Travel to Turkey

cookster

I'm off to Turkey next week for the first time.  Does anyone have any tips?
Is payment by Credit Card accepted or should I take cash, what is the availability of ATM's etc.
Thanks in advance.

zagfles

In tourist areas there are loads of ATMs. Take some GBP, in areas with high numbers of UK tourists stuff like tours etc are often priced in GBP. Be wary of restaurants etc that price stuff in Lira but take payments in GBP though, their rate may not be good. Don't bother changing any money before you go.

PompeyPete

Where are you going in Turkey, the Aegean and Mediterranean coastlines cover a lot of mileage?  You'll get more focused advise by giving a bit more info.

Turkey is a fantastic country, one of very few self sufficient countries.  You don't need to venture too far off the often brash in your face tourist path to experience the real Turkey.

There's lots of old threads on this forum you could have a look at.

Westin

Adding to zagfles reply, in addition to £GBP if have €Euro’s languishing in your kitchen drawer from previous European trips then also take those as € widely accepted in tourist areas. Don’t bother changing GBP to EUR if not.

PompeyPete

Yep, any left over € from other trips, then take and use.....but DON'T  be tempted to change GB£ to € for a Turkey visit.  You'll always get better VFM by using Turkish Lira.

zagfles

PompeyPete said:

Yep, any left over € from other trips, then take and use.....but DON'T  be tempted to change GB£ to € for a Turkey visit.  You'll always get better VFM by using Turkish Lira.

Not "always" - if stuff like tours are advertised priced in GBP (they often are in areas with mainly UK tourists) then it can be better value to pay in GBP. If you pay in Lira they will convert at a rate that suits them.

Doshwaster

I was in Istanbul for Christmas last year and loved it. Lots of bars and restaurants take plastic (I used my Starling card a lot) but having some Lira is always handy. The only time I used Euros was for a tour and that was just because I had some leftover in my travel wallet from a previous holiday.
I've also previously been to Marmaris which was quite nice and I am eager to explore more of this huge country. I'm going to keep my eye on the Covid situation there and it may be the best place to go for a last minute break.

PompeyPete

zagfles said:

PompeyPete said:

Yep, any left over € from other trips, then take and use.....but DON'T  be tempted to change GB£ to € for a Turkey visit.  You'll always get better VFM by using Turkish Lira.

Not "always" - if stuff like tours are advertised priced in GBP (they often are in areas with mainly UK tourists) then it can be better value to pay in GBP. If you pay in Lira they will convert at a rate that suits them.

The prices of ALL tours and the like will have been initially calculated in Turkish Lira, and then recalculated upwards into GB£.

As I'd be on holiday in a foreign country I'd use the local currency.  I'd make it my job to know what the current rate of exchange was at the local Doviz [exchange] places, and as just about everything is negotiable in Turkish tourist spots I'd offer about 90% of the GB£ in Turkish Lira for anything that was advertised in Euro or GB£.  If my offer wasn't accepted I'd try wherever else was advertising the same tour, probably only yards away.  But tbh it's very easy to get around on the local Dolmus [minibus] network, very cheap, very Turkish, but you'll need Turkish Lira to do it.

Same with tipping, always tip in local currency

Like I mentioned further up the thread until the OP tells us which part of Turkey he/she is visiting then it's difficult to give focused advice.

zagfles

PompeyPete said:

zagfles said:

PompeyPete said:

Yep, any left over € from other trips, then take and use.....but DON'T  be tempted to change GB£ to € for a Turkey visit.  You'll always get better VFM by using Turkish Lira.

Not "always" - if stuff like tours are advertised priced in GBP (they often are in areas with mainly UK tourists) then it can be better value to pay in GBP. If you pay in Lira they will convert at a rate that suits them.

The prices of ALL tours and the like will have been initially calculated in Turkish Lira, and then recalculated upwards into GB£.

As I'd be on holiday in a foreign country I'd use the local currency.  I'd make it my job to know what the current rate of exchange was at the local Doviz [exchange] places, and as just about everything is negotiable in Turkish tourist spots I'd offer about 90% of the GB£ in Turkish Lira for anything that was advertised in Euro or GB£.  If my offer wasn't accepted I'd try wherever else was advertising the same tour, probably only yards away.  But tbh it's very easy to get around on the local Dolmus [minibus] network, very cheap, very Turkish, but you'll need Turkish Lira to do it.

Same with tipping, always tip in local currency

Like I mentioned further up the thread until the OP tells us which part of Turkey he/she is visiting then it's difficult to give focused advice.

In a country like Turkey with high inflation, traders often want paying in a more stable foreign currency, so the cash they hold doesn't depreciate as fast. It's better than it was, inflation is about 15%, it used to be 80%+, I was there in the late 90's when there were 200,000 old Lira to the £ !! Was paying for stuff with million Lira notes!

So things have improved but they still seem to have much more faith in stable Western currencies than their own. Not suprising when they've seen their own currency so comprehensively trashed in recent decades. So for stuff like tours etc and even some shops in areas with mostly UK tourists, things are priced in GBP, and in areas where there are mainly EU tourists they're priced in EUR. They don't do it to rip foreign tourists off, they do it because they want the foreign currency. It also means they don't need to adjust their pricing board as often. They even trade amongst themselves in GBP or EUR. As with anything you can negotiate a discount, but they're not giving you a discount because you're paying in Lira.

Of course there are rip-offs with exchange rates, but they're usually where things are priced in Lira and they give the option of paying in GBP at a bad rate.

bigadaj

PompeyPete said:

zagfles said:

PompeyPete said:

Yep, any left over € from other trips, then take and use.....but DON'T  be tempted to change GB£ to € for a Turkey visit.  You'll always get better VFM by using Turkish Lira.

Not "always" - if stuff like tours are advertised priced in GBP (they often are in areas with mainly UK tourists) then it can be better value to pay in GBP. If you pay in Lira they will convert at a rate that suits them.

The prices of ALL tours and the like will have been initially calculated in Turkish Lira, and then recalculated upwards into GB£.

As I'd be on holiday in a foreign country I'd use the local currency.  I'd make it my job to know what the current rate of exchange was at the local Doviz [exchange] places, and as just about everything is negotiable in Turkish tourist spots I'd offer about 90% of the GB£ in Turkish Lira for anything that was advertised in Euro or GB£.  If my offer wasn't accepted I'd try wherever else was advertising the same tour, probably only yards away.  But tbh it's very easy to get around on the local Dolmus [minibus] network, very cheap, very Turkish, but you'll need Turkish Lira to do it.

Same with tipping, always tip in local currency

Like I mentioned further up the thread until the OP tells us which part of Turkey he/she is visiting then it's difficult to give focused advice.

I'd disagree, the lira isn't a fully hard currency and continues to devalue against the dollar, euro pound etc. In common with the old communist countries then hard currency can be worth m ore to local people than the official exchange rate, there are often restrictions in changing money into hard currencies for locals. Turks can then use the hard currency for any imported goods they need to purchase. 
In relation it will make little difference where the OP is visiting, likely to be one of the large resorts on the med or aegean in any case.

PompeyPete

Turkish Lira is the legal currency in Turkey.  It's illegal (unlawful) for ANY trader not to accept Lira in payment for anything.....simple as!