Where or if to stop?

Gail, When deciding which option to choose, be sure to factor in the costs to get from the intermediate point (Brussels, Dublin) to Turkey. In addition to Brussels, other cities that might have good flight options to Turkey are London, Paris, Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich or perhaps locations in Italy. Some of those cities have large Turkish populations, so probably a greater choice of flights. I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time on the tour! You'll receive an invitation to the annual Tour Alum reunion, which takes place in mid-January in Edmonds (if you're able to make it). Do you know yet who your Guide is (not that it matters - they're all awesome!) Happy travels!

Gail,
I frequently do this when travelling to Europe (I usually start in London because I like a daytime flight). It doesn't usually save me any money in the long run. Instead, the cost savings are generally eaten up by the extra intra-European flight and the hotel nights in the other city, but I get a couple of days in another city. I think this is entirely personal preference. If there is some place that you would like to visit for a couple of days en-route, then do it.

You may want to avoid London and anywhere else in the UK since the taxes you pay on flights that originate or terminate in the UK are a lot higher than the airports on the continent. - Unless you get a ridiculously cheap fare.

Regarding Arnold's note, I've found that even though the UK taxes are higher, I typically find that the total cost of a flight from DC to London is often less than to just about any other city in Europe. I guess because from DC there are 7 flights a day to London, the competition lowers the price. It just shows you how air fares are not predictable.

I don't normally say this, but in this case I would give a travel agent a call. You don't have much time, so availability could be an issue. An agent may be able to find things that you won't - and without the frustration of internet searching. Anyway, you aren't obligated to buy the tickets if they aren't a good deal. Turkish Air is usually cheaper than most, but I gave their website a whirl and found it incredibly unfriendly. To keep looking on your own, I'd see which European carriers fly non-stop to Europe from Atlanta, then look for flights from those places to Istanbul. Many airport websites will give a list of scheduled flights to ed destinations - that way you can at least find the airlines that fly your desired route. Easy Jet flies from London/Luton and from Basel to Istanbul.

I was told by a retired Delta piot that Turkish Airs the worst airline, period.

We did that last summer and I found it helpful to take the time change in increments since we were leaving on a tour of Anatolia with a group from Paris. We flew Aer Lingus to Dublin, went to bed at 6 am in Dublin. Got up at noon in Dublin and were ready for Guinness, Marks and Spenser, and a tour.. We then went on to Paris for 2 days and were ready to leave with the French group. Why we went to Dublin is a long story, but it worked out well. Our group flew Paris/Istanbul/Ankara on Turkish Airlines. Nice. It was what flying used to be like in the States with big seats, food on all flights, service. They just got some sort of vote today for best airline food. The flights started less expensive going DC Dublin on Aer Lingus and then Dublin Paris on Air France, but we aren't the best for keeping costs down in the long run.

Elaine: I'm not sure what that Delta pilot meant, but maybe he was just jealous. I flew Turkish Air from New York to Istanbul in October 2011, and then flew their subsidiaries Anadolu Jet and Bora Jet within Turkey. All were fine; the food on the JFK-IST flight, in coach, was FAR superior to what I'm used to, and the flight overall was quite pleasant. It definitely seemed better than US airlines. And on the domestic flights, there was a choice of free sandwich or cake, plus free soft drinks, even though these flights were under an hour. I wondered if this was just my distortion of how bad US airlines were now on trans-Atlantic routes, until last month. In April 2012, I flew Delta from New York to Amsterdam. The food was exactly what the term "airline food" connotes, and the plane was old, with overhead video screens only (no individual seatback entertainment, much less on demand audio or video). Again, this flight was exactly what people who don't like to fly complain about. For a while, Delta's ad slogan was "we get you there" - and that's all this flight did. If only Turkish Air went to places other than Istanbul from New York, I'd fly them much more often. For the OP: Only you can price out the options, including ALL the factors: time, money, hotel cost, convenience, and what you really want to do. Do you want to see another city? Do you have the time and money to make the stopover? Or should you just go directly to Istanbul a day early, to relax there?

Skytrax.com, the world's largest airline review site, currently ranks Turkish Air 4 stars and Delta 3 stars. Personally, I'd opt for the direct flight to Istanbul. There are far more interesting things to see and do in Istanbul than in, for example, Brussels. Istanbul is a world-class destination. I'd try to maximize my time there.

Thanks for all the thoughtful replies. The final plan... We leave for Belgium on May 31 and will spend the 1st-3rd in Brussels. We fly to Istanbul via Turkish Air early afternoon of the 3rd. Our tour starts at 2:00pm on the 4th so we plan to spend the evening of the third and morning of the 4th hitting sites in Istanbul not covered by the tour. We end our tour in Izmir on the 16th and fly back to Istanbul. We will stay in Istanbul until the 18th then fly back to Brussels then jump on a train to Bruges for 19-20th. We fly home on the 21st. We chose this plan to break up the trip and also for the cheaper flights=$ 1076 to Brussels plus $250 round trip to Istanbul vs. $1600 one-stop straight to Turkey. We know we will be adding extra cost with hotels etc. but we also add another country plus time to relax and deal with jetlag. Can hardly wait!!!

Be sure to research your Brussels sightseeing carefully. The Grand Place is indeed grand, the chocolate is everything it's cracked up to be, I loved my Art Nouveau tour, and there are some interesting museums. But I found Brussels as a whole distinctly bleah. Just walking around, which is so nice in so many European cities, was not enticing in Brussels. I wouldn't go back without specific ideas of how I'm spending my time. Bruges is lovely, and if you like Turkey half as much as we did, you're in for a GREAT time! So, no complaints about the rest of your plans. If I were you, I'd reverse my Belgium time - spend two days in Bruges on your way in (it's a great place to overcome jet lag), and time in Brussels on your way out. If you want to get out of Brussels after a day, both Ghent and Antwerp are close by, with several trains an hour. Antwerp was especially interesting. If you can manage in French, Tournai was nice too, but there wasn't much English.

A note to the OP, and to anyone else going to Brussels: My Art Nouveau tour through ARAU was the highlight of my visit. If I went to Brussels again, I'd plan the trip around the timing of one of their English language tours. They're given irregularly (although I see they're more frequent than twice a month, which they were in 2002 when I went). In addition to transportation between distant buildings and a knowledgeable guide, they get inside buildings not open to the general public. Their website: http://www.arau.org/en/tours

Harold, what interesting looking tours! Thanks for the link.

Personally, I wouldn't go anywhere near the UK this summer unless I want chaos. With the summer games there, I'm not even sure I'd want to stop over in Brussels or Paris because the Eurostar will be taking people to London for the games. Personally, I would look into stopping in Munich, Salzburg or Zurich. Just a thought...