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22 days Greece/Turkey

Fellow travelers please help me with an itinerary. Not sure if I should start in Turkey or Greece? Should I do a multi trip air package or just include the other country in intinery. Also not sure if I should use the ferry for connecting cities.
Arrival will be either Athens or Istanbul. In Greece I would like to cover Santorini & Crete. I’m Turkey I would like to add Cappadocia & maybe 1 other city…not sure which yet. Please help. Thank you.

Posted by
1403 posts

Since air travel in Greece almost always requires returning to Athens to fly elsewhere in Greece, I would fly into Athens and immediately continue on another 1-hour flight to Crete. There are 3 airports on Crete, so you need to know which one you will want. Thankfully, you can take a 2-hour fast ferry or a 4-hr regular ferry from Crete to Santorini. Be sure you know which port city the Crete ferries depart from as there is more than one ferry port on Crete. After visiting Santorini, you again will need to return to Athens. ( You might want to take the 4-hour ferry back to Athens). At this point in time, you could either stay in Athens to see it, or connect with a 90-minute flight to Istanbul. If you are returning home from Istanbul, then you’ll want to see Athens before going to Istanbul. If not, I would save Athens for the final destination on your itinerary. From Istanbul you can fly in an hour to Nevsehir Airport which is 15 minutes away from the town of Goreme which makes a convenient base for Cappadocia.
After Cappadocia, there are a few direct non-stop 1-hour flights from Cappadocia’s Kayserei Airport to Antalya, Turkey- the main city on Turkey’s “ Turquoise Coast” with ample beautiful beaches and ancient archaeological ruins. The Kayserei Airport is about a one-hour taxi drive from Goreme.
From Antalya, you can fly directly to Istanbul for the final segment of your 22-day trip.
Here’s how you might allocate your time: Crete 4 nights/ Santorini 2-3 nights/ Athens 3 nights/ Goreme in Cappadocia 4 nights/ Antalya 4 nights/ Istanbul 4 nights.
Check the website “Skyscanner.com” for airfares and flight times and ‘“Ferryhopper.com” for boats.
Have a great Trip!

Posted by
159 posts

Wow…thank you such details. I wish I could help you with something too. Please let me know if ever II can help with something.

Posted by
159 posts

May I ask, if I’m short on time in Turkey which city would I use as a springboard to visit Pamukkale? I don’t think I will be traveling to Antalya. Or is staying in Pamukkale a must? Or is staying in Antalya a must? My wishlist does not require visiting beaches that’s why I took Antalya off, but please let me know if I’m wrong doing so. Thank you!!!

Posted by
1403 posts

I’m curious as to why you changed the name you’re posting under from “Yuonhee” to “Nova”.
Why did you do that?

Posted by
159 posts

Also the reason I’m asking for tips is because of logistics. Example: when I was in Costa Rica I found an outfitter that started in San Jose & took me to the coast to Puerto Veijo. It was perfect logistically to get from 1 place to another without flying. I’m all for excursions that saves traveling time. Thanks