Supermarkets Shopping

For packaged goods, dairy, water, and household essentials, your absolute cheapest options are Turkey's national discount chains. They are stripped-back, no-frills stores that focus heavily on high-quality private label items over global brands.

BİM: Usually considered the absolute lowest baseline for prices. It is the best place to stock up on basic dairy (like yoğurt and peynir), bottled water, olive oil, and basic pantry staples.

A101: Highly comparable to BİM but tends to carry a slightly wider variety of name brands alongside their budget house brands. They are also famous for random weekly non-food deals (textiles, small electronics).

Şok: Very similar pricing structure to BİM and A101, but they frequently have slightly better fresh fruit and vegetable sections than the other two discounters.

Crucial Note: BİM, A101, and Şok do not sell alcohol or tobacco items due to corporate policies and licensing.

If you are looking for beer or wine, you will need to head to Migros or a local Tekel Bayii (corner shop).

If you need specific international brands, specialized baking goods, pork products (rare, but sometimes found in tourist areas), or alcohol, you will need a step up from the hard discounters.

Migros: This is Turkey's premier mainstream supermarket chain. In Avsallar, you will find standard Migros locations.

While baseline prices are slightly higher than BİM, they run incredible sales if you use a Migros Money Card (you can get a digital one easily at the checkout desk using your phone number). Look out for "1 Alana 1 Bedava" (Buy 1 Get 1 Free) promos.

CarrefourSA: Similar to Migros, offering a modern shopping experience with a reliable deli counter, a wider range of imported goods, and a full alcohol/beverage section.

If you want the cheapest, freshest produce, never buy your fruits and vegetables at a supermarket.

Every single Wednesday, Avsallar hosts its local weekly open-air market (Semt Pazarı).

It takes place near the central indoor market area (around Karaçaltı Caddesi).

How to Shop the Bazaar Like a Local:

Go Late for Rock-Bottom Prices: The market runs from early morning until sunset. If you go around 5:00 PM or 6:00 PM when vendors are preparing to pack up, they slash prices significantly to clear out their inventory. You can walk away with kilos of tomatoes, cucumbers, figs, and herbs for pennies.

Bring Cash: Vendors do not accept credit cards. Bring smaller denomination Turkish Lira notes (20,50,100,200 TRY). Paying for a 15 TRY bunch of parsley with a 500 TRY note will annoy the vendor.

Don't Haggling on Produce: Unlike the clothing and souvenir sections of the market, fruit and vegetable prices are fixed and usually clearly written on cardboard signs per kilo. The prices are already incredibly low.

Store Type Best For Price Level Alcohol Sold?

BİM / A101 / Şok Water, dairy, staples, snacks Lowest ($) No

Wednesday Bazaar Fresh fruits, vegetables, olives, local cheeses Lowest for produce ($) No

Migros / CarrefourSA International brands, meat counters, alcohol, household variety Moderate ($$) Yes

Master the Private Labels: Don't be afraid of brand names you don't recognize in BİM or A101. Brands like Dost (dairy in BİM) or Birşah (dairy in A101) are excellent quality and cost roughly half the price of national brands like Sütaş.

Watch the Water Prices: Tap water is not recommended for drinking in Avsallar. Buy the massive 5-liter or 10-liter water jugs at BİM or A101 to keep at your accommodation, then refill smaller bottles to take to the beach. Avoid buying small water bottles from tourist beach kiosks, where markup can be up to 500%.

Look for the "Manav" for Mid-Week Produce: If you run out of veggies before Wednesday, look for a standalone Manav (local fruit and vegetable shop). They are generally cheaper and much higher quality than supermarket produce, though slightly pricier than the Wednesday market.