# Currency used in Turkey



## ACA (21 Jul 2008)

Morning all, Mr ACA went to the bank this morning to get currency for our up coming hols and was told that we'd need £10 sterling to enter the country. He was also told that euro is widely accepted.

Can anyone advise whether we need sterling to get in the country and if so is it £10 each or just per party? Also whether we need to bother changing any money....cheers


----------



## ClubMan (21 Jul 2008)

> *Currency used in Turkey*


New Turkish Lira.


> Can anyone advise whether we need sterling to get in the country and if so is it £10 each or just per party?


Anything useful [broken link removed]? Or maybe contact the consulate?


----------



## WaterSprite (21 Jul 2008)

You can pay in local currency and euro (although some of the guidebooks are ambiguous on this point and imply that you have to pay in sterling.  Make sure you go to the booth to pay this tax before getting into the (huge) queue for the actual passport check.  We didn't and then got to the front of the queue and were turned away to get the tourist stamp before rejoining the queue (argh).  Talking about Istanbul here though - just realised that you may not be flying into there.

I would deffo get local currency though as you'll need it for smaller amounts plus you get a better price with local currency as the exchange rate used in shops for euro and dollars leans in favour of the trader, unsurprisingly.

Sprite


----------



## ACA (21 Jul 2008)

Thanx a mill for the replies, you've both put my mind at ease, thanx again.


----------



## huskerdu (21 Jul 2008)

I was in Turkey many years ago and at the time, the visa had to be paid for in sterling ( it was a fiver at the time). No local currency accepted and no change given ! 
As WaterSprite has been there recently, it obviously can now be paid in Turkish lira, bit this is probably why guide books say that it must be sterling.


----------



## ACA (21 Jul 2008)

I rang Sunworld offices in Turkey and they said that it was either £10 or €15 per person.....bit cheesed actually as I had no idea about this before and the holiday has cost enough already without having another €45! 

Unable to get any Turkish Lira either, been into AIB and BoI and neither place stock it or will order it. They advised getting it out of the cashpoint over there. Luckily there's quite a few cashpoints in Bitez, so we won't be reliant on using Euro for more than about 3-4 hours.


----------



## ontour (21 Jul 2008)

> £10 or €15 per person


 
Thıs ıs for persons holdıng a UK passport.  It ıs [broken link removed]for Irısh people for a three month multıple entry vısa.   I had the pleasure of payıng thıs yesterday.

As an asıde- I flew wıth Turkısh Aırlınes who were very good


----------



## ACA (21 Jul 2008)

All three of us do hold UK passports, (even tho our daughter is entitled to an Irish one if she wants - as she was born in Holles St.) I haven't changed them for Irish despite living here for 17 years, just in case we ever fancied going to Oz or the States - thought it might prove less hassle with a UK passport.

We're flying with Onur Air - any reports about them?


----------



## Perplexed (21 Jul 2008)

I flew with Onur Air last year from Shannon. Probably the worst airline I've ever flown with! Bring some lunch with you as on my flight they were very reluctant to serve food & the choice was very poor. They were much more interested in selling duty free - obviously this is where the staff make their commissions  !

Having said that, they got me there in one piece. Don't expect much & you'll be fine.

Visa is €10 for Irish & £10 for British. I brought Turkish Lira with me but found they'd do a better deal there for Euro. Euro was widely accepted in restaurants, shops etc.

It's good value out there & presumably the sun is shining.....unlike here.

Enjoy.


----------



## ACA (21 Jul 2008)

Thanx Perplexed. 

Still a bit confused about one thing - can I pay for the visa in Euro even tho its a UK passport? On the link posted by Ontour it gives prices in Euro, Sterling and Dollars.


----------



## bond-007 (22 Jul 2008)

The rule they seem to operate is UK passport holders need sterling, Irish passport holders need Euro. 

The last time I was there they would not accept Sterling as I had an Irish Passport. The people in the visa office seem to make up the rules as they go along.


----------



## WaterSprite (22 Jul 2008)

I don't think the passport makes a difference to the actual currency you pay - you can pay in either Sterling or Euro (and I thought Lira as well, although could be wrong on this point). The price may be slightly different (UK passport = £10; Irish passport =  €10).  Don't worry - they'll find a way to take your cash! If you have Sterling, maybe shove some into your wallet before you go, but I wouldn't go out of my way to change Euro into Sterling just for this purpose.  

Sprite

p.s. - oops!  Overlapped with Bond there- I could be totally wrong here and apologise -  we paid in Euro when we went (on Irish passports)


----------



## ACA (22 Jul 2008)

Thanks for all the advice. I think to be on the safe side I'll get £30....I'll have euro anyway but at least having the sterling will give me one less thing to worry about.

Thanx again to all.


----------



## Confused&Str (22 Jul 2008)

it shouldn't make a difference, but to avoid confusion at the airport (and genreally anywhere in Turkey lol) go with the easiest and most obvious solution - so if you passport is UK, then pay in sterling!

As for what money to bring - dont bring much in euro/sterling. just enough to get by - then take the rest out at an atm - this is the easiest way I find.  Otherwise you end up either bringing a lot of lira in cash with you - and carrying a lot of cash in any currency is never a good idea. Or you bring sterling/euro and then end up chaning it there anyway!

And as for not charging commission over there like all the signs say - twaddle! unless you exchange in a bank where you have an account you will pay a small commission -
(between 5-10 lira per 100 sterling/euro).

my advice is to bring yor atm card, take out a decent amount to last you a couple of days, take it out in local currency.  when you spend it go back to atm - much better than carrying wads of cash in any currency around, and comission wise it's about the same price anyway.


----------



## ClubMan (22 Jul 2008)

Using a preloaded _CC _is probably more cost effective than using _Cirrus _etc. This issue and the various pros and cons of each option are discussed at length elsewhere.


----------



## gipimann (12 Aug 2010)

Bumping an old thread to ask for some updated info on what's already here please!

Going to Turkey in 5 weeks time, and as ACA reported a few years ago, I find I can't buy Turkish Lira here.

I'll be on an organised tour, and will be in several locations during the holiday (many for 1 night only), so don't want to have to rely on getting to an ATM for cash.  It's likely that I'll have to exchange money in or close to the hotels.

The bank staff recommended bringing US Dollars - is this the best cash option, or can I just bring Euro and exchange them as needed?   I have some US Dollar travellers cheques - is it easy to change them in Turkish hotels?

Thanks!


----------



## Joe Q Public (12 Aug 2010)

Euros can be easily exchanged everywhere. I don't think they will change US Dollar TCs. A Turkish bank would though.


----------



## Kerry Gooner (13 Aug 2010)

Was there two years ago, no problem changing or using Euros.


----------



## gipimann (13 Aug 2010)

Thanks to you both, you've saved me one set of currency transaction fees, no need to change my euro to US$ then!


----------



## roker (15 Aug 2010)

I exchanged my Euros at the Turkish post office, good exchange rate, no commission. Never rely on one type of payment  ie. if your laser does not work have another method of obtaining money


----------



## EvilDoctorK (16 Aug 2010)

To the point above about having £10stg to enter the country .. I don't believe this is allowed any more for Irish Passport holders .. you must pay in Euro  - €15 ...  This was the case a few months ago in Istanbul Airport anyway.

There's a big list of countries on the signs saying what you must pay and it's roughly £10/€15/$20 for most (Canadians get screwed for some reason and have to pay lots more) .. but for Ireland they wouldn't allow payment in £stg ... only Euros ... I didn't have any € on me but they still wouldn't take a tenner sterling .. had to pay with credit card.

No problem changing € in the country ... but normal advice about using bank machines and ATM/Credit cards applies .. it's a far better deal and safer than carrying about loads of cash ... bank machines are very easy to find in all towns and cities in Turkey.


----------



## gipimann (16 Aug 2010)

Good to know about the "Euro only" visa for Irish passport holders DrK, I'm travelling with a UK tour so am flying ex London and could well be the only Irish passport holder on the trip.   I'll make sure to have the correct euro change to hand!

Thanks again to all for your advice.


----------



## dustie (16 Aug 2010)

I dont think this is such a big deal. I was in Turkey 2 months ago with my partner. He's got a UK passport and i've an Irish one. We both paid in Euro's and no issue. At the end of the day they only want the money and they are always dealing with both sterling and euro's. You dont need to bring Turkish Lira with you, in fact in most market places you can pay with euro coins!


----------

