Currency exchange at Turkish airports: how it works and what to check

For a traveller arriving from Iran, the first exchange office in sight is usually the one at the airport: counters in the arrivals hall and next to the baggage belts that turn dollars and euros into lira. Currency exchange at Istanbul Airport is the most convenient option, but it is not always the best one. This article explains how airport counters work, why their rates differ from the city, what to check before you hand over your notes and how much it makes sense to convert on the spot.

You will not find a single rate figure in this text. Rates change every day; the aim is to give you a way of deciding, not a number that is stale by tomorrow.

How airport exchange counters work

The exchange desks in Turkish airports are run by licensed exchange companies that rent space inside the terminal. As of October 2026, the official Istanbul Airport (IST) website lists Global Exchange foreign-exchange offices at many points of the terminal, from the public departures area before the check-in desks to areas close to the gates. The official Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) website lists exchange offices in the international departures hall (both landside and airside after passport control), in the international arrivals hall and in the baggage claim area.

What that means in practice is simple: before your flight and after you land there is usually a counter within reach. But being within reach is not the same as being good value. These counters work like any other exchange office, with two rates: a buying rate, at which they buy your foreign currency, and a selling rate, at which they sell you lira or another currency. Some also print a separate commission line on the receipt.

Which currencies are accepted

Dollars and euros are accepted almost everywhere, and sterling and a few other common currencies are usually on the board too. Iranian rials and toman are not traded at airport counters; a passenger carrying only Iranian money has no way to convert at the airport. Whether to bring lira or dollars from Iran is the question we opened in Lira or dollars for a Turkey trip?.

Why the airport rate differs from the city

There are four main reasons, and none of them is anyone's fault or skill; it is simply how the market is built.

• Rent and floor space: commercial space inside a terminal is among the most expensive in the city, and that cost shows up in the gap between buying and selling rates.
• A convenience premium: the passenger pays for converting at the exact spot where they are standing, by the same logic that makes a bottle of water expensive at the airport.
• Captive demand: someone who has just landed and needs lira for a taxi or a SIM card has neither the time to compare nor another option. The counter knows this.
• Small transaction sizes: most airport transactions are small amounts for first expenses, and the office spreads its fixed cost per transaction across those small sums.

The result is that the gap between buying and selling rates at the airport is usually wider than at exchange offices in the city. That gap is not a fixed number; it changes with the time of day, the travel season and market volatility, and it can even differ between two counters in the same terminal.

What to check

Before you put your notes on the counter, run through this list.

1. Read the board correctly. The "buy" column (Alış) is the rate at which they buy your currency; the "sell" column (Satış) is the rate at which they sell to you. To turn dollars into lira, the dollar buying rate is your benchmark.
2. Ask about the commission line. Some counters show an attractive rate on the board and charge the commission separately. The right question is: "For this amount, exactly how many lira do I get?"
3. Ask for the final amount before paying. Do not hand over money until you have heard the final figure.
4. Count the notes at the counter. Once you have walked away, proving a shortfall is almost impossible.
5. Take the receipt and keep it. It shows where your lira came from, and it helps if you later deposit the money into a bank account or face a question at the border.
6. Compare with the reference rate. Before you fly, look at the Turkish lira to toman rate and the Istanbul dollar rate in the site's reference table. That is a market reference rate, not any exchange office's firm quote; but it gives you a feel for how far the airport offer sits from the market.

How much to convert at the airport

The simple rule: only what the first day needs. That means a taxi or metro ticket to your accommodation, a SIM card if you need one, a meal and small change along the way. The amount is small enough that the airport gap has no noticeable effect on it, and in return it saves you from being without cash in your first hour.

Convert the rest in the city or through a route you arranged before the trip. Buying and selling Turkish lira in Istanbul at EL DÖVİZ is paid in toman, and you receive the lira in cash at the office or as a deposit to an account. If you have brought dollars or euros, cash dollar and euro exchange is the same route for banknotes. In both cases the rate and the fee are confirmed before anything is executed, and nothing happens until you approve.

Card or cash?

Many travellers pay the larger costs, such as hotels or domestic flights, by card and keep cash for small spending. For an Iranian traveller the equation is different: a bank card issued in Iran does not work in Turkey, because Iran's banking network is cut off from the international card networks. So you either carry more cash or get a local prepaid card; the second option is covered in What is a Turkey tourist card?.

Selling leftover lira when you leave

On the way home, the airport counters will buy your spare lira, but at the airport buying rate, which is usually the furthest from the market of any rate you see during your trip. You have three options:

• Convert in the city before heading to the airport. If the amount matters, set aside time the day before your flight.
• Sell the lira for toman. You hand over the lira in Istanbul and the toman equivalent is paid into your Iranian account; the details are on the send money from Turkey to Iran page. For a larger sum left from a sale or the end of a stay, this is usually more sensible than carrying banknotes to Iran.
• Keep a small amount for the next trip. Just remember that the lira has moved a lot in recent years, and the lira you put aside today will not hold the same value next year.

Final notes

• Cash declaration when leaving Turkey: if you carry a large sum of foreign currency, amounts above the legal threshold must be declared to customs. The figures, sources and details are in the cash limit from Iran to Turkey.
• Do not accept offers from unofficial people. Someone offering a "better rate" in the hall gives neither a receipt nor any assurance that the notes are genuine.
• Torn, stamped or very old notes may be bought at a lower rate or refused outright. Bring clean notes from Iran.
• The rate on the board may be for large amounts. For a small sum, ask for the net figure.
• The counter's location matters. The transit-area counter, the arrivals-hall counter and the public-area counter do not necessarily apply the same rate.

If your travel budget is larger than the first day's spending, state the currency and amount in the quote form before you fly; EL DÖVİZ confirms the rate and fee before execution once the request has been reviewed, and you convert only the airport pocket money on the spot.