Thoughts on a Naples, Athens and Istanbul Itinerary

I have been to Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Ephesus. They are each just different enough from each other that I don’t think you will struggle too much with “ruins fatigue”, especially since you have some time between Naples and Turkey. I have to say it was a particular delight in Ephesus to walk down the Roman road and realize I was walking on the same road where Paul had walked. The only ruins where I felt I had had enough of ruins was at Corinth. I would not go out of my way to visit there.

Each site is best viewed with a guide who can provide background and key insights into what you are looking at. I took a day tour from Naples called “ Herculaneum and Pompeii with an Archeologist” that I booked through Get Your Guide. It was a long day, but very well done. Tours meet across from the Main Station in Naples in front of the Starhotel Terminus hotel. I stayed there and found it an extremely convenient location. Inexpensive bus (€5) from the airport drops off across the square and picks up for trips to the airport across the street. Bus station, train station, and metro are all right there. Lots of food/shopping opportunities available.

Please don't skip Ephesus. If the Pauline connection isn't of interst to you, the ruins, especially the Library of Celsus will really impress you. I have been to Pompeii and Herculanum and Istanbul and do not feel they are repetitious. Pompeii is not like Ephesus. I can't speak to Greek ruins within Greece, just those I have seen in Marseille, but Ephesus really deserves its World Heritage designation.

Carol and Judy,

Thanks for your perspectives. Looks like Ephesus is back on the menu.

Now, about the breweries...

Now, about the breweries...

Hahaha, I would start a new thread - "Where to find breweries in Naples, Athens & Istanbul?" That way the beer folk will see it and reply.

Since I am seeing Pompeii, Herculaneum, etc. I'm not sure what the 'etc' is, so here are my ideas - I would spend the first day in Naples recovering from jet lag and enjoying the MANN museum. (You need 1/2 a day at the MANN, it's a gem. We spent 3 hours on the ground floor in the Farnese, Pompeii & Herculaneum collections and never made it any further! Decent cafe inside, along with couches to rest those weary feet.) Day 2 'just' Pompeii with a reputable guide, we used Askos recommended by a Forum member and were delighted, (they will pick you up in Naples, or you can take the Circumvesuviana to the main entrance of the Scavi) then spend the second 1/2 of the day visiting the other sites inside Pompeii you've thought about, like the 2 theaters, amphitheater, Julia Felix villa & the overhead walkway to view on-going digs. (Insula dei Casti Amanti which is an elevated exhibit of archeological dig in action on Via dell’Abbondanza. This was a peak life experience for me.) Just my opinion, but I sincerely think Pompeii deserves an entire day! Avoid the weekends, or any 'free day'.
Day 3- a private tour with Askos to see Herculaneum, Stabae & Oplontis.
Hope that's helpful!

Ironically - we are leaving next month on that exact same sequence with 4 nights in each city and direct flights in between. We are not including Ephesus. I think between Naples and Athens we'll still see plenty of rocks for this trip ;)

Re breweries, in Naples search “birra artiginale” — you’ll have to find the equivalent for the others. Italian beer has grown light years in the last several.

Sandancisco, traditravel and valadelphia,

Thanks for you posts. I appreciate your thoughts and the information you provided.

Are you after the actual breweries, or more the beers?
If the latter, there were a couple of "craft beer places in Kadakoy in Istanbul (worth going just for the ferry trip - but I'm biased). The beer was seriously expensive, even by UK standards - maybe 5 or 6x the local Efes lager. There is an article from last year that you might find interesting, although I've not tried any of those places mentioned.

Naples has blenty of craft beer places, I've seen Kitebeer highly recommended, but my personal favourite is NaBeerbirroteca which is a tiny place not far from the the Galleria Umberto I. It specialises in locally brewed beer.

I'm at a bit of a loss for Athens as it's been a while since I was there, but Brew-str Athens, in Plaka was a great beer shop with a small bar and seating area that specialised in Greek craft beer.

TimW,

Thanks for the response. I am sort of "yes and" regarding craft beers or breweries. My focus is primarily on the beer itself. I'm an avid homebrewer and my travels always include a search for what I think is great beer. I prefer to drink the beer at or near it's source and from a keg whenever possible. I also like to try the local, regional or national beers when in a city or country.

We were in Ephesus with approximately 8 gazillion cruise ship people so I would only be interested if I could crack that schedule. We did 13 days "Journeys of Paul " thru greece and turkey and scrambled over a lot of slick, historical, rocks and i ended up with horrible plantar fasicitus.... so I'd recommend light weight hiking boots (the half of my group that was not hobbling thru turkey had brought them from home)

In istanbul we did haga Sophia and the blue Mosque in the morning. I would HIGHLY recommend the basilica cistern as a palate cleanser.... cool, dark, quiet and not overly crowded, everything the mosques were not. I gave a hard pass to the spice market because I was DONE with crowds, for it to be the 4th destination on one day was a lot!

Doric8,
Thanks for the advice. I am traveling in mid-April, which I understand to be the shoulder season for cruises to that part of the Med. Still some boats, but supposedly not as many as the summer months starting in May. Also, looking to shift my travel schedule to allow me to visit on a Tuesday, which is, also supposedly, one of the quietest days of the week. When were you there? Which day of the week?

Check out cruise mapper.com or other sites that track cruise ship arrivals and departures in European ports. That will give you a head start on avoiding giant crowds at popular sites like Ephesus.

Thanks happytotravel, I will check this out.

It was a Saturday, looks like we did izmir the same day. This October it will be three years, so definitely look for fresh data