Whether you are a seasoned traveler or it is your first package holiday to Turkey, here are my Turkey travel tips to remember when traveling. All my travel tips for Turkey have either come from my own experiences, or that of my customers, when I used to work as a holiday rep. (Later on in my blog I will tell you some really funny stories about my days as a holiday rep.)
My Top Ten Turkey Travel Tips
1 – Most nationalities have to pay to enter Turkey on a tourist visa. For UK citizens it is 10 pounds, for Americans it is 87 dollars. The airport customs do not give change nor do they accept Turkish lira. You must have the correct amount of money in the currency of the country you came from.
2- Many travelers have landed at the airport and tried to arrange their transfer from there. This method is very expensive. Most of the local tour operators will not accept you at the airport for fear of offending the taxi drivers. More than likely you will have to get a taxi and their rates are very high. Arrange your transfer from the airport to your destination before you travel.
3 – If you are booking a package holiday. Bed and Breakfast means Turkish breakfast. Don’t expect a full
English breakfast or continental food unless you are staying at a five-star hotel. Many of the five-star hotels will not use pork or bacon anyway. If you are hampering after an English breakfast, book room only and find the nearest restaurant every morning.
4 – If you are booking basic accommodation, bath room arrangements will be in the form of a wet room. This is basically a shower hose attached to the wall and a small hole in the ground. Nothing else, so if you want a cubicle book a three star hotel. If you want an actual bath, then book five-star.
5 – If hiring a car, then remember to drive on the right. Even if you have right of way, do not assume that other drivers will give it to you. The limit for drinking and driving is nil.
6 – If in a restaurant, then the expected tip is 10% of the bill depending on how happy you were with the service.
7 – My friends who are reps will be very unhappy with me for saying this, but shop around for prices of
excursions. Some of the holiday companies offer reasonable prices but two of the holiday companies I know of, charge over the top amount for their trips. The reps will tell you it is for insurance etc, however it is simply because there are four links in the commission chain. The real excursion provider, the Turkish agent of the holiday company, the holiday company itself and finally the rep.
8 – Bartering is a must in many places. The general rule is, if a product does not have a price on it then the seller is open to bartering. If you can not barter, be ready to pay over the top prices.
9 – Gold is an excellent buy. Most of the gold is 22 carat and prices are a lot cheaper than in the western world.
10 – Last but not least is to sample some of the local drink. Turkey’s national drink is Raki, otherwise known as lions milk.
If you have traveled to Turkey before, feel free to add your Turkey travel tips below for future travelers.
Americans pay $20. Each country who has an embassy in Turkey should list the fees on their website.
If you know where you’re going in Istanbul, you can take the metro/tram into the city. If you’re going to Sultanahmet, however, you will need to make a transfer at Zeytinburnu Station. Many hotels, and even some hostels, offer transport services to the airport.
American chain hotels, such as Sheraton and Hilton do have English and American type breakfast fare, including pork bacon.
In Istanbul, my apartment has a wet room style arrangement, but no hotels or hostels that I’ve stayed at do. They (usually) have western style toilets and a curtain for the shower.
We usually do not tip unless it is a fancy or more upscale restaurant.
In many bazaars that I visited, they have prices set out on the table- for example there is a pile of shirts and the sign says 5 tl. Maybe you can bargain but usually if you buy 2 or more. The bazaars are also the only places where I have been able to find 1 tl shops. On a day when you can’t find a bazaar, then go to a store called an Ucuz Pazar (cheap bazaar). Sometimes you can find things for the same price or maybe less than at the bazaar (however sometimes more). I don’t think you can haggle there as everything usually has a price tag.
If you want to buy quality clothing, the bazaar is not the place usually. However you can find some decent knock-offs (or genuine fakes as you call them). Your best bet is to head to an Outlet Mall. They are usually located in the suburban parts of a city. In Istanbul there is a great outlet mall called Optimum on the asian side and a ton of outlet centers on the european side after passing kucukceseme lake.
Thanks for taking the time out to list those tips Steph. They are very good. I stand corrected on the entrance visa costs for Americans.
Hi!
Visa is free for a stay up to 3 months for UE residents.
Bartering is a lot more easy if you know turkish numbers and how to say “it’s too expansive!” (çok pahali -with a dotless “i” but I can’t write it-), and “indirim varmi” (can you make a discount?) This usualy makes the sellers laugh and works quite well I think!
Your website is great, keep it up!
Slimane, french student in Istanbul.