How much cash should I bring to Türkiye?

We cannot give a firm figure because spending patterns vary a great deal. The practical approach: plan to pay the large items — hotel, tours, restaurants — by card, and keep cash for small daily spending such as the bazaar, markets, small restaurants and tips. Bringing a modest amount of foreign currency and changing it in town is both safer and easier than carrying a lot of cash.

Is changing money at the airport expensive?

The rate is noticeably lower than at offices in town, because of terminal rents. Change only what you need for the first day — taxi, water, a meal — and do the rest in the city. The difference looks small in one transaction but adds up over a week's holiday.

Am I expected to tip the driver?

No. There is no tip line in our price and our drivers do not ask for one. If you want to give something it will be accepted; if you do not, the service is identical. We say this plainly because "how much should I give" becomes an unnecessary weight a guest carries for the whole trip.

Money, Cards and Payment in Türkiye

Currency: Turkish lira (TL / ₺)
Card acceptance: Very wide in the city; not in markets and small shops
Exchange: Exchange offices in the city, not the airport
Tipping: Not required; 5-10% is customary in restaurants

Cash or card: you need both

Card payment is very widespread in Türkiye. Restaurants, hotels, malls, supermarkets, taxis, museums — all take cards, and contactless is standard. But there are places where a card is no use, and they are precisely the places guests want to go: the small stalls in the Grand Bazaar, street vendors, neighbourhood markets, some small restaurants, and tips. Always keep some cash on you; planning a small part of your daily spending as cash and the larger part on card works well. Make sure your card is enabled for use abroad and tell your bank your travel dates. At most Gulf banks this is a single tap in the app. A guest who does not do it finds the card blocked for security at the first large purchase — and fixing that means phoning the bank from another country.

Where to change money

The exchange offices at the airport give noticeably worse rates than those in the city. The reason is not bad faith but rent: a square metre inside the terminal costs many times one in town. Change only what you need for the first day at the airport and do the rest in the city. Exchange offices are everywhere in town and their rates are posted in the window. The ones with the narrowest buy-sell spread are usually on non-touristic streets; there can be a visible difference between an office on the main street in Sultanahmet and one two streets back. You will be asked for your passport, which is normal. Do not change money with anyone who approaches you in the street offering "a better rate". Withdrawing lira from an ATM is also possible, but two fees can apply: the machine's own fee and your bank's foreign transaction fee. If the screen offers to "pay in your own currency", decline; that conversion rate is usually worse than your card's.

Tipping: how much and where

Tipping in Türkiye is not compulsory and nobody will ask you for it, but it is common. If you were happy with a restaurant, five to ten per cent of the bill is customary; if a service charge is already on the bill, no further tip is expected. On small bills like coffee or tea, leaving the change is enough. At a hotel it is common to leave a small amount for the person who carries your bags up and for housekeeping. Taxis and private transfers do not expect a tip; rounding up is the custom. If you enjoyed a guided tour you may want to give something at the end of the day, but it is entirely optional. Our drivers do not ask for tips and there is no such line in the price. If you want to give something it will be accepted; if you do not, the service is the same — we write this down because "how much am I supposed to give" becomes an unnecessary weight in a guest's mind for the whole trip.

Three reasons a card gets declined

The first is your bank's security lock: a card can be blocked automatically at the first large purchase from abroad. A travel notification prevents this. The second is the contactless limit. In Türkiye a PIN is requested above a certain amount; if you do not know your card's PIN — common in the Gulf, where contactless alone is often used — the payment will not go through. Confirm your PIN before you travel. The third is the card's foreign e-commerce and point-of-sale settings being switched off. At some banks this is off by default and can only be turned on in the app. The fix for all three is the same: call your bank before you leave and confirm three things — is foreign use enabled, what is the daily limit, and what is the card's PIN. Five minutes of work that costs hours in the middle of a holiday when it is skipped.