10 rules for travelling around Turkey

Download an offline map of Maps me in advance and download a map of Turkey or the cities you want. This is important because there will probably be no free wifi at the airport, and you will need to get to the hotel on your own.

Take your Mir card with you. Better, just in case, two, and from different banks. Mir card in Turkey accepts four banks. But to pay by card in stores and hotels is unlikely to work - all, as a rule, acquiring other banks. So it is more convenient to withdraw a certain amount at an ATM and then pay in cash.

If you don't drive a car, you have to learn how to use buses. In large cities, such as Antalya, you can't pay cash on the bus - you need a special pass, Antalyacart. It is sold at ATMs at bus stops, where you can also put money on it to make a trip. In small towns you can usually pay with money on the bus. The drivers do not usually speak English or Russian. So be prepared to speak Turkish and use sign language to show you what you need. International buses leave from bus stations. There is a Turkish Otogar in every city.

Выучите основы турецкого языка. Во-первых, так будет легче понимать друг друга в дороге и в магазине. Во-вторых, турки очень радуются, когда туристы пытаются говорить на турецком! Они же сами вон сколько языков знают. Так что хоть коряво, но старайтесь говорить с ними на родном. Так и скидку получить больше шансов.

The best vacation is a change of activities! So, if you have chosen a composite itinerary of several points, alternate different types of holidays. Hotel in the center - all inclusive - villa on a remote peninsula - apartment by the sea - cabin in the mountains. As strange as it may sound, but even a trip can get boring and tired. By alternating between different formats you help your brain not to get bored with monotony and not to catch "Groundhog Day.

Stay in hotels with a pool! It's hot here, and while accommodation with direct access to the sea will cost you a pretty penny, a hotel with a pool can be found quite easily and for a very good price. We look for hotels on Booking app. The funny thing is that it does not work in Russia and does not work in Turkey, if you book accommodation while in Turkey. But the VPN (try different ones) and the checkbox on "pay in cash" rather than by card solves the issues.

Try to buy not in tourist places. Cafes where the locals eat are tastier and more authentic, bazaars are cheaper, and supermarkets like 101 and Sok are great if you need something household items. Or cookies.

Don't take a lot of stuff with you. We always travel with hand luggage, but here we even have it very light and empty. Because it's much easier and cheaper to buy everything you need in Turkey. It is more pleasant to walk in a Turkish dress, and you want to take it with you as a souvenir. No one will have it at home for sure. And it costs up to 1,000 rubles.

Buy a local SIM card from the PTT operator - that is, at the post office. If you don't want to walk from wifi to wifi (especially since not every hotel has it for free), it is recommended to buy a local SIM card. It will stop working in 2 months, because you do not have a Turkish phone, but for the duration of the trip is quite possible. Sims, of course, sold throughout Turkey, for example, at the operator Vodafone connection costs 450 lire. And at the post office - 175, for which you have 25 gigabytes. If you are traveling together, it is better to buy one SIM, and the second device to distribute the Internet via hotspot.

Explore Old Town. At almost every resort you can find "Old Town"-historical houses with tiled roofs. Be sure to go not only to the sea, but also to get lost in their coolness!