Bangkok vs Berlin vs Cape Town vs Istanbul vs Rio de Janeiro

	Bangkok 🇹🇭 Remove	Berlin 🇩🇪 Remove	Cape Town 🇿🇦 Remove	Istanbul 🇹🇷 Remove	Rio de Janeiro 🇧🇷 Remove
Population	5,680,000	3,400,000	4,617,560	15,520,000	6,718,903
Official language(s)	Thai	German	Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans and English	Turkish	Portuguese
Level of English	Low	Very high	Very high	Low	Low
Main airport	Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK)	Berlin Tegel (TXL)	Cape Town International Airport (CPT)	Istanbul Airport (IST)	Galeão International Airport
Most common months to visit	January - March, November, December	May - September	March - May, September - November	April - June, September and October	January - March, December
Currency	THB - Thai Baht (฿)	EUR - Euro (€)	ZAR - South African Rand (R)	TRY - Turkish Lira (₺)	BRL - Brazilian Real (R$)
Credit cards	Accepted almost everywhere	Accepted in some places but cash often preferred	Accepted almost everywhere, but cash still needed in smaller shops	Accepted in most places	Accepted everywhere
Remote worker visa	No	Yes	No	No	No
Average monthly costs	$1560	$2200	$1549	$659	$1833
Rent	$616	$939	$618	$354	$1066
Groceries	$191	$188	$129	$44	$95
Dining out	$168	$271	$269	$81	$210
Cafe	$45	$57	$32	$18	$25
Coworking space	$127	$174	$151	$49	$130
Mobile internet	$23	$23	$27	$3	$7
Public transportation	$32	$88	$55	$6	$33
Taxis	$19	$58	$21	$6	$14
Shared bicycles and scooters	$17	$17	$49	$2	$16
Sport and cultural events	$46	$64	$19	$11	$55
Museums and sights	$21	$37	$15	$15	$26
Nightlife	$50	$63	$43	$22	$54
Gym	$96	$66	$36	$9	$31
Yoga	$98	$99	$56	$23	$40
Massage	$11	$56	$30	$15	$32
SIM card options	AIS	Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone	MTN, Vodacom	Turkcell, Turk Telekom	Tim, Claro, Vivo
Tipping	10% for restaurants, bars and services	Round up for restaurants, not common for bars and services	10 - 15% at restaurants, round up elsewhere	Tip 5-10% in restaurants, cafés and bars	10% usually included in restaurants, 10% at bars and cafes with table service is common
Taxi apps	Grab	Mytaxi, Uber	Uber, Bolt	BiTaksi	Easy Taxi, 99 Taxi, Uber
Tap water	Not drinkable	Drinkable	Not drinkable	Not drinkable	Not drinkable
Overall cuisine	Meat and fish dishes, vegetables, noodles and soup	Heavy and hearty meals with plenty of meat, potatoes and bread	South African cuisine has been shaped by a long history of Dutch, Malay, British and Indian settlements, making the food diverse and strong in flavor. There is a strong emphasis on game in all of its different forms, as well as spicy sauces and sautéed vegetables and dry-cured meats. Creamy desserts and liqueurs compliment large and flavorful meals.	A fusion of cultures creates diverse dishes with bulgur, koftes, stews, eggplants and fish	Emphasis on rice, beans, pork and beef with a variety of root vegetables and fresh fruits. Fresh seafood is also very common.
Local food specialities	Pad thai, tom yam, kway teow reua, som tum, sooan	Currywurst, spätzle, königsberger klopse, schnitzel, eisbein, doner kebab, pretzels	Bitlong and droewors, boerewors, Cape Malay curry, bobotie, melkert, gatsby, bunny chow	Döner, İçli Köfte, Dondurma, Karnıyarık, Turkish delight	Feijoada, bolinho de bacalhau, fried sardines, caldo verde, pao de queijo and brigadeiros.
Eat like a local	Food stalls, local markets, shophouse restaurants	Brew pubs, cafes, bars, deli shops	Cape Malay shacks, food trucks, street food joints, local grills, small bakeries and food markets	Traditional breakfasts, street stalls for simit, lahmacun and kokorec, Turkish coffee	The "snack capital" of Brazil, Rio is a perfect place to try street food as well as the wide varieties of small, traditional eateries and churrascarias easily found across the city.
Vegetarian / vegan options	416 listings on Happy Cow	844 listings on Happy Cow	24 options on HappyCow	59 listings on Happy Cow	54 options on Happy Cow