Istanbul & Greece trip report with Gate 1 travel
 

This was the first we have travelled with Gate 1 and as budget travellers we will certainly do it again. They are efficient, timely and organized. The hotels they chose in Istanbul and Greece were clean, tourist hotels offering breakfast and well located to a Metro. The hotel in Istanbul was within walking distance to many
sites.

The package we purchased included Delta non-stop from JFK to Istanbul. It included tansportation from airport to hotel and a city tour with a knowledgeable tour guide to the Blus Mosque and Hagia Sophia. After 3 days on our own, and on the first day getting lost in the Grand Bazaar, they provided transportation to the Cristal, a Louis Hellenic cruise ship. An older ship with small rooms but well maintained and a great staff. We were using this ship as a means of transportion to taste some of the Greek Islands and it fit the bill perfectly. The food was not bad, not first class, but not bad at all.

The islands we visited were PATMOS, facinating if you're Christian as you see where St John was banished for 2 years and where, reportedly, he wrote the book of Revelation. EPHESUS, where we walked the same path as St John, St Paul, Mark Anthoney and Cleopatra. The ruins there are amazing. MYKONOS, where the small whitewashed shopping streets call you to walk, walk, walk. RHODES, the walled old medieval city also calls one to walk, look and shop. We were there the whole day. In the afternoon, we took a taxi to LINDOS. Lindos is beautiful and topped by an Acropolis that a resident said is older then the one at Athens. The last island we visited was SANTORINI with her white and blue homes setting on top of steep stone cliffs. We found out that everything there is up, up, up (we rode the cable car down)

Finally, we stayed two days in Athens. Included in our package was a tour to the Acropolis/Panthenon, that was so worth the climb! That evening, we had dinner at a rooftop restaurant located at the base of the Acropolis where after dark it is lighted and we had to pinch ourselves to realize we were really there. We ended our travel in Athens by walking, eating, and shopping in the Plaka.

A wonderful trip.

cd -sounds like a nice trip. Where did you stay in Athens and how did you like the hotel? Do you recall the name of the restaurant where you had dinner near the Acropolis?

The hotel in Athens was the Oscar. The bathrooms were all new and marble and very, very nice. The lobby was also very nice and the breakfast good. It was one block from the Metro which was wonderful. The one negetive is that the room itself was worn. It was clean but the carpet and spreads were worn and in need of being replaced. I am sorry I don't remember the name of the restaurant. We took the metro to the 'Akropoli' exit which is on the red line and then just started walking and asking questions about good restaurants with a view. It worked!

Thanks for your trip report. We are thinking of using Gate 1 travel for Greece and Turkey next year. Did you take the 12 day Turkey & Greek islands with 6 day cruise? Thanks.

igpjazz
Yes, that's exactly the one we took. I don't know what season you plan on going, but I would suggest not the hot months of July and August. We broke a sweat in April with all the walking and also the hotels have a system where you open the door with your key card and then you place it in a slot on the wall inside your room and that turns on the electricity so you can turn lights, tv, air conditioner on. A great way to be energy efficient but I can only imagine how hot the rooms would be after being gone all day and how long it would take them to cool.

Thanks again, CD. I'm glad to hear that you liked the trip and will probably go in April or October, 2008. Did you book all your shore excursions with Gate 1 travel,too?

Sorry, I meant 2009.

In Ephesus, we booked 'Ancient Ephesus' with the ship and it was really good. In Patmos, we booked St John's Monastery and Grotto with the ship and it was also very good. In Rhodes, the ship dockes near the Old City so we just did our own thing in the Old City but paid 100.00 euros to a taxi to take us to Lindos. ( there are a million of them that meet you as you get off the boat)this is a good deal as the drivers are locals and very knowledgeable of the history on the Islands. In Santorini we took the ships tour to Thira and Oia Village. So to answer your question we took mostly the tours of the ship but did a few just on our own. We liked our choices.

Thanks, I'll keep note of this.