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Traveling to Turkey

5enohpi

5enohpi

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 23, 2012
149
3
Philly/Vegas
My wife and I will be traveling to Turkey in May for about 10 days. Was wondering if any of you fellow members have experience in traveling over seas and the fees/rates that apply if I was too use my phone out there. I currently have att and I want to be able to use my phone for the maps/browser and camera functions as well as email. Any suggestions?
 
If you want to be able to use data when out and about you may want to get a local SIM card. You can get one at the TurkCell shop right at the airport. Be sure to ask lots of questions and know what you're buying. I made the mistake of just getting the SIM card and my phone still didn't work the next day. Turkey requires you to also register your phones IMEI number for the handset to work. There was a small fee for this....so it basically took me two days to get set up. You would also need to have an unlocked iPhone for this to work.

If you want to use ATT, it'd be easier but much more expensive. You would have to call and get an international roaming plan and would have to know how much data you plan to use.

There was also a large network wi-fi provider that had hotspots everywhere. You could sign up for different plans with your credit card and have access almost everywhere in any major city. Can't remember the name of it but you'll see them come up in the list of hotspots when you look for signal. Wifi could meet most of your needs and be a lot cheaper. Maps will cache some data so if you look at maps while you have wifi you can then use them to walk around. Or you could search for GPS Turkey in the AppStore and see if there's an app with preloaded maps. I used the wifi hotspots when I was there....the sim I got was just for a dumb phone as my iPhone wasn't unlocked yet when I went.
 
I went to Turkey during the summer with a Verizon iPhone 4S. I think that I just paid about $30 and I got something like 200 minutes and unlimited data (512 MB 3G).
 
I was in Turkey last year. At the Istanbul airport, I bought a Turkcell SIM and activated it. It lasted me for the whole trip. I had Wi-Fi at my hotel and i downloaded the Google map, so I was good. I was unaware that there is subscription Wi-Fi service on the streets too. I will be visiting in June. Please post your experience after your May trip.
 
Hello ;

As a Turkish citizen I hope you will love my country :)

As an answer to you question I can tell you that Turkcell is the best operator in Turkey. You may want to try their pre paid cards. We only have 3G in Turkey and they are the ones who give you the most satisfying 3G experience.

You can check the prices and regulations from : http://www.turkcell.com.tr/site/en/turkcellhakkinda/Sayfalar/konusma-mesajlasma/tourist-tariff.aspx

or : www.turkcell.com.tr go to bottom of the page and there is a link for English version.

If you have any questions please let me know :)

Have a nice trip too
 
serkan said:
Hello ;

As a Turkish citizen I hope you will love my country :)

As an answer to you question I can tell you that Turkcell is the best operator in Turkey. You may want to try their pre paid cards. We only have 3G in Turkey and they are the ones who give you the most satisfying 3G experience.

You can check the prices and regulations from : http://www.turkcell.com.tr/site/en/turkcellhakkinda/Sayfalar/konusma-mesajlasma/tourist-tariff.aspx

or : www.turkcell.com.tr go to bottom of the page and there is a link for English version.



If you have any questions please let me know :)

Have a nice trip too
Click to expand...


Serkan,

Thanks for the info. My phone isn't unlocked so I think my only option is to contact my provider here and look at what they have to offer and then decide if it will be worth it at all
 
serkan said:
Hello ;

As a Turkish citizen I hope you will love my country :)

As an answer to you question I can tell you that Turkcell is the best operator in Turkey. You may want to try their pre paid cards. We only have 3G in Turkey and they are the ones who give you the most satisfying 3G experience.

You can check the prices and regulations from : http://www.turkcell.com.tr/site/en/turkcellhakkinda/Sayfalar/konusma-mesajlasma/tourist-tariff.aspx

or : www.turkcell.com.tr go to bottom of the page and there is a link for English version.

If you have any questions please let me know :)

Have a nice trip too
Click to expand...

great advice, it is useful, maybe next vacation, i will consider to go to Turkey.:D
 
Hey! I was in Turkey for six months and came back a few days ago. One thing that I would advise you to be careful of is that the Turkish government blocks all foreign mobile devices after 3-4 days of your arrival to Turkey. WiFi works normally but I doubt your SIM services would work. The government tracks the IMEI number and all the phones that have not paid the taxes (100 TL) are blocked. If you're lucky, your SIM may work for a week. I had a bad experience regarding this particular issue. Apart from that, it is a great country. Have fun!
 
Hmm starting to think it might not Be worth getting a plan for the whole month if I can only use the phone or 3-4 days
 
They don't block your phone after 3-4 days. I think that they block your phone after 3 months. That's how it was when I visited last summer
 
5enohpi said:
Serkan,

Thanks for the info. My phone isn't unlocked so I think my only option is to contact my provider here and look at what they have to offer and then decide if it will be worth it at all
Click to expand...

Yes ; you have to talk where you have bought your phone and let them unlock it . Beacuse we have a system in Turkey that if you put an Turkish SIM Card the phone will automaticly lock itself. You can ask the authorities when you come to Turkey in airport about this , they will definetly help you.

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Mellisaray said:
great advice, it is useful, maybe next vacation, i will consider to go to Turkey.:D
Click to expand...

Why not :) Come and be our guest please :)

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taedouni said:
They don't block your phone after 3-4 days. I think that they block your phone after 3 months. That's how it was when I visited last summer
Click to expand...

It was 4 months but now its even shorter than 1 month :(
 
i spent some time in turkey last year...SUPER friendly people. every time i was lost or confused, a friendly native would pop up asking in great english if i needed help.
 
Yes, the majority of Turkish people are very friendly. But just like in all parts of the world, there are people that prey on tourist. Avoid purchasing knocked off items on the streets, these people usually try to swap your 50 for a 5 and claim that you're trying to rip them off. I had a police officer chase him down and give me back my money. The guy was crying and begging for mercy. The ironic part is that I didn't want the knocked off cologne, I only bought it because the guy looked like he needed the money. He claimed that it was real but I'm not an idiot. When he ripped me off I told him to piss off before I hurt him. He started yelling things in Turkish to people nearby. That's when I found the police officer and let him chase and handle the guy. Law enforcement are very friendly towards tourist. So don't feel shy to ask for help. Word of advice, don't take matters into your own hands. I didn't want to risk anything since I don't know the laws of Turkey.

For Taxi drivers, try to have the hotel get them for you and talk to them on the phone on your way back. Never let a taxi driver take you any where without the meter on.

Never follow a stranger to a private place. He may have friends hiding and waiting to jump an innocent tourist.

Turkey is an amazing place. I went there for my honeymoon. Just be careful.
 
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