Can a Month in Istanbul Really Be This Cheap?

We love Istanbul. We were here last year and just fell in love with the city and the food and the people. When we were deciding where to go after three months in Croatia, Turkey was one of the few countries still open to Canadians. The rest of Europe was locking down due to COVID. So it was an easy decision to make our way back here.

With the month now done, we’re ready to share all our experiences and costs from the past month in Istanbul. We’re covering food, entertainment, transportation and sharing how affordable it all is. There is one caveat though.

What we’ve discovered about Istanbul is that, yes, you can get by fairly cheaply, but there’s one area where it’s possible to really blow your budget. 

Accommodations

Of course, in Istanbul, it’s possible to pay as little as you want for your accommodations. In general, Turkey is a very affordable, low-cost country where your travel dollar can go really far. However, we discovered that all the apartments that we were considering for our stay were much more expensive than you’d expect. Apparently some of the things we were looking for in an Airbnb really added to the price tag. 

Those things included a modern kitchen and bathroom, dishwasher and washing machine, lots of windows and a clean, uncluttered space. In addition, we were staying over New Year’s Eve so that added even more to the price. If you look on Numbeo, you’ll see that an average one-bedroom apartment in the city centre costs around $300 USD a month for a long-term rental. Well, we can tell you that we paid a lot more than that. 

Our Airbnb was a studio apartment. It has a clean modern design with lots of built in storage. There’s a well equipped kitchen with a dishwasher and washing machine. The couch is actually a Murphy bed so it makes good use of a small space. And it has a great view of the neighbourhood. For all this, we paid $1,260 USD for a month — more than four times the rate for an average unfurnished apartment. 

Our apartment is based in the neighbourhood of Chiangir which is known for having a nice mix of hipster cafes and interesting shops. In fact, we specifically chose this neighbourhood because there are a few restaurants here that we were really excited to try. However, a couple weeks before our trip, Turkey announced a nationwide lockdown due to COVID. As part of the lockdown, restaurants are only open for takeaway and delivery, deflating our dreams of long, leisurely Turkish breakfasts on patios in our hipster neighbourhood. Which brings us to our next category…  

Dining out

Fortunately Istanbul has some of the best takeaway options we’ve ever encountered in any city. We had lots of snacks while we were out and about including a few that we had never tried before. The first new taste was salep, which is a popular drink in Turkey during the winter and it’s served very very hot. It’s the ground up root of an orchid combined with hot milk, sugar and cinnamon and it’s absolutely delicious.

We also tried lamacun which is a thin bread spread with a meat sauce, baked like a pizza and then rolled up and eaten on the spot. And we had our old favourite which is borek, a pastry baked with cheese or meat. We also brought a lot of meals back home to eat. We don’t love all the packaging that comes with takeaway food but we did want to support the local businesses. And we gave them our full support.

We got a few meals at the cafeteria style eateries, where we could pick from a wide variety of dishes. We also brought home amazing meals from local restaurants, everything from classic meats and fries to a mezze platter with a wide selection of little appetizers. We also had pide, which is yet another delicious baked bread with a meat topping. And of course we couldn’t resist getting the takeaway version of a Turkish breakfast. For all of this amazing food and much more, we paid just $283 USD.

Groceries

However, we found that the local ingredients are so easy to pick up that we could make an amazing Turkish breakfast for ourselves at home with fresh simit bread,  olives, cheese, jam, honey and cream. In fact, we did a lot of cooking at home. We found that groceries were of great quality and were super inexpensive; the cheapest of any place we’ve visited. Our total spend on groceries was just $425.

As we mentioned, Turkey is in the midst of a lockdown and we really noticed it when we were out and about in the city. Normally Istanbul is very busy and bustling. However, when the weekend curfew was in effect, the streets were basically empty except for the tourists. 

Entertainment

In spite of the lockdown, we still managed to get out and enjoy a number of free and paid activities. Of course, we had been to Istanbul last year, so we were focused on seeing different sights this time round. 

There’s so much to see in Istanbul just walking around. We took a long walk along the Bosphorus and had a look at the traditional Ottoman wooden mansions in the Arnavutkoy area. Closer to our own neighbourhood, we got to enjoy the shops and eateries along Istiklal with lots of views of the 14th century Galata Tower. We also took a ferry to the Asian side of Istanbul and spent a morning in Kadikoy, enjoying the markets and the street buzz. 

For paid attractions, we both went to the Dolmabahce palace, which is a 19th century palace with European influences. If you’re looking to get your fill of gilt and crystal chandeliers, this is definitely worth the $16 USD admission price to explore both the palace and the harem.

For a look at the Ottoman empire in the 15th century, I also went to the Topkapi palace and harem. Much of the site is undergoing restoration but what’s available for viewing is still quite magnificent. The palace and Harem are priced separately but I would recommend going to both at $23 USD. I also popped into the Pera Museum for a look at some regional modern art, which was a great place to spend a rainy afternoon. Our total spend on entertainment was $51 USD.

Local Transportation

Normally we’re all for taking public transit but because of COVID we primarily took cabs to get around the city. We also took a ferry to get to Kadikoy. The ferries are a really amazing way to experience the city and are actually part of the public transit system. Our total spend was $55 USD and that includes our cabs to and from the airport.

Data is another regular cost, which came in at $8 this month. And for insurance we spent $144 on our international medical plan with Cigna Global. 

Of course, we always like to note what we don’t include in our cost of living summaries: any personal expenses like clothing or technology, any gifts or donations, and any costs related to our dogs.

The grand total for a month in Istanbul came in just over $2,225 USD. Even with a pricey Airbnb rental, this makes Istanbul one of our lowest cost destinations of the entire year. The only place that came in lower was Fethiye, a small city on the coast of Turkey where we stayed last January. A month there only cost $1,500 USD but our accommodations were much more modest and we certainly didn’t eat out as much. 

Our takeaway on Istanbul is that it offers an incredible city experience and also incredible value and we definitely see ourselves coming back here again. If you want to see for yourself how Istanbul compares to our other destinations, you can check out our entire cost of living series. 

All amounts in USD

Item	Budget
Accommodations: A compact studio apartment	$1,260
Entertainment: Entrance for sites and attractions plus our monthly subscriptions	$51
Dining Out & Takeaway: Takeaway meals and snacks once or even twice a day	$283
Groceries: Lots of home cooking as well	$425
Local Transportation: Cabs and public transportation	$55
Data: Small amount of data from global plan	$8
Insurance: An essential for travel	$144
Total	$2,225