Turkish Lira

Currently traveling in Turkey - how much depends on your spending needs and also where in the country you are. The lira versus the dollar is quite broad. On the high end today a 2000 Turkish lira withdrawal is about $70 to $80 USD. The gap widens and closes depending on what source you use for securing funds. In Istanbul credit cards were generally accepted. Taxi drivers and smaller merchants preferred cash. Restaurants welcomed credit cards. Visa and Mastercard were preferred. A handful of places did not accept Amex. ATMs rolled the fee for use into the withdrawal amount thus eliminating any possibility of securing refunds for transaction fees if applicable from your financial institution. Fees ranged from 6% to 10%. That fee is spelled out so you can easily abandon the transaction if necessary.

Given the recent state of the lira I'd recommend not bringing any, but withdraw as you need it.

A taxi ride from the airport to city center cost about 750 lira. A meal for two can cost as little or less than that or as high as 1900 with drinks and dessert.

$1 US is currently worth 27.03 Turkish lira. The lira has weakened recently. Figure it's worth 4 cents and you'll be pretty close.

You will almost certainly use cash several times a day, but, excluding shopping (difficult to predict what another person will buy and where he or she will buy it), it will mostly be for inexpensive items--unless you're unlucky with your restaurant choices--so it won't add up to a lot of money. There's no reason to start out with a big wad of lira notes; just resupply as necessary. (See info below on ATMs.)

I've been in Turkey 11 days. I ate in 5 restaurants in Istanbul's Old Town. One of those nominally accepted credit cards but pushed hard for cash; another (marginally the nicest of the middle-class lot, I'd say) had a credit card terminal so outdated it couldn't figure out I had a non-PIN credit card and needed to supply a signature, so I had to pay cash there. I've also eaten in a couple of more-casual places outside the city where I didn't even inquire about using a card.

The bready-snack vendors certainly aren't going to take credit cards. If you buy a half-liter bottle of coldish water in a small shop for TL 5 or a 1.5-liter bottle for TL 15, I don't think the seller is going to want to take a card. I spent TL 310 at a small grocery store that really wanted cash but accepted a card.

I just paid TL 230 (under $9) for a large, lightweight travel purse (sort of Baggallini-type but definitely not as nice) in Bursa, and I didn't try to use a card there. It would probably have cost $30-$40 at a place like Marshalls, and I figured the little shop deserved to keep the full payment. I don't know whether it accepts cards at all.

The bright yellow vending machines that sell and reload transit cards (when the spirit moves them, which is definitely not always) are maddening. Try to buy a starter card from a convenience store, or perhaps from a tourist office. (Either would probably require cash payment.) That will eliminate one frustrating step; for one thing, not all the machines sell the cards; some just reload them.

I haven't yet been able to switch the language on the machine to English. Some (so labeled) are supposed to take credit cards, but you'll get no feedback as to whether an attempt to add value has actually worked, so using cash is the smart way to go. If the machine doesn't like your bill, or if you insert it the wrong way, it will just spit it right back at you and you can try again. With a credit card, you won't know what's happening and could end up at the tram turnstile or on a bus with an empty card, or you could end up with multiple successful transactions and too much money on the card. (Basic tram and bus trips cost only TL 15.) Important: The machines seem not to take bills larger than TL 100.

One website suggests 10%-15% tips are appropriate in restaurants and to leave cash on the table. My restaurants have mostly been OK with adding the tip to the credit-card total, but even in western Europe you sometimes need to tip in cash, and that's always the best way to assure the service staff gets the money. I'm also not sure about the tipping recommendation of 10%+; several of my servers have seemed really happy with the equivalent of $2.50 or $3.

ATMs:
ATMs at the airport charge a confiscatory fee of 10% on withdrawals of TL 2000. [Arrival hall may have better options.] Ziraat Bank ATMs and post office ATMs in the city don't charge fees, but will probably offer DCC. It's reported that some Halkbank ATMs don't charge a fee, but I haven't used one.

I don't know whether there's an ATM in or right outside each post office, but there are a lot of Ziraat ATMs scattered around. Sometimes (especially around tram stops) you'll see a row of 8 or 10 ATMs, and Ziraat may be one of them. It's really not hard to find an ATM, but you won't want to be in a position of needing one right away, lest you be charged a horrendous fee.

I just go to an ATM as needed. I used to get roughly $100 worth of lira at a time. A couple of years ago, that would have been 1000 TL. Now, that would be more like 2000 TL.

Prices depend a lot on where you are in Turkey. I have had some absolute feasts in rural areas for the equivalent of $5. In parts of Istanbul, I have had terrific meals in the $5 to $10 range (in the past year or two). In Sultanahmet or at the airport, I generally expect to pay European/American prices, maybe 3 to 4 times what I would pay in less touristy areas.

I agree with Marie that standard restaurant meals in tourist zones may not be great bargains. I'd guess you get a good deal if you spend a bit more at one of the best restaurants--a large upgrade in quality for a modest increase in price, but I haven't tried that. My meals have been perfectly OK but definitely not exceptional.

We just returned from Turkey and were there for 2-1/2 weeks. We took $150 US dollars worth of Turkish lira and that was more than we needed because we were consciously having to use it up at the end. Visa card taken most everywhere.

$1 US is currently worth 27.03 Turkish lira. The lira has weakened
since I first checked it two weeks ago. Figure it's worth 4 cents and
you'll be pretty close.

The lira has really lost a lof ot value in the last few years. And personally I wouldn't trust it not to crash again.

Five years ago the lira was rather stable and worth around 6-7 lira per euro. In 2020 it lost a bit of value and stabilized around 10 lira per euro, in late 2021 it crashed to 18 lira per euro. The government managed to recover a bit of the value but it quickly returned to 15 lira per euro in early 2022 only to end up at around 20 lira per euro a year later. And this spring it crashed to 30 lira per euro. Currently it seems stable at around 29 lira per euro, but who knows if it will remain like that or have another crash? That is something to consider when bringing cash.

I was in Turkey in November 2021, when the lira was in free fall. When I left home in late October, a lira was worth about $0.11. By December, it was worth just over $0.05. It was devaluing so fast that it was very noticeable when I visited an ATM. Inflation hadn't had a change to catch up, and so I got some really good deals on everything -- hotels, foods, transportation, and more.

I see the lira has dropped from 27.03 to 27.13 to the US dollar in the last two days. That's a decline of about 0.4%--not a huge amount, but I guess it's continuing to drift downward. I've noticed random little souvenirs as cheap as TL 20 or 25, occasionally even less. When does that ever happen in Europe?

That's a decline of about 0.4%--not a huge amount, but I guess it's
continuing to drift downward.

A decline of less than one percent is in my opinion nothing to worry about. Exchange rates fluctuate after all. What is concering though is that it has lost 80% of it's value in just over three years.

And now the lira is 27.16 to the dollar. If I keep looking through the rest of my trip (more than 2 weeks], I wonder whether I'll ever see it fluctuate downward.

Edwardhunter's spam post has been reported.

Just back from almost a month traveling all over Turkey. It was surprising how many hotels wanted cash (more off the beaten path towns like Konya, Goreme, Sanfranbolu and Amasra and a couple of "eco-lodges.") We had to start factoring that in as rooms ran from 1500-2500 Turkish Lire and found ourselves tracking down ATMs (not a problem.) We ran out of lire the last night, which we wanted since coming home with lire didn't make any sense. The last night, the hotel we used near the airport took our credit card as did the taxi driver who took us to the airport in the morning.

Being adaptable on the fly with a sense of humor!
PS: On day 2, we ran into Rick Steves at the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art!!! He was in Istanbul to scout updates for his Istanbul guidebook! So fun.

Currently it seems stable at around 29 lira per euro, but who knows if
it will remain like that or have another crash?

A few months later it has lost a bit more and is now around 32 lira per euro.

Back in November we were there 10 days and I pulled approximately $200 worth of lira in 2 transactions. If our small group of 6 wasn't "sharing" I probably could have done with less.

Currently it seems stable at around 29 lira per euro, but who knows if
it will remain like that or have another crash?.....
A few months later it has lost a bit more and is now around 32 lira per euro.

Not a 'crash', but like a hot air balloon with a slow leak, it keeps on sinking.

In this scenario, buying TRY ahead of time is not a good idea. ( as the value is decreasing) If you need to have some immediately upon arrival and do not want to deal with an ATM, buy the minimum you need as close to departure as possible, and then get additional from ATMs as needed.