Cheap holidays to Turkey are still out there – you just need to know where to look

“How much is a bottle of Efes this year?” This is one of the most common questions on Facebook groups for visitors to Dalyan in southwest Turkey. 

Efes is Turkey’s most popular lager brand, best served ice cold with a stunning view. For some Britons, it’s also a gauge for their summer holiday spending costs.

In 2024, Turkey ranked the fourth most-visited country in the world according to UN Tourism statistics, attracting more than 60 million international arrivals, 4.4 million of which came from the UK.

But if anecdotal evidence is to be believed, its popularity among this market appears to be dwindling. Once a favourite for budget getaways, Turkey is gaining a reputation for being expensive.

The cost of an Efes is often a bellwether for holiday costs (Photo: fmajor/Getty)

The lively resort of Marmaris topped the Post Office Travel Money’s guide to best-value holiday destinations in 2023, taking second place in 2024. This year, it has plummeted down to 16th place thanks to an increase in the average cost of a typical holiday shopping basket of 26.4 per cent compared to last year.

In the first five months of this year, official visitor statistics are showing a gradual trend of decline, with lower numbers recorded in February, March and May compared to 2024. In May, international visitors to Turkey were down by 1.81 per cent compared to last year.

A range of factors are at play, but on social media, many long-term repeat guests say they are shunning Turkey because of rising costs in what had been a pleasingly low-cost holiday destination.

Post-pandemic inflation is pushing up prices across the globe, but consumer prices have soared in Turkey in recent years. In October 2022, inflation hit 85.5 per cent, the highest rate since 1997. In May last year, it was 75.45 per cent. Despite a downward trend since, it still sat stubbornly high at 35.5 per cent in June.

Naturally, the state of Turkey’s economy has impacted the cost of goods and services, which in turn has affected the prices of hotel rooms and food.

But it’s important to consider the value of the Turkish lira against the British pound. Turkey’s currency has been consistently weakening since the country’s ongoing economic crisis began in 2018, which is helping to counter inflation for British holidaymakers.

Take that bottle of Efes. This season, the going rate for 50cl at a hotel in a prime spot on Dalyan’s riverfront is 200 lira. Last summer, it was 150 lira.

That might seem like a big jump, but in British pounds, last year’s bottle cost about £3.68 and this year’s equates to approximately £3.73 – a year-on-year increase of just 5p. And those are premium prices: you can order a pint of Efes on draft for as little as 100 lira (£1.87) at a bar in town.

Eat at local cafes and you will find cheap meals are available (Photo: Esin Deniz/Getty)

What about food? Delicious meals and warm hospitality are just two of the many reasons why so many people love Turkey. Yet recently, word around the pool and on Facebook is that dining out in Turkey costs “the same as at home.”

Obviously, you’ll pay more for a meal in a fancy, waterfront restaurant than in a homely café, but chances are the meze at both will be comparable. Look for lokantas: canteen-style “tradesmen’s cafes”. They’re not glamorous, but they’re always busy because the food is fresh, local and cheap. At Dalyan’s popular Cömert Lokantası, vegetarian dishes start from £1.30 and meat dishes £2.

An increasing number of holidaymakers are choosing all-inclusive to control their holiday spending budget. According to Abta, the Travel Association, almost two thirds of Britons heading overseas chose a package holiday last season. Of these, nearly a third went all-inclusive.

However, the BBC reported last week that package holiday prices to Spain, Greece and Cyprus – as well as Turkey – have risen considerably this year. Searches for package holidays in Turkey in August this year have revealed year-on-year price increases of 15 per cent, according to TravelSupermarket data that underpinned the BBC report.

Yet the World Tourism Forum Institute recently reported that the average overnight cost in Turkey is €78 (£67.70), significantly cheaper than Spain (€110) and Croatia (€95).

There are also some great deals to be found for flights to Turkey this summer. At the time of writing, easyJet had return flights from Glasgow to Dalaman from £108 in the last week of August (admittedly, schools have returned by this point in Scotland). From Gatwick, fares are available from £201. Typically, they’d be closer to £350 at this time of year.

There are some great value package holidays available this August (Photo: Tatiana Maksimova/Getty)

In September, return tickets to Dalaman are available for as little as £48 from Gatwick and £120 from Manchester, should you choose to fly light with just a small underseat bag.

At the time of writing, week-long all-inclusive holidays in Turkey in August start from just under £2,000 for a family of four booked through On The Beach.

Jet2 Holidays has a week’s all-inclusive in Marmaris for just over £2,000 for a family of four in the last week of August.

LoveHolidays has week-long self-catering packages for two in September for as little as £159 each.

Prices for Scotland departures in late August are also well below the £2,000 mark across operators for a family of four – bargains may appeal to families in the north-east and north-west of England.

All prices correct at the time of writing