ATM'S in Turkey
 

Does anyone have recent experience using ATM's in Turkey? Were they easy to find & use? Did you get lots of bills in TL? I understand that TC's are not great to use in Turkey, but I'm not sure how much USD I am willing to risk carrying. Any advice?

Thanks!

I used ATM's in Turkey in October 2003. I found them generally available in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir the only places I looked for them. And, yes, you get a lot of TL's but since my bank charges $3 per overseas transaction, I didn't want to just get small amounts of cash at a time. IMHO, TC's are no longer great to use anywhere with commissions and fewer locations accepting them. A major credit card and ATM for cash will work in Turkey. A great country, magnificent history and kind people. Enjoy your visit.

ATMs are easy enough to find, but the lines in many locations can be monumental. We found it unusual enough to take a picture, which you can see by copying the following link and pasting it into your browser window:

http://www.igougo.com/planning/journ...it+to+the+past

(Just scroll down to the bottom of the entry and click on the photo to enlarge on your screen.)


You may also want to advise your card issuer of your plans. (We found that while ATM transactions were flawless on our way through Amsterdam for Euros, it was not as consistent in Turkey.) An alternative would be to pick up some cash at one of the many currency exchanges, which we found operating on very thin margins (unlike some of the operations we've seen in Paris, for example.)

I certainly share suncityjim's take on Turkey. It's a fabulous place to visit with wonderfully friendly people.

We used ATM's in Turkey when we were there three years ago. I also took a few hundred dollars in cash. I always like a back up. I remember the time in Mexico in Loredo when we had to wait on a Monday for the stores to make their deposits, because the ATM's were out of money. What a long line too!

We loved Turkey. We spent six weeks on our own, traveling by public transportation. A hint. Write where you want to go on a 3 x 5 card if using a taxi or bus. Everyone is so friendly and they won't admit they don't know where something is and still give you directions.

Have a great time.

Hi Marsh,

You can find many ATM everywhere in Turkey and you do not need to risk any money to carry because you will reach your money as dolar or Turkish Lira (as millionaire)
we have:
20 Mil, 10 Mil, 5 Mil, 1 Mil and 500.000 as banknot and also you will see some coins. Coints are only 50, 100, 250 (they are THOUSAND you may not see the last 3 zeros at the end).

If you see CITY Bank and DENIZ BANK you may have change to receive DOLLAR from ATM machines.

Have a nice trip in Turkey

Sinan Akdeniz
from Kusadasi until september

I use my ATM frequently here in Ýstanbul and have had very few problems. Some smaller bank branches might not be able to read the card and around some busy areas, lines might be longer, but this is the same as in Paris, Berlin etc.

The ATMs in Istanbul do not charge for foreign cards, so if you have a card that doesn't penalize you for using other ATMs, it can be a far better bargain than exchanging cash and you can withdraw as often as you like. Carrying large wads of cash on you would be a bad idea in Istanbul I think...

April this year and we had no trouble finding ATM's in Istanbul,Urgup,Kusadasi,Bodrum and Marmaris, easy to find easy to use.Maximum draw we could get was 600 million lire.....which is a big stack !

We were in Turkey in June and had no problems whatsoever using/finding ATMS. They were abundant in Istanbul, Bodrums, Fethiye, Dalyan, Urgup, etc. The only problem we had was one machine that had run out of money, but that was hardly a problem. The machines usually give you 20 million bills, which tend to be hard to break, so hang on to your 1 millions if you can for tips, cabs, etc.

Dear Flyboy; I was amazed with your post becouse it did not made any sense to me and seems did not make any sense for other posters as well, since Turkey is one of the richest country with number of ATM... (also to my opinion they are to much ) I have checked the travel report you have pasted.

I would like to give the correct information to all who wonders about the ATM que on the picture!

Ziraat Bankasi is a state own bank one of the oldest and strongest bank in Turkey general purpose was to support& finance farmers and agricultural projects.... All the retired government officials and other retired persons of private sector who were within social security system receive their salaries from this bank of state. Depending on the social security numbers there are certain days they are able to draw their pension salaries and YES from ATM's and only from Ziraat Bankasi as seen on the Picture.
The journal written unfortunatelly with misinformation and show as its a general practice in Turkey which isn't.

Just wanted to share it with all wonders about ATM's.

It sounds like ATM's were alive and well a year ago. I'm leaving in 2 weeks for a trip around western and central Turkey and haven't decided how to handle the money situation yet. When I've traveled to Europe, I've taken a couple hundred dollars in cash, depended pretty heavily on the ATM's and not used travelers checks at all. For those who have traveled to Turkey this summer, are the ATM's still a good bet? There is probably no good reason they wouldn't be but thought I'd ask! Would you recommend I take some travelers checks and extra cash as back up?

Many thanks,

Vicki

Yes. I was there in June, and I never had a problem with the ATMs. They were easy to find and to use. You can choose "English" Be sure to brush up on the change in currency from the Turkish Lira (TL) to the Yeni (new) Turkish Lira (YTL). Both currencies are still used concurrently, which can be confusing to some people.