Itinerary for Turkey and Greece

A possible flaw in your itinerary: "2 days on Naxos (Including travel from Ephesus area, via Samos)" This year to reach Naxos from Samos it was necessary to first go from Samos to Mykonos using the Hellenic Seaways ferry. In April this ferry will most likey not be a daily occurrence, meaning you may have to wait on Samos for it for a day or two, and then depending on when it arrives at Mykonos you may have to spend the night there to catch the next ferry to Naxos, if there is one the next day. You can see where I'm going with this. Some years the ferry from Samos goes directly to Naxos. If that's the case in 2011 then you've got nothing to worry about. But if it goes to Mykonos I suggest you forget about Naxos altogether. You'll most likely still have to spend the night on Mykonos, but in the morning you can take the 10am Sea Jets ferry to Paros (40 minutes) and catch the daily Blue Star ferry when it stops there at Noon on the way to Santorini. This same Blue Star ferry will also stop at Naxos, but if you need to stick to your timeline you don't have time for both islands. There is a 3rd ferry option. Later in the day there will be a direct highspeed ferry from Hellenic Seaways, the FlyingCat 4, that will connect Mykonos with Santorini by way of Paros. This one does not stop at Naxos. It arrives at Santorini a couple of hours later than the Blue Star ferry. Once the schedules for next April are made 'official,' probably sometime in March or early April, you'll be able to see them all at http://www.gtp.gr. You can also go to the individual ferry companies' websites to see what's offered. Blue Star usually publishes their schedules earlier than the other companies. I ran out of room for this posting. I am posting another possible solution for you right after this one.

So here's a different solution: Sign up for the Aegean Airlines email newsletter and you'll be notified a couple of months before April when they release their promotional saver fares for that same time period. You would need to arrange your transport to Samos to make sure you're there on time, but there will be a cheap flight offered from Samos to Athens, probably €39-49 per person, all taxes included. There will also be flights from Athens to Santorini offered for the same amount. If you're lucky you can get to Santorini on the same day you leave Kusadasi for Samos if there is a morning ferry from Kusadasi to Samos that gets you there in time for the flight to Athens. (Aegean doesn't fly to Naxos) Aegean Airlines: http://en.aegeanair.com/Default.aspx Ferry schedule for Kusadasi>Samos: http://www.tinyurl.com/5f2uck Be patient, all these schedules for next year won't be available for several months yet. By the way, don't believe that people who have been to Greece more than once tend to forego Santorini. There are lots of us who would return every year if we could, and some do. Some even go twice each year!

Lee, Many thanks for your help. I'll start a file of different options (island options/ferry options/air options), but we'll wait until the 2011 ferry schedule is posted to make specific plans. Kristin

The Oui area of Santorini is incredibly beautiful, so don't miss it. In fact, if I were staying overnight there, I would find a hotel in the heart of Oui....the views are to die for!!!! Just last night we were going through photos from a recent trip, and it made me realize that Santorini was really my favorite...especially the Oui part! Walk up/down the side little lanes and enjoy the views :) You are right, the physical beauty is incredible, and their architecture also beautiful. Also, do not miss the Terrace Houses at Ephesus...just opened to the public 3 years ago....incredible. Located right next to the other ruins there, so easy to see it all. Good to arrange a very knowledgeable guide for Ephesus, too. (We were on a Silversea Cruise and were fortunate to have a small group escorted by an Oxford archeology professor, and he brought it all to life.) But, they also have decent signage, too. Athens was not my favorite place...but worth two days to see highlights. AVA Hotel in the Plaka neighborhood is a small very clean, quiet hotel with delightful, truly helpful staff. Instanbul was a very pleasant surprise.......so much to see there. We only had a full day, and we left wishing we had a day or two more. Beware of taxi drivers in Athens...many dishonest. We read a huge article in an Athens paper re: that topic, too. Best to have hotel arrange taxis with confirmed rates. The National Greek Tourism office in New York was very helpful, sending us some advance info and great maps, etc. They also have info on any scheduled strikes, so good to email them the week before you leave to see what issues you might have to deal with in Athens (we were fortunate with timing on our trip). Have fun!! A truly interesting and great experience is in store for you. I can't advise re: travel time (we cruised), but it sounds like you have plenty of time planned for each place and for in-between travel.

I think Margaret is talking about Oia on Santorini.

Oui, she is! ;-D

Thanks for the great advice, everyone!

We started planning early for a visit to the island and found that dealing with the ferry schedules and making plans to be very frustrating. Many people posted that vacation plans were delayed because bad weather prevented the ferries from running. So, we ended up taking the ferry from Kusadasi to Samos where we spent one night. Then we flew Aegean airlines (getting an inexpensive flight) through Athens and on to Santorini. Santorini was not crowded in May and we loved our 4 day stay there. Flew back to Athens for one day which was plenty of time to see what we wanted to see. We were soooo glad we chose to fly instead of dealing with the ferries!