How safe is Turkey for travelers?

The Istanbul bar scam

This is the one to know about. It has been running for twenty years and it still works because it does not feel like a scam.

• A friendly, well-dressed man strikes up a conversation near Istiklal Caddesi, Taksim or Sultanahmet. Good English, a genuine-seeming interest in where you are from.
• He suggests a drink at a bar he knows. Sometimes he mentions his brother's place, sometimes it is simply nearby.
• Women appear at the table, drinks arrive, and the bill is thousands of euros.
• Refusing is when it turns unpleasant, and people have been walked to an ATM.
• It targets men travelling alone above all, and it happens to sober, sensible people.
• The defence is simple: do not go to a bar chosen by someone who approached you in the street. Suggest a place you picked instead and watch what happens.

Counterfeit alcohol

The FCDO warns explicitly about methanol poisoning from illegally produced spirits and counterfeit branded bottles.

• Even small amounts of methanol can kill, and it has killed tourists and Turkish people alike.
• Buy spirits from supermarkets and licensed shops, not from unlabelled bottles or unusually cheap all-inclusive top-shelf pours.
• Be wary of very cheap spirits at bars in resort areas.
• Symptoms are blurred vision, nausea and confusion hours after drinking. Get to a hospital immediately rather than sleeping it off.
• Do not accept drinks from strangers. Spiking is also a reported problem.

The everyday scams

• The taxi meter that is "broken". Insist, or use BiTaksi or Uber.
• The banknote switch, where a 200 lira note becomes a 20 in the driver's hand. Say the amount out loud as you hand it over.
• The dropped shoe brush. A shoeshine man drops his brush, you helpfully pick it up, and you are given a shine you did not want and a bill.
• The carpet shop tour, where a new friend guides you to a shop and takes a commission on whatever you are talked into.
• Restaurant menus without prices in tourist streets. Ask before ordering, especially for fish, which is often priced by weight.
• Fake e-Visa sites charging several times the real fee.

Crime, terrorism and where not to go

• Street robbery and pickpocketing are common in Istanbul's tourist areas, particularly Istiklal, the Grand Bazaar and crowded trams.
• The FCDO advises against travel to parts of southeast Turkey, near the Syrian and Iraqi borders. Check the current regional advice before planning anything there.
• Terrorist attacks have targeted airports, religious sites and public gatherings, mostly in the southeast, Ankara and Istanbul.
• Avoid demonstrations. They can be dispersed forcefully and foreigners taking part in political protest risk detention and deportation.
• Insulting the Turkish state, the flag or the president is a criminal offence, including in a social media post made before you arrived.

Earthquakes

• Turkey sits on major fault lines and earthquakes are frequent. A magnitude 6.2 struck near Istanbul in April 2025.
• Learn the drop, cover and hold on drill and note where the exits are in your hotel.
• AFAD is the national agency and its alerts are the ones to follow.
• Summer brings wildfires, flooding and extreme heat, particularly on the Mediterranean and Aegean coasts.