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We were able to get a direct flight to Amsterdam that arrives around 1:00PM. At least at this point, there are direct flights from Amsterdam to Crete on Transavia at 6:00 am - so we will have to spend the night and have a half-day or so in Amsterdam. Having never been there before, wondering if I should shave a day off Istanbul or somewhere else in my trip to take another FULL day in Amsterdam? Also, what about the days in Crete/Santorini - I know Crete is large, but we will just plan to focus on one area. Should we only go to Santorini for two days and spend another on Crete or?? Opinions welcome even if I decide to ignore them :)

Arrive Ams 1:00 PM 1/2 Day Ams AMS
Transavia 6:15-10:45 Crete Crete
Crete Crete
Crete Crete
Crete Crete
Crete Crete
Fast ferry in the am to Santorini Santorini
Santorini Santorini
Santorini Santorini
Athens Athens
Athens Athens
Athens-Kayseri Capadoccia
Capadoccia Capadoccia
Capadoccia Capadoccia
Kayseri-Izmir Selchuk
Ephesus Selchuk
IST IST
IST IST
IST IST
IST IST
IST IST
IST IST

One other thought - perhaps do Ephesus as a day trip from Istanbul?

The reason I am flying to Kayseri from Athens rather than Izmir (doing Ephesus first) is that the flights from Izmir-Kayseri don't run on Wed.

What would you be trying to gain if you did Ephesus as a day trip instead of spending a night in Selcuk? I think your above schedule for Turkey looks fine. I would for myself add an extra full day for Cappadocia and take a day off from IST, but I think you'll enjoy your trip.

Thanx Axel2DP
I guess if I can fly directly from Kayseri to Izmir there isn't really a point in doing a day trip - how many days would you devote to IST?

I visited Ephesus and Selchuk as a day trip from Izmir and it was Ok.

We spent 5 days in Istanbul and had time to visit all what we had in our list.

I think 4-5 days in IST are good to see all the major sights without rushing. Look like you have 6 days for IST, so you should have time to also see more of IST, ie visit the Asian side and take the full day Phosphorus cruise if you like.