Five ways to fraud tourists in Turkey were presented by an experienced traveler and tourist in her blog. As the author warned, they can be encountered both in resorts and in Istanbul, “hunting” is conducted in those places that are often visited by tourists – it’s mostly entertainment centers, tours, cafes and restaurants. And, as we can add, they are often “based” on the naivety of tourists and their calculation for “Turkish generosity” – which is often mentioned in the comments of their lucky “colleagues”
Moreover, if some “wiring” is relatively harmless, and costs 1-2 Turkish lira – that is, 2-5 hryvnia, others can cost a much rounder amount in euros.
- For example, according to the tourist, a scam in water entertainment centers, which caught her friends. Three of them rode on an inflatable pillow and after the inevitable “attraction” when tourists are thrown into the water, one of them, the operator who rides tourists, “put” on his scooter. When they returned to shore, he suggested to her, “Let’s ride again.” But she decided that he just liked it… They rode for 30 minutes, after which the scooter driver invited 40 euros for a walk: “Well, you saw the prices for a scooter,” – said the blogger.
- The second, widespread scheme, is used in cafes and restaurants, especially when many tourists eat, ordering many dishes. “You finish, you are brought a bill, the amount seems to converge, and you pay the bill. However, they can inadvertently add a few extra items – extra tea, extra cakes, “said the blogger. This is not expected to be an amount that may alarm tourists, but it is still better to check carefully.
- Similarly, the menu may have another “trick” with prices. It is written that a cup of tea is 1 lira, and only when you are brought a bill, it turns out that it costs 3 lira. “It turns out that 1 lira is a small glass, and the owner of the cafe allegedly decided to take care of you and immediately brought a big one,” says the blogger. The difference in prices is small, but in fact, of course, here the “care” is not about the tourist, but about his pocket.
- By the way, you can similarly get by buying a promotion in a cafe, she adds. We went, saw the inscription: “Doner + kefir – 12 lira”, asked if it was possible to replace kefir with mineral water, we were confirmed that it was possible. At the check stage, it turned out that no, it is impossible – and they took 20 lira from us, “the tourist described. So she says you should be more careful with stocks.
- “In general, in Turkey, never say the price at once,” – warns the tourist, beginning the story of another fraud on a tour of Istanbul by boat. Among the tourists was a waiter, offering them tea, coffee, soda water with the same: “Treat yourself!”. Tourists could decide that it is included in the price of the tour, they have already bought it for 400 hryvnia. And only at the exit it became clear that this is not the case, and all drinks are paid. And a cup of tea, which costs 1-2 lira in the city, here – 10 lira, coffee 25 lira… What was especially impressive, they demanded money even for the bread they brought to throw to the seagulls, “said the tourist.
Then the blogger, of course, resorted to curtsy, saying that some of these distributions are made “not out of evil, but through carelessness,” and the persistent tourist received his “sorry, I was wrong.” However, according to the description, it is obvious that this is rather a conscious calculation of the tourist’s inattention and reluctance to scandal. And the greater the amount of “wiring”, the more strength and nerves are needed to defend their own.