We are planning a trip to Turkey in April of 2012 and looking for help. We have 3 weeks and definitely want to spend 10 days in Turkey. We are toying with the idea of then going to Greece for a few days and then off to southern Italy (really want to see Pompeii) and then flying home from Naples. Just not sure if we are cramming too much into the trip. We've all been to Italy before and seen the central and northern areas (Venice, Florence, Rome) so no need to do that this time. Any help-advice-would be appreciated.
You just don't have enough time unless you're just on a mission to say you've "been there-done that". 3 weeks will fly by. I suppose if you plan to go to Ephesus you can take the ferry from Kusadasi across to the Greek island of Samos for a taste of Greece, but other than that, stick to Turkey. There will be plenty to see and do in such a short amount of time.
We went to Turkey two years ago in May. We considered visiting Greece as well but as our planning progressed, we realized that there is so much to do and see in Turkey that we decided to save Greece for another trip. If you spend time in Istanbul (you can easily spend 5-7 days there), travel to Ephesus, Cappadocia, and spend some time on the coast, you'll find that 3 weeks goes by very quickly.
Agree that you might want to concentrate on Turkey. We're also planning a trip to Turkey, hopefully in Sept. 2011 and had originally thought to make it Turkey and Greece. After researching Turkey we ended up with four weeks and all in Turkey! As Sharon said (and our tentative plans are almost identical to her plan) with about 6-7 days in Istanbul, Ephessus, we're planning a 3 day trip to Rhodes which is only an hour hydrofoil ride from Fethiye, the Turquoise coast, and Cappadocia, and with the distances involved we are up to four weeks. Best to pick a country and really experience and enjoy it. My suggestion is to leave Greece and southern Italy for other trips.