Cafer SEVİNÇ · Pexels LicenseTurkey
“Two continents, eighteen UNESCO sites and the oldest temple ever built.”
Türkiye holds Göbekli Tepe, a temple complex from around 9500 BC — six thousand years older than Stonehenge and built by people who had not yet invented pottery or agriculture. It also holds Troy, Ephesus, Hagia Sophia, the Lycian coast and Cappadocia's volcanic valleys, which is an unusual density even by Mediterranean standards.
Istanbul is the entry point for most trips and is genuinely one of the great cities — sixteen million people across two continents, with Byzantine and Ottoman layers stacked on each other. Beyond it the country is enormous: the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts, the Anatolian plateau, the Black Sea's tea-terraced hills and the southeast, which is Kurdish, Arab and quite unlike the west. The lira's collapse has made it inexpensive for foreign visitors and painfully expensive for residents.
Highlights
Istanbul
Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapı and the Basilica Cistern in one square kilometre — plus the Bosphorus ferries, which are public transport and the best sightseeing in the city for a euro.
Cappadocia
Volcanic tuff eroded into valleys of fairy chimneys, with Byzantine cave churches, underground cities and a balloon flight at dawn that is worth the money and the alarm clock.
The Lycian coast
Ruins at Patara, Xanthos and Olympos on a pine-backed Mediterranean shore, with the 540-kilometre Lycian Way running along it and gulet boats working the bays.
Göbekli Tepe
The oldest known monumental architecture on earth, near Şanlıurfa in the southeast — carved T-shaped pillars from around 9500 BC that overturned the assumed order of settlement and religion.
Entry requirements for Turkey
Checking your passport…
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Before you fly
The detail
- Passport validity
- Most destinations want validity beyond your stay, and some want six months. Check yours against the return date.
- Onward travel
- Airlines may ask for a return or onward ticket at check-in.
- Arrival form
- E-visa where required, printed or on the phone; some nationalities are visa-free.
- Health
- No vaccinations required; hepatitis A and typhoid are standard advice. Healthcare in private hospitals in the big cities is good and inexpensive, which is why Türkiye is a major medical-tourism destination. Tap water is chlorinated but not generally drunk — use bottled. Summer heat on the coast and in the southeast is severe.
- Money
- Lira. Cards are widely accepted in cities and tourist areas; bazaars and rural areas are cash. ATMs are everywhere and dispense lira; always decline dynamic currency conversion. Bargaining is expected in bazaars, not in shops. Note that some tourist businesses now quote in euros or dollars, which is generally worse value than paying in lira.
What changed
When to go
BestApr–May, Sep–Oct. AvoidJul–Aug.
Warm, green and flowering — an excellent month.
The band above each month is our editorial verdict - it weighs crowds, prices and access as well as weather. The line is average daily temperature, the bars are monthly rainfall. Select a month for the figures. Climate figures: ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2005–2024 normals.
What it costs
A day in Turkey
Comfortable · sample day
≈ $65
Line items are real prices we track. The daily budget is an editorial estimate for this level, not their sum.
Where this sits among 244 countries we have costed
Coastal accommodation doubles in July and August and much of it closes from November to April; Cappadocia peaks in spring and autumn. The variable that matters more than season is the currency — the lira has depreciated steeply for years while domestic prices rise fast, so euro-denominated figures fall even as lira prices climb. Treat anything over six months old as unreliable.
Updated Aug 2026 · Editorial synthesis — Turkish Airlines and rail published fares, Ministry of Culture site tariffs, accommodation sampling (2025–2026) · confidence medium
Excludes international flights - they depend on where you fly from.
Regions to know
5Istanbul & Marmara
The city across two continents, plus Bursa's Ottoman core, Troy and the Gallipoli battlefields.
The Aegean coast
Ephesus, Pergamon and Aphrodisias, the travertine terraces at Pamukkale, and Bodrum and Çeşme on the sea.
The Mediterranean & Lycia
Antalya, the Lycian Way, ruins at Patara and Olympos, and the gulet coast around Fethiye.
Cappadocia & central Anatolia
The rock valleys, underground cities and cave churches, plus Konya's Mevlana shrine and Ankara's museums.
The east & southeast
Göbekli Tepe and Şanlıurfa, Mardin's stone terraces, Nemrut Dağı's statues and Lake Van — with border provinces under advisory.
Practical guide
Getting there
Istanbul (IST) is one of the world's largest hubs with Turkish Airlines connecting almost everywhere; Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) on the Asian side takes low-cost flights. Antalya, Izmir, Dalaman and Bodrum take heavy seasonal charters. Ferries cross from the Greek islands — Rhodes to Marmaris, Kos to Bodrum, Samos to Kuşadası — in under two hours.
Entry formalities
E-visa where required, printed or on the phone; some nationalities are visa-free.
Getting around
Domestic flights for the long hops. High-speed trains link Istanbul, Ankara and Konya. Intercity buses are the backbone — comfortable, frequent and cheap, with an attendant serving tea. In Istanbul, get an İstanbulkart, which covers metro, tram, bus, funicular and the Bosphorus ferries. A car helps on the coast and in Cappadocia.
Money & costs
Lira. Cards are widely accepted in cities and tourist areas; bazaars and rural areas are cash. ATMs are everywhere and dispense lira; always decline dynamic currency conversion. Bargaining is expected in bazaars, not in shops. Note that some tourist businesses now quote in euros or dollars, which is generally worse value than paying in lira.
Safety
Broadly safe, with pickpocketing and the well-known Istanbul scams — the shoe-shine drop, the invitation to a bar that produces a huge bill — the main risks. Terrorism advisories exist and the borders with Syria and Iraq carry standing warnings. Earthquakes are a genuine hazard: the 2023 earthquakes killed over 50,000 people in the southeast. Traffic is assertive and pedestrian crossings are advisory.
Health
No vaccinations required; hepatitis A and typhoid are standard advice. Healthcare in private hospitals in the big cities is good and inexpensive, which is why Türkiye is a major medical-tourism destination. Tap water is chlorinated but not generally drunk — use bottled. Summer heat on the coast and in the southeast is severe.
SIM & internet
Local SIMs are cheap but foreign phones must be registered with the authorities after around 120 days or they are blocked — irrelevant for short visits, a problem for long ones. Coverage is excellent. Some platforms have been intermittently restricted; a VPN is worth having. Free wifi is widespread.
Driving
The HGS electronic tolling has no cash option and driving a bridge or motorway without a transponder generates a fine — confirm your rental has one. Driving standards are assertive and rural roads carry slow agricultural traffic. Distances are large: Istanbul to Cappadocia is 730 km.
Rules change - verify with an official source before you rent.
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Before you go
TurkeyFrequently asked questions
How cheap is it with the lira where it is?
For foreign visitors, very — a restaurant main runs €7–11, a mid-range hotel €55. But the lira has lost enormous value and domestic inflation has run high for years, so prices in lira rise constantly while the euro equivalent stays low or falls. Any figure more than a few months old is unreliable. Check close to travel.
Is the southeast safe to visit?
It depends where. Şanlıurfa, Mardin, Diyarbakır and Gaziantep are visited regularly and hold some of the country's most interesting sites. Foreign ministries advise against travel to the provinces on the Syrian and Iraqi borders — Hakkari, Şırnak and the immediate frontier strip. Read the advisory by province, not by country, and check it close to departure.
How do I get around such a big country?
Domestic flights are cheap and frequent — Istanbul to Cappadocia or Antalya costs €40–60 and saves ten hours. The high-speed rail connects Istanbul, Ankara and Konya. Long-distance buses are comfortable, frequent and the traditional option. Renting a car makes sense for the Lycian coast and Cappadocia.