How to check and get the best currency exchange rate in Istanbul?

From messages by 3 participants in 2 sources · Last activity: 12 days ago

TL;DR

Exchange booths display live rates on boards (especially in the Laleli district), and checking Google's exchange rate beforehand gives you a close estimate of the real rate. The gap between buy and sell rates tells you how good a particular exchanger is.

What the community said

No need to cross the whole city from Taksim to Laleli to save a few cents: Google's exchange rate is almost always very close to what you'll actually get at exchange booths. To judge if a specific exchanger is good, check the spread between buy and sell prices — the smaller the gap, the better the deal.

Taksim vs Laleli

There isn't a known single app or website that aggregates real-time exchange rates across all currency exchange booths in Istanbul, unlike similar services in some other countries.

Currency exchange rates at Istanbul exchange booths update throughout the day in real time. Head to the exchangers in the Laleli district and you'll see current buy/sell rates displayed on digital boards right at the entrance.

Exchange booths in Laleli district