Do people in Turkey speak English?

Outside the tourist centers, English isn’t spoken that much. However, in resort towns on the Mediterranean and Aegean coasts, most people do speak English since many of them work in tourism. Those who you come in contact with restaurants and shop workers will speak some degree of English.

Do they speak English in Turkey aboard the gulet boats? When it comes to crew on board of your luxury gulet, they will speak English, as well as several other languages if you state that is your preference. Communication on board is important so you need to know that it shouldn’t be a problem since at least 1 person knows English. Usually the more luxury type gulets you book, the greater English you can expect.

However Turkish people tend to be shyer in nature when it comes to presenting their English skills, so don’t expect someone like chatty Croatian captain that will give you an hour-long speech about adventures he had on sea. The Turkish language itself is considered one of the harder languages to learn, however, it would be a great idea to learn some basic holiday phrases that aren’t too difficult, crew and locals will surely appreciate it a lot. If it is really necessary we can also put a guide who speaks your language on board with you and he will help you in communication with the crew.

So in short if you wonder whether do people in Turkey speak English the answer would be that in touristic parts almost surely. In the non-touristic parts the probability is not so high.