Euros

[Karen1107]

I have been told by my travel agent that I will be able to pay for goods in Euros, is this true? I'm going to Atlanya in July, nervous & excited!!

Karen

[carrie]

Hi Karen,

You can use Euros sometimes paying for goods especially in the touristic areas of Antalya. You might even get a better deal but do take some Turkish lira as well because not evey street vendor will change for you. Change you money at the changes offices rather than the airport you will get a better rate. enjoy your trip.

Also some suggested reading from Tom's site http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/deta ... yMain.html

[turkeytom]

Carrie is right, as usual. Some places will accept euros or US dollars, but you will also need Turkish liras (which are easy to get from any ATM/bancomat/cashpoint):

http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/deta ... /ATMs.html

It's important to note that the New Turkish Lira, which had been extraordinarily strong during the past year or so (even Turkey's prime minister said it was "overvalued"), has lost about 14% of its value in the past month or so, which may mean that Turkish merchants are more willing to accept other currencies (ie, euros) as a hedge against a further drop in the lira.

Keep in mind that if you do not pay in Turkish liras, any currency exchange rate dictated by a shopkeeper may not be as advantageous to you as that at a currency exchange office (döviz bürosu).

Tom Brosnahan

[Don]

We spent three months in Turkey earlier this year for the eclipse.

We found we got better value by paying in Euros for camp site fees, the taxi would take them as well.

We found that the ATM's at HSBC were dispencing Turkish Lira, Euros and English pounds.

We drew Euros in Kusadasi, Marmaris, Bodrum, Fethiye and Oludeniz.

The rate of exchange was very good considering we were drawing Euros in Turkey.

The exchange rate against the £sterling in January was about YTL 2.21 today it's YTL2.96. We should have stayed another three months.

We are returning to Turkey in September, not in our motorhome but by train from London to Istanbul. This will be our first vistit to the city, we have often driven round the ring road but never ventured off it.

Regards

Don

[smiler]

We stayed in Kemer last year, (near Antalya), and found that the whole area, Antalaya included wanted Euro's. We ended up changing all our Turkish Lira into Euros. Due to the strngth of the pound against Lira, perhaps sterling may be a better bargaining alternative when making purchases?

[Karen1107]

Thanks for all the Replies

[luddendenturk]

Hi Karen

You can indeed pay for most purchases in Euros, and you will normally get a better rate of exchange for YTL in resort than if you bought YTL in the UK.

However, I always take Sterling, which is also widely accepted in the Antalya region, otherwise you pay two lots of exchange rates.

However, if you do take Sterling ensure that it must be English Notes - not Scottish.

You can then pay for major shop purchases, trips, hotels etc in Sterling at a good local rate of exchange, or take your Sterling to an Exchange Office - they post their rates of exchange in the window - but check in advance whether they charge commission. You will definitely need YTL for your smaller day to day purchases, such as supermarket, bars, buses and taxis etc.

You will also get a very good rate of exchange at the ATM's - which will dispense lira against your debit/credit card, but be aware of the cash advance fees/daily limits imposed by your card issuer.

[turkeytom]

Keep in mind that if you pay for some purchases in foreign currency, you're likely to receive any change in YTL.

Paying a 100-euro hotel bill with a 100-euro note is thus no problem, but paying 70 euros for something that costs the equivalent of 63 euros will net you YTL7 in change.

Tom Brosnahan

[Luckycat]

It's interesting to know that you can use Euros and the local currency in Turkey. Is it as easy to deal with US dollars?

[papillon]

just exchange the money--go to a bank, post office, or exchange bureau. it is very easy and just makes more sense than having the change be in lira...besides there are plenty of places that only accept lira...

i recommend definitely exchanging the money a little as you go...as the rates will fluctuate daily