Turkey to Greece Itinerary Advice Needed
 

Hi Folks,

I'm planning a 16 day trip to Turkey and Greece in May 2012. I am trying to fly into Istanbul and out of Athens. I would like to fit in Istanbul, Cappadocia, Athens and some Greek island time (still unsure on which island would be best).

Day 1-3 Istanbul
Day 4 Flight from Istanbul to Cappadocia
Day 5-6 Cappadocia
Day 7 Early flight to Istanbul then Athens
Day 8 Athens
Day 9-13 Greek islands TBD
Day 14 Travel back to Athens
Day 15 Athens
Day 16 flight to US

This seems like more sort flights back and forth than I'm used to in a 2 week trip, but I'm not sure how to otherwise fit it all in. I don't mind a brisk pace but I don't want to be too overwhelmed. Does anyone have any recommendations on what to scale back on or another route to take. Thanks in advance for any help!

2 weeks is not a lot of time if you want to do some island hopping. Why not enter the Greek islands from Turkey and make your way by ferry to Athens, leaving it until the end so you don't have to backtrack? Which islands do you want to visit?

Another option would be to fly from IST to ATH and immediately catch a bus to Piraeus for a ferry to an island close to Athens so you don't waste time. Have a look at Hydra, Spetses, Poros and Aegina, all just a couple of hours out of Piraeus in the Saronic group.

I'm pretty sure that you can fly from Istanbul to Dalaman ( on the Mediterranean side of turkey). If so, you can then transfer to Marmaris and catch the hydrofoil over to Rhodes, Greece. It's a very short ride. From Rhodes, you can fly to some of the other Greek islands and/or back to Athens. I'm sure brotherleelove2004 knows more about that than I do!

Just wanted to add that in the summer months, Aegina makes a great day trip out of Athens. It's only 40 minutes on the hydrofoil from the port in Piraeus, and there are lots of sailings in the summer season.

I think your plan is a good one. Whichever way you work it, you will need at least one flight between Istanbul and Greece, so it may as well be Athens, which has the best connections to the islands. If the island you choose has an airport, e.g. Santorini, it may be possible to get a connecting flight so you won't even have to leave Athens Airport. Then make your way back to Athens by ferry and spend a couple of days there before the flight home. :-)