What Istanbul costs
Istanbul is paid for in tickets and a bed, while a meal and a tram ride are a small part of the day — prices item by item, in euros.
- Hostel
- €8–15 a night, a dorm bed
- 3-star hotel
- €65 a night, the price of a room
- A meal
- €9–10 at an esnaf lokantası
The biggest single items in Istanbul are tickets and a bed, since the Topkapı Palace costs €49 and a hotel room €65. A meal at an esnaf lokantası is €9–10 and a tram ride €0.82, so you protect the bill at the monuments and the bed, since food is the small part. If price is your first worry, start with the table, which comes first for that reason.
Prices line by line
Everything is per person, except the hotel room.
The bill climbs the most on tickets, because the four big ones, Topkapı, the Cistern, Hagia Sophia and the Galata Tower, cost together more than a week in a hostel, and a hotel night is the second big item. If price is your first worry, pick two or three tickets instead of all four, and remember that Topkapı is paid for at the ticket office only.
Official ticket
- Price
- €35
Through a partner
- options with a guide or audio guide
- usually costs more than the official ticket
Where it is easiest to save
The easiest saving is on food and transport. A balık ekmek at a stall costs €2.70–4.60, lunch at an esnaf lokantası €9–10, and the city ferry across the Bosphorus €1.16 on the same card as the tram. Entry to the Blue Mosque is free, so spend your first day in old Sultanahmet on one costly ticket rather than all four.
Buy the plan before you go and switch it on when you land.
The same comparison for 156 places: hostel, hotel, getting into town and a day pass. Travel costs →
Where to next
What to eat in Istanbul
→Fish in bread by the Galata Bridge, a ready dish from behind the glass at lunch and meze at night — what Istanbul eats at each hour, and what it costs.
Safranbolu · 315 km
→An Ottoman town tourism skipped because it's too far from the sea
How well does Istanbul suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
Nomadinho scores out of 100, the same ones behind “Where to go”.
If you like Istanbul
Three places with the closest scores, from any country.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
How much does a day in Istanbul cost?
It depends on the tickets: a hostel is €8–15 a night, a meal at an esnaf lokantası €9–10, a tram ride €0.82, and each big ticket adds from €25 (Hagia Sophia) to €49 (Topkapı).
Do you pay to enter Hagia Sophia?
Foreign visitors pay for a ticket to the upper gallery, €25, while the ground floor is a place of prayer. The Blue Mosque across the square is free.
Ready for Istanbul?
Front row for the next trip
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