Turkey by campervan: food and supermarkets
Where to buy food in Turkey, which supermarkets to use, opening hours and practical tips for eating on the road. What to know before you go.
Published 18 September 2026Last checked 18 September 2026
Currency
Turkish lira
TRY, not the euro. 55.90 TL to €1 on 18 September 2026
Insurance
Green card, TR box open
A crossed out TR box means the policy does not cover Turkey
Driving
Right
Every toll road needs an HGS account
Language
Turkish
English on the coast, much less inland
Power
230V, type F
Same two-pin plug as most of Europe
Emergency
112
One number for police, fire and ambulance
Food and shops
Food and shops
The discount chains are the backbone of shopping in Turkey and they are everywhere. BİM, A101 and Şok run small hard-discount shops in almost every town of any size, including places where nothing else is open. Migros and CarrefourSA run the larger supermarkets in cities and along the coast, with proper car parks a van can use. For anything fresh, the weekly street market, the pazar, beats all of them and is usually cash only.
Where to shop
- Best value: BİM, A101 or Şok.
- Full range: Migros or CarrefourSA.
- Camper access: Migros 5M and large CarrefourSA branches outside centres are easiest for campervans.
What eating out costs, reported
- Cheap restaurant meal
- 450 TL
- Draught beer, 0.5 l
- 180 TL
About 8.05 euros at 55.90 lira to the euro, the central bank rate on 18 September 2026. Reported range 250 to 750, Numbeo September 2026. Crowd-sourced, not an official figure
About 3.20 euros at the same rate. Reported range 90 to 300, Numbeo September 2026. Alcohol is heavily taxed in Turkey and the reported beer price sits close to the reported meal price
Where to shop, and what each one is for
| Shop | Good for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| BİM, A101, Şok | Basics, cheaply. Hard discounters with a small rotating range. | The ones you find in a village. Long hours, small car parks |
| Migros, CarrefourSA | A full shop, fresh meat and fish, imported things. | City and coastal. Big car parks a van can use |
| Pazar, the weekly street market | Fruit, vegetables, cheese, olives. Better and cheaper than the supermarket. | One fixed day per neighbourhood. Cash. Packs up by early afternoon |
| Bakkal, the corner shop | Bread, water, the thing you forgot. | Open when everything else is shut |
| Tekel shop | Alcohol, where supermarkets do not sell it. | Heavily taxed, and absent in some conservative towns |
Eating out without getting it wrong
- Look for the tray counter. A lokanta or esnaf lokantası serves home cooking by the plate and is the cheapest proper meal in any town.
- Breakfast is the meal to build a day around. A village kahvaltı spread is eggs, cheese, olives, honey, bread and endless tea.
Stocking the campervan
- Buy olives, cheese, dried fruit, nuts and spices here. They are excellent and much cheaper than north of the border.
- Gas: Turkish bottles use their own fittings. Bring adapters, or plan on refilling LPG rather than swapping bottles.
