Hello Paul Cullen, yes, there is no point in comparing the passes sold for Istanbul or Turkey museums with their previous prices.

Previously, the price increase was made to correct the difference between the Turkish Lira and foreign currencies, but now we see that the prices have also increased on a USD and EURO basis.

Apparently, the Ministry of Tourism is trying to remove Turkey from among the cheap countries for tourists. Time will tell whether this policy will work.

However, the fact that museums are getting more expensive and fewer people will visit these ruins is good, at least for the sake of the historical monuments themselves.

Because I don’t know how many more decades they could handle the weight of mass tourism.

But wait, it gets worse! The current web price for the Museum Pass Türkiye (March 2024) is almost 6000 Turkish lira (165 euro, $271 Australian per person). This is getting a little out of hand. Is the Turkish Ministry of Tourism actually discouraging visitors to these world heritage sites?

Hello Mohamad,

To be honest, I have never used Museum Pass Mobile. However, if you are given a QR code, you can enter directly from the museum turnstiles with the code without having to go to the ticket office.

Because turnstiles in museums such as Topkapi Palace can read QR codes on mobile phones. Every day I see many people passing by by scanning the code on their mobile phone.

Kind regards,
Serhat

I had just bought the Museum Pass Istanbul mobil (via their website and recieved the email with QR code after a few minutes ) for my readings on your great website. There should be no issue of the purchase date (today) 12th September as we will only be in istanbul by 29th and hence will “activate” the card by that day.

One minor question is: As we received the email with e-ticket (apologies if my question seems unnecessary) do I need to go to ticket counter to get the physical museum pass or we can directly go to the ticket turnstile at the entrance?

Kindest regards for any assistance and clarification. I am very earger to visit the Topkapi Palace. Hopefully early morning on Friday is considered okay to visit that place.

Hello AMT, yes, with two price increases in 2023, Museum Pass Istanbul first increased from 700 TL to 1750 TL on April 1 and from 1750 TL to 2250 TL on 1 August.

In this case, the part of the article that compares prices between museums and museum pass is no longer up to date. Because there used to be a correlation between certain museum prices and museum pass cost, and now it doesn’t exist.

Due to the post-pandemic inflation, museum prices increase every 3 months, and therefore, although I note the latest prices, some parts of the articles that I make suggestions may not be up-to-date.

I’ll update the price comparison section when I have time soon.

From another official website, I found that
Istanbul Archaeological Museum entrance costs 340 TL, with the Museum Of The Ancient Orient and Tiled Pavilion both closed for renovations.

Adding these two together, you get 1290 TL. How is the sum larger than the cost of the Museum Pass (2250 TL, as of August 2023)?

My conclusion: the Museum Pass now is too expensive.

Hi Nammi, unfortunately I cannot give a direct answer to this question. Because there are many travel cards that are alternatives to the official Museum Pass and I haven’t been following their services lately.

You will have to review services such as E-Pass, Istanbul Tourist Pass and Istanbul Welcome Card, which are alternatives to the Museum Pass, and decide for yourself whether they are suitable for your budget.

Hello Glenn Stedman, yes you are right. The prices of Museum Pass Istanbul and its more comprehensive version, Museum Pass Turkey, have been increased excessively due to the last price regulation.

In previous years, the price of the Museum Pass Istanbul was adjusted according to the price of certain museums and would have been a profitable purchase for the buyers.

However, I could not understand the logic behind the price increase this time. If the Dollar gains value against the Turkish Lira in the coming days, this price may also become reasonable.

1st APRIL 2023
The price of Museum Pass Türkiye which is valid for fifteen days starting from your first museum and archaeological site entrance is 2500 TL.

March 2023
The price of Museum Pass Türkiye which is valid for fifteen days starting from your first museum and archaeological site entrance is 1000 TL.

Now thats what you call inflation, and also its a rip-off