Manisa is a vibrant city with its own local life, but it is not a tourist hub. When visiting Manisa, foreigners may draw too much attention.
This attention may make you a bit afraid. For the first-timers, I would advise visiting with a guide or a Turkish friend. After some time, you will get used to it.
Come to Manisa if you wish to explore an unbeaten path. You may discover many pleasant surprises.
As a Turkish local, I will give you a few tips on safely visiting this underrated city with maximum fun and zero hassle.
Is Manisa Safe? How Safe is Manisa?
Manisa is one of the safest cities in Turkey. Unemployment is low and most of its population is either working for factories or farming the fertile lands.
The average income is much higher in Manisa than in other Turkish cities. Yet, I can not say Manisa is a multicultural city.
Manisa has a similar local accent to the Istanbul accent. For this reason, if you know a bit of Turkish, it is easy to understand the local language. Foreigners trying to learn Turkish are greeted with extra hospitality.
Is Manisa Safe at Night
Manisa has several locations to dine out. Yet, nearly all nightlife ends around midnight. While it is safe to travel on Manisa’s nights, you would not have much to do outside.
In summer days and Ramadan months, streets can be full of people even after midnight, but you would have the city deserted after midnight in wintertime.
After midnight, only some grocery stores and pharmacies are open in Manisa.
Is Manisa Safe to Travel for Solo Female Travelers?
During the daytime, you would encounter no problem in Manisa as a solo female traveler. Yet, wearing provocative attire may result in unwanted attention. Jeans, shirts, or long to medium length skirts are fine in Manisa.
Is Manisa Safe to Travel for Families?
Manisa is one of the safest places for families. For this reason, I moved back to my hometown Manisa from Istanbul. Manisa has few but excellent places for family activities.
Is Manisa Safe for Students?
Manisa Celal Bayar University educates around 53.401 students each year. While it is safe to be a student in Manisa, student activities are limited. Luckily, Izmir is very close to Manisa.
Izmir, the third biggest city in Turkey, has many options to offer for students.
Is it Safe to Drive in Manisa?
All the vehicles registered in Manisa have their plates starting 45, and in these areas, Manisa drivers are famous for their relaxed driving styles.
Drive defensively because Manisa drivers may drive with unpredictable style.
The road conditions are near excellent throughout the district and outside the city center. Be careful in rural areas. The roads in the countryside are mostly used by farmers and may not be suitable for cars.
If you wish to learn, check my articles on
- Driving tips in Turkey and how you can use foreign driving license in Turkey (Separate articles for UK driving license owners and US driving license owners)
- renting a car in Turkey
How is Healthcare in Manisa
According to UNDP, Turkey has a High Human Development on par with other industrial nations.
The health services in Manisa can vary depending on the location, but in city and district centers, Manisa has excellent hospitals and adequate health services.
Unlike other metropolitan cities, most of the best hospitals are uncrowded. For these reasons, I always go to Manisa hospitals for my family and me.
Manisa has many public and private health institutions. Manisa has 29 Hospitals and 451 Public Clinics.
Dangerous Parts of Manisa
Manisa has no specific part that I can say that it is dangerous to enter or visit.
Yet, I need to mention that in some areas, you may draw some extra attention. The reason for that is Manisa is not a tourist city.
While it is perfectly okay to visit rural areas, you may witness many people seeing a tourist for the first time. Villagers and locals will wish to talk to you but have no idea or language knowledge on how to communicate with you. For this reason, I advise having a Turkish friend with you when visiting rural areas.
Is Manisa’s Tap Water Safe to Drink?
Manisa’s tap water is used to be the water that we drank in our childhood. The tap water is clean and safe to drink. Yet, the tap water is chlorinated and has a high mineral and lime content. For this reason, the tap water in Manisa has a very bland taste.
We brush our teeth, clothes and take showers with tap water. Tap water is clean, and we don’t hesitate to use it. We use tap water for all needs except for drinking.
You can check my article on the safety of Turkish tap water to learn more
For tea and cooking, we still use mostly tap water. Yet, when the taste is important, we use bottled water.
The best-bottled water brands are Erikli, Danone’s Hayat, Sırma, and Pınar Su. Click to read my article for a detailed review of Turkish water brands.
Security Risks (Terrorism) in Bursa
Manisa is an industrial city, and it is approximately 1000 km away from the conflict zones of the Middle East.
In my lifetime, I have never felt a terrorism threat in Manisa.
Natural Disaster Risks in Bursa
In Manisa, small earthquakes are common. I was thinking of finding something else to write, but I could not. This is my hometown, and maybe I am used to everything.
Is Food Safe in Manisa?
Food is safe in Manisa, yet not as diverse as you will find in metropolitan cities and tourist areas.
Manisa has few high-quality western restaurants with alcohol, some tavernas, basic restaurants that serve locals dinner and lunch.
Food varies between districts of Manisa. Yet, Manisa cuisine mostly has meat or vegetable dishes. Manisa Kebap and Salihli Odun Kofte are the meat dishes that you must try in Manisa.
In the city and district center, you would encounter basic restaurants. These restaurants serve home food to locals mostly around lunchtime. They are very cheap and delicious. You can try these to taste real Turkish home food.
Turkish institutions regulate all restaurants and food ingredients. Just use your common sense and use the places that are crowded with locals. If nobody is eating, you should try it.
Check my other guide if you wish to learn more about Turkish Food and What to expect in Turkish Cuisine.
Are Taxis Safe in Manisa?
I use taxis in Manisa very frequently.
Taxis are safe in Manisa. I have not seen any greedy taxi drivers as you will encounter in tourist centers or big Turkish cities. Sometimes taxis round the fare, because they do not have change money, but it is not a big deal.
In fact, Turkish people usually don’t ask for their change back.
If you run into trouble, please do not hesitate to complain to the taxi stop manager about the taxi driver. In Manisa, reputation and honest conduct is still the norm.
Check my other guide if you wish to learn more about Taxis in Turkey and the cost of taxis in Turkish cities, common taxi scams, and more tips.
How Much Taxis Cost in Manisa?
The starting fee of taxis in Manisa is 5 TL (0,60 USD), and you will pay an additional 4 TL (0,48 USD) per kilometer. Regardless of the distance, the minimum fee is 10 TL (1,25 USD).
The Turkish Lira value will change due to inflation, but you can always calculate a rough estimate of your taxi travel.
You can check the distance with Google maps and use the USD numbers above to calculate your rough taxi fare.
Example cost taxi calculation.
A 20 km taxi ride in Manisa will cost you around 10,2 USD. 0,60 USD (starting fee) plus 9,6 USD (20 km x 0,48) for 20 km.
Taxi fees do not change day or night or for any other reason. Source
Last Word About Travel Warnings about Turkey
You may also wish to check the United Kingdom, United States Government, Australian Government’s travel warnings.
Remember, these warnings are not prepared city-specific, and they are written for Turkey as a whole.
I do not totally agree with them, especially for Manisa. Some of these warnings are appropriate for Manisa, but I believe they lack the most basic and likely possibilities when visiting Manisa. I think government warnings exaggerate rare possibilities.
I tried to give you a local’s perspective on safety in Manisa, which is my hometown. If you liked this guide, you wish to check other guides about Manisa.
