Greece and Turkey

Hello all,

My friends and I are planning to travel to Greece and Turkey in the beginning of September. We will be flying from North America, and will likely land in Athens (as it appears to be the cheapest flight). We want to spend time in Instanbul and Santorini (or one of the islands).

our plan is
flight into athens
commute to istanbul
commute to an island
flight out of athens

what is the best way to get from Athens to Turkey? we are students with limited budgets however do not want to do anything super uncomfortable and are willing to pay for a plane if it is the best option.

any suggestions are welcome,

many thanks!

From Athens to Turkey you can either go via Thessaloniki and use the bus or the train or you can hop around the islands, end up in Rhodos and then cross by ferry to the Turkish mainland (Bodrum).

http://turkeytravelplanner.com/trans/Ship/GreekIslandFerries.html

http://turkeytravelplanner.com/trans/Train/dostluk_filia.html

BTW, I would look for a flight ticket that allows you to fly into Athens and out of Istanbul. Istanbul-Athens is a very long train or bus ride, you'd essentially loose a travel day to that.

I also recommend that you look at the following route: Athens, Santorini, Rhodos, Bodrum, Ephesus, Istanbul.

Athens, Santorini, Rhodos, Bodrum, Ephesus, Istanbul.

I would choose that!
In Bodrum, you should take a boat trip to see around. Centre of Bodrum is just vivid during the nightlife.
And not only visit Ephesus, see Izmir too. In my opinion, it's the most beautiful city of Turkey, to live. Izmir is like a twin of Thessaloniki ın Greece as well.

A number of travel agents in Bodrum who will do reasonably priced tours to Ephesus and a fair number of other places worth visiting.

thanks so much for the responses,

right now we r deciding on which route is best, we want to stay on an island and istanbul, what is the best route (how to commute) between Athens and Istanbul? we want to fly into one and leave from the other

bus/ train / ferry?

thanx!

right now we r deciding on which route is best, we want to stay on an island and istanbul, what is the best route (how to commute) between Athens and Istanbul? we want to fly into one and leave from the other

See my answer above.

Athens, Santorini, Rhodos, Bodrum, Ephesus, Istanbul.

http://turkeytravelplanner.com/trans/Ship/GreekIslandFerries.html

http://turkeytravelplanner.com/trans/Train/dostluk_filia.html

Ferry from Athens to Santorini, ferry from Santorini to Rhodes, ferry from Rhodos to Bodrum, bus to Izmir and to Istanbul.

athens- ist flights are always expensive despite the closeness. but yu can find cheap train and bus tickets in greece. than in turkey internal flights are very cheap if you book before. check flypgs.com for istanbul-bodrum and istanbul antalya flights.