Travel Costs Breakdown – Lagos, Nigeria to Turkey

How much should you plan for your leisure travel from Nigeria to Turkey? In this post, I’ll be sharing details of the costs of travelling from Lagos, Nigeria to Istanbul and Cappadocia, Turkey. I made this trip from Nairobi, and apart from the costs of flights, everything else is applicable when travelling from Nigeria.

This breakdown is based solely on our experience and is only intended for trip planning and to present a fair idea of how much to budget. All prices stated here are either approximate values (rounded up to the nearest whole number) or exact values at the time of this writing. A cost breakdown summary is available at the end of the post.

Nigeria to Turkey
Note: This was a mid-budget trip. For simplicity, prices have been converted at 8.6TL to 1 USD. 
Holm Cafe Zamalek

Trip Planning Resources

Book your accommodation: Find accommodation options for any budget on Booking.com

Purchase Travel Insurance: I use SafetyWing for both my travel and visa application needs

Activities: Find fun activities and tours in your destination via Get Your Guide, Viator or Klook Travel

eSIM: Get your travel eSIM here

Getting to Turkey: How to Get a Visa from Nigeria to Turkey?

Nigerian citizens visiting Turkey for tourism require a visa. You are eligible to get a Turkish evisa ($50) if you have a valid visa or resident permit to the US, UK, Ireland and the Schengen zone. If you don’t meet these criteria, you would need to apply for a sticker visa through the approved application centres.

In this post, I have written about the entire process of the Turkey visa application. It contains details on visa requirements, documents, processing time, fees and more.

Istanbul

Getting to Turkey: How much is a flight ticket from Lagos to Istanbul?

The easiest and fastest way to travel from Nigeria to Turkey is via a direct flight to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines. The cost of the return flight tickets from Lagos to Istanbul will vary depending on your travel dates, so be sure to check the airline’s website for an updated price. We flew from Nairobi to Istanbul and Cappadocia and paid $850 each for a return ticket.

When I checked how much it costs to fly from Lagos to Istanbul for our dates, the price was ₦415,551 on Travelstart and $970 on Turkish Airlines.

Cost-saving Tip: Airlines, such as Egyptair and Ethiopian Airlines, usually offer cheaper flights to Turkey. The compromise is a longer commute time. Also, if you're travelling to Cappadocia, you can shave off around $100 from your ticket price on Turkish Airlines if you book your Nevşehir leg separately.
TurkishAirlines
Travel Tip: Try as much as possible to book directly with the airlines, rather than through a third party. This makes it easier to manage your flights in case you have any reasons to cancel or change dates.

Transportation in Turkey

In Cappadocia, we decided to rent a car and this cost us $269 for 5 days (inclusive of fuel and insurance). While in Istanbul, we got around using the public transportation systems including ferries, buses and trams. We also walked around a lot.

For public transportation, we used the Istanbulkart to get everywhere and I highly recommend getting one if you’ll be staying in the city for a few days.

How to get IstanbulKart scaled

Getting to and from Istanbul from the airport cost us a total of $35. We used the Uber app to hail rides to and from the airport.

Cost-saving Tip: Should you decide not to rent a car in Cappadocia, there are daily tours that leave from Gorome to all the major sights. Ask your hotel about the blue, red and green tours.

Accommodation in Turkey

We stayed in 5 hotels between Cappadocia and Istanbul. In Cappadocia, we stayed at the Osmanli Cappadocia hotel, Local Cave House and Mithra Hotel – and we loved them all! Osmanli Cappadocia Hotel cost us $47 per night, Local Cave House cost us $57 per night, and Mithra was $97 per night.

These hotels fall within the median range for accommodation in Cappadocia. You’ll find several hotels and hostels for less or more, depending on your style and budget.

Mithra Cave Hotel
Local Cave House Travel with a Pen
Turkey Cappadocia Hot Air Balloons

In Istanbul, we stayed at Dauria Galata Flats and Henna Istanbul. I chose these places because of their proximity to Galata Towers and environs and Sultanahmet – where the Blue Mosque and Aya Sofia are located.

My favourite things about the Dauria Flats were the location and the fact that it had a laundry machine, which came in quite handy during our stay. On the downside, the flat we stayed in had a ‘funky smell’ when we walked in. Luckily, we spent most of our time outside!

As for Henna Hotel, I also loved its location (only 5 minutes’ walk to the Blue Mosque & Hagia Sophia). The hotel terrace and coffee shop were also highlights of our stay here.

Dauria Galata Flats cost us $24 per night, while Henna Hotel was $66 per night.

Henna Hotel Istanbul scaled

Feeding & Entertainment

Our total food tab for 10 days came up to $672. If you’re looking to save costs, I think this is one place you can cut down on as food is quite cheap in Turkey. Some of the restaurants we dined at were wonderful but not very budget-traveller friendly but you will not be hard-pressed to find cheap meals both in Istanbul and Cappadocia.

Best restaurants in Cappadocia

As for entertainment and sightseeing, our total cost came up to $325. Our biggest single expense was the hot air balloon ride in Cappadocia which took $223 of the total entertainment cost. It was worth every penny!

Cost-saving Tip: If you're not willing to fork out $100+ to go up in a hot air balloon, you can enjoy the views from below at the numerous view points available.
Voyager Balloon Flight Turkey

I have written a series of posts about how we spent our 2 weeks’ holiday in Turkey. You can find them here.

Studio Istanbul Nova Santiye Cafe

Here’s an overview of everything we spent, excluding shopping (about $200). Unfortunately, I would have to quote the prices in dollars as the price for Naira keeps changing drastically. I feel this would give you a better guide to planning your travels.

Again, this breakdown is based solely on my experience and is only intended for trip planning and to present a fair idea of how much to budget. All prices stated here are either approximate values or exact values at the time of this writing.

Items, ActivitiesPrices
($) x 1 pax
Comments
Flights from Nairobi to Istanbul & Cappadocia850Book your flights separately to save about $100
Visa186Costs $50 for an evisa
Accommodation in Istanbul90Prices are based on 2 people sharing for 4 nights
Accommodation in Cappadocia202Prices are based on 2 people sharing 6 nights
Feeding for 10 days336Can be cheaper. See notes above
Tours20Entrances to the valleys & underground cities
Photoshoots: Galerie Ikman, Studio Istanbul45I had to!
Hot Air Balloon Flight112with Voyager Balloons
Transportation: Airport transfers, transfers within the city149Rental car, fuel, IstanbulKart and airport Ubers
Covid-19 PCR Test – Nairobi60Home service
Covid-19 PCR Test – Istanbul30Hotel service
Total costs for 1 person (x10 days)2,080

PS: The prices for the accommodation are based on two people sharing a room. Usually, there is a single supplement to be paid if you travel alone.

Cappadocia Uchisar

I hope you find this Nigeria to Turkey cost breakdown useful. Please leave me a comment to let me know what you think / if you have any questions!

And don’t forget to share (on Twitter) and follow my adventures on Instagram

23 comments

  1. I want to know the exact amount it will take me to be in turkey from Lagos Nigeria to turkey and house 🏠 rent on cheap prices

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I travelled for hours from Geoje to visit Sucheon and am pleased to report that it did not disappoint! 💙✨️

At 4pm, when I visited, the themed gardens were sparsely populated. Coming from Japan, where many beautiful places are often filled with tourists, this was a pleasant surprise! 🌼

I visited in spring and caught the last of cherry blossom petals on the trees but it was really the tulips 🌷 that took the spotlight. I explored various themed gardens and my favourite were the Korean and Netherlands Gardens.

Overall, this place was an absolute delight! I definitely recommend a visit if you're in the area!
I travelled for hours from Geoje to visit Sucheon and am pleased to report that it did not disappoint! 💙✨️ At 4pm, when I visited, the themed gardens were sparsely populated. Coming from Japan, where many beautiful places are often filled with tourists, this was a pleasant surprise! 🌼 I visited in spring and caught the last of cherry blossom petals on the trees but it was really the tulips 🌷 that took the spotlight. I explored various themed gardens and my favourite were the Korean and Netherlands Gardens. Overall, this place was an absolute delight! I definitely recommend a visit if you're in the area!
23 hours ago
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1/9
Story Time ⏰️
Story Time ⏰️
Story Time ⏰️
Story Time ⏰️
Story Time ⏰️
Story Time ⏰️
Story Time ⏰️
Story Time ⏰️
Story Time ⏰️
Story Time ⏰️
Story Time ⏰️
Story Time ⏰️
Story Time ⏰️
Story Time ⏰️
Story Time ⏰️
2 days ago
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2/9
The beautiful places that made me fall in love with Japan 💙
The beautiful places that made me fall in love with Japan 💙
4 days ago
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Urgent decision needed! 🙏🏽 Help me out!
Urgent decision needed! 🙏🏽 Help me out!
4 days ago
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4/9
✋🏾Before you go skincare shopping in Korea, you should get this FREE skin analysis done, especially if you're a novice like me!

🫒 I went to Olive Young during my last visit and walked out with nothing! I was so overwhelmed! 😰

This time, I decided to get a skincare analysis done first. I got mine done at the Mixsoon store (Olive Young has it too) It was quite detailed and 100%💲FREE, plus it took only a few minutes.

Would you try this? 💬⏬️

#kbeautyskincare #skincaretips #travelhacks #koreanskincare
✋🏾Before you go skincare shopping in Korea, you should get this FREE skin analysis done, especially if you're a novice like me! 🫒 I went to Olive Young during my last visit and walked out with nothing! I was so overwhelmed! 😰 This time, I decided to get a skincare analysis done first. I got mine done at the Mixsoon store (Olive Young has it too) It was quite detailed and 100%💲FREE, plus it took only a few minutes. Would you try this? 💬⏬️ #kbeautyskincare #skincaretips #travelhacks #koreanskincare
5 days ago
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5/9
Will I ever be able to fly economy again?😭

Just kidding. Find me in 43G next flight! Manifesting another upgrade though!✨️🧘🏽‍♀️
Will I ever be able to fly economy again?😭 Just kidding. Find me in 43G next flight! Manifesting another upgrade though!✨️🧘🏽‍♀️
7 days ago
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Can't get over this view! 😍😍

Mount Fuji - stunning from every viewpoint!
Can't get over this view! 😍😍

Mount Fuji - stunning from every viewpoint!
Can't get over this view! 😍😍

Mount Fuji - stunning from every viewpoint!
Can't get over this view! 😍😍

Mount Fuji - stunning from every viewpoint!
Can't get over this view! 😍😍

Mount Fuji - stunning from every viewpoint!
Can't get over this view! 😍😍

Mount Fuji - stunning from every viewpoint!
Can't get over this view! 😍😍

Mount Fuji - stunning from every viewpoint!
Can't get over this view! 😍😍

Mount Fuji - stunning from every viewpoint!
Can't get over this view! 😍😍 Mount Fuji - stunning from every viewpoint!
1 week ago
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7/9
I recently took a Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong trip and if you plan to replicate an itinerary like this one, here's the sequence I recommend to applying for your visas. 

Let me know if you have any questions in the comment section below!
I recently took a Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong trip and if you plan to replicate an itinerary like this one, here's the sequence I recommend to applying for your visas. Let me know if you have any questions in the comment section below!
1 week ago
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When in Hong Kong!

An exciting way to see parts of the city is to ride the tram to The Peak.
When in Hong Kong! An exciting way to see parts of the city is to ride the tram to The Peak.
1 week ago
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