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Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Original poster

How much to budget for Turkey / Greece?

31 replies

Mangosorbetrocks · 12/01/2019 20:58

I’m looking for a cheap summer holiday for either Turkey or Greece, I quite like Crete. I’ve been told that Turkey is a lot cheaper than Greece for eating out and activities. Can anyone please tell me how much I should budget per day for either Turkey or Greece? We are a family of 3, me, my 12 year old son and a 3 year old daughter.

OP posts:
hendricksy · 12/01/2019 21:14

I would try and get AI ! We went to Cyprus many years ago and couldn't get over how much food and drink were ! Not sure about Crete but turkey wasn't too bad . Again quite a few years ago .

RLABC · 12/01/2019 21:23

Turkey is very cheap right now but it depends on what you like to do.
In resort restaurants/bars you can expect to pay around 8-10 Lira for a soft drink, 18-20 Lira for a bottled local beer. It's a lot cheaper to buy in the supermarkets though.
Eating out in resort restaurants can be cheap as a lot have set prices for 3 course meals. A couple of years back you would pay a maximum of 30 Lira, maybe it's a bit more expensive now as the cost of everything has rocketed.

Today you can get 7.02 Lira to the £.

RLABC · 12/01/2019 21:26

If you're self catering though, we spend about 100-150 Lira on groceries a week and that covers everything for 2 of us, including toiletries/cleaning items

RLABC · 12/01/2019 21:28

And please, if you can afford not to, please don't go AI. The locals need the business and it's far better to actually experience the country rather than just stick to one place.

Storybarn · 14/01/2019 07:08

I went to Istanbul on a city break many years ago so all info probably out of date. Was just dh & I at the time and we remember it being very cheap. We ate out in quite a few fancy restaurants & remember being pleasantly surprised when the bill came. There's no way we could have eaten at similar standard restaurants in the UK for the same price.

One thing I would day is to avoid the summer holiday period as temperatures go up to 40° +. With young children that would restrict their play time as the sun is so strong that it gets v uncomfortable. We went during the Easter holidays & it was mid to late 20's which makes is comfortable for sightseeing.

Storybarn · 14/01/2019 07:09

October to April is a good time to go temperature wise.

SooticaTheWitchesCat · 14/01/2019 13:01

We go to Turkey and Greece a lot and we allow about £100 per day for food and drink self catering and eating out every night.

Turkey is cheaper than Greece but I find Greece cheap too. Both are good value and both are lovely.

I personally wouldn't go all inclusive in either country.

EveryDayIsLikeMonday · 14/01/2019 16:48

We also budget around £100 a day for 4 of us (kids are adults) for SC and eating out every night, that includes drinks out too so I'm sure you could budget less than that. Even now we often share meals as the portions can be huge. We tend to stay in the less touristy areas where sunbeds are free on the beaches if you buy a drink from the bar/taverna.

Whatabloodymessthisis · 14/01/2019 16:49

We went AI last year to Liberty Lara and the food was fantastic as were the drinks.

EveryDayIsLikeMonday · 14/01/2019 16:54

That's in Greece btw. Crete tends to be a bit cheaper than some of the other islands.

Whatabloodymessthisis · 14/01/2019 17:02

We went AI last year to Liberty Lara and the food was fantastic as were the drinks.

Witchofzog · 14/01/2019 17:07

Turkey is very cheap at present. We went in Sept and ate out every day. We had some wonderful food at local family run places most nights. Much better than ai

Original poster
Mangosorbetrocks · 15/01/2019 18:04

Thank you all so much for your replies. I’m not planning on having an all inclusive deal. Currently looking at having breakfast at the hotel as it’s probably the easiest option with a 3 year old.

Unfortunately we are looking at going there in August and I’m already worried about the heat Confused

OP posts:
RLABC · 15/01/2019 19:12

Depending on where you stay in Turkey August can be very hot but it's doable, plenty of children come.
As for PPs suggesting £100 per day, I don't know what they spend it on. I'm struggling to think of how 3 of you could spend 700 Lira in a day, even if you eat out 3 times. Tourist trips and alcoholic drinks are the only things I can think of that would eat into a budget.

Original poster
Mangosorbetrocks · 15/01/2019 19:31

I was a little worried about the £100/ day too RLABC. Hopefully it won’t cost us that much as I’m on a really tight budget.

OP posts:
RLABC · 15/01/2019 20:05

If you're having breakfast in your hotel/apartment then that's a good saving although will your youngest really eat enough to make it worth the outlay?
Lunch you can expect to pay about 25-30 Lira per dish. Dinner, I'd say a maximum of 50-60 Lira. Obviously less for your youngest though.
The GBP/TL rate is 6.98 today.

RLABC · 15/01/2019 20:07

Those are resort restaurant prices near my area. If you eat in local places then it's a lot cheaper.

Storybarn · 15/01/2019 20:58

Can you go during the October half term holidays or are you restricted to the summer?

EveryDayIsLikeMonday · 15/01/2019 21:02

Yes, our £100 per day is a generous budget for 4 adults. That covers our transfers, day trips and cocktails as well as food!

imsorryiasked · 15/01/2019 21:09

Eating out in Greece last year was around the same price as eating out in the UK, much more expensive than in previous years. No experience of Turkey I'm afraid

Jackshouse · 17/01/2019 13:35

School holidays or not will make a huge difference.

SooticaTheWitchesCat · 17/01/2019 13:43

You can certainly eat for less than that if you are careful and our £100 is for 2 adults, including drinks and a 14 year old and a 12 year old.

namechangedtoday15 · 17/01/2019 22:10

I'd agree with @Imsorry. Crete (in August) last year was pretty similar to UK. We're a family of 5, breakfast or lunch ( we were staying room only) was about £40 - just a snack each - omelette / toastie / Greek salad / halloumi with a drink each - only had either breakfast or lunch, then dinner was about £60-80, 4 x main meals between 5 of us, maybe 1 or 2 local starters (houmous & bread etc) between us , water for the children and half a litre of local wine for us. Drinks during the day were 3 euros for soft drinks, 3 or 4 euros for a coffee or a beer. Cocktails were between 7 and 10 euros. Sunbeds were usually 5 euros for 2 x beds and an umbrella.

My parents spent part of the holiday with us and spend quite alot of time in Turkey. They said it was about 30% more expensive in Greece than they were used to in Turkey.

SooticaTheWitchesCat · 22/01/2019 13:26

You don't have to pay for sunbeds in Turkey in most places.

RLABC · 22/01/2019 21:20

That's not strictly true @Sootica, some beaches have sunbeds "owned" by the beach bars/restaurants and although they don't charge you to use them, you are expected to buy food and drinks from them.
Some beaches have sunbeds owned by the council and you pay them.
Some beaches have a "free" section but there aren't any sunbeds, you bring your own towels/chairs/lilos/whatever to sit on.