What to take

[Tartdog]

Couple of questions please.
1) Has the turkish lira changed since I last went in 2001?
2) Whats the best currency to take on holiday to Turkey,have read somewhere that a lot of visitors on holiday take only Sterling as they get a better rate at the shops etc,any truth please advice.
Thanks in advance.   Tartdog.

[HappyMonday]

There is a lot of info on this within the Forum.  The currency has been re-valued since then so is very different. You can see on the Forum page that the latest is 2.62 TL to the £.  The general advice is to take cash and a Abbey National card with you as they dont charge for taking money out.  My experience is that Sterling and whisky are both generally accepted:D

[kevman]

Last year you could spend Turkish Lira and Pounds Sterling.Just watch the exchange rates at the time you are there and then you will know wether it is a rip off or genuine exchange

[HappyMonday]

....and dont use the Currency Exchange office in the centre of Hisaronu unless you specifically ask for a receipt.  They will rip you off if they can get away with it.

[jwood]

HappyMonday, don't you mean a Nationwide Flex account card, or do Abbey not charge also ?

[pookie]

Depends which cash machine you use with Abbey cards !   Several banks won't charge, one did (sorry, can't remember which one).  We usually only take a few lire to get by with for the first day, and then use cash cards, much better rate than changing in the UK.  I also take a bit in sterling, as you can usually do a good deal on the markets if you have a few pounds in your pocket  (T shirts 4 for £10 etc !).

[julesbob0303]

Following on from HappyMonday -

...........and don't use the money exchange bloke outside the clothes shop in Fethiye.  He will also rip you off.

[Gorgeous_bird]

quote:Originally posted by julesbob0303

Following on from HappyMonday -

...........and don't use the money exchange bloke outside the clothes shop in Fethiye.  He will also rip you off.

  Does he - I used him a couple of weeks ago - I was really chuffed with the rate and I calculated what I should get from him- no problems with the deal.

[HappyMonday]

Whoops! John and Jane are right - Nationwide Flex.  The guy outside clothes shop does give a very good rate but you need to check what you get. In all cases - try to exchange in round numbers where it is easy to work out - eg £100 and always ask for a receipt

[puma]

ditto do not use him i was ripped off once bitten twice shy i thought i had a good deal then realise when he asked me for change that is when he pulled his con