Help with Greece+Istanbul Itinerary
 

Hi,
We are a married couple of 29 and are planning to visit Turkey (Mainly Istanbul) and Greece (Athens and one Island) from 15th to 24th of August. Need some help in planning the itinerary.
P.S: I know 9 days is really too less for a trip to both Greece and Turkey but we have been wanting to do this for quite some time and given the airfares we cannot think of two separate trips to Turkey and Greece
1. We can't seem to finalize on if we should fly into Istanbul and fly out of Athens or vice versa. Open jaw ticket fares for both are in the same range and are almost at par with return tickets from either location. Need your suggestions on what would be the best option. Can we take a ferry from a Greek island to Turkey and then get to Istanbul from there?
2. We want to do Athens and one Greek island. Which one should we look at? Would probably be an island with connectivity to Turkey
3. Mid to end August would be too hot and humid? We are from India and are pretty used to the heat, but how bad does it really get?
4. Any suggestions how we should split the trip?
Thanks much in advance for all your suggestions!
Cheers,
Biraja

There are direct flights in July and August between Istanbul and Mykonos, but no other island. Check Pegasus Air and Atlas Jet.

Fly into Athens and out of Istanbul. If you like the idea of Mykonos this would be a simple process and save you a lot of time. Otherwise go to an island close to Athens such as Hydra so you can easily return to the mainland in just a couple of hours for a flight to Turkey, although returning the day before is better advised so you aren't scrambling to catch a same-day flight to Istanbul.

I seriously doubt that the heat in Greece will feel very bad to you since you live in India.

Better not to fly to Greece if you would arrive on the 15th of August, which is a big Holiday and everything will be full.

It would be better to see Istanbul first and fly to Greece from there.

August in Greece can be hot with 36 C, islands are always a bit cooler, especially when the meltemi wind is blowing. ( Northern winds).
The climate though is very dry, and not humid at all :)

The Greek Islands are especially busy through the weekend after 15th August, and with that in mind it would be best going to Istanbul first. There are no Greek islands within easy reach of Istanbul, so you would have to travel through Turkey to somewhere like Çesme for Chios, Kusadasi for Samos, or ports further south to reach Kos or Rhodes. Then, of course, you would have to make your way from the island to Athens for your flight home. That could be easily done in 2-3 weeks, but you have only 9 days.

Flying from Istanbul to Athens would save you a lot of time. From Athens you have a choice of many different islands within a few hours by ferry, or a connecting flight from Athens would get you to an island in less than an hour's flying time. Brotherleelove's suggestion of a direct flight from Istanbul to Mykonos would also work. Mykonos will be very busy in August, but from my experience, probably no worse than what you are used to in India. Heat will not be a problem for you either. :-)

I would want to consider what kind of island experience you want. Mykonos will be very busy in August. In terms of vacation time, I would do Istanbul, then Athens and an island so you wind down at the end. There are tons of sites to visit in both of the cities, you'll enjoy some relaxation on an island. With only 9 days, you will be rushed. Thus an island close to Athens would make sense. The bottom line is you really can't "do" two major cosmopolitan cities and an island in that amount of time. I understand the impression that you'll never get back to that part of the world again, but you will if you have the desire. To get the greatest bang for the buck, you should choose between the two countries and then you'll maximize your experience.