Looking at booking a Turkey tour and the listing says “8 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 4 dinners included.” That’s only about half the meals for a 9 day tour?
How much should I budget for the non-included meals? Are the included meals decent restaurant quality or more like hotel buffet style? And if I have dietary restrictions (I’m vegetarian), can they accommodate that for the included meals or am I going to be eating plain rice for a week?
Great question and I’m sure it’s one that everybody thinks about.
Tours often leave evenings free so that travellers can explore local restaurants, markets, or relax independently.
Not everyone is comfortable with three meals a day.
Turkey is still relatively affordable for food, even with recent inflation.
For the full nine days, probably budget an extra $100-$200; up to $300 if you prefer nicer restaurants and like a drink with your meal.
Turkish breakfast is excellent for vegetarians: cheeses, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggs, breads, jams, honey.
Lunches, during tours, are usually set lunches.
Depending on the tour, dinners may be a hotel buffet, a night out at at a local restaurant, or special experiences (like a Bosphorus dinner cruise).
But my best advice would be to contact the tour operator, with your dietary needs before the tour.
Most tour operators and restaurants understand vegetarian’ or the phrase ‘etsiz’ (without meat).
