This study explores how international students learning Turkish as a second language in Türkiye perceive the cultural distance between their home cultures and Turkish culture, and what this means for their adaptation. Cultural distance — the sum of perceived similarities and differences between two cultures in contact — is presented as a key factor that can either ease or hinder a newcomer's integration. Using a qualitative case-study design, the authors conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 international students and analysed the data through content analysis, grouping participants into "high-cost," "low-cost" and "zero-cost" categories of perceived cultural distance. Students in the high-cost group perceived their cultures as markedly different from Turkish culture across dimensions such as daily life; physical, social and economic conditions; interpersonal relations and social traditions; and values, attitudes and beliefs — and were therefore likely to face greater adaptation challenges. Those in the low-cost and zero-cost groups perceived their cultures as similar to Turkish culture and adapted more readily. Drawing on these findings, the authors emphasise the importance of creating a "third space" between source and target cultures, designing experience-oriented in-class and out-of-class tasks, organising events that introduce Turkish culture, and providing psychosocial support to ease students' transition. For a Euro-Mediterranean readership, the study offers practical, transferable guidance for universities, language educators and civil-society actors working with increasingly diverse and mobile student populations. By foregrounding empathy, cultural awareness and structured intercultural interaction in higher education, it contributes to the broader goal of fostering inclusive learning environments and meaningful intercultural dialogue across the region.