Please help - I can't decide between the west and south coast of Turkey, and 2 Greek islands plus Athens.
 

I have a two week trip planned to Turkey next May. Week one includes Istanbul, the Cappadocia region and an overnight in Sirince to see Ephesus. I had intended on spending week 2 driving the Turkish coast from Sirince down and around to Antalya.

I am having second thoughts now, and thought just maybe I could see two Greek Islands instead in week two, maybe Samos, easy to reach from Turkey, ( right?) and then onto Santorini and an overnight in Athens before heading home. We have never been to Turkey or Greece.

I know each trip is so subjective (ie: the "is it worth it" question) but anyone have an opinion on this? Would Samos, Santorini and Athens be a lot more interesting than the western and southern coast of Turkey?

It seems every tourist who goes to a Greek Island stops in Santorini. I am hoping that visiting at the end of May might avoid the worst of the tourism crush, but maybe I am wrong about that. I know cruises are already stopping at that time of year. I picked up Greek Island guides from Fodor's, Rough Guide, and Eyewitness but they are not really helping me choose which islands to see, as the guides make them all sound great.

Hubby and I (45 and 50) have no specialized interests we want to focus on in this trip, just the fun of being somewhere totally different (from Wisconsin, that is) for a while. We love historical sights, dramatic natural scenery and cute towns.

Any suggestions or opinions are appreciated!

For me Santorini is well-worth the effort, but be advised that to get there from Samos means first going to either Mykonos, Naxos or Paros (depending on what ferries are operating next May), and that will most likely require an overnight on one of those islands.

Your other option is to fly from Samos back to Athens to pick up a flight to Santorini, and considering the cost of staying overnight on another island it might not be such a bad idea especially if you can take advantage of Aegean Airlines' promotional 39 euro fares for next season. Their website will sell them to you (e-tickets) when they're available. If they're not available now, keep checking........they will be.

http://www.aegean-air.gr/aegeanen/home/

If you do decide to go with the Aegean tickets, once you get them keep checking their website for schedule changes, they're almost inevitable. If you detect them you can contact Aegean by email and request whatever change you need. Don't wait for them to contact you or you'll be stuck with whatever change they assign to you.

We just spent two weeks in Turkey. We loved Istanbul and Ephesus, but were disappointed in the Aegean Coast portion of our trip ( from Kusadisi to Bodrum). If I were to do it over again, I'd visit Istanbul and Cappadocia, then head to Greece ( either Rhodes or Crete and Santorini).

weadles, is ephesus a must see? we really want to see it, but just cannot squeeze it in (or find a quick route from greek islands)..

If you like cute towns and historical places, I recommend Rhodes. It is the biggest of the greek islands. My husband and I spent 18 days there in the spring. I recommend going at a warmer time (The climate is the same as here) if you want to swim. You can go to the end of the island and swim in the aegan sea, then run across the beach and swim in the mediterainian. The best part I thought was "old town" it is an old castle town that people still actually live in and there are shops and resurants and it is huge. Then there are other little towns you can visit or you can rent a motorcycle and go out in the country and see lots of old castle remains. It is just a wonderful place to see.

Ephesus was one of the highlights of our trip. We found it more interesting than Pompeii, which surprised us. Of course you need at least a half day to see Ephesus, preferably more.

We arranged a private tranfer and guide from Izmir aiport to the site, which maximized our time. I'd highly recommend doing it that way.

I'm wondering if there are flights between Izmir and Athens. That way, you could overnight in the area, then fly out the following morning to Athens, connecting through to Santorini, or one of the other Greek islands.

I wouldn't spend much more time in that area of Turkey. Kusadisi is quite built up, and Bodrum doesn't require more than a day or two, unless you're hiring a gulet to take you along the coast.

By the way, I totally agree with the recmmendation about Rhodes. We spent time there last summer and loved it so much that we decided to go back again, so took the hydrofoil from Marmaris for a few days. It is an amazing place, great combination of resort/old city/ruins sightseeing. Plenty to do, and very good restaurants. If you go, I'd recommend staying close to the walls of the old city, which is a wonderful place to explore esp. after dinner when everyone's out for their nightly walk.

I love the idea of Rhodes, but I suspect we could not do it justice in 2 or possible 3 nights.

I definately thought that I would fly from Samos to Athens and then down to Santorini.

I still need to get to Samos though - I have tried to look at ferry or other boat sites, and I am not having much luck.

Any one know how I can get from Kusadasi to Samos?

Yes. Have a look here:

http://www.ankertravel.net/ferry.asp

There are ferries at least 5 days a week from Samos to Ephesus & back. Some are excursion boats (Round-trip fares only); that's what I took. But others are regular ferries.

I checked this info in my Lets Go Greece guidebook which has a section "Day trips to Turkey". Cheesehead, if you plan a trip of 2 weeks, which will cost you some thousands of dollars, surely you are investing in a guidebook costing about $15-$18. If not, why not? Web sites are wonderful, but they can't do everything. If you can't bring yourself to spend $15, then go to a Barnes & Noble and stand in the Travel SEction and read what you need for free.

Just did Samos to Kusadasi 2 days ago. It is very easy and I'm sure the reverse is as well. the people at Sammy's travel are very helpful([email protected]) They are based in Kusadasi and could walk you through the ferry info. We were able to get much cheaper hotel nights using another agent Argeus travel vs. going on our own. Had 2 rooms at the Kismet- one suite and one double for $240 total. We are in the Cappadocia region right now which is amazing as are the people at Esbelli Evi where we are staying.

Cheese,

I understand your comment that you can't do Rhodes justice in just 2 or 3 days. But remember that many people who go there do it in 2 or 3 hours as a stop on their cruise.

My plan is to visit Rhodes for 3 days. I'm sure I could easily spend a week or two there but that doesn't mean I shouldn't go just because I only have 3 days. Everywhere I travel I could spend four times as many days than I actually do.

My best comparison is that years ago I spent a few days in Crete. I could have spent at least two weeks there, but the three days I had available are cherished and I expect the same will be true of Rhodes. And being in Turkey, I'll never be so close to Rhodes again so I'm going to take advantage of it.

It'll be really strange if you do indeed end up going to Rhodes, as we'll be doing practically the exact same Istanbul-Cappadocia-Rhodes itinerary at the same time.

Turkey is packed with history. You can easily spend two weeks touring it's historical sites. The country has got it's act together and lots of cheap tours are available. It also has good beaches down south for a few days relaxing.

Brotherleelove - that is perfect - just what I was looking for, thanks!

LOL, Travelerjan. I have 5 guidebooks at home right now for Greece, and my three Turkey books are out on short term loan to a friend who just went to Turkey and has not returned them quite yet. I am the queen of guidebooks :)

I should have written my question a little better, but it was late and I did it just before bed. My problem is that I am planning so far in advance that schedules for next May are generally not out yet, and the guidebooks all mention that not all connections go everyday and that schedules change frequently. I was worried that there might not be a daily connection from Turkey to Samos. Thanks to the website that Brotherleelove provided, I see that there will be a twice daily ferry to Samos after May 1 so that is a big relief. Now I just have to decide if I actually want to go there ;)

We spent only three days in Rhodes, and were able to cover a lot of what we wanted to see. If that's all the time you have, go for it!

Hi Weadles - you are confirming what I was reading in Julies trip report to Turkey. She mentioned she was not especially enamored of the south coast area either. If I compare a week on the Turkish coast with a week on two Greek Islands plus the Athens night, I feel a little more excited about the Greek option. I think I will do it. Although kaneda is right about the history in Turkey, I do have one week to catch some of it.

We are celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary on this trip, and it will occur while we are Santorini if I go with the Greek option. It seems like a great place to spend it!

Now I just need to decide what other island to see besides Santorini. I was thinking Samos since we will be right there at Ephesus and it seems like a simple connection.

Rhodes does sound like it fits the bill for us perfectly and of course you are all correct, two or three days on a very interesting island is better than none.

Mike - did you decide how you will get to Rhodes from Cappadocia? The big issue for me is getting to Rhodes in a time efficient manner. I plan on the Thursday evening flight from Kayseri to Izmir, then spend at least part of the the day Friday at Ephesus. I suppose I could drive to Marmaris to catch a Fri ferry to Rhodes. I would have to figure all that out, and then the Rhodes to Santorini segment too, but I bet I can fly that one via Athens if necessary.

It will be very funny if we end up running into each other all the time. I think we should plan at least to meet for a lunch or dinner while we are there!

Belly - how cool that you are there right now - I surely will looking for your trip report! Of course we are considering the perennial Fodors favorite - Esbelli Evi - for our time in Cappadocia, which is a "for sure".

I'm not sure when they begin service, in May or June, but you might want to check with SkyExpress, a small Cretan airlines. They have direct flights to Santorini from both Rhodes and Samos. You might have to send them an email to ask for this information since they've deleted everything from their schedules page except for what's currently available.

http://www.skyexpress.gr/

http://www.skyexpress.gr/

Cheese,

<i>We are celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary on this trip</i>

Ok. That does it. Your trip and mine are just too uncannily similar. It's our 25th anniversary trip also. Our anniversary is in June, but it's a particularly special trip in May because it's our anniversary vacation.

<i>Mike - did you decide how you will get to Rhodes from Cappadocia? </i>

Nope. I'm waiting to piggyback on your research. :) Seriously, I had to take some time off from travel planning and haven't gotten to that level of detail yet.

Something to keep in mind is that you (we!) don't have to drive all the way to Marmaris to take the ferry to Rhodes. The hydrofoil trip lasts only 45 minutes from Marmaris, but other options include 2 1/4 hours from Bodrum and 1 1/2 hours from Fethive if the day the ferry runs works out. Check out this link: http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/t...ndFerries.html

I strongly recommend that you pass on the idea of Samos unless you literally have a day to kill that you'd rather not spend somewhere else. It's a lovely Greek island, but the other islands have all the charm of Samos plus additional opportunities to enjoy yourself. Samos is really tiny and could easily be substituted by a village in Santorini or Rhodes that you otherwise wouldn't go to. (I have been to Santorini but not Rhodes.)

Mike and Cheesehead,

The Bodrum option to Rhodes is only good on certain days of the week. That's why we were forced to drive to charmless Marmaris for the hydrofoil ride to Rhodes. We actually wasted a night in Marmaris because I thought our hotel ( Marti La Perla) would be on a really nice beach, and I was wrong. Really wrong. In retrospect, I should have driven from Bodrum a little later in the day, and caught the 4PM hydrofoil to Rhodes, rather than overnighting for the morning ferry. A complete waste of a day in Turkey.

I'm still trying to figure out what we may have missed in the Bodrum area. There must be a reason that so many people recommend going there. I just don't know what it is.

Cheesehead,

Just wanted to stress that the south coast doesn't hold a candle to the beauty or charm of Rhodes and Santorini. I'd go back to either of those or preferably both of those any time. Doubt I'd ever return to the south coast of Turkey. I will say that I think I really planned badly despite a whole year of research. We really should have gone to Cappadocia instead of the coast, and that and Istanbul, which I loved, would be worth a return trip to Turkey.

Hey Mike - so you got married back when dinosaurs still roamed the earth too??

The similarities in our trips is really getting wild!(insert twilight zone music here)

Weadles, I cannot thank you enough for sharing your expeience and thoughts regarding the south coast of Turkey. Although I am sure parts of it could be nice, I am really excited to add a visit to Greece in place of it.

I already booked flights on Aegean Air last night per brotherleeloves great advice and was amazed at the price - Santorini to Athens 25 euro each and Athens to Frankfurt 59 euro each, that is all in!

Now I just have do decide for sure what other island I can (fairly) easily get to from the Kusadasi area, and one that will also allow me to get to Santorini without swimming there.

I am going to write to Sky Express (another great Brotherleelove suggestion!)to see what the May schedule for 08 might be. Even if it is a slight hassle to get to Marmaris for the ferry to Rhodes ( only day it seems to work for us) it will make up for it if there is a direct flight from Rhodes to Santorini.

If I were to do Rhodes and Santorini for 6 nights how should I split it up? 3/3? 4/2? and which Island would be 4?

bkmk

Happy Cheesehead,

I would split Rhodes and Santorini 3/3, since the two islands are completely different from each other, and have so much to offer. In Rhodes, unless you don't mind being a bit isolated, I'd recommend staying near the old town instead of in Lindos. I don't know what your budget is, but there are one or two small boutique hotels inside the walls, as well as the Rhodes Hotel and Suites just outside. None of these obviously are on the beach if that's imp to you, but from the old town, you can walk to the public beach and pay for a chair etc for a couple of hours.

On another note, while the Sky Express option sounds great, you should know that those planes are ( or were two years ago) really small and as I remember, propeller-driven. Not my favorite thing in the world, but maybe you're OK with that.

I see that Brotherleelove2004 suggested Anker Travel. We used one of their agents, Ceyda Genc, to help with our arrangements, and she was fabulous. The agency is based in Kusadisi, so I bet she'd be able to help with your question about getting to Samos. Her e-mail is: [email protected]

Cheese,

I've been to Santorini and Crete but not to Rhodes. Regarding your question of how long to stay on the two islands, from what I've read Rhodes is probably a reasonable substitute for Crete.

Using that as background to my answer, I would probably choose to stay in Santorini 2 full days not including the time to get there. I would stay 4 days in Rhodes including the time to get there.

I think Rhodes probably merits more time than Santorini simply because it's so much larger. I would use geographic size as the basis of my decision unless there was something in particular about Santorini that compels you to stay longer, such as maybe that you're an anthropologist whose specialty is the impact of the caldera on island culture.

<i>those planes are ( or were two years ago) really small and as I remember, propeller-driven.</i>

You're probably assuming the propellers are powered by gasoline. At the price Cheese mentioned, I'd be happy to fly them if the props are powered by rubberbands. :(

MikeBuckley,

Thanks for the laugh!

Happy Cheesehead: Re: Getting to Rhodes from Cappadocia. Probably the best bet is to ask a Turkish travel agent, but there is an airport about half an hour from Marmaris. I think it's called Dalman (spelling??). From Marmaris, you could catch the ferry to Rhodes.

The name of the city with an airport near Marmaris is Dalaman. SunExpress flies there but according to their website you must connect in Anatalya. If I were to fly to Anatalya, I think I would simply drive from there to Marmaris rather than take another flight to Dalaman.

The March-October schedule of 2007 for Turkish Airlines is at http://www.thy.com/en-INT/online_ser...ime_table.aspx

I assume the schedule will be similar for 2008.

Cheese,

You asked awhile ago about how I will get from Cappadocia to Rhodes. I think I've finally figured it out, assuming the Turkish Airline schedule remains about the same next year as this year.

Fly from Kayseri to Izmir. I'll probably take the morning flight that connects through Istanbul, which takes 3 hours. The 1 3/4 hour non-stop flight occurs only on certain days and none work well with my itinerary. The connection only takes barely more than an hour longer, which explains why there are so few non-stop flights.

Once in Izmir, I'll probably rent a car and spend a couple of days driving around exploring ruins on our way to Marmaris, which apparently is only 175 miles away. Visiting the ruins will make my wife so happy that she might put up with me for another 25 years.

We'll take the hydrofoil to Rhodes either from Bodrum or Marmaris, depending on how our schedule works out.

Another less likely possibility is staying in the Izmir area while exploring the ruins and flying from there to Antalya. We would drive from there to Bodrum or Marmaris.

MikeBuckley,

If it helps at all, we just drove the coast from Izmir to Marmaris. The drive takes about six hours ( Izmir-Kusadisi is about 2, Kusadisi to Bodrum is roughly 2.5, and Bodrum to Marmaris is also about 2.5).

Your time frames are a HUGE help, Weadles. I hope I can convince you to provide details of your drive, such as things that were great, things that were not so great, etc.!

Oh yikes, I am getting behind in responding to all the fab info in this thread.

I wrote to Sky Express and they sent me the schedule for next May, it is basically the same as what they have have on the site right now, so it appears there are daily flights from Rhodes to Santorini. That saves a ton of time! It is more expensive than the Aegean Air flights thru Athens (even broken into two, cheaper segments) but on vacation, to me, efficiently planning travel time is super important. I am so tickled with my Aegean Air prices that I have no trouble paying a little more for that straight flight. I think I can handle one prop segment (rubberbands and all) - we have to take them in Wisconsin fairly regularly.

I am still going to seriously think about my &quot;other&quot; island besides Santorini. Maybe I should pick an island that cruise ships do not stop at?? Rhodes seems like it would be nice, but maybe too touristy in conjuction with Santorini? Of course the obvious issue with smaller islands is the transportation issue.

Weadles, my husband and I were figuring we could get from Ephesus to Marmaris in three hours. Guess you blew that out of the water!

Anker Travel also wrote back regarding ferries and said there was only one morning ferry from Marmaris to Rhodes at that point in May. Maybe more companies take that route that they do not represent? I see other websites showing one at 18:00 - that would work out so much better for me!

Mike - amazing that the flight from Keysari to Izmir thru Athens is only slightly longer. I am glad to know it - I won't let the direct flight control my schedule. I myself would much rather leave from Bodrum if at all possible, and if we fly to Izmir thru Athens it might work better. Your transportation plan makes a lot of sense.

Gosh, we are getting so much planned so quick! What are we going to do for the next 9.5 months :)

Happy Cheesehead:

Anker Travel doesn't represent certain ferry companies. They simply let you know what's available on the current ferry/hydrofoil schedules. Those schedules are not really set until the spring. Last spring, there was only one ferry a day to Rhodes from Marmaris. The two ferry a day service didn't begin until early summer. From Bodrum, there was summer service to Kos, with a connection to Rhodes, but I don't remember the length of the layover.

The reason that the drive from Ephesus to Marmaris takes so long is because a good stretch of the road is through windy mountain terrain. It's quite beautiful, but it makes for slow driving.

Re: Rhodes. I've visited twice, and never been bothered by the cruise ship crowds. The old town is very busy during the day and early evening hours, but even that is very manageable. Also, Rhodes is so large that even if there were crowds in town, you could easily get into a water taxi on the harbor and escape to Lindos for the day. Anyway, we really love Rhodes, and I'd highly recommend it if it fits into your itinerary.

Cheese,

<i>Mike - amazing that the flight from Keysari to Izmir thru Athens is only slightly longer.</i>

Be aware that that's true only on one flight, which occurs in the middle of the day. Though I'd prefer a flight at the beginning or end of the day, that particular one has the shortest schedule and occurs every day. Some flights take 4 hours and others take 5 hours, depending on the layover in Istanbul. Remember that I've only got this year's schedule, not next year's schedule.

Now that I've refined my schedule more -- thanks to the great information provided by Weadles -- I'm currently planning on arriving at Izmir on a Thursday at 2:00pm. We'll poke around minor ruins on the way to Bodrum, where we'll stay Friday night. We'll take the ferry from Bodrum to Rhodes Saturday morning.

OK, so....

1. if the only ferry from Marmaris to Rhodes at that time of year is in the morning, and

2. there is no way I will make a Friday a.m Marmaris departure (since we arrive Izmir Thursday eve and need Fri am to see Ephesus) and if

3. there IS a Sat a.m. departure from Bodrum I have no reason to go all the way to Marmaris, then

4. I will be sitting next to MikeBuckley on that Sat a.m. Bodrum&gt;Rhodes ferry drinking coffee and comparing notes :)

Weadles, I thank you again for all the wonderful first hand info you have provided to help me (And Mike!) out.

Happy Cheesehead:

Wouldn't that be funny if you and MikeBuckley really DID meet on the very same ferry to Rhodes?!

Anyway, definitely check in with Anker Travel or any of the reputable travel agencies listed on Turkeytravelplanner.com about the ferry service from Bodrum. For all I know it may change next year. And certainly if there's any way to avoid an overnight stay in the most uninteresting place we visited in our 2-week Turkey stay, AKA Marmaris, do so!

Just had another thought... I wonder if there are possibly flights from Izmir to Rhodes? If so, you could visit Ephesus, overnight in Sirince if necessary, then backtrack to the airport, which is only about 1 hour away.

Cheese,

At the risk of losing the opportunity to chat with you on the Saturday morning ferry from Bodrum, you might want to check out the following alternative:

1) return to Izmir after visiting Ephesus and fly to Antalya.
2) Drive to Marmaris and take the ferry to Rhodes.

Weadles,

<i>Wouldn't that be funny if you and MikeBuckley really DID meet on the very same ferry to Rhodes?!</i>

Actually, and very seriously, I'm getting the definite impression that if we do meet on that ferry it will not be the first time we hook up. As an example, I'm trying (unsuccessfully so far) to figure out how I can arrange to take the Thursday evening flight from Kayseri to Izmir, the same flight Cheese will be on. We've already mentioned the possibility of taking a cooking class in Istanbul. And I haven't mentioned that I plan to stay in the same hotel in Cappadocia that she hopes to stay in.

Cheese and Weadles,

Now that the three of us know each other so well, please feel free to call me Mike. It's only at Fodor's that there is no space between my first and last name. :)

Another Friday possibility, Cheese:

Do Ephesus. Take the boat from Kusadasi to Samos. Fly from Samos to Rhodes.

Caveat: I have no idea if there is sufficient time, if there is an afternoon boat from Kusadasi to Samos, or if there is a flight from Samos to Rhodes.

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