unique short trip between Venice and Istanbul

Posted by okiegirl89 (Texas, USA) on 04/27/25 04:40 AM

I may have an opportunity next spring (2026) to have about a week between the end of one trip (family) in Venice and the start of a second trip (colleagues) in Istanbul. I've never been to that part of the world before and will be traveling alone during that in-between week.

I'd love suggestions for beautiful places to visit that wouldn't be too difficult for me to navigate on my own. (I probably won't be able to rent and car and drive myself, so places where public transportation is available would be best.)

Should I...stay in Italy and then just fly to Istanbul at the end of the week?

Go to Greece? Bulgaria? Somewhere else?

I'm open to any and all ideas - but I only have 6-7 days!

Posted by Mr Ë

Republic of Texas / U.S.A. / Magyarország / Budapest

04/27/25 07:23 AM

22338 posts

You are lucky because Turkish Air is a good airline and among the best connected in the world. So you have more options.

A week tour of Bulgaria. I know a good guide. A tour with a guide in Bulgaria may be less expensive than than a self guided tour in Venice. (Ryan goes to Sofia from Venice, Turkish Air to Istanbul)
Come to Budapest and chill for a week. March, April, May all good times to be here. Side trips could be Vienna and Eger.
(Ryan and Wizz both make the flight from Venice, Turkish Air to Istanbul.) Probably the easiest and cheapest of my suggestions. Great support network too LOL. Go over to the Hungary forum and look around.
Late Spring? Do Montenegro. There arent any direct flights to Dubrovnik or Podgorica, but I think its worth the one stop. Make it in Belgrade and spend a night or two. Interesting place. Plenty of flights from Podgorica and Tivat to Istanbul.
Malta. Now theres an easy self guided visit, but maybe better in late Spring. check the temps (Ryan and Turkish Air)
Bucharest. Agian i know a great guide and you have time for a pretty good tour of Romania; or you can do a lot of this by yourself. Again, with a guide maybe not more than Venice on yuor own. (Wizz and Ryan and Turkish Air)

Posted by geovagriffith

04/27/25 11:02 AM

8859 posts

Croatia or Athens

Posted by okiegirl89 OP

Texas, USA

04/29/25 01:35 AM

3 posts

Thanks! These are great suggestions! I am sure I will have lots more questions as it gets closer!

Posted by Kelson

Vancouver (not canada), Washington (not city)

05/11/25 10:20 PM

21 posts

You only have a week. My suggestion would be to stay in Italy and train southward. There is a direct flight from Naples to Istanbul, so Napoli can be your final destination before moving on to Turkey. I did that Naples-Istanbul flight two years ago and Turkish Airlines was fantastic. During your in-between week you could see successive world-class attractions in a southbound direction from Venice, including Florence, Rome, Pompeii, Sorrento/Capri, and Naples. Day trip on the train another 50 miles south of Naples and you'll be shocked by the incredible ancient Greek temples in Paestum. Beyond those destinations, you just don't have enough time.

Posted by okiegirl89 OP

Texas, USA

05/14/25 05:16 PM

3 posts

@Kelson, I think you are right. The more I looked into trying to squeeze more travel into those days, the more overwhelming it felt, and I realized I needed to just do something relaxing between trips, not try to cram a third big vacation into too little time.

My first trip will be a cruise that will stop at many of the places you mentioned, plus, I visited Rome and Napoli once before, a few years ago. So, I am now thinking about just staying put in Venice for the week, or perhaps revisit one of the places from the cruise, since I'm sure we won't get enough time in most of them.

Paestum sounds amazing! I will look into that! Thanks!