Travel Costs: Turkey Budget Update
By the way, doesn’t Ataturk look a lot like Grandpa Munster?
Anyhow….We’re continuing to post our spending numbers as a resource for other travelers. Here is a breakdown of what we spent for two people over 7 weeks (exactly 49 days) in Turkey. After spending 3 weeks in Istanbul, we traveled by bus to Ayvalik, Selcuk, Patara, Kas, Antalya, Konya, Cappadocia, and then back to Istanbul.
The currency in Turkey is the Turkish Lira (TL), whose exchange rate was 2 TL to $1 USD as of August/September 2013.
Spending Breakdown:
| Activity | $390.60 |
| Food/Drink | $1,213.73 |
| Immigration | $40.00 |
| Lodging | $2,562.42 |
| Misc. | $87.74 |
| Transportation | $472.13 |
| Grand Total | $4,766.62 |
We also had a miscellaneous expense not included above of $91 to have extra pages added to my passport at the US Consulate in Istanbul ($82+shipping costs).
This comes out to about $97/day for two people. In Istanbul, we averaged about $110/day. In the rest of Turkey, including point-to-point transportation, we averaged under $90/day.
- Activities included admission to the major sites in Istanbul, the ruins at Ephesus and the Terrace Houses, a daytrip from Selcuk to Pamukkale ($50/person), an island-hopping boat trip in Kas ($25/person). It also includes sites around Cappadocia, including the Goreme Open Air Museum, Uchisar Castle, and Kaymakli Underground City, a Hammam in Ayvalik ($18/person), and other smaller entrance fees.
- We averaged about $25/day on food/drink. This was usually for just an afternoon snack and dinner, since we were usually stuffed from breakfast. We also didn’t drink very much — alcohol is really expensive due to high taxes in this Muslim country. We frequented kebab and meatball shops, pide/lamacun joints, and lokantas – sort of the Turkish version of a meat-and-three with affordable made-ahead dishes and fresh salads. We found that fancier restaurants didn’t necessarily deliver better food, just higher prices.
- Immigration fees were for two $20 tourist visas obtained on arrival at the Istanbul airport. These are good for 6 months of multiple entry and fees vary by nationality.
- We averaged about $52/day on lodging. In Istanbul we rented an apartment for about $70/night. In the rest of Turkey, we stayed in small, family-owned pensions – which are basically guesthouses/simple B&B’s – for around $40/night. They were all clean, comfortable, and served huge complimentary Turkish breakfasts.
- Miscellaneous expenses included new toiletries, books, postcards, and a haircut for me.
- Transportation includes metro rides around Istanbul, and our buses to Ayvalik ($33/person), Izmir ($11/person), Selcuk ($4.50/person), Fetiye ($21/person), Patara ($6/person), Kas ($4/person), Antalya ($12/person), Konya ($22/person), Goreme ($18/person), and an overnight bus back to Istanbul ($35/person).
- You can save a lot of money in Istanbul by purchasing their prepaid metro card, the Istanbulkart. Using the Istanbulkart, all fares are discounted, and transfers are discounted even more. Skyler and I shared a single card (although the transfer discount seems to only work for 1 person).
- Turkey has affordable domestic flights, but their buses are quite nice if you have the time. All of ours had seat back televisions with internet, games, TV and movies (in Turkish), and tea/coffee/snack service throughout the ride – nicer than most Delta flights!
- This includes only our spending in the country. It excludes our airfare here and upfront costs like immunizations, travel insurance, etc.
Prices seem to be skyrocketing in Turkey, especially Istanbul. Our Lonely Planet was only a few months off the press and we could count on almost doubling all of their quoted prices. Our guesthouse in Kas was charging quadruple what was quoted in a guidebook just 4 years old. However, at the moment, Turkey is still a pleasantly affordable destination, especially if you’re looking for something a little more exotic than western Europe while maintaining European comforts. If you minimize your time in Istanbul, it could be downright cheap. (But you shouldn’t do that!)
Click here for our other budget updates.
