Tim Leffel's Cheapest Destinations

What the &%#$?! Turkey Edition

Welcome to the first installment of what will probably be a multi-part series in these crazy times. Really, what the bajeezus is going on in Turkey? To clue us in, I invited the main authority on travel in Turkey, Tom Brosnihan. Back when I first set foot in Istanbul and lived there for a while teaching English, Tom was the Lonely Planet Turkey author for this country. See his full bio here, but I can say with full confidence that his Turkey Travel Planner site is the place you want to land if you are heading to this interesting destination in the near future.

I have covered Turkey in three editions of The World’s Cheapest Destinations, but this past summer people were telling me the country had gotten almost as expensive as Western Europe. What happened?
Turkey has a dynamic, booming economy and burgeoning, young—and shopping-happy—population. It’s perfect for investment. Capital from the worldwide money bubble flooded in, investments were made in all sorts of businesses, the government went easy on taxes (and ran up a huge deficit), and everybody had money in their pockets. The New Turkish Lira soared to unprecedented heights. (Many economically-savvy Turks knew it was highly overvalued, by the way.)

This followed Turkey’s ascension, during the past few years, into the ranks of the world’s top ten travel destinations (it’s about No. 7). For travelers, this means that there are lots of people—about 20 million by last count—competing for those hotel rooms, restaurant meals, airline flights, villas near the beach, and all other travel services. It was a seller’s market, so sellers raised prices, and overall a visit to Istanbul cost about the same as a visit to a major city in Europe or North America.

We Americans seem to be getting some relief now though as the currency has dropped by a third against the dollar. Why has the new Turkish lira dropped more than most other currencies, including the euro?
The worldwide capital bubble burst, starting with the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the USA. Much of the “excess” capital immediately flooded back out of Turkey to shore up the balance sheets of the lenders. Everybody bought dollars as a “safe haven” in troubled times.The Turkish Lira sank like a stone, losing more than 45% of its value in a matter of two months. Turkey returned to the ranks of the bargain travel destinations—at least for services priced in Turkish liras.

However, many of the major travel services in Turkey are priced in US dollars or euros, not in YTL. (Travel businesses learned a long time ago to mistrust the long-term solidity of the lira.) During the recent boom, these businesses actually suffered: although they took payment in strong currencies, they had to pay their expenses (overhead, rent, staff, equipment, loans, etc.) in overpriced Turkish liras, so their costs were extraordinarily high. Some good companies did a lot of business, but barely broke even.

With the fall in the value of the lira, Turkey should again be among the best values for travel worldwide. Services priced in liras will be inexpensive: restaurant meals; inexpensive hotels and hostels; bus, train and plane tickets; market goods, etc. Those offering goods and services priced in dollars or euros, such as moderate to expensive hotels, rental cars, tours, etc., can now afford to lower their prices, and they should.

OK, I’m on a backpacker budget and I want to spend three or four weeks traveling around Turkey. Besides avoiding July and August, what would you advise?
Actually, the busiest month for foreign visitors seems to be May these days. No surprise! It’s the best time to travel in Turkey: long sunny days, little rain, warming waters on the beaches, moderate air temperatures, and fewer Turkish-family tourists competing for travel services because schools are still in session. July and August are busy with Turkish tourists and Europeans. October is also busy with foreigners, though the days are shorter. Istanbul now has a 12-month tourism season. January and February can be dreary, but with a little luck, every other month can be a good one for visiting Turkey.

Travel advice? HAGGLE! If a price seems high to you, suggest a discount. All Turks are familiar with the concept (this is the home of the Grand Bazaar, after all). No need to go crazy with haggling, but because of current economic conditions, prices should go down. If they don’t, help them to go down by requesting a discount.

What’s the most worthwhile splurge?

Turkey has lots of spectacular adventures that cost laughably small amounts. You can cruise the Bosphorus in Istanbul for a full day for around US$12. You can take a comfortable overnight sleeper train from Istanbul to Ankara for US$30 per person, double.

But the most worthwhile splurge has to be a flight in a hot-air balloon over Cappadocia. It’s the most visually striking region for ballooning anywhere in the world. It is a splurge—it’s not cheap—but how many extraordinarily memorable experiences are there in life that you can actually buy?

Few. Very few.

Related posts:

1. What Has Changed in the Cheapest Places to Travel?
2. Drop it all and Teach English