The country of Turkey, Türkiye, has had thousands of years of history with so many civilizations laying claim to the land, each for longer than the US has been a country. The archeological digs and discoveries found within the country are impressive. It’s wild to put in perspective just how much history is here. With all that history, there is the blending of so many cultures happening here too. The country is so large as well. It would take you 21+ hours to drive from east to west and that’s not including going north and south. Did you know the country actually spans two continents (Europe and Asia)? So if you’re planning a trip, you’ll have to make sure you focus on the cities you want to visit most to maximize your time in Turkey.
Getting to Turkey
Many international carriers fly to Istanbul but the main airline carrier is Turkish Airways. Their flight experience was on par with other international carriers. Their inflight meals were even more delicious than we expected.
While Istanbul does have two airports, Istanbul International Airport (IST), located on the European side, is where the majority of international flights arrive. Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (SAW), located on the Asian side, is not connected to the metro yet and serves mostly regional flights.
Flying into the Istanbul International Airport (IST) was one of the easiest experiences. The airport is well laid out. Signs are in English for easy navigation. Even going through customs is a breeze. For US citizens no visa is required so just a quick stamp in your passport and you are out. The hardest thing was that to sign onto the free WiFi you first needed to stop at a kiosk to scan your passport and get a code for 1 hour free. It was easy once we realized it but most international airports, you can connect without a special stop to a kiosk and a code.
Cash and ATMs
Turkey’s currency is the Turkish Lira. Currently the country is in an economic downturn with high inflation and crazy high taxes on all goods. This means the prices we read about in the beginning of 2024 were so out of date by July/Aug 2024 when we went. Most things were 3 times the price. Overall it was just more expensive than we originally thought. So be careful.
We were warned before we went and by several locals while we were there that we should be careful because Turkish people in general tend to rip off foreigners. However we didn’t encounter any of this that we know of. We didn’t ride in taxis (due to renting our own car) but the recommendations are to make sure the driver turns the meter on, know your route to avoid the driver taking longer routes, and have smaller bills ready to pay in correct change. For restaurants, make sure you know the prices of what you order and add it up in your head to have a ballpark figure. Also make sure you compare prices: for example we knew that a 1.5 liter bottle of water was selling for 20 lira at most places so when a store owner quoted me 50 lira, I said no and he accepted 20.
Most prices at museums and attractions are listed in Euros because the lira is changing so much. Although they list the price in euros, you are expected to pay in lira. The reason is that the lira is changing daily but the euro price stays more constant.
ATMs were harder than expected because most needed either that specific banking app, a QR code, or send to a phone number code. Also many ATMs were not able to switch to English so it was harder to translate each page. We found the bank Kuveyt Türk ATMs always had an option for English and it was easy to pull money out.
Food
Local Turkish food is very good. With almost every meal, you’ll be served a salad of cut up tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions. These may be the only vegetables you encounter so eat up. The traditional meals are very grilled meat heavy: generally just chicken (tavuk), meat (et, sığır eti, dana) or lamb (kuzu) served in one of these styles: şiş / kebab (skewer), doner (shaved meat grilled standing up), or kofte (meatball). Everything is served either on bread or with a side of bread, even the sandwich on bread comes with a side of bread. There are thousands of types of bread, some dense, some soft and fluffy. And of course the desserts like baklava, Turkish delight, or Turkish ice cream (dondurma) which has a specifically chewy texture due to the salep powder.
The Turkish breakfast is a way of life here. Every hotel we stayed at served some form of this specific breakfast. Even the lower end hotels served something but the high end hotels have a real treat for breakfast. They take the presentation and ingredients to a whole new level. My husband who does intermittent fasting and doesn’t normally eat breakfast, couldn’t turn it down. Turkish breakfast includes: bread, honey/Nutella/jam, cheeses, olives, fruit, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggs, coffee and tea. It’s over the top with multiple choices of bread, so many new kinds of cheese to try, types of olives I’ve never seen, and unlimited beverages.
Speaking of, you can’t forget about the tea (çay) and coffee (kahve). The tea is served in the cutest little tulip shaped glass on a small plate with a spoon and sugar cube. We personally prefer it without sugar but some think the tea is a little bitter and prefer to add sugar. Turkish coffee is something you have to try. My husband doesn’t even like coffee and he likes this one. They serve it plain, with some sugar, or with full sugar. We prefer the middle one, some sugar. Without it was very bitter and hard to drink. With some sugar, it has a smoothness and charm to it. The grounds are so fine and sit at the bottom of the cup so don’t drink it all! Be prepared because they drink both tea and coffee day and night. After meals it’s a customary drink. In the afternoon, you’ll see shop owners having tea outside their store. At 8pm, you’ll see people having an evening coffee. It’s everywhere!
Tea, coffee, and smoking go hand in hand here in Turkey. We were a little shocked at the number of people who smoke. Most people take their tea or coffee with a smoke on little tables outside the cafes. Some were smoking inside the markets but we didn’t experience it inside restaurants. Most hotels it wasn’t a problem but a few of the older hotels we could smell the old cigarette smoke smell.
Pro Tip – Use the bathrooms in the restaurants you go to. Bathrooms are not impossible to find but many charge a fee however we found the restaurant ones easy to use and frequent enough.
Cellphone
Depending on how long you’ll be here and where you are going, I’d recommend getting a cellphone plan. There is free WiFi in almost every cafe and restaurant we went to so you could get away with not having a cellphone if you stay in Istanbul only. But I always find it helpful for directions or to look things up as needed. We use Airlo to get good prices on cell phone plans. Also it’s so quick and easy to use. We buy before we go and then activate in the airport so we don’t need to stand in line at a kiosk when we arrive at the airport. It’s such a time saver!
In 27 days, I used 5 GB and my husband used 7 GB. We did all our social media on WiFi and mainly used the cell service for GoogleMap directions (which we used constantly) or for looking up a restaurant or reading reviews. So depending on your trip and how frequently you use data out and about, this should give you a good idea of what level of plan you can buy.
Electricity and Outlets
One of the hardest parts about traveling is making sure you can charge all your devices. We highly recommend a universal adapter. This small thing has been such a game changer for us. It’s a black box that can plug into almost any country’s outlet and it has the ability for your devices to plug in. It also has two USB plug-ins so we can charge three devices at a time. It’s amazing. Below are the specifics for Turkey.
- Voltage range: Ensure your device can handle 220-240 volts
- Frequency: Check if your device is compatible with 50 Hz
- Plug type: Make sure your device’s plug is compatible with Type F sockets
Getting Around
Do NOT drive in Istanbul. I’ve said it before in this post but Istanbul is one of the most congested cities I’ve ever seen. It’s crowded with very narrow streets. Many times we saw stand still traffic where we could walk faster than the cars could go. I would not advise driving at all in the city. Take public transportation, a taxi if need be, otherwise walk.
However when leaving Istanbul, we rented a car to drive to the rest of the country which is totally doable. Highway driving was fine. I will warn you that cars go very fast in the left lane of the highway and expect you to not be in their way. They will flash their lights, honk, and swerve past you going some of the highest speeds I’ve ever seen. So use the middle or right lane to stay out of the way. We were very impressed with the highways and roads in Turkey. They were clean, no potholes, most of them felt relatively new. The signs are very clear. If you are going to rent a car, it’s an easy country to drive. Just make sure to understand the distance between each city as the hardest part for us was the long drives.
We rented with Garenta which is a reputable local company. Since we were in the old town area of Istanbul, the closest location was in Historia AVM which is a mall. This process was super quick and easy. They had a rep who spoke English and we got a car quickly. For navigation we used GoogleMaps on our cell phone.
Language
In the touristy parts of all big cities, we found that at most hotels, restaurants and shops, someone spoke English. Menus were in both Turkish and English. However the farther away from the big city, the less English we encountered. That being said we had no issues whatsoever trying to communicate. We picked up a few words of Turkish. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. We used a lot of Google Translate, hand signals, and lots of smiles!
A few good words to know would be:
Bathroom – tuvalet (signs will say WC)
Hello – merhaba
Thank you – teşekkürler
Water – su
Entrance – giriş
Exit – çıkış
Where to Buy Souvenirs
After driving half the country, I can safely say that if you want to buy souvenirs the two best places are Istanbul and Cappadocia.
If you’re only going to Istanbul, I’d recommend the Grand and Egyptian Bazaars (Link to Istanbul article) as great places to get goods from around the country. Here you’ll find Turkish cotton towels, Turkish rugs, tea cups, even Turkish lamps. Istanbul seems to have a good representative of items from all over. Honestly we didn’t see anything unique or special in other towns that we didn’t see in Istanbul. Some of the smaller towns had just local markets with regular everyday items, not the souvenirs you’d want to bring home.
That being said, the one unique thing that you can’t find anywhere else is the red clay pottery in Cappadocia. (Link to Cappadocia article). Since Cappadocia seems to cater to a more upscale tourist, the souvenirs seemed to be of higher quality or nicer at some stores. You can still get the trinkets or tchotchkes here but you can also find many handmade artisan stores. See our article for some recommendations.
Museum Card
Depending on where you are going and what you want to see, I’d recommend the Turkey Museum Card. There are a few options based on the city (see below for more details) but all work the same. I would NOT recommend buying in advance as it’s a physical card. The first site you visit, you can buy it there. They will write the date on the card. Then at every site that accepts the card, you do not need to stand in line to buy a ticket. You just need to scan your card to gain entry. We were able to go to more museums and places than originally expected because we kept looking online to see what places accepted the card and we would go there. Check their website for attractions that accept the pass.
In terms of options for foreigners (locals get a huge discount to attractions), there is the TÜRKİYE, İSTANBUL, CAPPADOCIA, AEGEAN, or MEDITERRANEAN card. Each is a different price and is valid for a different amount of days. So check out where you are going, if your trip will cover that specific amount of days, then buy your card at the first stop. Prices are changing rapidly but as of August 2024, the costs are below.
TÜRKİYE 15 days, €165
İSTANBUL 5 days, €105
CAPPADOCIA 3 days, €65
AEGEAN 7 days, €95
MEDITERRANEAN 7 days, €90
Overall, Turkey is a fascinating country, rich in history, with nice people and beautiful landscapes to enjoy. If you’re looking for some specific city recommendations, check out our other articles about Istanbul, Pamukkale, Cappadocia, Ephesus, Ankara, and smaller cities.
