I know that Turkey is only partially in Europe, but wanted your advice. I will be spending 10 days in Istanbul for business, but I have four days of queue time. Is it logistically possible to spend at least three days touring some of the Greek Islands before heading back to Istanbul for my return flight? Thank you very much.

It would be possible but three or four days wouldn't give you very long, considering travel time there and back. You may be better to plan a visit to a Turkish coastal resort. This would make the transportation logistics much easier.<BR>If you do want to visit a Greek island, check out ferry timetables on the web. I'm not sure what the web site is but if you search for Greek ferries, you should find all the information you need. Rhodes, Kos, Samos and Lesbos can all be reached fairly easily from Turkey but not necessarily from Istanbul.<BR>Good luck,<BR>Carolina

You could fly to Athens (short flight) and from there go on a 3 -4 day cruise of the islands.<BR>There are beautiful!<BR>

I have just checked a couple of web sites and can't find any ferries from Istanbul to Greek Islands. The distance involved is quite large. The above suggestion of flying to Athens is a good one, especially with limited time. <BR>The web site for ferries from Turkey to Greece is: www.ankertravel.net?ferries.asp<BR>As you will see, the Turkish ports are not near Istanbul, so you need either an internal flight or a bus / train to get there. All in all, a flight to Athens may well be easier.<BR>(The Turkish ports, if you are interested in doing any research are: Kusadasi, for the island of Samos; Marmaris for Rhodes; Ayvalik for Lesbos; Bodrum for Kos and Cesme for Chios. From Athens, you could visit Aegina, Hydra, Poros and possibly Spetses quite easily by either cruise or individual ferries.<BR>Hope this info is of more help.<BR>Carolina

<BR>These 4 days would be spent after you saw the sights in Istanbul, I hope. My one experience was a trip from Athens to Rhodes. The scheduled trip was a long one, like 14 hours, and we arrived 8 hours late.<BR><BR>You could easily catch a plane to Izmir to visit Ephesus and stay in Bodrum. <BR><BR>Nothing against the Greek isles, but I have to recommend that you see what Turkey has to offer.<BR>

I agree with bill - don't try to squeeze any Greece out of the Turkey.