My husband and I are traveling to Istanbul with a group and are planning to go to the Greek Isles on our own afterwards. We leave Istanbul on June 29th and then fly from Athens back to the US on July 3rd. What is the best way to travel from Istanbul to the Greek Islands and which island is most recommended? Neither of us have been to the Greece before. We would like to stay at one place and then will leave from Athens so I also need to know how to get to Athens.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
That only gives you max four days for Greek islands, and ferries could easily eat up all of that time. If you fly/bus/drive within Turkey, then the common ferry crossing points to Greece are Ayvalik-Lesvos, Kusadasi-Samos, Bodrum-Kos, and Marmaris-Rhodes. From those islands to Athens requires a long overnight ferry or flying and getting to other islands takes about as long. So look at flights on Aegean airlines. From Istanbul you can fly to several popular islands with a connection at either Thessasaloniki or Athens.
Posted by
Camarillo, California
3149 posts
You really only have 3 days to spend on an island before you need to be back in Athens. On June 29 Atlasjet has direct flights available from ISTANBUL (Sabiha Gokcen and/or Tumu) to Mykonos for €135, and from Mykonos you can fly back to Athens in 30 minutes. You don't have enough time to use the ferry system.