Travel tips for Turkey: visas, money, dress, SIM cards and safety

Most of what you need to know for Turkey fits on one page. This is the page.

Entry

Many nationalities enter Turkey visa-free for tourism; others need an e-Visa bought online in minutes before travel. Rules change, so check the official e-Visa site for your passport a few weeks before you fly, and make sure your passport has at least six months left. Airlines check this at the gate.

Money

The currency is the Turkish lira. Cards are accepted almost everywhere, including market stalls in cities; carry some lira in cash for small shops, dolmus minibuses, tips and the gulet days, where there are no cash machines between Kas and Kalekoy. ATMs are everywhere else. Prices for tourist services are often quoted in euros; you can usually pay in either. Do not change money at the airport.

Dress

Normal summer clothes everywhere, including Istanbul. In mosques: shoulders and knees covered for everyone, hair covered for women (scarves are lent at the door), shoes off. Carry a light scarf and a pair of socks on the old-city day. On the coast and the gulet, anything goes.

Phone and internet

Buy a local SIM at the airport or a phone shop in town (passport needed), or activate a travel eSIM before you land - that is cheaper and takes two minutes. Hotels and most cafes have Wi-Fi; the gulet has none, which guests tend to enjoy by day three.

Water and food

Drink bottled water; it is cheap and everywhere, and the hotels and the boat provide it. Tap water is fine for teeth. Eat the street food - simit, kokorec, balik ekmek - it is safe and it is the point. Turkish breakfast is a meal, not a snack; pace yourself.

Tipping

Not obligatory, always welcome. Round up in cafes; 5-10% in restaurants if service is not included; a few lira for porters; and at the end of the week, a collective tip for the guide, the driver and the gulet crew is customary - your guide will explain the usual range and leave it to you.

Electricity

230 V, European two-pin plugs (type F). UK, US and Australian travellers need an adapter.

Safety

Turkey is a safe country to travel in and the tourist regions on our routes - Istanbul, the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts, Cappadocia - are very safe indeed. The ordinary rules apply: watch bags in crowds, use licensed taxis or the taxi apps, and ignore the man in Sultanahmet who wants to show you his cousin's carpet shop. Women travelling alone are common and will be fine; dress for the occasion and you will be treated with warmth. Keep a photo of your passport on your phone, and the emergency number 112 works for everything.

Insurance

Travel insurance that covers medical costs, cancellation and the activities you plan (paragliding, ballooning, diving) is strongly recommended and not included in our prices.

Anything else, ask your tour consultant before you fly - the WhatsApp number is on every tour page.