angelaliggs

I am a student that is backpacking Europe for two months this summer! I will being in greece june 2, 2014 to june 13, 2014 and i want to make my way to turkey after the 13th. I am starting in Corfu and then making my way to Athens, Santorini, Ios and Mykonos. I would like to enter the port of Kusadasi, but if there is an easier/less expensive port to enter Turkey in, i will defiantly not be opposed.

Is there a place that is best to end my greece trip in order for the travel to Turkey to be easier? Some say to ferry to Samos then to Kusadasi.

Is making a pitstop in Cyprus easy/neccesary?

Apart from my question of getting forom Greece to Turkey, I would love to hear ANY tips on Greece or Turkey.

Thank you so much!!

Angela

brotherleelove2004

If you're backpacking I'm assuming you won't be flying to any of your Greek destinations, so my best "tip" is to cut out a couple of islands if you want to have some fun. It sounds good on paper but the reality is that you'll be spending way too much of your precious time in transit between islands, especially if you plan to end up in Turkey after only 11 days total in Greece.

You can catch a ferry from Mykonos to Samos, so Kusadasi makes the best sense if that's the area of Turkey that interests you. But if you want to go to Cyprus it's a lot more difficult because it means not going to Samos but to Rhodes instead so you can use the ferry system to get to Cyprus. You didn't say which region of Cyprus so I'm basing my comments on you going to the Greek side first. From there you can cross into the Turkish part of the island (No. Cyprus) and make your way from there into So. Turkey, most probably to Mersin or Alanya depending on your departure port. That's a route I can't advise on as I'm not familiar with the options. I do know that the Greek-side port is Limassol. It's going to be a long haul by ferry from Rhodes so you might want to consider flying. Cyprus Air is the local carrier. It might also be possible to fly to So. Turkey from No. Cyprus. Check with Turkish Air or one of the other Turkish airline companies. They're usually pretty cheap for domestic flights.

Also, during the summer months Atlas Jet or Pegasus Air, I can't remember which offers flights from Mykonos to Istanbul.

angelaliggs

This is great information, thank you.

I don't think I am going to venture to Cyprus anymore... I want to stick with kusadasi and up the coast to turksey. It just seems easier that way. Any recommendations on how to travel within turkey? I'm assuming a train.

brotherleelove2004

Long Distance Buses are cheap, frequent and comfortable with A/C and an attendant. Bring your own Toilet Tissue!

Tommmo

You need to look at the Turkey forum of course. We recently travelled Lesvos-Chios-Samos and across to Kusadasi (stay at the fabulous Mr.Happy's Liman hotel) then Selcuk by bus (nice place!)for Ephesus,Pamukkale and Sirince. then bus or train to Izmir airport for cheap flight, or bus to Istanbul.
You can cross to Turkey from many islands easily- I also suggest Chios to Cesme which also can take you to Selcuk easily...
Forget Cyprus, it doesn't fit.

mariha2912

I think your plan is not very realistic. Too many destinations all over the place and limited time frame.

Starting from Corfu, it is I believe a ~7 hours ferry/bus ride to Athens. Piraeus(Athens) to Ios is a ~7 ferry ride on slow ferry, ~4 hours on fast ferry. For Santorini add an hour more.

Piraeus to Mykonos is 4-5 hours on fast ferries depending on route, or you can get a fast ferry from Rafina to Mykonos ~2 hours ferry ride.
Piraeus is the major port of Athens, 20-30 minutes metro ride from Athens. Rafina is a smaller port ~90 minutes outside the city.

Ios/Santorini belong to different ferry routes to Mykonos, but in summer there are fast ferries among them for tourism purposed.Faster service Santorini-Mykonos last 3 hours.

Samos belongs on a completely different area/ferry system, but I believe next summer a fast ferry will connect from Mykonos 3-4 times per week,~4 hours ride.

Fast ferries are quicker than slow ones but cost double their fare.And are more keen on cancellations due to winds or mechanic problems too. Important note is that departures among islands will mostly be around noon, leaving you limited time to enjoy either departing, either arriving point on transit day.

neckervd

May be the Piraeus - Samos ferry will not yet stop at Mykonos in June (usually only from July until early September). In this case you can either
backtrack to Syros and board the Samos ferry there
or
change your itinerary:
Corfu - bus - Athens - Piraeus or Rafina - ferry - Mykonos - catamaran (expensive!) - Ios - catamaran - Santorini - overnight ferry (3times weekly) - Kos - ferry - Bodrum (Turkey) - bus - Kusadasi or Selcuk/Ephesos.

GREECE - CYPRUS:
cheapest way: flight from Athens to Larnaca

via land and sea: Piraeus (port of Athens) - ferry - Kastellorizo - ferry - Kas - bus - Kumluca - bus - Antalya - bus - Alanya - bus Anamur - bus - Silifke - ferry - Kyrenia.
If you enter Cyprus via Kyrenia, you cannot leave the Island from Larnaca or Paphos airport resp from the port of Lemessos. You must go back to Turkey, either by Silifke ferry or by plane.

You can board the Kastellorizo bound ferry at Kos and Rhodos too.

neckervd

The Mykonos - Samos ferry begins to run on June 6th:
Mykonos dp 12.55 - Karlovasi (Western Samos) ar 16.30, every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

ashwinb

A tip for Turkey, I do not know how much time you've got,but after you arrive at Kusadasi,check Ephesus and move towards Pamukkale and Cappadocia and the Istanbul. That ways you'll get to see different scenery(from Greece), rather than exploring the Turkey coast any further.
You travel by bus everywhere in Turkey,its easy and cheap and convenient.

Chania

I travelled by bus in Turkey from Antalya to Cesme with many stops on the way. Easy way to travel up the coast. Your overall itinerary is not my way to travel. Too much time on the go rather than enjoying life around you.