Prices in Turkey

We were in Turkey for 3 weeks in April and we found it just a little cheaper than US prices. Certainly no bargain! The airport would probably not be an accurate representation of prices outside the airport as we usually find airport food/snacks more expensive.

Interesting. I would say Greece is a lot cheaper than the US. I had expected Turkey to be the same.

I can't compare with the US, but my experience of Türkiye is the food is fairly cheap, hotels reasonable, tourist attraction tickets relatively pricey (albeit there's a lot of free stuff to do as well). The airport is an outlier - notoriously expensive. Your döner would be more like ₺150 (ie €3) downtown.

You do have to bear in mind that Türkiye has experienced sky high inflation over the last few years, and the attack on Iran has exacerbated that. This year inflation was 32.37%. The airport concessions are protecting themselves by charging in Euros rather than Lira.

the internet is full of complaints about this, it's not representative of Turkey. It's not even representative of the whole of Istanbul airport! This guy shows the prices about 8 months ago, it's airside at the domestic terminal and the prices are in Lira, $1 is currently just over 45 Lira. He is complaining about prices at his usual Dalaman airport, which is mostly international.

https://www.tiktok.com/@donny_knight/video/7561044746236349718

yup, the prices in domestic departures are much cheapet than in international!! Apparently it's how they paid for the new airports, obviously the locals know so won't pay - so they get hit with a Turkish citizens international departure tax of about $28....

Were the Greek prices in the airport?

We bought excellent sandwiches in Athens airport for 7 or 8 euros. Something similar was 15 euros in Istanbul.

We were in Istanbul last October for 11 nights. We also found the restaurants to be very expensive, we were quite surprised. We filled up on our hotel breakfast and just had one other meal during the day. Another thing we noticed was there isn’t a big variety of restaurants or food.
My husband is in Chois, Greece now, just a hop from Turkey. His friend has a house there. He complains the island is overrun with Turkish tourists and one thing they comment on is the cheap restaurants.

Well I must say I am disappointed to find out restaurants in Turkey are much more than Greece. That did not used to be the case. Clearly I have waited too long to visit.

Clearly I have waited too long to visit.

Prices are not like Scandinavia or Iceland, but they are higher than the prices of years gone by. When I visited, Istanbul prices were much different than other parts of Turkey. Anyway, I would recommend that restaurant costs (especially airport pricing) not be the sole reason to forgo a trip to Turkey. It's worth the visit.

Yes, I will have to get over it. It does, however, perhaps unreasonably, annoy me. I guess because Istanbul has been a place I have been interested in for many years but have not managed to visit. So there is part of me which feels like I missed the boat.

I wouldn’t let the price of food stop me from going to visit any place, especially one at the top of my list. If this were the case, Switzerland would be void of tourists.
As an FYI, plan on visiting the Topkapi Palace for the entire day. There is so much to see and the grounds are exceptional.

BethFL you have not missed the boat, unless you only want to go places that are very inexpensive for food and attractions. In that case, the ship has probably sailed from Istanbul specifically. But there are many places in Turkey and around the world that might suit if those are the most important criteria for your travels. SE Asia comes to mind, I'm sure others can suggest more affordable locations as well.

Good to know the price of food at the airport as I have a four hour layover coming up in October. I’m hoping to get into a club lounge if not full when I arrive. If I can’t, oh well.

We were in Turkey in 2017 and prices were really cheap then.

While Turkey is not the bargain it once was, just agreeing with CL and Barbara, that it is still absolutely worth the visit. Especially if you like ancient ruins (we do)! The whole country is one giant museum. Don’t miss the Cappadocia region if you like geology.

And I do understand BethFl, it seems like when I plan to go somewhere, something happens. I.e. Israel, Yosemite, Peru, Canadian Rockies are all places we had planned to go, but s*** happened.

I have been to Turkey three times. In 2013 everything was inexpensive. In 2017 prices were up. In 2024, menu prices were written in erasable pen because the price of food changes so much, so frequently. Yes, inflation is over 32% there, but it would not stop me from returning. again. And if a price is given to you in euros, you can ask for the price in Turkish lira.

Turkey remains a wonderful place and Istanbul is a glorious city with much to offer.

"I’m hoping to get into a club lounge if not full when I arrive"

Just don't make it Turkish Airlines' Merhaba Lounge :) for some reason when I've been there there's been virtually no food. Lovely lounge, even has a piano, but almost nothing to eat... last time I just left and bought something outside. I was charged in lira, I might add.

While Istanbul is more expensive than it was, I wouldn't say It's overly pricey. There are so many places to eat where the prices are very reasonable - the most expensive places are around the tourist attractions, particularly in Sultanahmet. Don't let it put you off going - I would happily live in Istanbul if I could.

My experience of Turkish Airways' lounge is different to Simon's. On every occasion I've visited there has always been plenty of food available. You might have to queue for the kofte as they're cooked in front of you and are very popular but other than that everything else is freely available and is regularly topped up.

Is it me, or is this topic not titled correctly? It seems that the issue here is that the prices are high in Istanbul's airport. Is this not true for virtually every airport stateside and abroad? The comparison point should be for that small can of Diet Coke or a doner at a food store in town.

JC - I think maybe my timing was bad - it was otherwise a nice lounge.

Yes Simon, I agree. My visits to the lounge are far from extensive so my experience can only ever be considered a limited anecdotal one. Who knows, I could simply have been there at the right time.

We returned a few weeks ago from RS 7-day Istanbul trip. We were surprised of the prices at restaurants and a few of the not included sites. However, we loved Istanbul and recommend going. Sometimes you can catch a price break flying Turkish Airlines which might make your trip affordable regardless of the food prices.

Look at it this way though, you can save at least 30 grand if you buy your Patek Philippe at the Grand Bazaar. That's a saving that's easily going to cover the cost of your overpriced shish.

Look at it this way though, you can save at least 30 grand if you buy your Patek Philippe at the Grand Bazaar

GBP, USD, TRY, euro... or ????

Would it be overly cynical to think a Timex from Walmart might be a better investment?

GBP, USD, TRY, euro... or ????

I suppose that might depend on your haggling skills. I'm told watches are "good value" in Istanbul whatever way you slice it. I wouldn't know though 😜