchange can offer in this country or via any prepay cards. And don't forget to haggle, even starting to walk away will get you a few more Lire for your pound if the clerk thinks he may lose the sale.

Take your cash with you, keep it safe and change WITHIN the mainland.

You won't regret it! :j