Where to Exchange Money in Turkey Easily ?

“Where to exchange money in Turkey” – Has this question bothered you off late? Are you planning to travel to Turkey and are faced this question? If yes, you’ve come to the right blog.

I’ve spent a lot of time in Turkey and am here to guide you and address your question of, “where to exchange money in Turkey?” It isn’t as hard as you think it is. All you need is to be informed.

Turkey is one of the hottest travel destinations for people on our planet. And hence, it is essential that you have a few things figured out as a traveller before you leave your home country.

Where to Exchange Money in Turkey as a First Time Visitor?

If you are planning to travel to Turkey soon and are worried about how and where to get your money exchanged in Turkey, don’t worry, I have it all sorted for you. In fact, if you need the exact visa details as well, feel free to read my blog.

The official currency of Turkey is the Turkish Lira (TL or TRY).

Turkish Lira is available in denominations of TL 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 liras while the coins which are called Kurus, are available in denominations of Kr 5, 10, 25, 50 and 1 TL.

Basically, one Turkish Lira is equal to 100 Kurus.

6 Most Convenient Ways to Exchange Money in Turkey

Money can and should be exchanged in Turkey at one of the 6 most easy and convenient places that I’m mentioning in my current blog. I travelled to Turkey solo and would love to share my insights on all of these 6 ways to exchange money. By the way, I’ve also written a blog on the ideal currency that can be carried to Turkey.

Using a Credit Card for exchanging money in Turkey – Pay your Bills

You can use your credit card to make payments for all major purchases you make on your trip to Turkey like hotel bookings, flight bookings, 7-course dinners, city tours rental cars etc.

Credit cards are widely used to pay for all purchases in Turkey by many travellers. The most used credit cards are VISA and Mastercard.

At places like luxury hotels and other high end places, American Express credit cards are also a popular mode of payment.

Forex Card – Super easy and comfortable to use in Turkey

This is one mode of exchanging cash in Turkey that I swore by at all times during my long backpacking trip to Turkey.

Ideally Forex cards are more suitable when they are loaded with the official currency of the country you are travelling to individually. I travelled to Turkey from India. 

In India, the Forex cards cannot be loaded with the Turkish Lira which happens to be the official currency of Turkey. So you can either carry US Dollars or Euros in your Forex card. You can also use it to make all your payments or withdraw money from the same.

As long as your Forex card bears a logo of VISA or Mastercard, you are good to go.

Traveller’s Cheque – Not really the ideal option to exchange money in Turkey

Carrying a Traveller’s cheque is ideally not advisable. The reason being, you have to get them exchanged at banks. You might even need to go to a particular branch to en-cash them.

Moreover, the service fee or the commission charged by the banks is extremely high. Hence, in my opinion, carrying a Traveller’s cheque while visiting Turkey is not advisable.

Currency Exchange Centers – Doviz Buruso

Doviz Buruso is the Turkish name for currency exchange offices. You can spot a Doviz Buruso at almost all the major tourist spots, commercial areas and market places.

I have personally sworn by these exchange centers for exchanging all the dollars that I was carrying. These exchange centers offer a better exchange rate and charge fewer commissions compared to the banks any day.

However, I would recommend you avoid exchanging money at the centers at the international airports in Turkey as they generally tend to offer poor exchange rates.

Cash from ATMs – Use them and select EUR, USD or Lira while in Turkey

ATMs can be spotted at all possible places in Turkey from markets, tourist places, cities, airports, commercial sites and even the smallest of towns.

Some ATMs issue Euros and Dollars too apart from the Turkish Lira but charge a service fee for the same. While making the withdrawal, you can choose your preferred language – Turkish or English.

Sometimes there are options for choosing other languages like Spanish, French and German too.

Post Office – Best to exchange Dollars and Euros in Turkey here

You can consider exchanging your money at the post offices in Turkey. Generally, most of the post offices in Turkey exchange only Dollars and Euros.  So if you are carrying any other currency, you will find it difficult to get them exchanged at the post offices

I personally relied upon my Forex Card and exchanged currency directly from the Doviz Buruso (Currency Exchange Offices) while was in Turkey. So if you feel like it, do the exact same things.

Top 9 Concerns of Travellers Trying to Exchange Money in Turkey

1. How much money should I carry for a trip to Turkey? Considering that you would spend around 10 days in Turkey visiting all the touristic cities, ideally in my opinion carrying around 1500 US dollars must be sufficient. This excludes the flight tickets and visa fees. This cost would include your stay at hotels, travelling expenses, food, shopping and tours across various commercial sites and tourist spots. I travelled to Turkey for a few weeks and explored the country on my own. Since I was on a student exchange program to Turkey where I got to stay with a host family, I saved up a lot on food and accommodation. Throughout my stay in Turkey which was about 6 weeks, I spent 1200 dollars approximately which includes all my expenses. (Flight tickets, stays, shopping, food, travelling expenses and visiting tourist spots).

What currency to carry while travelling to Turkey? You can consider carrying Euros and Dollars while travelling to Turkey from your home country as they both are easily available and fetch a good rate in Turkey.

Are Euros accepted as a legal tender in Turkey? The Turkish Lira is the official currency of Turkey. Although Euros are not accepted as legal tender in Turkey, some sellers might accept payments in Euros from European tourists. But ideally, I do not recommend paying in Euros as you will end up paying more that way. The better deal is to pay in Turkish Liras only.

How much is one Turkish Lira when converted into USD approximately? 1 Turkish Lira = 0.16 USD (approximately)

Can I use the Turkish Lira outside Turkey or in other European countries? No, the Turkish Lira can only be used in Turkey and not in any other country.

How much fee is deducted while withdrawing cash via an ATM in Turkey? Turkish ATM operators would not charge any kind of withdrawal fees ideally. But your home bank may charge a foreign exchange fee per transaction you make in Turkey.

Should I exchange money at the airport? I would suggest exchanging a few dollars or Euros, just enough for you to reach your hotel or use the metro or taxi. I exchanged around 50 dollars only at the International airport because I had to travel to another city from Istanbul. The exchange rates offered at the international airport are poor and hence I do not recommend exchanging all your money there. Consider exchanging them at the currency exchange centres in the town to get a better deal.

Can you get Turkish Lira in your home country? No, since the Turkish Lira is not that strong a currency, you would not find it easily available in most countries. I’m from India and I did not find Turkish Lira in my home country. You will have to either carry Euros or Dollars or get them exchanged when you land in Turkey.

If you are travelling to Turkey, all you need is to carry some Dollars or Euros. You should also take your credit card along with you and load your Forex Card with Euros or Dollars as well.

The entire money exchange process is completely hassle-free and you would not be cheated on in terms of rates in Turkey.

I hope that all your queries regarding matters related to currency exchange in Turkey have been addressed in this blog. Kindly feel free to drop in any queries you still have in your mind in the comments at the end of the article.

Have a lovely stay in Turkey.

Happy wayfaring 🙂