Turkey/Greece/Italy Itinerary Help

My understanding is that Bologna and Florence are small, so the "big birds" cannot use them. You'll have a connecting flight somewhere in Europe to a jumbo jet for the trans-Atlantic flight. Milan has sights enough for a day. Venice flights are often early morning and the airport is not so easy to get to, I'm told.

Do you want to spend a lot of time in Naples? It's not exactly a good base for the Amalfi coast.

I wonder if there's enough in Athens for 3-4 days or are you thinking of going farther afield in Greece?

If 5 days in Paris was a little too much, it's likely that 4-5 days in Istanbul will be more than a little too much. You may want to spend a couple of days in Cappadocia. If you can, visit Aphrodisias as well as Ephesus.

Thanks Chani! Sounds like we may need to rethink our timing in a few cities.

I think we've decided that if we're limited to 20 days, we're going to cut Naples out (we've been there before but wanted to go back to Pompeii and Amalfi but there just isn't time to). I think we'll end up spending those nights in Siena and doing various day trips north and south of there.

We've really struggled with Turkey as it's just not that easy to get around in and rental cars seem very high (and everything is pretty spread out). I've heard it snows in Nov in Cappadocia so we were going to save that for another trip. We originally were thinking to rent a car and go see Aphrodisias as well as Pamukkale but couldn't make it work.

We haven't been to Greece and were just planning on visiting Athens.. is 4 nights really too much?

As far as airfare.. we almost always have 2 stops each way since we live in the middle of the United States (typically stopping in Toronto/NYC and a city in Europe). We've found some good flight times and prices, just waiting to get vacation approval from work!

I agree with Chani.

You might want the four nights in Istanbul to recover from jet lag.

Buses are a great way to get around, I had no problem using long-distance buses to reach every place you listed. Pergamon (Bergama) is also a great place if you decide to skip something else.

Hello Jennifer. I think four nights at Athens is not too much time there. You would have three whole days. I suggest : be at Athens two whole days, and go on a day trip from Athens to Delphi.
In the amount of time that you can be in ITALY, I think traveling to Naples and the Amalfi coast is not worth while. If you will be at Sienna (in Tuscany) in ITALY, I recommend also going to the Cinque Terre villages in Liguria in ITALY (Monterosso or Manorola, ...). Traveling to the Cinque Terre is not difficult. The Cinque Terre is at the Mediterranean Sea coast. It looks similar to the Amalfi coast. Being at the Cinque Terre is much less stressful than being on the road at the Amalfi coast. And I would not want to drive a car from Naples in the intense motor vehicle traffic to the north. I would fly from the airport of Athens to the Malpensa airport of Milan in ITALY. And that day ride in trains from Milan Central train station to a village in the Cinque Terre. Express trains go from Milan Central station to Monterosso, or to La Spezia (with a quick train ride north to a village in the Cinque Terre). That would take less time than changing trains at Genoa. Be at a Cinque Terre Village 2 nights. (Edit) From the Cinque Terre, ride in trains to Siena (via La Spezia and Pisa and Empoli). Fly from the airport of Florence.

I understand the conventional wisdom that the big cities have more to do in winter. But since you've already been to Italy, I'd encourage more time in Turkey. Many of our non-Turkish guides followed our regular Turkey Tour itinerary starting Nov. 24 of this year; see their photos at https://www.facebook.com/rickstevesguides. Other destinations on the mainland of Greece would also help round out the experience.

Flights within Turkey are pretty affordable on Turkish and Pegusus Airlines; see also www.skyscanner.com. When I use www.autoeurope.com to check a 3-day car rental from Kayseri airport to Izmir airport, I get rates starting from $125 for 3 days or $240 for 7 days, which sounds pretty standard. I had no problem with the buses, but would also enjoy the freedom of driving.

Friends of mine visited Turkey some years ago. They flew from Istanbul to Cappadoccia and then took day tours. Or contact the tour guides who worked on the RS Istanbul guidebook and see what they offer.

Also look for flights from Pisa.