Turkey price guide
Short answer: about average, if you pay what locals pay. Fair prices sit 12% above the 60-country median, and tourist prices are about 2.3× the fair price.
29 prices checked May – Aug 2026 9 verified and 20 estimates How I check
All 29 prices are also in the free app for iPhone and Android, and they work offline. Get it
About $30 or $59 a day.
The first number is what locals pay, the second what tourist spots charge for exactly the same day.
Same day, same things: the tourist version costs 2.0× as much.
Restaurant meal alone: ₺1,200, or 42% of the tourist-trap day.
+₺1,433 (about $29) for the same day
| Item | Fair (₺) | Trap (₺) |
|---|---|---|
| Street food meal | 200 | 400 |
| Restaurant meal | 675 | 1,200 |
| Coffee (espresso) | 160 | 285 |
| Water 1.5 L | 11 | 38 |
| Local beer | 200 | 450 |
| Public transit ticket 2 rides | 84 | 160 |
| Short taxi ride about 1 km | 125 | 355 |
| Total | 1,455 | 2,888 |
Tourist-trap price compared with the fair price, using the middle of each range.
Pick what you are buying, type the price, and see where it lands.
about $10
Tourist-trap price
₺500 is 4.0× the middle of the fair range (₺100 – ₺150).
Tourists often get charged ₺210 – ₺500. From ₺210 you are paying the tourist-trap price.
In the app, every expense you log on a trip gets the same check, offline.
What 29 everyday things should cost, and what tourists often pay instead. Typical for Istanbul, Antalya, Cappadocia, Bodrum, Ankara, and Pamukkale.
Bars run from zero to each item's top tourist-trap price.
Restaurant meal: fair is ₺500 – ₺850. From ₺900 you are on the tourist menu.
Bottled, convenience store
Estimate, reviewedCafe or street vendor
Estimate, reviewedDraft, at bar or restaurant
Verified ·Tourist area, main course
Estimate, reviewedLocal market or stand
Estimate, reviewedMixed drink, bar
Estimate, reviewedHouse wine, restaurant
Estimate, reviewedCafe or street stall
Estimate, reviewedAirport taxi to the center: fair is ₺2,100 – ₺2,600. At ₺3,000 or more, walk away.
Standard route
Verified ·Metered or typical fare
Verified ·Single ride
Verified ·Grab / Bolt / Uber
Estimate, reviewedFridge magnet: fair is ₺40 – ₺120. From ₺200 you are paying the souvenir-stall markup.
Tourist shop
Estimate, reviewedTourist shop
Estimate, reviewedCeramics, textiles, etc.
Verified ·Tourist SIM: fair is ₺1,300 – ₺2,000. From ₺2,500 it is the tourist-kiosk price.
Data package
Verified ·Pharmacy or shop
Estimate, reviewedSupermarket
Verified ·Pack of 20
Verified ·Pack of 20 tablets
Verified ·Spray or lotion
Estimate, reviewedOne-hour massage: fair is ₺2,200 – ₺3,000. From ₺3,500 you are paying for the address.
Local barbershop
Estimate, reviewedLaundry service
Estimate, reviewedStandard full-body massage
Estimate, reviewedBasic cut, salon
Estimate, reviewedTop museum or attraction: fair is ₺1,000 – ₺2,800. Above ₺2,800, check that you are not buying through a reseller.
Entrance ticket
Estimate, reviewedOrganized excursion
Estimate, reviewedOrganized excursion 6-8h
Estimate, reviewedLocal cuisine cooking class
Estimate, reviewedConverted at 1 USD = 49.13 TRY, the rate on October 3, 2026. Approximate.
Currency
Turkish lira (TRY)
Quick converter, TRY to USD
When a card terminal or ATM offers to charge you in your home currency, choose TRY. The rate it offers is almost always worse.
Tip 10–15% in Turkish sit-down restaurants. Leave cash on the table or hand it to the waiter. In tourist areas of Istanbul (Sultanahmet, Beyoğlu), tipping is widely expected, some restaurants may include a service charge, so check before tipping.
Bargaining is expected and enjoyable at Istanbul's Grand Bazaar (Kapalıçarşı) and Spice Bazaar. Start by offering 40–50% of the asking price and settle around 60–70%. Never leave without counter-offering, vendors expect it and enjoy the exchange.
What tourists actually run into, from overcharging tricks to local laws. Open any item for the details.
Around Sultanahmet, the Grand Bazaar and Galata in Istanbul, a shoe shiner drops a brush in front of you. You hand it back, he thanks you with a free shine, then demands 500 to 1,000 lira for work worth about 50 to 100. Carpet touts offer free apple tea and steer you into a 3,000 to 10,000 dollar purchase that is sometimes charged to your card twice. Never pick up a stranger's brush, refuse the tea if you do not want the pitch, and check every card receipt.
At Istanbul IST, Sabiha Gökçen SAW and Antalya AYT airports, drivers take your 200-lira note, pretend to check it, and swap it for a 20 before 'returning it with confusion'. Others refuse the meter and charge 800–1,500 lira flat for a 250-lira trip. Use official yellow/turquoise taxis from marked ranks, insist on 'taksimetre', and photograph each banknote you hand over.
Article 301 of Turkey's penal code criminalises 'insulting Turkishness' and Article 299 the presidency, foreigners have received 1–4 year sentences for tweets, memes, or comments about the Armenian genocide, Atatürk or Erdoğan. Turkish authorities monitor Twitter/X and Instagram. Avoid political posts from Turkish soil, don't tear or deface lira banknotes, and never take photos at military or Kurdish-area checkpoints.
Turkey bans the import of unregistered drones, customs at IST airport confiscate about 600 per month and issue fines of 3,000–10,000 lira. Photography of military sites, police stations, Kurdish-region checkpoints and the Bosphorus straits is illegal; conviction can mean deportation. Register drones with SHGM before arrival or leave them at home, and put the camera away near any uniformed personnel.
Turkey sits on the North Anatolian Fault, a magnitude 7.8 quake killed over 53,000 in 2023 in Kahramanmaraş and Antakya. Istanbul is overdue for a M7+ event. Aftershocks in Gaziantep and Hatay continued through 2025. Check your hotel is post-1999 code, know the stairwell (never lift), install the AFAD app for Turkish alerts, and keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
Turkey uses one emergency number for everything. Dial 112 for police, ambulance and fire. The separate service lines were merged into the single 112 call centre, so 112 is the number to call for any emergency, anywhere in the country.
The OK gesture (thumb and index finger circle) is considered vulgar in Turkey, avoid it entirely. Never show the soles of your feet or shoes to anyone, as it's deeply disrespectful. Also, blowing your nose at the dinner table is considered very rude, excuse yourself and step away.
Baklava and Turkish delight (lokum) from established brands like Hafız Mustafa or Karaköy Güllüoğlu travel well and delight everyone. Iznik ceramics, hand-painted tiles and plates with tulip and carnation motifs, are museum-quality art. A Turkish coffee set (cezve, cups, and finely ground coffee) makes an elegant gift. Spices from the Egyptian Bazaar (sumac, pul biber, saffron), hand-woven kilim textiles, and Turkish towels (peshtemal) are other favorites.
Turkey uses the HGS (Fast Pass) electronic system for highways and bridges. Cash is not accepted at most gates. Rental cars usually come with an HGS sticker; otherwise, purchase one at PTT post offices or gas stations. You have a 15-day grace period to pay online if you pass without sufficient funds to avoid penalties.
The prices on this page are typical for these cities and the tourist areas around them.
The TruePrice Index for Turkey, next to the countries people weigh it against and its nearest neighbors, all on one scale. 100 is the median of the 60 countries I track.
Egypt 50 Prices about 55% lower than in Turkey 
Tunisia 56 Prices about 50% lower than in Turkey Turkey 112 This page 
Jordan 116 Prices about 4% higher than in Turkey 
Oman 134 Prices about 20% higher than in Turkey 
Greece 145 Prices about 29% higher than in Turkey 
UAE 161 Prices about 44% higher than in Turkey Short answer: about average, if you pay what locals pay. Fair prices sit 12% above the 60-country median, and tourist prices are about 2.3× the fair price. On the TruePrice Index, Turkey scores 112, the 26th most expensive of the 60 countries I track.
Roughly ₺1,455 (about $30) a day at fair prices, or ₺2,888 (about $59) at tourist prices. That covers two meals, a coffee, a bottle of water, a beer, two transit rides and a short taxi ride. Sightseeing comes on top (₺1,000 – ₺2,800 for a top museum or attraction), and accommodation is not included.
Tip 10–15% in Turkish sit-down restaurants. Leave cash on the table or hand it to the waiter. In tourist areas of Istanbul (Sultanahmet, Beyoğlu), tipping is widely expected, some restaurants may include a service charge, so check before tipping.
The Turkish lira (TRY). On October 3, 2026, 1 USD was worth 49.13 TRY. Card terminals and ATMs that offer to charge you in your home currency usually give a worse rate, so pay in TRY.
A restaurant main course is ₺500 – ₺850 (about $10 – $17) at fair prices, while tourist menus charge ₺900 – ₺1,500. A street food meal runs ₺150 – ₺250. A local beer is ₺150 – ₺250 (about $3.10 – $5.10), or ₺300 – ₺600 in tourist bars.
Budget roughly ₺1,455 (about $30) a day for food, drinks and getting around at local prices, or about ₺2,888 (about $59) at tourist prices. Add ₺1,000 – ₺2,800 for each major sight, plus your accommodation.
Call 112, the general emergency number. Use it for police, ambulance, and fire brigade.
Where these numbers come from, and how sure I am about each one.
How to cite
TruePrice Index, October 2026, truepriceapp.com/en/trueprice-index/
Spotted a price that looks off? Email me at [email protected] and I will check it.
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