Treatment in Istanbul
The practical side of travelling for treatment — what is arranged for you, what to plan for, and what nobody tells you until you arrive.
Why so much treatment happens here
Istanbul has a large concentration of private clinics and hospitals working with international patients, and enough volume in dental, hair restoration, bariatric and aesthetic work that specialised teams do these procedures constantly rather than occasionally.
The cost difference compared with Western Europe is real, and it is mostly explained by wages, property and currency rather than by anything being skipped. But "cheaper" is not a reason to choose a clinic, and it should not be the deciding factor. Volume varies enormously in quality here, exactly as it does anywhere.
The honest advice is to judge a clinic on what it tells you about risks, on whether it will name the person actually performing your procedure, and on what happens after you fly home — not on price.
Arriving
Istanbul has two international airports on opposite sides of the city, and they are far apart. Which one you fly into changes your transfer time considerably, so confirm the airport with your coordinator before booking rather than after.
You are met on arrival and driven to your accommodation. Send your flight details as soon as they are booked, and tell us immediately if they change — a delayed or rerouted flight is easy to accommodate when we know about it and difficult when we do not.
Entry requirements — check the official source
Whether you need a visa to enter Türkiye depends on your nationality, and the rules change.
We will not state them on this page, because a page that is right today can be wrong by the time you read it, and being wrong about this costs you the trip. Check the official Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, or the Turkish consulate for your country, close to your travel date.
- Confirm the visa position for your own nationality, from an official source.
- Check your passport has enough remaining validity — many countries require six months beyond your travel date.
- If you need a letter from the clinic confirming your appointment for a visa application, ask early rather than the week before.
Ordinary travel insurance often excludes planned medical treatment abroad and anything arising from it. Read your policy — not the summary — and consider cover designed for medical travel.
Where you stay
Accommodation is arranged close to the clinic, so the journey to appointments is short. Being near the clinic matters much more than being near the tourist sights when you are recovering.
What is included is confirmed in writing before you travel — how many nights, whether it covers a companion, and what is not covered. Read that document; assumptions about what is included are the most common source of disappointment in medical travel.
If you would rather book your own accommodation, that is entirely fine. Tell your coordinator so the transfers and appointment times are planned around where you actually are.
Bringing someone with you
You can, and for surgery under general anaesthetic you should. Someone to sit with you afterwards, help you eat, and notice if something is not right is worth more than an extra day of recovery time.
Tell us in advance so accommodation and transfers account for them.
If you are travelling alone for a procedure with a general anaesthetic, say so early. It changes what is planned around your discharge.
How long to stay, and how to plan the days
The required stay depends entirely on the treatment. Most dental work is two clinic visits within a single trip. Hair restoration is usually a procedure day plus a wash and review. Surgery needs seven to ten days including a hospital stay and a fit-to-fly review.
Book your return flight only after the treatment dates are confirmed, and leave a margin. Departure after surgery is confirmed by the clinical team, not by your booking — flying too soon carries a raised risk of blood clots and swelling, and a non-refundable ticket is a bad reason to fly against medical advice.
There is genuinely more free time between appointments than people expect, particularly with dental treatment where several days sit between the two visits.
The days in between
Istanbul is a large, walkable, extraordinary city, and most people are well enough to see some of it between appointments. Ask your coordinator what is reasonable for your specific procedure — the answer after a dental appointment is very different from the answer after abdominal surgery.
A few things are worth knowing:
- After most surgery, avoid direct sun, swimming, hammams, saunas and alcohol until you are told otherwise. These are not arbitrary restrictions; heat and immersion both affect healing tissue.
- Summer is hot, and fresh scars and grafts are vulnerable to sun. Take a hat and a high-factor sunscreen if you are travelling between June and September.
- The city is hilly and its pavements are uneven in places. Comfortable shoes matter more here than you would expect, and more still if you are recovering.
Practicalities
- The currency is the Turkish lira. Cards are accepted almost everywhere; carry a little cash for small purchases.
- The language is Turkish. English is widely spoken in clinics and tourist areas, less so elsewhere — your coordinator speaks your language and can interpret when needed.
- The electrical supply is 220V with European two-pin sockets. Bring an adapter if you are coming from the UK or outside Europe.
- A local SIM or an eSIM is worth arranging on arrival. Being reachable matters when appointment times move.
- Bring a written list of your current medications, with the generic names rather than the brand names — brands differ between countries and generic names do not.
Going home
You are reviewed before departure and given written aftercare instructions in your own language, along with a record of exactly what was done — including specific materials or implants, which your own dentist or doctor may need years from now.
Keep that record. It is the single most useful thing you take home, and the thing patients most often lose.
Your coordinator stays in contact through your recovery, and you can send photographs if you are unsure whether something is healing normally.
Let's plan your treatment
Send us your details and a treatment coordinator will guide you through the next step.