TIPS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TURKEY

TRAVELSTART recommends you should look at 5 things you need in order to visit Turkey.

1. South African Passport

First up is your passport. You will need a permanent South African passport, which is valid for 6 months after your return to South Africa.

2. Return Flight to Turkey

Secondly you will be looking at a round-trip plane ticket. Specials start for around R5600 including taxes from Johannesburg, regular prices are R6000+. Please note that you will pay a little bit extra from Cape Town and Durban.

3. Turkish Visa

The third thing you will need to take into account is the Turkish Visa. Turkey used to be visa free; it now offers a free visa. You don’t need to send your passport in though; it is done all online and is at no charge. Click here to apply for a visa.

4. Hotel Reservation

The fourth thing to take into account is a hotel reservation. Budget hotels in Istanbul will cost you around R700 per night for 2 people sharing. More upmarket hotels in a good location will be from around R1300.

5. Spending Money

The fifth thing to take into account is spending money, and how you will take money over. 1 Turkish Lira is equal to about R5. You can take a credit card, one of those cash passport cards, or otherwise Euro cash is a good idea as well. I recommend taking Euros on top of one of the other forms of money.

Cost of food and drinks:

• Fast food will cost around R60 per meal
• A mid range restaurant meal will cost R300 for 2 people
• Coke will cost you R11-R12
• Draught beer will set you back R40

These prices are similar to South Africa, but where Turkey is more expensive is in petrol prices. The price per litre of petrol is +-R25, so if you are going to hire a car take that into account.

Thanks