SFgo

I'm traveling to Greece & Turkey in September and am so thankful for all helpful tips on this forum! My itinerary includes Athens (1), Santorini (3), Naxos (3), Kusadasi (via Samos) (1), Cappadoccia (2)and Istanbul (4)--over 16 days.

I'm planning on catching the Saturday afternoon ferry from Naxos to Samos (2:15pm to 9:15pm) and then a ferry to Kusadasi in the early morning. I'm concerned that the weather/winds could cancel the ferry to Samos--especially because the next ferry is not until Wednesday.

My questions are: 1) is there a possibility the weather would affect the Naxos/Samos route? 2) would there be a rescheduled ferry prior to Wednesday? 3) are there flight options to Bodrum/Izmir (for Ephesus)? 4) what other options would be available?

Any other info, tips or suggestions would be greatly apprecated. Thanks!

Neopolitan

I would not rely too heavily on any of the ferries in the islands. Our ferry from Kusadasi to Samos was cancelled due to the weather so we had to stay an extra night in Kusadasi and call and delay our hotel arrival in Samos by an extra day. We were nervous about the hotel in Samos, but they shrugged it off and said the ferry is cancelled so often they are used to all the hotel reservation changes.

milliebz

SF go,
Where did you even find the ferry information from Samos to Kusadasi? I have been looking for it without result. We are doing almost the same trip but not until next year. Is the ferry schedule you have reflective of the time of the year you are traveling or do you know if they are more frequent in the summer?

GeoffHamer

As far as I can see, the Naxos-Samos sailing is by Hellenic Seaways. Their ships are much bigger than those that run between Samos and Kusadasi, so, if the Naxos-Samos sailing is cancelled by the weather, the one to Kusadasi probably will be as well.
There are sailings from Pireas to Samos every day, though most don't call at Naxos, so there will be connections on other days.
Details of some Samos-Kusadasi sailings are on www.meandertravel.com. In summer, there are sailings from Samos every morning by a Greek boat and every afternoon by a Turkish boat.

milliebz

Thank you Geoff!

jules4je7

In October 2003, we took an overnight ferry from Pireaus (Athens) to Samos island -- with no stops. It was a fabulous trip and we had a private stateroom -- with tickets bought at a travel agent in Athens a couple of days before we left. We continued on to Kusadasi from Samos Town as well.

Weather begins to be a factor in late September as storms do move through and hold up ferry traffic -- it's really something of a gamble. Ours was 4 hours late leaving Pireaus, but that was actually a blessing, or we would have landed at Samos Town at 5 a.m. with no hotel to go to. Instead, we arrived at 10 a.m. and were able to check into a great hotel (Pythagorian Hotel owned by Stellios, a fabulous man who really gave us a great time the nights we spent).

The next afternoon we took the ferry from Samos to Kusadasi. If I recall correctly, there was one in the early afternoon and another at 4 p.m. -- and we took the later one. Ironically, one of my DH's ex-girlfriends from HIGH SCHOOL was on that very ferry, since she was working on her archeology Ph.D. in ancient fountains (who woulda thunk it?) But it was fun to see her as we were all from the same small town in Washington State, and it sure gave us a "it's a small, small world" feeling.

Just keep in mind, no matter what islands you're dealing with -- whether they're here, there, or the Bahamas -- ferry traffic is affected by the weather...but it comes with the territory.

BTW, your itinerary is a bit busy...I would probably drop one of the islands and allow yourself more time to travel and more time in Turkey. If I had it to do over again, I would not stop for one night in Kusadasi and continue to the bus station and go to Izmir -- which is much less touristy and more enjoyable if you want a taste of the real Turkey. It's also close to Ephasus, if you have plans to go there...

Happy travels,

Jules

SFgo

Thanks for the input everyone! I planned on only using Samos only as a connection to Kusadasi, and only planned to use Kusadasi as a base for Ephesus. However, it seems like a lot of work to get from the Greek Islands to Ephesus for just one day. I may reconsider other destinations along the western coast prior to traveling to Cappadoccia. I know there are plenty of buses and flights from Istanbul to Cappadoccia, but what is the best way to head there from Ephesus, Izmir and/or Bodrum??

Thanks again for any info.

Milliebz: I used http://www.ferries.gr/booking/ to research the ferry schedule. I am sure there are other websites, but I have not had much luck finding others yet.