How much money do you need to take for holidays in Turkey in 2021? Our budget

An exciting question: how much money should you take with you to Turkey if you have an all-inclusive vacation? Determine the budget for 7, 10 and 14 days.

If the main requirements for rest are sun + sea + beach, and visa-free for the country, then Turkey is perfect. But with a caveat: the number of Russians per sq km does not bother 🙂 Before packing your bags, you will have to puzzle over the question of how much money to take to Turkey.

We went to Turkey and compiled an approximate price for a vacation in 2021: the cost of the trip, the price tag for entertainment and some tips for saving.

Not all hotels open this season. You can find out exactly which ones are ready to receive tourists, as well as prices for tours to Turkey in the current situation, at: Travelata Level.Travel Onlinetours We have long appreciated the convenience of online booking of vouchers - these aggregator services collect vouchers from all Russian tour operators, compare by cost and show who has what is cheaper. They operate at no extra charge: in fact, these are the three largest online travel agencies.

What kind of rest is ahead?

In order to correctly choose a hotel and, accordingly, determine the quality of the upcoming vacation, you first need to answer a number of questions:

1. What are the budget constraints or not?
2. Which program is your priority: relaxation and service, or not without entertainment? Because even if everything is included, it would be nice to grab the "extra" bill for other expenses (excursions, etc.).

Then a dilemma arises: a regular hotel or with an all inclusive system. Al check includes in-room stay, buffet and beach / pool bars, drinks and local alcohol bar. All this - during the day.

Note: there is also ultra all inclusive (UAL) - the same as all inclusive, but with a bonus - free imported alcohol.

If you plan to devote most of your time to excursions, you can refuse the full set and choose, for example, HB - breakfast + dinner. There are many similar hotels in resort Turkey: food is of higher quality than all from economy 3 * and 4 *, drinks for money are also, of course, different.

It's just "all inclusive" - ​​it's convenient, you paid once for a ticket and don't bother with expenses - for food and drinks for sure. With other alternatives, it is imperative to have a "premium", which is not always easy to calculate, especially for those who are in Turkey for the first time. Therefore, Al is usually cheaper.

By the way, if you are going on a tour, then look for it online at:

• Travelata
• Level.Travel
• Onlinetours

These reliable - and best known - aggregators compare tours from 120+ tour operators and find the best deals. Personally, I like that you don't have to go to travel agencies and write in notes who will offer what price. The whole database of offers is on my screen, and the cost of the tours is exactly the same as that of the tour operator.

What money to take to Turkey?

On almost all trips we use either Tinkoff Black debit or
bank card Opening

Information updated on 12.02.2021

What is the money in Turkey? Lyres.
WHAT MONEY TO TAKE TO Turkey? Cash dollars or rubles / lira on a bank card.

Learned from personal experience. For an all-inclusive vacation, take ... a bank card. There are several options:

• WORLD map - now they are accepted abroad, and, according to official information, Turkish lira can be withdrawn from it without commission at Isbank and Ziraat ATMs. HO: there are reviews that the card did not work there (when paying in the store), but here for some reason they took a withdrawal fee. So far it is not transparent, in general. Apparently it takes time.
  * we ourselves caught the period when Sberbank cooperated with DenizBank, and allowed us to withdraw cash (lira) from our cards without commission. Since 2019, this no longer works.
• Debit Tinkoff Blackto pay in shops / cafes when there is no lira in your wallet. We compared - Tinkoff has a better rate of any currency. Plus, you can set limits if you are afraid to "light up" the card. And transferring money to cards of other banks, for example, to the same World, is also free of commission.
  Cash withdrawals without surcharges are also more profitable with Tinkoff. Get an account in lira, convert rubles to lira in the mobile application, withdraw them from HSBC ATMs.
• But do not forget about dollars / euros - after all, payment for excursions occurs in these currencies (for the prices of the most popular ones, look below in the article).

So at the moment the golden rule for Turkey: Tinkoff + dollars for excursions.

The cost of travel to Turkey without "all inclusive"

So, the travel budget depends on your quirks, desires and the chosen format. It's one thing to wave a savage around the country, another to stay at a hotel.

If you take a flight from Moscow (search on Skyscanner) round-trip for two for a week, count on 30,000 rubles. In comparison, a package from a tour operator can be grabbed for almost the same money.

How much money should I take to Turkey?

In Turkey, we used to buy groceries at the Migros store, and withdraw money from the Deniz bank ATM

Attention, elk! Just a joke, just take a note: at the time of this writing, $ 1 is equal to 70 rubles.

🏨 Suppose we are staying in a regular 3-star hotel (with the help of Booking or RoomGuru). Then a double room per day will cost at least $ 30. But, in our opinion, going on your own and renting a hotel is a little pointless, it is better to rent an apartment. Apartment rentals (for example, on Airbnb) start at $ 27.

🍝 Since we do not feed exclusively on the energy of the sun, although there is a lot of it here, the question arises: what is the budget for food per day?

Let's see the prices in a cafe (for one):

• Turkish breakfast - $ 6
• Omelet - $ 2-3
• Multi-course lunch / dinner - $ 6-8
• Meat kebab, 100 g - $ 2-3
• Pilaf - $ 1
• Salads - $ 1-2
• Beer, 0.5 - $ 1-2
• Juices - $ 0.5-1
• Tea, coffee - $ 0.5

Total: you can keep within $ 15-20 per day for one, if no frills.

A starter was brought to us in the cafe - it's free, included in the order price
(almost always give)

Advice: it is better to choose those cafes or restaurants where you can see many locals (as a rule, this is an indicator of quality food). In tourist eateries, it is one and a half times more expensive and not so tasty.

One evening we ran into the Tavuk Dunyasi cafe. The menu is in Turkish, if that. We were guided by the pictures ☺ The modest dinner turned out to be very satisfying:

✓ Dish (potatoes, chicken, vegetables) = 20 lire

✓ Tea = 2 lira

Total: 44 lira for two or $ 6.5

🚌 And, of course, the question of movement. Within cities, public transport is easy to use. Let's take the most popular resort of Antalya as an example. A transport card here costs 10 liras - 5 per purchase, 5 will fly to the balance.

The fare is fixed and does not depend on the distance, but not constant - it increases from time to time:

• bus fare - 2.6 lira ($ 0.4)
• travel by tram - 2 lira ($ 0.3)

In total, if we take into account all the essentials for life (such frivolous) in Turkey in an ordinary hotel, the daily budget for two will be approximately $ 60. This is without excursions and entertainment;

Or maybe you like video content more? We have a popular YouTube video - just about how much money to take:

How much money to take to Turkey for 7-10 days for two if everything is included?

If you go all-inclusive and plan several excursions, then count on the amount of $ 200-400 for two. If you do not leave the hotel and spend only on souvenirs, then 50-100 dollars will be enough for two. In a Turkish cafe you can eat well for $ 10-15. One tour costs between $ 20 and $ 60 per person.

And now in more detail and clearly.
How much money do you need to take to Turkey with you if the type of food is all inclusive? Focusing on 4 and 5 stars, ok? So, for 7 days for two, all inclusive, tour operators have determined a price tag of 50,000 rubles. Not bad. Moreover, if you do not suffer from excursions and forget about shopping, but where without it.

Comparing prices in Turkey (in $), we have compiled a small table for "pocket money" for two. Moreover, the minimum means the budget for survival (only spending on tea for the maids or an exo-cocktail), and under the average - for a comfortable stay.In the second case, we counted the tip ($ 10-20 in the passport upon check-in, 2 bucks to the porter and a smile to the beach-boy), put it on souvenirs and added on the excursion - hamam, yacht cruise, Pamukkale and a trip to the water park:

For two "with you"

Well, the reinsurance rule of any trip is to have that amount (on the card) that is enough for a return ticket even in the end.

A little personal experience # 1. We flew to Side for 10 days on all inclusive, and our extra expenses were a tip to the maids, a hamam 1 time, an excursion to Antalya, a yacht trip and gifts home. In general, it took $ 350 for four.
A little personal experience # 2. In September 2020, the two of us flew to Side again. The rest turned out to be truly seals, we went outside the hotel only once - to buy rahatlukum as a gift. For 6 days, we spent $ 10 (760 rubles) for tips and 150 lira ($ 20 or 1500 rubles) for Turkish delight.

We took some excursions in advance online on Tripster,
some are more profitable to take on the spot

Review of prices for entertainment and excursions

One might get the impression that Turkish resorts are a lure for those who dream of eating to their belly and lying on the beach. But this is far from the case. Tour operators and street vendors alike will offer you a cocktail of entertainment and historical location guides.

Still on the question of how much money to take to Turkey. You out of the corner of your eye saw the rates for public transport and food prices higher, but how much does an active vacation cost in a hit country for Russian tourists?

And based on the experience of our trips, we wrote an article about which is better - in Side or Kemer? Why is it - there you can find reliable prices for everything and everyone 🙂

View from our hotel to the Side embankment (you can see the logo of the Barut hotel) / Beach in the city part of Side

Tours can be grabbed either from the guide or right on the street. The latter option may seem wild for the first time (yes, is it a service?), But it will not hit the wallet like that. The main thing is not to agree immediately, the bargaining will be in the subject.

For example, from a booklet advertising in Side for 2021:

• Cappadocia - $ 55
• Tour to Manavgat on a yacht - $ 18
• Pammukale - $ 50
• Green Canyon - $ 40
• Istanbul - $ 250

Fans of extreme sports will not remain indifferent to a walk on the seabed - diving from $ 45 to $ 60 from the nose. We recommend sharpening your flippers to Antalya, Bodrum and Fethiye.

Relaxation in the hamam will cost $ 20-30, for fishing in Botanika (in the Kemer region) they will ask for $ 10 for the whole day. But the dolphin show in Seapark (Alania) will be more expensive, through the operator $ 120, a street vendor will be happy with $ 80.

The Turks also thought about kid-rest. And if you skim the reviews and tips of tourists, then The Land of Legends theme park wins by emotion: $ 45-50 ticket.

We went to The Land of Legends water park on an excursion from Side, it cost us $ 55 per person (ticket + transfer)

📝 Now a little more numbers from the last trip to Turkey. In 2018 we flew to Kemer Center. And in 10 days they lowered about $ 400! Of these, $ 80 for excursions:

✓ Demre-Mira-Kekkova = $ 40 for two + 20 lira * 2 = 40 lira entrance to the church of St. Nicholas

✓ Yanartash (lights of the Chimera) - $ 40 for two

✓ We went to Phaselis by ourselves: 40 lira for the entrance (for a couple) + 9 lira * 4 (travel by dolmus from Kemer and back) = 36 lira.

The rest was given for clothes, among which we remember:

✓ Bambi men's boots (leather) - 250 lire

✓ Men's shoes Kinetics - 70 lire

✓ Jeans LTB (mch) - 100 liras

✓ Pullover LC Waikiki - 79 lire

✓ Women's Kinetics crosses - 50 lire

The rest is in a fog ☺ We were attracted by indirim-signs, in our opinion - discounts. Therefore, if you are a shopaholic at heart, go to the Markantalya shopping center in Antalya (Muratpaşa station).

Update. We also went to Bodrum (the other side of Turkey). How much you can spend (and how much we spent) at this resort - in a separate article.

Embankment in Kemer

How to save money on your trip to Turkey?

Imagine lying on a Turkish beach, quietly enjoying the sea, set yourself up to relax ... and the record does not spin in your head: “how much money has been spent, and how much is yet to come!”. The buzz is it? And this is possible if you know some of the tricks.

1. First, read our in-depth Turkey guide to be ready for anything.
2. Travel agents from the street are unlikely to care about the safety of your wallet. Rather, on the contrary, they shake off more for themselves. Online helpers will help you save money:
   • Onlinetours
   • Level.Travel
   • Travelata

   They monitor prices from over 120 popular tour operators and highlight the tastiest deals. Convenient, fast and inexpensive. We also recommend reading our article: How to buy a cheap tour?

3. The trick "early booking", for example, in January is able to throw off up to 40% of the tour price, for example, in July. If you did sleep a little, there is a chance to catch up to the spring equator (mid-April).
4. Hotels 3 * and 4 * in terms of service are not always much inferior to the top five (take a look at the reviews), but the "total for all" column looks more humane for a limited budget.
5. Eating in cafes in Turkey is cheap and tasty. Therefore, you can think about a hotel without meals / breakfast. There are plenty of them in Marmaris, in its central part.
6. The velvet season (September-early October) has such a name for a reason. And it's not just the calmed down sun and the minimum of tourists, the prices are not so biting.
7. And the last thing. Bargaining in Turkey is a real way not to let yourself be ripped off a kush profitable for someone, but not for us. If you stand your ground, prices can be cut in half. The price for excursions is no exception.

We brought as a gift different types of soap and pomegranate tea

What to bring with you from Turkey as a souvenir?

It is difficult to return from Turkey empty-handed. And shopping lovers can be captivated by the colorful oriental market. We will not talk about the standard set of trinkets for relatives a la "here's a magnet from over the hill" 🙂 What souvenirs really must buy?

• Eastern sweets (lick your fingers). 250 grams of loose delight will cost 10 liras (106 rubles). Another great gift will be kadaif, baklava, sherbet, halva and churchkhela
• Tea. And although the herbal is popular - sage, echinacea (about 2.5 lire - 27 rubles) - we advise you to hunt for exotic pomegranate
• Clothing. Paradox, the price tag is lower here, but the quality is higher. So, you can grab Little Big jeans for only 65.2 lira (≈700 rubles), and Colin’s and Mavi can be found for 140 lira (≈1500 rubles)
• Famous quality Turkish textiles

P.S. They say that only in Turkey you can find pasta in the form of orzo rice for only 0.85 lira (10 rubles) for 500 grams, but here you will pay a fortune for them - 150 rubles. Isn't it a memory?

We recorded a video that we bought as a gift from Turkey to our friends-relatives: tea, different types of sweets. How does it all look and how much does it cost? 🙂 Look!

On vacation in Turkey, we shot several videos, you can watch them before your trip