We arrived in Istanbul a few days ago, after coming from Thailand everything felt quite expensive. We did some research in Thailand and spoke to a few people that had been to Turkiye, the consensus was it's a pretty affordable place to visit but wouldn't be as cheap as Thailand.
The passionate happy go lucky travelers that we are thought why not give it a shot, we love a bit of a challenge and love to experience places on a budget and see how cheap we can do it while still enjoying our ordinary treats and creature comforts.
Key Tips & Takeaways
you can stay affordably in Istanbul, you just need to search for the right places to eat/drink/sleep
dont get too caught up on the first 24 hours, more on what we spent here
eat where the locals eat, avoid the big flashy touristy places
accommodation like any major city will be your biggest expense
stay central to avoid transport costs and inconvenience (traffic is shocking)
breaky - we fed the 3 of us for 100 lira with 2 coffees ($5)
lunch - we fed the 3 of us for 275 lira ($13)
dinner - we fed the 3 of us for 340 lira ($17)
snacks on the go - 50 lira ($2.50) for some chestnuts, 30 lira ($1.50) for a corn on the cob & 10 lira (50c) for a bagel!
shopping - everywhere sells the same thing, get prices, then consider bartering. what we spent on some warm clothes is here
tourist attractions - we thoroughly enjoyed walking everywhere and visiting but not paying to go in to places
the streets are much quieter in the morning, these were our favourite walking and exploring times
The first challenge for us was transport and accommodation. Our ride from the airport cost 50 euro / $83. Yes we could have tried public transport but with the backpacks and the baby it's just too much. We picked a place right in the centre so we didn't need to worry about transport, we stayed in the Fatih district and paid 210 euro / $347 for 5 nights ($69 a night) at Aslan Home Apart. It's a simple place in an older building but really well located and we can walk everywhere. We usually try to keep accommodation to $30 a night so this was expensive for us but the cheapest we could find providing a safe warm room with a bathroom, fridge and space for the baby cot.
Our next challenge was food, we were checking prices where we could walking down the street but it was so busy it's hard to stop and look at menus. The first night we pulled into a simple looking place for dinner but meals were 200-300 lira each ($10-$15) where we were spending that much to feed all 3 of us in Thailand, we knew we had to be trying to get food for less than that. We looked at prices of coffee in the morning and most places were charging 90 lira ($4.50) it suddenly felt like we were heading back into Perth prices.
We managed to find a great little bakery on the street where we got 2 coffees and 2 pastries for 100 lira ($5) this was a big win and set the benchmark for breaky - we knew it was possible for $5!
Lunch we found a few sandwich carts 75 lira ($4) and we knew by now that anything under 100 lira for a meal was a win. We looked at so many kebab shops, you're in Turkiye, you gotta eat kebabs right? The price of a kebab varied like crazy! the cheapest we found was 110 lira up to 400+! You definitely get the local and tourist pricing vibes and this was confirmed when we asked how much a pide was one afternoon, 75 lira each, the next day I went and brought 2 and was charged 230 lira. Not worth the argument I said to Jacob that's tourist vs non tourist pricing for you. Jacob ran the sandwich and Kaia and I shared a chicken kebab rice portion for 200 lira ($9.50) so we managed to feed all 3 of us for 275 lira / $13.
Dinners are the hardest, our first night we spent 865 lira on 3 simple things and 2 cups of tea ($41). The second night we went to the pub and spent 1590 lira on 3 meals and 2 beers ($75) some dishes are up to 700 lira each for an ordinary main meal. It was a lot but it was bloody delicious! See the meal here. On our 3rd night we managed to find a soup kitchen looking place with a self-serve type vibe. We got 3 main meals for 340 lira ($16) which felt like a massive win and the food was hearty and delicious!
The sweeties are tricky, the shiny baklava and vibrant Turkish delights, they are everywhere and stare straight into your soul looking irresistibly delicious. We got stung at the local bazaar spice market, to be expected I guess, you gotta get done once right? for a small bag of nuts and 1 roll of pistachio and tahini we paid 865 lira ($41) the merchants are incredibly pushy and full on, it was one of those just pay and get out situations. To add insult to injury there were bugs in the bag of nuts so we couldn't eat them anyway. On a mission to find a well priced delicious option for sweets we started going into or walking slowly passed the ones on the street instead of inside the bazaars where it's quite loud, crowded and overwhelming. A lot of places don't have prices which is a bit of a pet peeve because you instantly feel on the back foot and like you're about to get ripped off. We did find a few with pricing, the cheapest we saw was 790 lira/kg ($38) up to high 1'000s ($90) for what looks like the same thing. We also found some merchants that were happy to just let you look and ask about it and even offer you some to try rather than being ushered around the store and pressured to purchase. A log weighs about 200-250g so you can get an idea what it will cost you if you just divide the price/4.
We aren't really into tourist attractions so can't comment much on the price of tickets or what's worth what. We love walking and enjoyed a few hours in the morning moving around the city and just taking it in. This doesn't cost anything and is really enjoyable. You can also walk right up to all of the mosques and historical buildings, some you can go in for free some you will need to purchase a ticket.
Like all things travel and when moving around, keep your phone wallet and passport untouchable, a trip to the embassy for an emergency passport ain't going to be cheap! Our taxi driver and accommodation owner both warned us. Our taxi driver translated to us "there are bad people in Istanbul, like everywhere, keep your phone and wallet careful" and that resonated with me because it's true, there are bad people everywhere and it shouldnt deter you from exploring a new place.
While sometimes you feel uncomfortable moving through really busy streets, we have never once felt unsafe and have thoroughly enjoyed our time in this city. It's a beautiful place but it's time to move on now, need to find cliffs and rocks to climb, onto Antalya!
Til next time,
R
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