I wonder if someone has done this: We will be on a tour in Turkey and can take a week or so off on our own. We would like to visit Athens (depart from Istanbul) for a few days and then back to Istanbul to catch our flight home.
We're poor. I'm trying to figure out the cheapest way to do it...........flight, train, ferry, combination etc. Has anyone done it or have some ideas about it?
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
It's going to have to be flying on a budget airline. Pegasus and Aegean probably both cover the route.
Posted by
Cary, NC
687 posts
My first thought is that if you haven't bought your flights yet you should fly open jaw, coming home from Athens, not Istanbul. You can no longer go by train, as international trains in/out of Greece have been canceled. Check whichbudget.com for cheap flights, otherwise you'll need to island hop on the ferries, or look into buses - try Eurolines from Istanbul to Thessaloniki and KTEL within Greece.
Posted by
OP
Dallas, Texas, USA
2 posts
Thank you for your responses. I don't know what open jaw means.
As I said, we will be in Turkey on a tour (arranged by AAA). The flight is from Dallas to Istanbul and back to Dallas. There is no choice about the departure point. After Googleing around, I see that trains are out in Greece and even though I am ex Air Force and love to fly, I always prefer trains........normally so abundant in most of Europe. Bus takes too long and ferries are too complicated so fly it is. Now to find a cheap round trip flight. Thanks.
Posted by
Cary, NC
687 posts
Open jaw means that you fly into one city and out of another - Dallas to Istanbul and Athens to Dallas, for instance. This saves the time and expense of backtracking. If AAA is arranging your tour they should certainly be able to handle an open jaw flight. Take a look at kayak.com (use the multi-city option) to see the possibilities. My upcoming trip I'm even changing the start point - New York to Helsinki and Budapest to Washington. Yes, it's a real pity about the train (although I remember reading a harrowing report on the Istanbul to Athens route). It's a casualty of the Greek austerity measures.