I will be taking the Belgium/Netherlands tour and flying from Amsterdam to Istanbul to take ETBD's 7 day Istanbul city tour as well. I plan to bring a couple bottles of wine in my checked luggage and was wondering are there any problems with Turkish customs or mores concerning bringing alcohol (wine) into the country?
Thanks,
Greg
You should have no problems with social mores. They sell raki and other alcohols at the airport and all over Istanbul. However, you may hit up against the duty limit which I believe is one liter of alcohol or two bottles of wine. In that case you might be paying some tax/duty. You can probably confirm the exact limits with a quick internet search.
Good luck!
May I ask why your bringing wine to Istanbul? Are you buying wine in Belgium and then going onto Istanbul and taking the wine home? I went on the 7 day Istanbul tour and all the restaurants had wine and alcohol to drink. We had wine every nite at dinner and the wine was very good. Belgium/Netherlands of course have wine but they are more known for their wonderful beer. I am just curious as I have been to all three countries and none are known for wine. But you can fine nice wine for dinner in all three countries.
I didn't find the Turkish wines to be outstanding. I had a couple that were quite good, and a couple that were quite mediocre. Though I much prefer wine, I ended up drinking mostly beer for the last 8-10 days and was very happy with it. On the other hand, neither Belgium nor Netherlands are known for great wine. Alcohol is plentiful and reasonably priced in Istanbul, available in most restaurants and sold in shops. On the RS Turkey in 13 Days tour, it was often harder to get a cup of coffee than a glass of wine. Among the locals, tea is the much preferred hot drink.
