Turkey - Greece
 

Hi Guys

I will be travelling to Istanbul (3 days) - Cappadocia (2 days) - Isparta(Lavender field - day trip) - Bodrum to Greece - Santorini - Mykonos - Athens - fly out to home. Trip is planned for April 21 - May 5th

I am considering 2 weeks for the trip, we are a couple.

I want to see Isparta for Lavender fields (day trip) on our way to bodrum is it possible to use buses within all cities mentioned in Turkey, are they all accessible easily? can I know how can i book them in advance ?

from Bodrum which ferry company can take us to Santorini ? we want to stay 2 days in santorini, 2 in mykonos and 2 in Athens, is that a good idea. Is late april early may good time to visit ? I want to book in advance as much as I can.

we were thinking to give more time in istanbul, but not sure. my main reason to go to Turkey first is the lavender and tulip season in April. we are flexible with the itenerary so all suggestions are welcomed.

I would fly from Istanbul to Kayseri for Cappadocia. I see Pegasus have cheap flights. Only 40TL in March - keep an eye out for when your times become available (it seems to be 6 months).

From Cappadocia to Isparta I would get one of the 3-per-day Kamil Koc buses. The 10:40 from Goreme arrives Isparta 19:00, or there are night buses from Nevsehir.

Isparta to Bodrum is quite easy too, Isparta Petrol have 3 buses a day, and there are probably other companies.

If you have the time, and if the Isparta bus from Kayseri goes through Egirdir, I strongly recommend that you spend a night at Egirdir on a beautiful lake with lofty mountains. A tiny resort living in the 1960's. Check with owner of Fulya Pansiyon B&B where we stayed less than a month ago. He is also a founding member of the Turkish Hiking Society and guides tours on ancient and historic routes and paths.

Egirdir is less than twenty miles from Isparta but the road, although good, is all bends and goes over some high mountains.

It may be difficult to find a ferry to a Greek island in the early Spring because of very low demand. Some islanders have daily trips to the Turkish mainland for fresh vegetables and other consumables, usually on the market days of the closest Turkish town, and you may be taken aboard. But I have no idea how you can arrange that. A bit of an adventure!

There are no ferries from Turkey to Santorini. So you would be looking for ferries to Rhodes from Fethiye or Marmaris, or to Samos from Bodrum or Kusadasi, finally from Cesme to Chios. Rhodes to Santorini will be the easiest and Cesme to Chios the most frequently used.

Trying to get to Santorini from any other island near Turkey other than Rhodes will add days to your journey. And these days there's only one ferry each week from Rhodes on Sundays, the Anek Lines "Prevelis", departing at 03:00 and taking 21 hours to reach Santorini, so you have to plan accordingly. Your other option is to fly, which requires a flight to Athens first for the connecting flight to Santorini. Schedules for next April and May are not yet available. Check for them in March.

(This same ferry stops at Heraklion, Crete before Santorini, takes 14 hours to get there and requires an overnight there before you can take the morning highspeed to Santorini.)

http://www.greekferries.gr

This trip sounds very rushed to me – are you sure you can see and do what you want in that time? Just for perspective, I wanted 5 full days in Istanbul, and thought that a bit rushed.

You might find some useful information in my trip reports:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ern-turkey.cfm
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-in-greece.cfm

Good luck!

Frankly going to Santorini from anywhere in Turkey Is impractical. There used to be a 3 days/week Piraeus - Kos Blue Star ferry that stopped at Santorini, but it doesn’t go that route anymore. You could wait nearly a week to board the ANEK ferry from Rhodes mentioned by brotherleelove. Fly to Athens for a connecting flight and you may get there in one day.

There's a Hellenic Seaways ferry 3 times a week from Samos to Mykonos, maybe that's the way to go - ferry from Kusadasi to Samos first.

Mykonos to Santorini is probably easy, and then fly back to Athens.

> If you have the time, and if the Isparta bus from Kayseri goes through Egirdir, I strongly recommend that you spend a night at Egirdir on a beautiful lake with lofty mountains.

I agree. The daytime bus stops at Egirdir at 18:00, I think.

I wonder where the lavender fields are. I thought Isparta was famous for roses - perhaps it's all scents.

> I wonder where the lavender fields are

Easy to look up - Kuyucak Köyü
https://www.dailysabah.com/feature/2...nder-in-turkey