🇹🇷 Asia
A bridge between Europe and Asia, Turkey combines the magic of Istanbul, the balloons of Cappadocia, Roman ruins such as Ephesus and an endless turquoise coast. History, otherworldly landscapes and unforgettable food.
Turkey is one of those countries that feel like several in one: a foot in Europe and another in Asia, with Istanbul straddling the two continents on the Bosphorus. For the Latin American traveller it combines the best of an epic and affordable destination: layers of history running from the Greeks and Romans to Byzantium and the Ottoman Empire, food that competes with the best in the world, and genuine hospitality where you are offered a tea (çay) on any street corner. It feels exotic but is easy to travel, and with the lira devalued your budget usually stretches a long way.
The classic trip links Istanbul (mosques, bazaars, the Bosphorus), Cappadocia (hot-air balloons at dawn over valleys of moon-like rock), the Aegean and Mediterranean coast (Ephesus, Pamukkale, the turquoise beaches of Antalya and Fethiye) and, if there is time, the rawer and cheaper east. High-speed trains, cheap domestic flights and an impeccable bus network make moving around simple without eating up your days.
The best part is the feeling of standing at a crossroads of civilisations without giving up comfort; what surprises people is how far the money goes and how warm the people are, though you also need your wits about you in the bazaars and tourist areas, where haggling and the odd sharp operator are part of the game.
The local currency is the Turkish lira (TRY). Because the country has been running high inflation, prices change often and it is not worth buying a lot of lira at once: change small amounts at a time or pay by card, which is accepted without trouble in hotels, restaurants and shops in the cities. Keep some cash for bazaars, taxis, tips and small towns.
Full converter for TRY →Most international flights land in Istanbul, which has two airports: Istanbul Airport (IST) on the European side and Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) on the Asian side. Turkish Airlines connects the country with the Americas and much of the world, often via Istanbul. Inside the country, getting around is easy: there are cheap domestic flights between the main cities, a very complete long-distance bus network and high-speed trains (YHT) linking Istanbul, Ankara and Konya.
The best seasons are spring (April-May) and autumn (September-October): mild weather, green or golden countryside, fewer people than in summer and friendlier prices. They are ideal for combining Istanbul, Cappadocia and the coast without suffering extreme heat or cold, and with good odds that the balloons will fly.
Summer (June-August) is high season on the Mediterranean and Aegean coast: beaches in full swing but strong heat, above all inland and at the ruins at midday, and higher prices in Antalya and Bodrum. Winter (November-March) is cold and it can snow in Cappadocia — which makes a beautiful postcard of balloons over the snow — but on many days they do not fly because of wind or bad weather; Istanbul in winter is grey but charming and cheap. If the balloons are your goal, leave spare days in case the weather does not cooperate.
Turkish cuisine is one of the world's greats and eating well costs very little. Not to be missed: the Turkish breakfast (kahvaltı), a huge spread of cheeses, olives, eggs, jams and bread; kebabs in all their forms (döner, Adana, İskender drenched in tomato and yoghurt); pide and lahmacun (the Turkish 'pizzas'); mezze to share; and for dessert baklava, künefe (melted cheese with syrup) and the famous lokum (Turkish delight). All washed down with çay (tea) served nonstop and thick Turkish coffee.
Eat where the locals eat: the 'esnaf lokantası' (neighbourhood canteens) serve home-style stews and daily specials for USD 6-10. Street food — a simit (sesame ring), a balık ekmek (fish sandwich by the Bosphorus) or a döner — costs a couple of dollars. A mid-range restaurant runs around USD 12-20 per person. The usual tip is 5-10%. Watch out for restaurants with no prices on display in tourist areas: always ask first. (Prices verified July 2026.)
Turkey is generally a safe country for tourists: violent crime is low and people are very hospitable. What you do need is street smarts in the tourist areas of Istanbul, where there are well-known scams — the 'shoeshine' who drops his brush, invitations to bars where an inflated bill turns up later, taxi drivers who take the long way or 'have no change', and murky haggling in the bazaars. Use apps such as BiTaksi for taxis and confirm the price beforehand. Avoid the southeastern border areas with Syria, which are not a tourist destination.
There are no compulsory vaccines to enter and private healthcare in the cities is good, but always take out travel insurance. Tap water is not recommended for drinking (buy bottled, which is very cheap), though it is fine for brushing your teeth in the cities. One tip: drive carefully if you rent a car, traffic can be chaotic. The single emergency number is 112 (police, ambulance and fire).
Turkey gives you a lot for your money, especially with the lira devalued. A backpacker gets by on USD 35-50 a day: a bed in a central Istanbul hostel (USD 15-30), meals in neighbourhood canteens and on the street (USD 6-10 a dish) and public transport with the Istanbulkart (each metro, tram or ferry ride costs mere cents of a dollar). The east of the country (Şanlıurfa, Van, Kars) is 30-40% cheaper than Istanbul or the coast, and there a full day can come to USD 20-35.
A mid-range trip runs around USD 60-100 a day with a 3-star hotel, better meals and the odd excursion. The big one-off costs are experiences such as the balloon flight in Cappadocia (USD 200-300) and domestic flights (cheap, USD 30-60 a leg). Reference points: touristy hamam USD 30-60, admission to museums and ruins such as Ephesus around USD 20-40, public Bosphorus cruise for under USD 2. As inflation is high, change small amounts at a time or pay by card. (Figures verified July 2026.)
The language is Turkish and, although in the tourist areas of Istanbul, Cappadocia and the coast many people manage basic English, outside those areas it gets harder; Spanish is barely spoken, so a translator on your phone helps a lot. Learning four words (merhaba = hello, teşekkürler = thank you) opens doors. Turkey is a mostly Muslim country but secular and modern in the cities; even so, to enter mosques you must dress modestly and women must cover their heads. Taking your shoes off when entering homes and mosques is the norm.
Practical points: the plug is type C/F (the European one with two round pins), at 230V, so bring an adapter. Connectivity is good; buy a tourist SIM (Turkcell, Vodafone) by showing your passport, or an eSIM before you travel — note that registering a foreign phone for longer than a certain period involves paperwork, but for a short trip you do not need it. Haggling is expected in bazaars but not in fixed-price shops or restaurants. And accept the tea when it is offered: it is the social gesture par excellence.
Few places on the planet carry as much history per square metre as this peninsula the Greeks called Anatolia, 'the land where the sun rises'. Here, at Göbekli Tepe, hunters raised the oldest monumental sanctuary known, six thousand years before the pyramids. Here reigned the Hittites, who dealt as equals with the Egypt of the pharaohs; here stood Troy, the city of the Iliad; here the Ionian Greeks invented a good part of Western philosophy and science. And here, on the Bosphorus strait, Constantinople was founded, for a thousand years the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire and then, for almost five hundred more, of the Ottoman Empire.
Turkey is the country where Europe and Asia touch, a bridge crossed by Persians, Macedonians, Romans, Arabs, Crusaders, Seljuks and Mongols. In 1071, the battle of Manzikert opened Anatolia to the Turks; in 1453, Mehmed II took Constantinople and buried the last remnant of Rome; in the 16th century, under Suleiman, the Ottoman Empire reached the gates of Vienna. Its collapse in the First World War left wounds that are still open — the Armenian genocide and the Sayfo among the gravest — but it also gave rise, in 1923, to the secular republic founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. This is that very long history, told with names, dates and figures, and without dodging its hardest chapters.
Read the full history of Turkey →Pick a region and open each destination to see what to do, prices and how to get there.
These are the sources we cite most across this country's guides, with how many times each appears. Hard data —tickets, opening hours, requirements, transport— comes from the official source and carries the date we checked it. Restaurant and hotel picks come from guides and reviews, and we say so on each page.
