Make Your Next Trip Extraordinary

Is It Safe to Travel to Turkey?

by Wendy Perrin | October 19, 2015

Is it safe to travel to Turkey? That is a question I’ve been asked dozens of times over the past two decades, usually as a result of a scary news story that makes someone second-guess a trip they’ve already planned.

Last week I was asked the same question again by a reader who has booked a Turkey trip through one of the Trusted Travel Experts on my WOW List. Even though she’s excited about the trip, she is getting pressure from her family and adult children to rethink her plans.

I understand that her family may be concerned, given what they are hearing and seeing in the news, but if it were me, there’s no way I would cancel. Turkey has had bombings every year since I can remember, and never have any of these incidents impacted or dampened my readers’ travel experiences there. I myself have been to Turkey four times—three of those times coinciding with major terrorist incidents—and every time I felt totally safe everywhere I traveled in the country.

I know that politics in Turkey are complex and that national elections are scheduled for November 1. But I also know that television and news coverage always make an incident in a foreign country seem more alarming than it actually is. If news sources were to report the extent to which life at the destination goes on as usual, with people going about their everyday routine unaffected, it wouldn’t sell ads, and the news sites wouldn’t get traffic. That’s why media outlets are forced to write sensationalistic, scary headlines: to get people to click and read.

True, there are areas in southeastern Turkey—near the border with Syria—that most countries’ governments are warning travelers not to visit. But those areas are hundreds of miles from Istanbul and other popular tourist sites.

Furthermore, any coverage that paints a story about difficulties travelers might be facing does not apply to travelers who booked through a destination specialist such as the Trusted Travel Experts on my WOW List. These experts know their destinations like no one else, and they know the truth about where it’s safe to be. In the case of this particular reader, she booked her trip through Karen Fedorko Sefer, a Turkey travel expert to whom I’ve been sending travelers for years. Karen lives in Istanbul and has the latest on-the-ground intel for making trips safe, not to mention extraordinary.

Last year, after another spate of news reports about terrorist incidents in Turkey, I interviewed several readers of mine who were traveling in the country at a seemingly difficult time. They had arranged their trips through Earl Starkey, another Trusted Travel Expert who lives in Istanbul. (Here’s his Insider’s Guide to Istanbul, as well as his Insider’s Guide to Cappadocia.) Examples of what these travelers told me include:

“The impression from the news in the U.S. is of a somewhat exotic, traditional country that is as progressive as a secularized Muslim country can be, but that remains somewhat poor and undeveloped,” Mr. Martin said. “I was, quite frankly, in shock to find a modern, affluent, and incredibly clean cosmopolitan city in Istanbul, efficient, modern airports, and generally friendly, accommodating people who truly were secular and in many areas very wealthy.”

“Before we left, my main fear was that there would be a great deal of hostility toward Americans. I never felt that! The Turkish people are warm and welcoming—just lovely people.”

“We were in Cappadocia when the U.S. bombing of Syria started. That day we toured a number of small towns in the area, and I looked carefully for any negative response from the locals. (I am over six feet and clearly American, so I do stand out in a small village). Everyone was very friendly and welcoming—I did not observe a single negative glance or frown.”

In that same article, I outlined steps you can take to decide if Turkey is right for you, along with precautions you can take to remain safe. While those tips remain useful, that article was written for people who travel totally on their own and do not have one of my Trusted Travel Experts watching over them throughout. The on-the-ground support that my Trusted Travel Experts offer is invaluable on any trip, and it’s the reason I created The WOW List in the first place.

So please don’t avoid Turkey. Just plan it right. Chances are you will be pleasantly surprised by the extent to which life goes on as normal, you will have fascinating conversations with the locals about current events, and you will feel jazzed about being there at an important moment. I say this because that’s what my readers who return from Turkey always tell me.

Imagine the news that Turkish people are getting about our lives in the United States right now. The sudden and all-too-frequent mass attacks of violence in our schools, movie theaters, and churches surely must make them question whether it’s safe to travel to the U.S.   Would you tell them not to come?

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7 Comments

  1. Bettya

    Would you still agree with your article about travel to Turkey, July 2016. Would love to get your opinion. Thanks!

    1. Wendy Perrin Post author

      Yes. Here’s a report from somebody currently in Turkey: http://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewbender/2016/06/30/after-terror-attack-in-istanbul-why-im-still-traveling-in-turkey/#60d4a6043ef4

      That report reinforces what I keep telling people: Whenever a terror attack occurs, the media doesn’t cover the extent to which life goes on as normal at the destination. Because that’s not news. And so people assume that the risk of going to the destination is bigger than it actually is. Every risk has a numerator and a denominator. The numerator is how many people got killed. The denominator is how many people didn’t get killed. The news media doesn’t cover the denominator because that doesn’t sell papers or drive Web traffic.

  2. Y. Murat Ozguc

    Wendy Thank you very much for sharing this article and great way of showing your readers why they should not avoid Turkey but also being cautious to some extend while choosing some of the Turkeys bordering areas and use travel specialists for further assurance and comfort. I am a travel specialist based in Cappadocia and we receive those questions as well. We monitor closely every trip we design and our guides are well aware where to go or opposite. We also had many travelers from US and some did ask questions on safety some did not, however at the end of their vacation they were all pleased that they did not cancel or alter their travel plans. We even had guests specially requested to visit Gobeklitepe Urfa and we kept itinerary flexible and open until last minute so we could alter, checked every single step of program including locals of Urfa and guides visited there recently and proceed the program as planned. They had a trip of a lifetime suiting their wishes. I will use your article and comments to share with our future guests and am sure will make a difference. Best regards from beautiful Cappadocia.

  3. Sinem Dokmeci

    I understand the concerns of people who are traveling to other countries but going to Turkey isn’t like going to Iraq. Not that I have anything against Iraq. People forget that the USA has had there fair share of terror attacks. Besides the attacks from foreigners to this great country there have been a number of terror attacks by people who were born and raised in this country. Terrorist are every where not just in Turkey, Syria or in Iraq. I do agree that the media makes more of what’s going out there but on the other hand people forget what this country has going on here that had nothing to do with politics or religion.

  4. P.Coonley/Serendipity Traveler

    An excellent article Wendy. I have been leading Serendipity Traveler’s women’s tours to Turkey for 5 years without incident. The Turkish people are warm and friendly. Our expert full time guide is like family. Turkish life continues to carry on with a vibrant rhythm. At no time have any of the women felt unsafe or unwelcome. I just returned from Istanbul and was present during the recent loss of life and period of mourning. At no time did I feel any concerns and I continue to encourage travel to Turkey, a wonderland of history, culture, beauty, and friendly people.

  5. Kathy at Goseeittravel

    I have to agree- my travel agent recommended an excellent guide for our trip to Istanbul last fall (during the testy parliamentary discussions and local demonstrations about whether the U.S. Military would be allowed to use Turkey as a base of operations) The guide steered us safely where we wanted to go, but at no time did we ever feel “unsafe” even while there were many many Muslims visiting from all over the Mideast for El Eid . What we discovered was that Istanbul still very much a crossroads for East and West. We met many people from the west who came for the holiday to meet with family from the Mideast and they told us this is because it was one of the only safe and comfortable ( and fun! ) place for both to meet without taking safety risks or encountering extra scrutiny while traveling. If I cancelled a trip everytime my MIL didn’t like it, I’d never go anywhere!

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