Samos suggestions...

Julie, for just one day, no... doesn't do justice to Samos, it will pass in a blur, of checking/checking out... and cuts up your trip too much. Instead, give yourself an additional day in Athens -- how many days do you have there??? I'll bet you have only allotted 2. But So Much to See! The New Acropolis Museum .. .the ancient sites... Benaki Museum ... and even a Jewelry museum (Ilias Lalounis' Mansion) ... Athens has been waiting 4,500 years for you; give it a few days to impress you.

Janet - The problem is right now we can't get to Athens the day before without going through Samos or flying back through Istanbul. That's why we just thought of stopping in Samos for the day. We could stay in Kusadasi or Izmir for an extra day before heading to Athens, but just wanted to explore all our options.

Have previously spent a lot of time in Athens on previous trips but for this trip it's just a stopover for a few days on the way home. Never had the jewelry museum on my list of things to do, so thank you for the suggestion.

OK, now that you explain, I see. Fuller info means better advice. So, you come from Kusadasi, just 1 day, you'll want to stay in Vathy. You can have fun ... here are some thoughts:

HOTEL: I have a really cute one, family-run 20 rooms, Hotel Pythagoras. coming off the pier, it is to your left, about ?300 yards? (they would pick you up if you gave advance notice). Just walk the road along the water, you'll come to th gates to the hospital on the inland side, and Pythagoras is on left. Upstairs rooms, balcony right on Vathy Bay (TEAL BLUE water!). about 25€ double... main floor terrace and rooftop terrace for sunning also. Stelios & wife & grandparents v. nice; they have ground-floor cafe.

RESTAURANT: If still open, the building right next door, down right at water's edge is FIND. 1st time I was there in 03, hadn't opened, in 06 it was; tables right on water... stunning to sit there as sun sets in mouth of Vathy bay!!! I took 20 pix. Plus, solid authentic Greek dishes, about 12€ per person ...

BEACH: From your balcony, look down & to right, tiny sandy beach. Buy a beverage from the little cafe there, & sunbeds are free. Water will be bliss.

TOWN: Not touristy . BUT the best little museum in the N.E. Aegean - with the BIGGEST KOUROS in the WORLD. Kid you not. 25 feet high? Also lots of votives discovered at temple of Hera.

UPPER TOWN: Ano Vathy (high Vathy) a secret find, for a hike. Just head up ... and hear the quiet. Only sounds: a rooster, a donkey, a goat bleat. I walked on a gravelled road up there for 45 minutes, no car passed me, gorgeous cream colored walls, terracotta roofs, twisty cypresses... looking down on the bay, it's like an Italian lake. Feel the peace, descend & take that swim.

TAVERNA #2: Behind Hotel Aeolis on seafront, Garden Taverna. Vine roof, good lamb stews. On my last visit, saw 20 members of a British walking club -- aged 70 to 92!! They'd walked 20 miles that day in W. Samos.

The museum in Vathy is a little gem and well worth
seeing. However, I'd be inclined to get a taxi to
Pithagorio and spend your time lazing in the town
and overnight there - the airport is right there.

Samos is a VERY large island and even with a car
you'd miss a lot of it esp. the western part unless
you spent the day behind the wheel.

Outside of Vathy and Pithagorio it's all beach, all
the time so if you want to spend a day tanning this
is the place to be!

I agree with previous poster, that -- if what you want is a full day of beaching, then taxi to Pithagoria and find a place there ... the crowds will have gone ... the town beach isn't the finest but you can bus to Psili Ammos nearby.

If you feel like a day in the car, it's bout 45 km from Vathy to the other end... however, I have a good link about a couple's holiday on samos that says the local bus company runs an excellent all-day tour out of Vathy at 8:30 am -- which even has a 2.5 hour stop at a beach. However the link to a bus timetable is inoperative, so that's probably not an option.
http://www.islandwalking.com/samosholiday.html
this link gives many tourists; tips & positive experiences about driving around samos, only a small car is needed, and you can apparently rent in Vathy and drop it off at the airport at no extra fee.
http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Greece/Prefecture_of_Samos/Samos-417957/Transportation-Samos-BR-1.html

It's hard to give advice without knowing more about Julies preferences.

My husband and I are also going to be taking the Rick Steves Turkey Tour in September 2010. We were thinking of doing the same thing: going to Samos for a day, coming back to Kusadasi at the end of the day, and taking a plane to Istanbul the next morning then flying back to the states. But I had really envisioned spending a couple of days after the tour resting up and sunning on a nice quiet uncrowded beach for a couple of days before going back to Istanbul to catch our flight. We haven't booked our flight yet, and we're open to suggestions. The complication is the fact that there is only one ferry to and from Samos to Kusadasi at that time of year; it leaves to Samos about 9 AM and returns to Kusadasi about 5 PM, daily. We would really like to go to an island and spend a couple of days and nights, then come back to Kusadasi early in the morning, catch a plane to Istanbul, then catch our plane home. Any other islands that someone can suggest that we could accomplish our goal?

We visited Samos in 2007. I respectfully disagree with Janet and would NOT recommend staying at the Pythagoras Hotel in Vathy. It was mosquito infested, unfriendly and not pleasant.

Samos is a pretty island -- greener than most. We rented a car for a day; there are some pretty little mountain villages and several beaches. Kokkari looked like a lovely little fishing village; we wished we had stayed there. I think it would be a great spot for a day or two. We also spent one night in Pythagorio, which is a little more touristy -- you can catch a "party boat" to a beach for a day, if you're into beaches. It has a busy harbor lined with outdoor restaurants.

From Pythagorio, there is frequent ferry service to Patmos, if you want to spend time on another island. It was on Patmos that St. John wrote the Book of Revelation; you can see the Cave of the Apocolypse, where he wrote it, and visit the large monastery built in his honor. There are some pretty beaches.

But if I were you, and had only a day or two, I would skip the hassles of ferries (and the potential of getting stranded on Patmos for an extra day, as we did, due to weather). I'd stay on Samos, at Kokkari (if you like quiet) or Pythagorio if you like a more lively town. The airport, by the way, is right next to Pythagorio -- would be maybe a 45 minute taxi from Kokkari.

Kim -- If you haven't booked your flights yet, you might want to consider flying from Samos to Athens and back home, rather than taking a ferry back to Kusadasi and then flying to Istanbul.

We've made two island-hopping trips to Greece in September and were stranded overnight on an island on both trips because bad weather grounded the ferries. It's something to be aware of.