Wowed by the Low-Cost Lifestyle in Izmir, Turkey

It’s our third visit to Turkey and by now we’ve stayed in all kinds of destinations up and down Turkey’s scenic Mediterranean coast. We’ve spent time in Fethiye; we’ve been to the little town of Kas; we were just in Antalya; and now we’re wrapping up a month in Izmir. And what a month it’s been. Izmir is a huge city; it’s Turkey’s third-largest and it seems like there’s something exciting going on around every corner.  

We generally prefer small cities for our slow travel lifestyle. We find it challenging to plan a month in a really big city. There are so many neighbourhoods, so many restaurants, all the sights — how can we possibly cover off all the available experiences while still keeping a relaxed pace. 

Fortunately we were ultimately able to carve out our own little corner of Izmir and make it feel like home. Spoiler alert: if you’re looking for a very low-cost lifestyle on the waterfront, you can start by looking right here in Izmir.

Now that we’re at the end of our month in Izmir, it’s the the time when we look back at our experiences and we put a price tag on it: how much did we spend and what did we get for it?

For entertainment, we didn’t have to look much further than our own neighbourhood in Karsiyaka. We were based close to the pedestrian walking area and there was plenty going on in all directions by way of shopping and food. The crowds were so intense by midday that it actually reminded me of Istiklal, the main pedestrian shopping street in Istanbul. But to see a really lively area, we would hop on the ferry and head over to the other side of Izmir. 

Izmir sprawls all around the bay and while there are other forms of public transit available, we really enjoyed taking the ferry to see the historic sights and other neighbourhoods. Stepping off the ferry, we were right at Konak Square, home to the iconic Izmir clock tower built in the early 1900s by a French architect. We also stopped by Hisar Camii Mosque, another iconic sight in Izmir but this one dates all the way back to the 16th century. The mosque is famous for its interior which is a blend of Ottoman and European style art. 

Visiting the mosque put us right by the Kemeralti Bazaar, which really feels like the heart of Izmir. If you love that lively marketplace feeling and being surrounded by all types of goods — whether cheap, expensive or edible — this is where you need to come in Izmir. It would be easy to spend hours getting lost in all the little shops.

Something very special in Izmir’s downtown is the Smyrna Ancient Agora. Normally we would expect to make a day trip to see an archeological site of this size. But this huge site is actually located right in the middle of the city and enough of it has been restored to give of life in the city centre during ancient times.

Always seeking a bit of green space, we also visited Kültürpark İzmir. This is technically a park but greenery is in short supply; most of the space is dedicated to various public buildings and other facilities. There is a decent walking path circling the park which appears well used by locals at lunchtime.  

Of course, no visit to Izmir is complete without spending lots of time on the waterfront, which truly is the defining feature of the city.

We really enjoyed the Kordon section but found that most of the waterfront was well planned for recreational use. 

When the warm weather finally arrived, we rented a car and headed to the ancient site of Ephesus. By early afternoon, this famous site was already well populated by tourists — and that’s on a weekday in the off season! Go extra early if you want a clear shot of the spectacular library. We also paid extra to enter the terrace house site and found it to be a highlight of the trip. 

There are lots of other things to see and do in and around Izmir. But the city turned out to be much colder and rainier and windier than we expected for this time of year. Like much of Turkey, Izmir went through a serious cold snap — and us without our winter coats! So a lot of our entertainment revolved around dining out. And that’s really one of our favourite parts of travel anyway: exploring the local cuisine. 

In Izmir that meant starting the day with a lavish Turkish breakfast of eggs, breads and sweets and savoury spreads. We might pop by our favourite stand for a kokorec sandwich at lunchtime. That’s a sandwich made of all sorts of lamb innards — we’re talking sweetbreads, intestine — and then it’s cooked over charcoal and chopped up and served on a bun.

For a snack in the middle of the day, we would often have lahmacun: a thin dough spread with a meat sauce, baked and and then it get rolled up and eaten with a squeeze of lemon. Finally dinner might be a tasty spread of hot and cold meze dishes, served with a shot of raki, a distillation of grapes and anise. 

Of course, we had to cook at least a few meals at home over the month. As usual, we did a big stock up at the nearest grocery store when we got here. The rest of the time we would just head over to little specialty stores to pick up whatever we needed, whether it was fresh-baked simit for breakfast; olives, cheese and pickles for an afternoon snack; or a fish to cook up for dinner. 

With the city going through a cold snap, it was even more important for us to come home to a really cozy Airbnb.

Fortunately, our Izmir Airbnb had a large, welcoming living room with big comfortable furniture. We really enjoyed all the live plants (a rarity in an Airbnb) and all the colourful art on the walls. We didn’t spend too much time on the balcony because of the cold but we were happy to have a clear view of the Mediterranean.  

However, our apartment wasn’t perfect. The bedroom was really quite basic; not much storage available.The host seemed to have made more of their big decorating effort in the living room instead. The kitchen was functional but not really appealing to spend time in. The appliances and fittings were old and it needed a serious decluttering by Gillian when we first arrived. At least the bathroom saved the day. I love a nice bathroom and this one really was well designed and relatively roomy. 

Kitchen clutter aside, we tried our best to make Izmir feel like home. It’s always a bit more work to settle into a really big city. But we eventually found all our favourite shops and restaurants and had a really great month here. Of course, this post is also about our cost, so let’s see how much a month in Izmir set us back.

For entertainment, most of the activities we enjoyed were free; we paid just $27 USD to get into a couple ancient sites. Transportation was $48 USD and that covered cabs and a car rental. The ferry rides were super cheap at just 50 cents. Dining out cost us just $234 USD and this included dining out almost every day. For groceries, we ended up doing a lot more cooking at home than we did in Antalya but still our grocery bill for the whole month came in at a very affordable $305 USD. 

The big ticket item for the month was, of course, our Airbnb. We paid $1,700 USD, which is very high compared to local prices. For that we got a really nice living room; the rest of the place was just okay. That brings the total for a full month in Izmir to $2,315 USD.

It gets really interesting when you compare what we spent here in Izmir to what we spent last month in Antalya. When we stayed in Antalya we dined out every day for sure if not twice a day; we rented cars a few times; and we stayed in a fairly luxurious apartment.If you want to find out how much we spent in Antalya, you can check it out by clicking on the next post right here. 

This is Why We Keep Coming Back to Turkey