Our first visit to Istanbul back in September 2019 was a magical experience. The first time we saw Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque at night, it gave us an “Arabian Night” feeling.
We soon realized another fact: It was very cheap compared to the UK. With an exchange rate of 1 GPP = 7 Turkish Lira back then:
- The hotel room was only 20 GBP per night.
- Lentil soup was only 8 TL (~1 GBP).
- Sehzade Kebap, a popular cheap kebab restaurant, was only 26 TL (3 GBP).
- Ticket prices for attractions were low, e.g. Topkapi Palace cost only 95 TL (13 GBP).
Compared to traveling to any other country in Europe, it was at least 60-70% cheaper. Since then, we have recommended friends visit Istanbul, especially as a low-cost unique travel destination.
Unfortunately, things have changed now.
Current Status in 2024
We noticed the prices were significantly higher on our latest Istanbul Trip. With 1 GBP = ~40 TL:
- Many items (guided tours, entry tickets) are priced in Euros now.
- Attractions have higher ticket prices. Topkapi Palace now costs 1700 TL (40 GBP) compared to 95 TL (13 GBP).
- Many free places from the past now require tickets. E.g. Hagia Sophia.
- Lentil soup was now 160-200 TL (5GBP). That’s almost a 500% increase in price.
- Sehzada kebab was 360 TL (9 GBP). Increased by 3 times.
On average, everything has increased in price by 3 to 5 times in GBP making Istanbul almost as expensive as London.
Istanbul is still a very nice place to visit. It’s just not cheap anymore.