I am planning a trip to Turkey in July. I am thinking about 7-8 days in Turkey, and another 7-8 elsewhere.

I thought about Italy or Greece, but the euro is really high right now against the USD.

Where would you go? What have you done?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Greece is much closer/easier to get to from Turkey than Italy, and imho, Greece is cheaper than Italy, at least where accommodations are concerned.

You can find some pretty cheap places to stay in Greece, particularly outside of Athens and in the less crowded islands.

Do you mind my asking why not spend the whole 2 weeks in Turkey?
I long to go myself, but haven't because I simply cannot narrow down the many places I want to visit there in the vacation time I have available. If I had two weeks, I would visit Istanbul, Cappadocia, the Mediterranean coast, and more, at a nice slow pace.

Just curious, good luck!

Yes, spend the whole two weeks in Turkey.There is sooo much to see and it will be much cheaper.

At the most, take a day trip to Rhodes.

Thank you all for your responses so far.

I am not opposed to spend two weeks in Turkey. I am simply exploring my options and had wanted to do two countries. I understand that I will not see everything and hope to return again and again.

We spent 2 weeks in
turkey last summer and hope to be able to return for another 2 sometime in the future. Staying in one ocuntry will also minimize your costs.

Hi

Yes I agree spend the time in Turkey - there is much to see. After our Turkey tour we did fly to the Greek island of Paros from Istanbul. So yes Greece is very doable from Turkey. Note that Greece is cheaper than Italy if your worried about budget. You'll find that Turkey is very cheap and excellent value for money.

Do both weeks in Turkey! You can have such a diverse range of experiences, and 2 weeks is barely enough time to cover them. And it will be so much cheaper to go to Turkey than other countries. So unless you have a strong desire to cover 2 countries, why not do one more fully?

One caveat, however, for all the countries you mentioned - July will be very hot.

I agree with the posters who say spend all your time in Turkey. 2 weeks won't even cover the mere basics! Do Italy when you have atleast 2 more weeks and Greece is great if you love ruins or islands, but Turkeys got the same and (IMHO), its better!

Thank you all for your responses.

I was planning on visiting Istanbul and Cappadocia. Where else would you go with two weeks?

I was just about to write; If I had to visit two countries within 2 weeks Greece is the choice but will be too short for each country and costly and better to spend 2 weeks in Turkey this time; and Surprise, everyone else has the same opinion. Great to sea so nice comments from Turkey enthusiast; may I extend a special Thank you all, personally

3 days on arrival Istanbul, fly to Cappadocia at least 3 overnights,

Either self drive to coast reaching Ephesus and fly back to Istanbul last 2 days.

Alternatively fly from Cappadocia to Izmir and go further to Bodrum. Spending 3 days on the sea relaxing on a gulet is an option too.
All depends on your interest and choice of transportation.

Happy travelling,

Murat

Hate to sound like a broken record, but...spend the whole time in Turkey. You will not be disappointed.

We went last summer and also toyed with the thought of going to another country. When we looked more and more into Turkey, we decided to just to go there for two weeks. Barely scratched the surface. We started in Sirince (near Ephesus, which Smithsonian Magazine says is one of the places you have to see before you die), went down to Bodrum, drove up to Izmir to catch a flight to Cappadocia and over to Istanbul to finish the trip. Simply incredible. Beautiful country, fanastic history, nicest people (even when they're hard selling you some rug you really don't want!).

I would go to Northern Cyprus.

Thingorjus

Hi-I was also going to suggest No. Cyprus if you want to go to two countries. Sept 06 we went to Cyprus & Turkey. We went to So Cyprus which is Greek so we had to fly to Athens & then Turkey. We met a couple in the Capital which is in 2 countries & they had built a home in No Cyprus & loves it. I loved So Cyprus but the Cypriot Pound had a bad exchange rate. Turkey is the best country to visit-I would go back-Chris
Don't miss Cappadocia. If you are in need of a guide or a hotel in Istanbul please feel free to ask