dreamer3153 Posted July 22, 2012 #1 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Hi, just new to cruise critic and would love for someone to give me an approximate turkish lira amount for my husband & myself on a precruise stayover in Istanbul. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ab0si Posted July 22, 2012 #2 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Welcome to Cruisecritic. You will need Lira for public transportation and most museums and historic sites. Restaurants, stores, etc. will usually/almost always accept U.S. dollars, Euros, English sterling, etc. That said, do not expect the exchange rate at such places to be "fair." There are numerous ATMs all over town and, of course, at the airport. This is usually the best way to get a decent exchange rate and reasonable fees. As for how much you need .... well, it depends. When traveling by myself, I easily get by with 100 TL a day (about US$55); when traveling with my wife, we'd need five times as much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maryann ns Posted July 22, 2012 #3 Share Posted July 22, 2012 It would help to know how long you will be there. There are ATMs all over so if you need more money it is easy to get. For sure you need lira for government places, the tram, etc. and we found bargaining in the bazaar went better when we said we had lira. Are you going to other ports in Turkey? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texancruzer Posted July 23, 2012 #4 Share Posted July 23, 2012 We have visited twice while on a cruise...... both times we overnighted. So pretty much almost 2 days. We headed to the ATM first thing off the ship and got $200 US in lira. Now, I will say that we put our lunches and dinners on a credit card as well as any large purchases in the bazaar or elsewhere. We used the lira for tram, entrance fees to sites, snackie type meals and small trinket purchases. We used most of it. We did go to Kusadasi the next port and used any left over there for a coke or whatever. Since we did a private tour and used cc for lunch and shopping it worked out great. Didn't come home with any extra. Only you know your spending habits while traveling. But ATMs are everywhere and money is easy to get. They have English available - just look for the little british flag and push it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamer3153 Posted July 23, 2012 Author #5 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Thank you very much for your info ab0si. Sounds like your dear wife enjoys shopping, did you purchase a carpet and if so was it difficult dealing with merchants about price? We will be in Istanbul for about 4 days, we enjoy the history of country and of course love to eat, drink and shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamer3153 Posted July 23, 2012 Author #6 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Hi maryann from NS, thanks for info, we will be in Instanbul for 4 days and then Ephesus, Marmaris and Antalya. Good to know about ATM and of course credit cards in some places. Very excited to see & experience Turkey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamer3153 Posted July 23, 2012 Author #7 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Thanks texancruzer for your reply, we will be in Istanbul for 4 days prior to cruise. Good to know about ATMs and also will have use of credit cards in some places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ab0si Posted July 24, 2012 #8 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Thank you very much for your info ab0si. Sounds like your dear wife enjoys shopping, did you purchase a carpet and if so was it difficult dealing with merchants about price?We will be in Istanbul for about 4 days, we enjoy the history of country and of course love to eat, drink and shop. No, we have not bought a carpet. (We do feline -- and occasional dog - rescue; when you have 20 to 30 four legged critters running around, you do NOT want carpet, trust me on this). Since this is your first trip to The City, please allow me to offer you some advice. Taxis: Usually reasonably honest. Insane driving. Many drivers do not know the city very well and often have limited English (German often works better, if you happen to speak it). I always write out the name address and phone number of my destination. If it is unusual (i.e., not a major hotel or tourist spot), the same piece of paper has a map of the local area. Taxis(2): Every taxi driver has an uncle who not only is the rug business, but has the best and lowest cost rugs. If you are not interested in making a stop, specifically and directly say No Thank You. Public transportation: the bus, tram, ferry, funicular and metro and will take you most anywhere you want to go. Easy and cheap. Avoid the buses if possible simply because traffic makes them slow (trams have their own lanes). Museum Pass. Consider getting one of these. It won't save you much money, but will cut down the number of lines you need to stand in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
24butterfly Posted July 31, 2012 #9 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Hi, just new to cruise critic and would love for someone to give me an approximate turkish lira amount for my husband & myself on a precruise stayover in Istanbul. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.:) I highly recommend you take a ferry over to the Asian side (Kadikoy) for 2 Turkish lira per person. Best deal in the city, even if just for the ferry ride.....The USD is great compared to the TL. Just use TL for incidentals such as tram fare, entrance fees---most restaurants take euros, USD and credit cards... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.