Tipping in Turkey: 2026 Guide for Travelers

Restaurants, Lokantas, and Meyhanes

At a lokanta or esnaf lokantası — a canteen-style spot where you point at dishes in a steam tray — rounding up or leaving about 5% is plenty. At a sit-down restaurant, 5–10% is standard, and at an upscale restaurant or a meyhane (a tavern serving meze and rakı), about 10% for good service is the norm.

Before tipping, check the bill for servis ücreti (service charge) or “servis dahil” (service included). If it’s there, an extra tip is optional. Ask for the bill with “Hesap, lütfen.”

Tip in cash even if you pay the bill by card. Many card machines can’t add a tip, and a tip added to a card may not reach your server. Leaving the cash in the bill folder or handing it over directly are both normal.

Hamams (Turkish Baths)

At a traditional hamam, an attendant — a tellak for men or a natır for women — scrubs you down with a rough mitt (kese) and gives a foam wash. Tip about 10–15% of the treatment price in cash, handed to your attendant directly as you leave. Some hamams state that tips are included or post a no-tipping policy, so read the price list first. For context on spa tipping back home, see our salon and spa tipping guide.

Tour Guides, Drivers, and Balloon Flights

On a group tour in Istanbul, at Ephesus, or in Cappadocia, roughly $5–10 per person per day for the guide and $2–5 for the driver, paid in lira, is customary for good service. For a private guide, about 10% of the tour price is a reasonable benchmark. Our tour guide tipping guide explains how to hand it over.

Cappadocia hot-air balloon crews often have a tip box at the landing site; a few dollars’ worth of lira per person is a nice gesture but optional. On a multi-day gulet cruise along the Turquoise Coast, tipping the crew at the end is customary — ask the operator what’s typical, as it varies by boat.

Taxis, Hotels, and Everyday Services

• Taxis: make sure the meter (taksimetre) is running, then round up the fare. Apps like BiTaksi or Uber show the price upfront.
• Hotel porters: the lira equivalent of about $1 per bag.
• Housekeeping: about $1–2 per night in lira, left daily with a note.
• Barbers: about 10% for a cut or traditional shave.
• Public restrooms: many charge a small fixed fee at the door — that’s a fee, not a tip.

Lira, Dollars, and Euros

Tip in Turkish lira whenever you can. In tourist areas, US dollar or euro notes are sometimes accepted as tips, but coins in foreign currency are useless to staff, and lira is easier for them to spend. Withdraw lira from a bank ATM, keep small notes for tips, and check the current exchange rate with the currency converter — it can shift noticeably between trips.

When a card terminal or ATM offers to charge you in dollars, choose lira; the dollar option usually comes with a worse rate.