My next trip will be to Greece or Turkey in April. We will have around 10 days. Is it better to do one country or hit highlights in 2. I was thinking of Athens, Rhodes and Istanbul. Why? Free hotel which is all that allows us to go to Europe every year. I do want to see more of the Greek isles one day and explore Cappadocia and other parts of Turkey. We have kids so we won't have the luxury of a three week vacation for at least 12 years.

Hi Jill,<BR>April is kind of chilly for the islands, so I would leave them for that &quot;one day in the future&quot;. 10 days doesn't seem enough, but if you have your heart set on Turkey, go to Greece first and from there go to Turkey. Coming in from Turkey to Greece is hard as the Greeks don't like tourists going to Turkey, and will give you a hard time at customs and not the most pleasant attitude. They will however allow daytrips to Turkey but you can't stay overnight. The strategy is to spite Turkey in tourist dollars so that their economy is weak. Turkey will however charge you $100 in Visa entry fees if you decide to stay overnight.<BR>There is a daily ferry from Rhodes that does take the day trip to Turkey, and if you go early in the morning, you probably can splurge on a taxi there to go to other sites. One thing that you may have problems with are the ferrys in this kind of weather. They may not run as often and cancel if the sea is choppy.

the custom's control entering in greece from turkey, is so harsh and long lasting because greece is an EU country and the borders of greece are the outer borders of the European Union. Which means that being in greece, you can go to any other EU country you want without any further passport and luggage controls.<BR>

I completely disagree that Greeks don't like tourists who had also visited Tyrkey.Imagine that I'm from Greece and have been in Turkey 5 times.My suggestion is to try another greek island than Rhodes.Crete and Santorini are my favorites!<BR><BR>

Thanks for the input. It is a lot to do in a short time but that's how I've always traveled. Maybe we'll go for Venice, Cinque Terre and Milan instead.

I agree with the poster that said April is early for Greece. I was there in late May/early June and it was perfect. I would stay in Turkey, and even with 10 days it won't be enough time. However 10 days would give you enough time to see Istanbul, Cappadoccia and Epheses.<BR><BR>On the other hand I completely disagree about it being a problem going between the two countries, would like to know what type of problems the other posters experienced...

I would do 10 days in Turkey. I like the Istanbul, Cappadocia, and Ephesus suggestion. We went by boat/ferry to Samos, Greece after Turkey without any customs problems. April is early for the Greek islands and maybe the Cinque Terre.

April is too cold for swimming in Greece (unless you have access to a heated pool) but it is lovely for sightseeing. Crete is the warmest part of Greece and there is a lot to see.<BR>You could consider Athens, Crete and possibly Santorini - although Athens and Crete alone would have plenty to keep you occupied.<BR>Or, if you want to add Turkey: Athens, Rhodes and a daytrip to Turkey from Rhodes.<BR>If you intend to return to Europe, I think you would be better to stay in either Turkey or Greece, rather than to spend too much of your vacation travelling.