leylasafaraliyeva and HappyTrvlr - I was definitely feeling some regret about omitting the Peloponnese from the original itinerary, but worried that 2 days would not be enough time to be worthwhile. At this point, I am trying to figure out what we want to do / see that is significantly different from the other things we are doing / seeing. I feel like we have a good mix of ancient history, byzantine history, hiking, interesting nature / geography, island towns, beaches ... what will add something new? Maybe that is the Peloponnese!

This trip looks marvelous! But, if my wife and I did such a trip, we'd have to find time to add a trip to Ephesus in Turkey. I can't imagine not seeing it if I'm in Turkey. We have flexibility on time as we are retired- how might a visit to Ephesus be added?

Thank you Conndog. I struggled with Ephesus! The main issue is that it involves another flight and we just don't want to add a flight. This past summer, we did a trip to Indonesia where we had to fly four times in three weeks and it was too much. I vowed not to do that again. In Turkey, everything is so far apart that both Cappadocia and Ephesus involve flying, so it came down to choosing between the two of them. I chose Cappadocia because it is so different than anything else we will be seeing (or have ever seen), whereas Ephesus is Greek ruins, which we will see elsewhere.... I do realize they are more spectacular than other Greek ruins, but that is how I landed on my decision :) If we had time to do a "blue cruise" or something like that and see other coastal towns in Turkey without flying, then I would not miss Ephesus. Maybe that will have to be our next trip!

I understand that better now, what a wonderful trip it’ll be!

Nothing is easier than Cappadocie - Ephesos - Athens:
For the random date of May 24th, that gives:
Short bus ride from Urgup/Goreme to Kayseri.
Pegasus flight Kayseri dp 16.15 - Izmir ar 17.40.
Commuter train (about every hr) or bus to Selcuk or bus to Kusadasi.
May 25th: visit of Selcuk
May 26th: back to izmir airport and direct flight to Athens, Izmir dp 18.15 - Athens ar 19.19, fares start at 44 EUR

We stayed at this cave hotel, Esbelli Evi, in Ürgüp. It is really special with fantastic food and caring, kind, exceptional service.

In post 25 it should be:
"Nothing is easier than Cappadocia - Ephesos - Athens:
For the random date of May 24th, that gives:
Short bus ride from Urgup/Goreme to Kayseri.
Direct Pegasus flight Kayseri dp 16.15 - Izmir ar 17.40.
Commuter train (about every hr) or bus to Selcuk or bus to Kusadasi.
May 25th: visit of EPHESOS
May 26th: back to izmir airport and direct Aegean flight to Athens, Izmir dp 18.15 - Athens ar 19.15, fares start at 44 EUR
A alternative could be a visit of Ssamos island Kuasdasi dp 9.00 - Samos ar 10.00. Flights from Samos to Athens and ferries from Samos Island to Mykonos - Piraeus."

Airports are not that easy to navigate these days. Although I have to say Kayseri airport is small and does not require a lot of time but our flight out of there was late by many hours, and these kinds of things seem to be happening much more often since Covid.

So, I understand the desire to keep flights to a minimum. I do hope you manage to see the western coast of Turkey, or the Turquoise coast, and Ephesus one day. We loved it!

"So, I understand the desire to keep flights to a minimum."
So do I.
But the number of flights remains strictly the same: Kayseri - Izmir - Athens instead of Kayseri or Nevsehir - Istanbul - Athens.

Yes, by reversing the order of visits ie Istanbul first then Cappadocia. I guess I was thinking of the tight timeline. Our flight from Kayseri was to leave I believe around 4 pm and didn’t take off until midnight. Our next flight was at 7 am from IST so that was an unpleasant turn around.
The flight was originally leaving Kayseri at 1 pm and arriving Dubrovnik at 8 pm but Turkish Air cancelled that flight. So I ended up paying for a hotel at IST and a room at an Adriatic hotel in Dubrovnik for the same night so I could have somewhere to sleep when we got in from that exhausting day.

I see you are a treasure trove of information neckervd. Next time I need help with transportation options I surely will ask. 😊

Update?
 

Hi! I am hoping to do a similar trip next year and was wondering if you could update on how the trip worked out? Anything you are extra glad you did or that you would do differently?

Thank you!

Hi WestCoastTraveler,
I wrote a detailed trip report after we got back. It is here (I hope the link works) https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...024-a-1723492/

If the link doesn't work, just go to the Greece forum and click "display trip reports" and mine is called
"Trip Report : Turkey and Greece trip in May and June 2024."

After you have a chance to read it, I would be more than happy to answer further questions.
It was an absolutely fabulous trip!!! But you do have to be very strategic to avoid the terrible crowds.
Laura

Sifnos
 

Your itinerary looks great! My husband and I stayed on Sifnos May 27-June 1 this summer. We loved it! We split our time between Gerofinikas Boutique hotel outside of Appolonia (the views were incredible and the hospitality was fantastic). The location was great for driving to different trailheads. We ended our time on Sifnos at a beach apartment in Platis Gialos (Ammos Sifnos Village apartments). If you are looking for a beach stay, I would recommend Platis Gialos over Kamares (more scenic, better beach).

Ferries - I believe SeaJets offers a ferry from Santorini to Sifnos, but I am not positive on days/times. We ferried to Sifnos from Naxos, and then from Sifnos to Milos. Out of the three islands, Sifnos was hands down our favorite. However, if you decide to add time in Milos, be sure to check out Oneiro Sailing.

When we started our trip (May 23) we had cooler weather - 65-70 degrees. By the time we got to Athens on June 4th, it was over 100 degrees everyday. I think the day we got in, it was 111.