Our trip to Türkiye is almost here! We are leaving in 2 weeks. We will be starting in Izmir, traveling along the coast for several days to Oludeniz, Kas and Antalya, then fly to Cappadocia and Istanbul. We have a total of 16 nights there. I will write a trip report when we come home but right now my question is methods of payment there. Should we have some cash or are credit cards usually used? I would imagine the best place to exchange money would be the ATMs like other countries in Europe. I recently found out that I can exchange dollars for liras through AAA with no fee if over $200. I have not found a great deal of info online about this subject. Hoping someone can help.

Addressing only the exchange through AAA: They might claim no fee, but there could be a huge markup on the exchange. Please don't be fooled when someone says no fee. Nobody will do it for free.

It's been a while since I've been to Turkey so I'll leave the rest to the experts.

I will check the exchange rate that they have before giving them my money!!

Hi there, we were in Turkiye a year ago May, and found that credit cards are not universally accepted there as much as say western European countries. Especially restaurants and any sites you want to see may not always accept credit cards.

I am not a fan of carrying large amounts of cash, but I would suggest to take with you as much TL as you feel comfortable with. The exchange rate at atm's often converts to US then to TL (I am Canadian), and the rate is very high, as they also charge a large percentage fee.

I don't think there is any anwer to this gouging, other than be prepared and use credit as much as possible. Our friends who live in Istanbul warned us about the fees, as they have not found a way around it.

As a rule, there are three or four issues to consider with credit cards:

• The currency exchange rate. Some cards available in the US don't charge a currency exchange fee. If you don't already have one of them, you might see if you can get one.
• The fee YOUR bank charges for ATM withdrawals. Many cards in the US do not charge a fee. Make sure you know (as you already did) what your maximum daily withdrawal is.
• The fee the ATM's bank charges for ATM withdrawals. I'm not aware of any US cards that cover those fees. As a rule, that fee is per transaction, so I usually take the most I can -- or at least the most I can carry without anxiety -- on any one ATM withdrawal.
• Dynamic currency conversion -- if using a CC, ALWAYS pay in the local currency.

Hope that helps!

Note that the inflation levels in the country are through the roof so any cash is visibly declining as it sits in your wallet.

I was in Turkey for beach holidays 2 months ago (Tasucu ferry port - Sililfke - Büyükeceli - Aydincik - Anamur - Gazipasa airport).
Credit cards are accepted in most shops and restaurants.
At many places, you can also pay in EUR, but you will get the change in TRY.
Some small restaurants ansd ambulant food sellers along the beach don't accept credit cards.
Tips are given in TRY.
Bus tickets are payed by credit card via the web anyway https://www.obilet.com/en

So, you best buy a small amount of TRY at a ATM. There ARE fees, of course!

Based on my experience I would say credit card/cash is 50/50 in Turkey.

I don't know if this happens in Turkey or not, but let me share with you an experience I had in Rome about 6 weeks ago.

As mentioned above, ATMs have fees but generally speaking the exchange rate is much better. There are 2 exceptions that I'm aware of.

1. If the ATM is not at a bank. Do not go to an ATM at a convenience store, find one that's attached to a bank. A bank ATM will usually not mark up more than 3%.

2. If the ATM offers to do a conversion to USD for you instead of charging in local currency, do not choose that option. The ATM in Rome made that offer and it included a 10% markup. By declining this option and being charged in euros, I paid only 3%.

Once again, this is general advice, but it wouldn't surprise me if you encounter the same in Turkey.

In retrospect, I looked up how much cash we withdrew while in Turkiye for 2 weeks. It seems a lot in Turkish lire, 5500, but in CAD was only about 350. Although the fees charged ranged from 6.99 to 10%, that is still only 30-35 CAD in fees. It is a small price to pay when the alternative is carrying around a wad of cash.

We always use bank ATM's and have a no atm fee bank account.

The fee the ATM's bank charges for ATM withdrawals. I'm not aware of any US cards that cover those fees.

Schwab will refund those fees

Schwab debit cards also don't charge foreign transaction fees

We use our Schwab debit card exclusively for international travel. It's a wonderful thing

Thanks for all the advice. Everywhere I called here in NY , including AAA, doesn’t give you the true exchange rate. So far, the amount difference is $35 to $45. They just don’t call it a fee! I think I will just get a small amt of liras and do a larger exchange at a bank when we get to Selcuk . Most things we will pay with CC anyway.

Update: we applied for a Schwab card. Should be here before our trip. We have euros in case we need something before we get to the ATM.

I got a AAA travel card and picked up $1000 in cash converted in TRY in the US and carried in my backpack, carry-on, and large suitcase (split into x3 wads to reduce the impact of theft of one item)

In 16 days in late April-early May, I used nearly all the $1000 in cash on food at restaurants, entrance fees to attractions (before I got the museum card), souvenirs, tips, supplies, and some on gasoline. All hotels and rental car I paid in CC and about half of restaurant meals and 2/3 of gasoline payments I made with CC. CC was accepted everywhere except possibly small roadside food stands (where I did not try to use CC, only cash). Every restaurant, gas station, and attraction accepted CC.

Make sure to purchase the Turkey (not Aegean, which covers only the Aegean coast) museums pass card which was 165 Euro when I was there and absolutely the best, it allowed me entrance into nearly all attractions (Basilica Cistern, the House of Mary in Ephesus, and Hagia Sophia being notable exceptions I recall) for up to 15 days.

https://muze.gov.tr/urun-detay?Catal...B-MSP01-27-009

Thank you Trebizond. Looking at your info now.