Turkey was an exceptional experience for us. We spent nine days there in September 2026, five in Istanbul and three in Cappadocia, and came back with more stories than we expected to.
We are Tushar and Sanju, a married couple from Mumbai with regular 9-to-5 jobs. We don’t travel full time. We plan around weekends and leaves, and we track every rupee. So this isn’t a dreamy travel diary. It’s what Turkey is actually like for an Indian couple who has to be back at work on Monday.
In short: 9 days, Istanbul and Cappadocia, 2 people. About ₹4.34 lakh in total, including flights, visas and the balloon.
Why Turkey works so well for Indian couples
Turkey gives you two very different trips in one. Istanbul is a big, busy city where history and modern life sit side by side. Cappadocia is quiet, strange and beautiful, with valleys of rock cones and hundreds of hot air balloons at sunrise.
The flight from Mumbai is direct and short enough to land in the afternoon and still see the city the same evening. And the internal flight from Istanbul to Cappadocia takes about an hour and a quarter, so you can cover both without wasting days on the road.
The visa: we went for the regular visa
Indian passport holders can only use Turkey’s e-visa if they already hold a valid US, UK, Schengen or Irish visa or residence permit. We applied for the regular (sticker) visa instead, which is the normal route for most Indians.
- Visa cost for the two of us: ₹42,000
- Expect to submit bank statements, ITRs, salary slips, travel insurance, flight and hotel bookings, and a day-by-day itinerary
- Apply well in advance and check the latest rules on the official application centre’s website, because requirements and fees change
What it cost us
Here is our real spend for two people, nine days, September 2026:
| Return flights, Mumbai – Istanbul | ₹89,864 |
| Istanbul – Cappadocia flights, return | ₹21,914 |
| Hotels, 8 nights | ₹73,309 |
| Visa | ₹42,000 |
| Hot air balloon | ₹66,630 |
| Red tour, Green tour, ATV and Bosphorus cruise | ₹30,540 |
| Airport and city transfers | ₹24,563 |
| Food, shopping and local travel | about ₹84,968 |
| Total | about ₹4,33,788 |
That works out to roughly ₹2.17 lakh per person. The hotel figure is what we paid after a Booking.com credit, and part of our international fare was paid with card points. For the full day-by-day plan, read our Turkey itinerary.
Food: what we ate and what it cost
Food was one of the easiest parts of the trip. On average we spent about 2,500 to 3,000 Turkish lira a day on food for the two of us.
Two meals we’d point you to, both in Sultanahmet:
- Seven Hills Restaurant: a rooftop restaurant on top of the Seven Hills Hotel, with views over the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and the sea. We paid around 1,200 lira for the two of us.
- India Gate Indian Restaurant: biryani and Indian food, around 1,200 lira for two. Good to know if you start missing home food a few days in.
Don’t leave without trying Turkish tea, Turkish coffee and baklava. Tea comes in small tulip-shaped glasses and you’ll be offered it everywhere; Turkish coffee is thick, unfiltered and usually served with a piece of Turkish delight.
The thing nobody tells you: the walking
If we had to give one piece of advice, it would be this: Istanbul makes you walk, and a lot of it is uphill. The old city sits on its famous seven hills, and neighbourhoods like Galata and Balat are all slopes, cobblestones and stairs.
Pack your most comfortable shoes. Plan fewer things per day than you think you can manage. You will still end up walking more than you planned.
Our balloon got cancelled
Our first hot air balloon flight in Cappadocia, on 8 September, was cancelled because of the weather. We watched the sunrise from our hotel rooftop instead and hoped for the next morning.
On 9 September we flew. In the beginning we were scared. Then the sun came up over the valleys, and we just enjoyed it. It was amazing. Read the whole story in our Cappadocia guide.
Our biggest tip for Cappadocia: keep at least one spare morning, because balloon flights do get cancelled.
The moments that felt most like us
Istanbul was so beautiful. If someone asks us about it, we’ll talk about two places: the streets around Galata Tower, and the Bosphorus at sunset from a cruise. Of the whole trip, that’s where it felt most like us.
Would we go back?
Yes. Turkey gave us history, food, a sunrise in the sky and two cities’ worth of memories in nine days. If you’re a working couple wondering whether you can pull off a trip like this without quitting your job, you can. Plan around your leaves, book early, and leave space for the unexpected.
Read next: Istanbul, the city of dreams and Cappadocia, the land of hot air balloons.
Questions about the trip? Ask us on Instagram at @two_go_places.
