While Turkey is rapidly adopting a "cashless culture" with widespread card and contactless acceptance in cities, going entirely cashless is difficult, especially outside major tourist areas, for small purchases, or with street vendors. Using cards is common in restaurants, hotels, and shops, but cash is essential for tips, bazaars, and local transport.
Do you need cash in Türkiye? Credit cards and debit cards are accepted all over Türkiye, but it's also a good idea to have some lira with you. If you're visiting a market like the Grand Bazaar, you may find that cash is preferred.
You can pay in a variety of ways in Turkey. All shops, bars and restaurants will accept cash, and most will offer the chance to pay contactless on your credit or debit card. If you're shopping in a market or buying from street food vendors, don't expect to be able to pay on your card as most won't have the technology.
Do you still pay 10 pounds to enter Turkey from the UK?
This means that British tourists won't need to buy travel permits for the country from Monday 2nd March 2020 onwards. Before the change, British tourists needed a travel permit which cost £27 to travel to the country. In addition to a £10 entry fee.
In Turkey you can move around almost cashless now. Taxis started to accept cards in droves due to the pandemic and some municipalities are integrating VISA/Master infra to the mass transport, so you can just travel with your card. Besides that, literally everywhere allows contactless payments.
What money should you take to Turkey? Cash or Card
Is 200 lira a good tip in Turkey for tourists?
Yes, tipping is expected in restaurants. In small and casual eateries, rounding up the bill is enough. For example, if the bill is 190 TL, leaving 200 TL is polite. In mid-range restaurants, leaving 5–10% is common.
Yes, all visitors staying in paid accommodations in Türkiye must pay a tourist tax, officially known as the Accommodation Tax. This tax applies to overnight stays at various facilities such as hotels, motels, and holiday villages, regardless of age or nationality.
Cards are the leading payment method. The domestic card scheme, Troy, is very popular alongside Visa and Mastercard. Paying in installments with credit cards is common. Cash is a very popular and widely used payment method for daily expenses, dining, and shopping, especially for smaller amounts.
It's a good idea to budget for at least 150 Turkish Lira per day – that's about £20, and should cover the basics. Bargaining (haggling) is very common in Turkey, particularly in bazaars, and it can be a lot of fun! In Northern Cyprus, it's not as common, although you can often barter in markets.
Generally it's enough when you don't overspend yourself and don't want to do all at once. Just my advice here is, don't come now and wait at least beyond September. Either make your plans for end of September or October, when the weather is still Okey and the crowd is a bit less.
The 2/3/4 rule for credit cards is a guideline, notably used by Bank of America, that limits how many new cards you can get approved for: no more than two in 30 days, three in 12 months, and four in 24 months, helping manage hard inquiries and credit risk. It's a strategy to space out applications, preventing too many hard pulls on your credit report and helping maintain financial health by avoiding over-extending yourself.
Don't make any derogatory comments about the Turkish Flag, or Kemal Atatürk, the Turkish Republic's Founding Father or in fact anything else about Turkey. It is obviously impolite and disrespectful! Don't stand with your hands on your hips or in your pockets. Don't point at someone with your finger.
At Turkish beaches, anything goes. Most women wear clothing as they would in Europe or their home countries. Shorts, T-shirts, and flip-flops or bare feet are perfectly fine.
To avoid getting caught out, we recommend buying Turkish lira before you go to secure a good exchange rate and avoid extra fees while you're away. So, we've covered everything you need to know about the Turkish lira ahead of your trip, so you're ready to visit the bazaars – or say yes to one more sunset cocktail…
The local currency in Turkey is the Turkish lira and each lira is divided into 100 kuruş. Some businesses in tourist areas might accept other currencies as well, such as euros, US dollars or pounds sterling. Although that can seem appealing, you should know that they're most likely including a markup.
