Can I pull this itinerary off?
 

Hi all!

So, I hate my job (I've been there a month, and I made a mistake) and another job fell into my lap. So, tomorrow or Thursday I will give my notice. And even though I'm pretty senior, I suspect they will just say take a hike, which is great. This gives me two weeks to play!

So, I looked what I could do with my FF miles. I could not go anywhere but Europe at the last min ( I know, life is rough), so I thought I might pull off off the trip below in 11 days. I don't want be too rushed, but I do want to see a lot. I have three days to plan this trip, so I'm just flying by the seat of my pants!

This is my plan so far.

-- 2 days in Paris (to see what I have not seen)
-- 3 days in Prague
-- 1 day in Athens
-- 3 days greek islands, I'm more interested in a nice island or two and a beach than really site seeing
-- 2 days Istanbul

So here are my questions.

(1) Is this too rushed? Does Istanbul or Prague really need more time?
(2) Are there cheapo airlines from Paris to Prague? Prague to Athens?
(3) How to I get to islands from Athens?
(4) If I'm just going to a greek island or two any recommendations?
(5) How do I get from islands to Istanbul
(6) Is Istanbul ok for a single woman?
(7) Is this way to rushed?

Thanks to everyone who has words of wisdom in advance. The plan is to leave Sunday, so I have little time to really research, which is why I'm full of so many questions.

Cheers,

Beth

Are you serious? Do you want to really "do" a place or just say you were there? This is much too rushed for anything except a brush of each city/island/etc. But I'll bite on your itinerary by saying that if you can see the rest of Paris that you haven't seen in 2 days, then don't do Paris.

Go ahead to Prague, and consider Athens a spot to simply refer to in polite conversation. Ferries will take you to all islands from Athens. For a wonderful little island not too far away, try Ydra.

On this itinerary I'd forget Istanbul, unless again you just want to say you were there. Good luck.

Very funny !
I would add Moscow if you have not seen it.

I think Riga & Iceland would also be nice additions. Just take a day off the islands & a day from Prague & hit Iceland coming or going...

Congratulations on leaving a job you hate!

Moving so many times on a 11-day trip (and these are great distances) will cut into your time. It'll take at least 1/2 day to move each time.

I'll do away with Istanbul, and just the rest. Or even skipping Athens and just do the Greek Islands.

This is a joke, right? Or are you having some kind of mid-life crisis?

I would also add Phuket, for 3 hours.

You funny galaxygrrl200

Hi G,

>Is this too rushed?

Yes.

Either Paris and Prague or Greece and Turkey, but not all.

((I))

Galaxy Girl -- If you are quitting your job, you don't want to drain your savings entirely, given the tanking dollar (I'm assuming u are US or Canadian). Also, why not stellar memories of ONE country, vs. a blur of airports and train stations. Thus -- your cheapest place in Europe -- and the best for summer bliss is -- Greece. Blue skies, golden sand, ruins, sunsets.

Get a RT to Athens, then don't leave the airport... fly immediately via domestic Aegean Air to a far island, then hop your way back on 2 more... (OR -- book an overnite LARGE ferry in a female-only cabin for 4). At the END, spend 2 days in Athens, so u don't fret about missing your int'l flight.

August (esp just before/After the big Aug 15 holiday) is tough for booking... and crowded w. European holiday-makers. But July is certainly do-able, especially if u avoid the centers of package-tour hell.
If u can drive a 4-wheeler, u can get around any isle, and some have really good bus services. U could try Milos-Sifnos-Santorini (crowds!)-Athens. Or Crete-Santorini-Naxos-Athens.

If you choose Greece get your RT flite -- come back w your EXACT flight arrival/depart dates/times... and we'll work w. you on lodging, ferries & the rest. Without the detail, no point in advising you. BUt I envy your gusto... go for it!

wow, well nothing like a little teasing. ;-)

Yes, I am quiting my job, and no I wont be unemployed I have two offers lined up, and will tell one yes today so I'll come back to a job, so not worried about saving money.

I need to leave Sunday and come back July 4th. I have three days to plan this.

Ok, so I decided Paris was out already, I've been there three times, but my FF miles gets me into CDG which is why I just thought a day or two in Paris.

However, sanity took over my wanderlust, So, now I'm thinking

3 days in Prague, 1 in Athens, 2 or 3 on an island (I really don't want to see the islands that much, I just want to go to the beach, go diving, and sailing for a couple days - islands by yourself are really not that much fun after 2 or 3 days, but i like the beach. Then end with 3 days in Istanbul. That seems a little more reasonable.

I know things are far apart, but I'm by myself and just travel at night. I like traveling by myself, except at night and this way I have something to do.

So, thanks everyone! Good advice. Remember, I'm young and I only live once.

Cheers,

Beth

Zanzibar for lunch might fit in nicely between Prague and Athens..........

"I'm young and I only live once."

No excuse for poor planning.

I'm not one to discourage anyone from "going for it" in their travel plans.

That said, as other posters mentioned, you will use up a great deal of time travelling from one location to the next (I'm always amazed that a one hour flight can take up to six hours door-to-door with all of the check-in regulations, transport to and from the airport, etc.)

You don't seem to have accounted for all of that travel time in your plans. I think that the actual time you will wind up with on the current itinerary is 2 days Prague, several hours in Athens, 1 full day and maybe an additional partial day in the islands, and 1 day in Istanbul.

It seems a crime that you won't actually get to do much of anything other than travel from spot to spot.

I think it's a crazy itinerary, even the later version, and even "traveling at night".

I don't care about your age or how many lives you plan to live :-) the problem is that you will be spending almost all your time moving place to place.

I suggest you write down the places and get the *actual* times and costs of moving between them...

(1) Yes. Yes.
(2) Don't know.
(3) Ferry or flight?
(4) No.
(5) Flight?
(6) Depends how savvy you are.
(7) Yes.

You can get much better information from this forum if you do some preliminary research and come back with specific questions. Things like finding flights bewteen major cities is easy enough to research on your own.

You know, there are some nice Med towns along the Turkish coast ...small fishing villages, beaches, small boat trips out to Lycean ruins, swimming in Med, inland ruins, nightclubs,seafood, etc..And not too $$

Perhaps a flight in/out of Istanbul, with a mix of sea and Sultanahmet.

Here's what I'd do although I admit I'm not particularly young. I would focus on Prague and either Vienna and Budapest or all three. OR, I would go straight to the Greek islands and as one person suggested, do not go into Athens, just get on an internal flight to Santorini or Mykonos or wherever. I haven't done it in 10 years but at that time the inter-island flights weren't very expensive and saved a lot of time. Santorini has a little museum if you want a few hours of culture as well as an entire excavated village--I would butcher the spelling but it's south of the main town and worth the drive. Just a suggestion so that half your trip isn't eaten up by travel time.

I would never attempt this schedule and two days in Istanbul is beyond ridiculous. I was there for 4 days and didn't finish my to-do list. And one day I had a friend, from Istanbul,to take me around.
And it's fine for women although men will follow you and talk to you. Just wear dark sunglasses and pretend you don't see them. It can get quite annoying especially if one is trying to get from one place to another fast and ends up being bothered.
But, I definitely wouldn't give up the place for that reason. It's a beyond magnificent place. I would put it at the top of your list.
I recommend the Hotel Empress Zoe, owned by a woman from San Francisco, and in the heart of Sultanahmet district. It's a small hotel and I met another solo female traveler there and we hung out the entire day one day. I found it easy to meet people at that hotel. Happy Travels!

<<I think Riga..>>

Should you decide to go, do write a trip report. I was born there!

Anna Roz

Agree with others, you are cramming so much into a short amount of time, you'll end up with most of your vacation on planes, trains & cabs. Perhaps Prague and then wrap up in Greece---which with islands or even the villages is SO restful,you'll be re-charged for your new gig. Zakynthos is a GREAT island--the one with the shipwreck in a cove---and not often visited by American tourists; so tack that on in addition to a Santorini or Mykonos or Hydra.

I would entirely change the plan and do maybe Prague and Paris and that's it. I haven't been to Istanbul, so I could see maybe combining that with Athens. However, I just would have no real desire to go down there in the summer, it's too hot. I was in Greece in early October and it was still warm enough for swimming, but pleasant out. I can't even imagine it in July. I just wouldn't want to waste my FF miles that way (maybe you are one of those folks who travels for a living and has millions, though, I don't know but I'm just surprised you can even get these flights at this time).

YOu'd have to check the airlines yourself, but I don't think there are "cheap" airlines between Paris and Prague, but there are regular ones like Czech Air. There could be cheap ones, I am not sure.

I wouldn't waste my time going to islands when you don't have any interest in doing that, and you can go to a beach back home. Now I liked various Greek islands, but that's what you said.

Really, who is buying this stuff? Surely this is merely a joke.

Well, I gave up on this thread, because I felt so jumped on. People took was I was trying to do the wrong way, I was just asking for some creative help.

I just wanted to see how to make a last minute trip work and go to the beach. Remember, I only had a few days to pull this off because I was switching jobs I just wanted advice since I was so short on time. And the title of the thread, was can I pull this off? I was just asking for help.

So, after a lot of planning, here is where I ended up.

Paris -- all I wanted to really do is see the Louvre since I've been to Paris 3 times and spent 22 days there and never made it the Louvre.

So, I flew over arrive at 11:00 in Paris from San Francisco, took a cab to Paris, spent 5 hours at the Lovre, then hopped in the plane and went. Did what I wanted to do in Paris. Check that off the list. Hooray!

As for Prague, have you been to Prague? You can see most of it in three days, so I just spent three days there and saw most of what I wanted to see. It's great by the way, but three days was plenty. I saw everything and even two concerts at night and drank lots of yummy beer.

So lets talk about what I was originally thinking, when I originally posted, there is no way to get from Istanbul directly to the Greek islands which is why I threw Athens in the mix, I thought I had to fly through Athens t get to a beach. And everyone I know who has went said after you see the ruins in Athens, it's just a big city.

But, remember, all I wanted was a beach and maybe some ruins, I did not care where the heck is was. So, as Michel-Paris constructively suggested, I did figure out there is the Turquoise Coast and Lycian ruins with a beach.

So, here is the second half of my trip I just started.

4 days in Istanbul which I just started. Istanbul appears to be like Rome or Paris, you could spend 3 weeks here and still not see everything, so I just will need to come back. I’ve been to Rome three times and Paris three (plus one day ;-) ) times now.

Then, 3 days in Kas on the Turkish Mediterranean Coast. I will get to sea kayak over a sunken Lycian city, see the ruins at Myna, and go to the beach. And I’m staying at a nifty resort hotel on the beach!

Oh, and for the person who teased me, I should add Moscow, well, I’m flying from Turkey to Moscow to San Francisco. I have a 7 hour layover in Moscow. I’m sure I can get a site or two in! ;-)

Now you might laugh at Moscow, but I needed to get from Southern Turkey ( a town called Antalya) back home and this was only a three flights and I have business class all the way and it was the only way Delta could get me home using miles from Antalya. Plus, I get to see the Kremlin. I’ll just be tired, so I can sleep on the plane and I’m in those nice Air France business class seats – hooray for miles.

See, the trip worked out just fine, and it is perfectly reasonable though fully packed. I want to thank everyone who was constructive and for those of you who were not, I hope you think twice next time. Oh, and Bob, would you like me to send you a post card from Istanbul?

I still think it helps to travel at night and site see during the day and you are young and only live once. You know, I just went to Sicily with my parents and they can't move half as fast as I can traveling and a different town in sicily every day was too much for them by the end but it was fine for me.

Having a blast, again for those who helped thanks!

Cheers,

Beth

Yeah, right..............

Oh to be young and bright. I think you pulled off a great adventure. I just re-read my suggestions and while they weren't sarky (at least I don't think so); they certainly weren't geared to a young person full of energy. Enjoy the last half of your trip and I'm particularly looking forward to a report on Turkey.

I have no idea why you posted here in the first place then. Clearly you know more than anyone else here.

So, I guess you did not make it to Riga after all. No report then..

Anna Roz

How does someone who knew NOTHING about any part of her trip on June 18th pull off such a complicated itinerary, flying business class no less, by June 27th.

Beth, Really you should share your secrets about how you figured all this out, and while you were on the road no less. Truly impressive.

Hi, galaxygrrl200 -- I'm so glad you posted your ongoing trip report! Even though your itinerary sounded preposterous to some -- it sounded perfectly normal to me. My husband and I just returned from a month in Greece and Sicily and never stayed any place more than 3 nights (some only 1 or 2), saw everything we intended to see, even found some relaxing time, and had a wonderful time. And -- we're not young. Enjoy the rest of your trip and post back to us when you return.

Wow, well this put a smile on my face, I was afraid I'd get jumped on, but thanks for the support everyone! ;-)

Cathinjoetown, you were not snarky, and you actually answered my questions, so thank you, but you have to admit other people were not as generous.

Suze, I posted because I needed help, I was short on time, and I admit I should have been more focused in my questions.

Since you asked, I'll share how I pulled this off. I spent two hours in Barnes and Noble which taught me about the Turquoise Coast -- you have to love the eyewitness guides and rough guides - and that Prague is really not that big. I really think a bit of time in a book store with all the travel books really helps you plan a trip. For me at least, the eyewitness guides show you what you want to do, and the rough guides tell you what is cool to do in the area. The rough guide told me I could sea kayak over a sunken city, the eyewitness guide showed me pretty beaches.

It also helped that Delta just happened to have a really good sky partners program and I had a nice FF miles agent on the phone that worked with me and was pretty creative. But I did talk to Delta three times for about an hour each and it took a lot of back and forth.

Cwckwc1 - thanks for the support, it nice to get some words of encouragement. ;-). And by the way, I know you don't need to be young to pull of an itinerary like this, you just need to be flexible and comfortable finding your way around in a foreign country which my Dad is not.

Guenmai -- I did try booking your hotel suggestion, so thanks for it, but it was full, but I'm at the Seven Hills which is really close by where you suggested and since Expedia and they seemed to have miscommunicated about my reservation, the hotel bummed my from a single to a deluxe suite with sweeping views of the Hagia Sonia and views of the Bosphous.

As for Istanbul so far, it's pretty amazing, like Rome is amazing, lots of layers of history, friendly people, and good food and wine.

Today I went to the Topkapi Palace. I thought it was one of the three nicest not religious building I've been in (the others being the Alahambra and Versailles). I also went to the Hagia Sophia which is just overwhelming. It's a bit different than anything I've seen before, but if I had to compare it to anything, it would be the St Marco in Venice, but it's bigger, older and had more history since it a church that was turned into a Mosque (unlike all those Mosques in Spain that were turned into Chuches), and so some other sites too.

Anyway, need run and get ready for a dinner date with this nice and super cute Italian man I meet today while on a tour.

Cheers,

Beth

Glad to hear it is working out for you. Sorry you have been jumped upon - many here have strong opinions about the "right" and "wrong" way to travel.

FWIW, I don't even think your first itinerary was that bad. You are right that Prague is basically a weekend trip. And once you have seen the Acropolis, there just isn't that much left in Athens. You were probably cutting Istanbul short, but life is full of compromises. Another 2 days, and your trip would have been just fine.

It all comes down to how much you like to move about. Some hate to change hotels, others don't care. Some hate airports, while others view them as a chance to grab some food and hit the duty free. Again, glad it worked out for you.

Thanks for sharing your planning strategies. Glad you pulled off the trip you wanted.