Hisurfer

Hi all! I'll be in Mykonos in October, and plan to head from there to Turkey. Given my time limits, I have a choice of either:

- 2 days in Samos and 3 in Selcuk / Ephesus
or
- 4 days in Rhodes and 1 in Marmaris

I'm much more interested in doing some hiking and exploring the cities, towns, & ruins than in drinking beer and laying on the beach. I'd love osme advice as to which route to take!

brotherleelove2004

No contest. Samos and Selcuk without hesitation. Ephesus is just about the most important archaeological site in the whole Mediterranean area, not to mention spectacular. And I'm sure you'll find plenty to do on Samos and around Selcuk as well.

StCirq

It's been years, but I'd pick the Samos and Selcuk/Ephesus option. We loved Samos (good white wine!), and Selcuk and Ephesus were fabulous (although it's so long ago that we actually came across local people hauling archaeological goodies out of Ephesus in wheelbarrows for their own use!). There's a lot of fabulous history there and good scenery, too.

Patrick

Yep, not a doubt. Samos and Ephesus.

jules4je7

We went to Samos and Ephasus in 2003...I think given your interests that you will love it.

Stay with Stellios at the Pythagoria Hotel just up the ferry stop from Samos Town. He often meets the ferry and gives you a card and offers you a ride. He only charged us $18 Euro for a double in October, and it had a beachfront view and they served us a great breakfast in the morning for about $5.

You can rent a car on Samos and drive around. We used Pegasus car rental for $30 -- watch the gas gauge when you turn on the car -- they stole some of our gas and we had to fill it up. Other than that it was all good. You can drive to Pythagorias Town, where there's a neat monastery at the top of the hill, and a number of ruins around.

It's a 40-minute ferry ride from Greece to Kusadasi. I would go on to Izmir on the bus from there (about 1.5 hours) and stay there. It's a bigger city, with MANY fewer tourists, and will afford you a chance to see real Turkish life. Selcuk is overrun by tourists and is so small you can't get away from them.

We stayed at the Aksan Hotel ($40 night for a 4-star hotel -- we booked online) which is close to downtown. We rented a guide named Tildem for a day trip to Ephasus, and she and her driver took us there and to a rug-making shop/co-op that was absolutely fascinating.

Have fun whatever you decide. If you have questions, e-mail me at [email protected]

Jules

Hisurfer

Well - that was easy ... Samos it is! I really want to see Ephesus, but hadn't heard much about Samos [hence the thought of Rhodes]. Glad to hear that you all liked it!

I like the idea of Selcuk - or rather, I like the idea of waking up at dawn and being able to walk to Ephesus. I'll be in Turkey 3 weeks, so I'll have plenty of chances to experience the life, I think!