1. Pay with exact change as much as possible during your holiday, especially in places where it is very busy. You can pay with Euros almost everywhere, but at the moment it is more profitable to withdraw Turkish lira at the ATMs in Side. Many frequent visitors of Turkey don’t bring lira along any more. For a current indicative value of the Turkish lira (new) you can consult the following link: Xo.com.
2. Never pay the requested price in shops. Bargaining is very common.
3. Taxis are recognizable by their bright yellow colour. They are almost all Fiat Doblos. You can stop them anywhere. Make sure the meter is running when you get in. You can demand this. If you are making a longer trip, it is possible to agree on a price in advance. This can be significantly cheaper than the meter price.
4. Also very convenient are the “dolmus” vans that drive all day long, truly stop everywhere and are even cheaper than the taxis, which are not expensive to begin with!
5. The “dolmus” is a white van that drives from town to town. You can stop a dolmus by raising your hand. The van’s destination is indicated behind the windscreen. You get in and sit down. You hand the money for the ride to the person sitting in front of you. This person hands it to the next one and so on until it arrives at the driver.The change gets back to you in the same way. If you want to get out you shout ‘stop’ or ‘dur’ (Turkish for stop). Dolmus literally means: to cram. And this happens regularly. A dolmus has a capacity of 18 people, but do not be surprised if there are over 30 people sitting and standing in the van.
6. You can rent cars everywhere to get out and about. However, travelling by public transport is cheaper and has the advantage that you come into contact with the “real” Turks.
7. Walk on the left of the road, toward oncoming traffic in rural areas, to ensure your safety.
8. Make sure to always have some toilet paper or paper towels with you.
9. Do not drink tap water; bottled water (“su”) is sold everywhere.
10. Do not use ice cubes.
11. Only eat thoroughly cooked meat, fish and poultry.
12. Avoid food from street stalls.
13. Use sunscreen with a high factor.
14. Calling to the Netherlands is cheaper with a phone card than using your mobile.
15. Do not respond to pushy salespeople: a nod from bottom to top with your head is sufficient.

The lira is the current Turkish currency. Turkey started to modify the current currency in January 2005. The two million lira has lost its zeros, so now two lira remains. Because Turkey is very large, it is expected that the operation will proceed in phases. So the old banknotes will still be in use for some time.

But it also has been possible for years already to use the Euro. For example, the machines issuing luggage carts at the airport work with Euro coins and you can withdraw Euros from banks and ATMs. For smaller items it may be advisable to use lira. And that has become a lot easier since six zeros have been removed from the banknotes.

Research has shown that, except for smaller villages, you can withdraw cash in Turkey with a European bank card and this at the most advantageous exchange rate. For a current indicative rate of the Turkish lira, you can consult the following link: Xe.com.