I went at easter and was suprized how things have gone up. Holiday makers going to Turkey instead of places with the euro and expecting it to be cheap will be dissapointed.

The simple Turkish restraunts are still good value for money but steaks and other meals I didn`t think were that good value for money.I might be because only a few places were open so not as much compertion and the pound is still low.

I am happy I booked half board for the first time! Maybe the other half might drink less

As Christine says if you eat and drink where the locals go you will always get value for money. the more touristy the restaurant the more you will pay. Turkey can still be very good value if you go to the right places.

Yup turkey has got very steep compared to what it was. It's not a cheap destination anymore sadly and this year its dearer still.Its true that you can eat more cheaply where the locals eat but its not always easy to find these places when your in a holiday resort and part of my hols are eating close to where I'm staying and the family enjoy being close to the beaches and all that stuff.

Another drawback of going to where the locals eat is that they don't always serve beer or alcohol and I like my efes! its a big part of my hols. we wanna relax and have all the goodies on hols,not have to find all the cheap restaurants in the not so nice places. then you also have to add up the cost of getting a dolmus or taxi to the local places to eat and for a family of 5 it soon adds up and also takes time.


gb

Most of the time you will find the smaller, cheaper places where the locals eat just a street or two away from main drag without any need for a dolmus or taxi. If in doubt, ask someone...
If you can afford to eat wherever you choose, that's fine, but there may be people who are on a very tight budget and hints on where to find the cheaper places could prove very useful to them.

When I lived in Turkey I often ate where the locals did, and the food was always good. Just like homemade food. But I wouldn't want to eat in them whilst on holiday.

They don't sell beer or wine, and they're VERY basic - a bit like our local workmen's cafes in England. They're all brightly lit with fluorescent lighting, and have hard chairs, formica tables................not somewhere I'd want to spend my holidays in.

For me, part of a holiday is enjoying myself and having a splurge. I want to eat overlooking the sea or harbour, or at a table on a beach........I wouldn't want to eat in a backstreet cafe. It would be OK to try it once just for experience, but I wouldn't want to eat in one all the time. Besides, the food (although usually good) is always the same - and that would be very boring to my mind.

The whole point of a holiday is to pamper youself isn't it? I know some people are on a tight budget, but if they've had a year in which to save for it you'd think they could treat themselves to some nice restaurants in the nice part of town.

Strawberry

I know what you're saying, strawberry, and we've always found the food to be good in the little cafes too, although as you say, they are quite basic in nature. However, to those working on a strict budget (who perhaps may have had unexpected expenses during the year forcing them to cut back a bit, for instance), then over the course of a week or even a fortnight, eating out a few times at the cheaper cafes could well prove to be a godsend. The money they save doing that could then allow them to enjoy a few more "indulgences" during their holiday. It's all horses for courses, naturally, and not everyone would want to eat at the cheap little cafes, but it's surely good for folk to know that they have the option if they want to do so.

Oh I agree, it's handy to know that those cafes are there, and you can get a good cheap meal. I always think people should try the local cuisine anyway - you can eat steak and chips anywhere! Maybe if more people DID start eating in the cheap local restaurants the expensive touristy ones would be forced to lower their prices.

But having said that, I do think the surroundings are important too. And we all know you pay a premium for lovely views. It depends on the individual I suppose, and what they're happy with.

The irony of it is that most of the tourist restaurants don't really serve real Turkish food, anyway. Unless you add in the meze starters and bread..........................but even the mezes in tourist restaurants often taste manufactured.

Strawberry

I wonder if the Dolmus has increased in price rapidly as well. Wouldn't surprise me with the high cost of fuel in Turkey. Its not nice to start watching the pennies on holiday but sadly sometimes you have too to avoid being ripped off and paying a few quid for a can of fizzy drink (i.e jeep safari).

when we don't have as much dosh to spend as usual we divide our spends into 7,10 or 14 days and that helps us budget.
cb

Hi all - we've just come back from Alanya. We hired a car, which was cheap at 140 euros, but the price of petrol was about the same as here, which surprised me. First time to Turkey and we usually holiday in euroland. We found that restaurants were about the same, or a bit cheaper, as here, but saying that, we found an amazing kebab shop in Mahmutlar that did takeaway chicken/lamb kebabs with salad and yoghurt drink (an acquired taste, that!) for an amazing 3 liras!! We ate in and had bread, salad, kebab, fruit and tea for 8 liras each). Brilliant service and value. Couldn't persuade the kids that they wanted kebabs every day, though we tried!! Hh x

The yogurt drink will have been ayran, and yes, it is a bit of an acquired taste for many folk! I quite like it, but I know a lot of people don't. The Turks reckon it's the best thing to drink when it's hot though, as it's meant to keep your salt levels up and keep you hydrated. Each to their own though...

went 5 weeks ago and have family over there.In resorts prices have risen yes sorry to say it is now cheaper in england in certain pubs.cigarettes are up quite a bit and a steak dinner has gone up by 10 lire.turkish kitchens are very good value and delicious,but however if you are looking at turkey as a cheap option this year brace yourself

If the prices have gone up that much in the resorts and the £ has continued to fall against the Turkish Lira, people are going to have to take more money with them this year or cut back on eating,drinking trips etc. as i only get one summer holiday a year ( im sure im not the only one) cutting back on my enjoyment is not an option for me, i will have to have two halves instead of one large Efes

Alan

Hi Idris,

Could you tell us the approximate cost of a 3 course meal for two with a bottle of wine in a standard tourist type restaurant?

And what they're charging for, say, one Efes and one Vodka and tonic?

Strawberry

hi i am going to bodrum for three days today then im off to sodom and gomorrah(icmeler/marmaris)for a week will update you fully on return.sorry to be so vague but the last time i was in turkey it was pre season and the prices i quoted were based on the few bars that were open.we dont tend to use the tourist places for food as we are caught in that fuuny place of being neither natives or tourists.when we were "turkey virgins"9 years ago we used to go to a touristy place for iskender kebab thinking we were having authentic turkish food we used to pay 20 lire for this imagine my horror when we wandered into a little lokanta down the back strrets of marmaris and the same meal with drink was 8 lire lol you live and learn.apologies for my grammar punctuation and spelling not very competent at all this computer stuff!!!

im just reminising about thoose early trips to turkey ,we used to even tip after having just one drink in a bar so a g&t would cost us 10 lire oh the shame Im blushing at the thought.If the prices have risen as expected and the exchange rate is low tipping is going to be yet another added cost

I read an article yesterday regarding the cost of red meat in Turkey, apparently it has risen by 25% since last year.(FT.com/Middle East) This will probably explain the rise in the cost of a steak dinner that Idris Elba mentions a few posts earlier.Also concerning is that substandard meat (used in other countries for pet food) is finding its way into the market.

Think I'll ease off the steak this year then. Wonder if hotels will change to cheaper foods to combat price rises.