scheduling and lodging in Greece/Turkey

Sorry, Marleen, but you are not going to be able to visit these six locations in 10 days. While you're waiting for Rick's book, I suggest you check out some library books (look for Lonely Planet or Thomas Cook's Island Hopping). Or do some on-line research. You will find that Athens-Santorini-Mykonos would be a good 10-day trip, but if you're on a budget, these are not the most economical islands to choose. I've not been to Crete, so don't know how pricey it may be, but Athens-Santorini-Crete could be another option. Athens-Samos-Ephesus (and maybe adding Patmos) would be another potential 10 days. I think you need to decide which is your must-see place (Santorini? Ephesus) and build your trip around that. By the way, did you mean June 2013? If you're truly going this month, you'll want to make decisions and reservations quickly.

What you propose is not possible in 10 days. You have chosen islands in different island groups that are not easily connected, not to mention a time-consuming crossing into Turkey. Will you need to return to Athens at the end for your flight home or will you be flying out of Istanbul? You need to scale back to 2 islands and Athens. Crete is huge and takes a minimum of a week with a rental car just to barely scratch the surface. There's no longer an easy route to get from Santorini or Mykonos to Samos. You now must take a ferry to Syros first, which means you spend that whole day in transit. If you want recommendations for "inexpensive lodging" you first need to make specific choices for village locations on the islands you intend to visit and then state what your combined maximum daily room budget will be, in Euro.

Thanks for being candid. So, I am looking at this again. Our highest interests are Athens, Santorini and Ephesus. Are these practical in 10 days? I am guessing the order may be determined by boat routes. What is the best way to get to Ephesus from Athens or Santorini? What is the time frame it would take? Yes, we need to return to Athens to leave Greece.

If you exclude everything else yes, it's possible, but still difficult and time-consuming because of the distance and ferry routes involved. I've already explained the route to reach Samos from Santorini. From Athens you can get a ferry all the way to Samos. It's the same one that you'll catch in Syros if you are going to Santorini first. This will take some careful planning because I don't think the ferry in question operates every day. http://www.gtp.gr will show you what ferries will be available. Depending on the ferry connection from Samos to Kusadasi you might have to spend a night on Samos to get to Turkey if you want to do it all yourselves. Or, you can sign up for an excursion to Ephesus when you're on Samos that will take you there and bring you back to Samos the same day. http://www.feribot.net/feribot/?lang=en Once you return to Samos you can catch the next ferry back to Athens. I suggest you contact Dolphin-Hellas Travel or Fantasy Travel, both in Athens, to help you with the details of your itinerary. They're both very reliable and come highly recommended.

If you only have 10 days, I think you might want to avoid long ferry trips. If you can buy in advance, airline tickets are often not much more expensive than ferry tickets, and save you lots of time (it's usually less than an hour from Athens to-from any island). Check Olympic and/or Aegean Air. If you truly are traveling in June 2012, the tickets will be pricier but you'll have to decide if it's worth it to you. Not sure if the 10 days includes your arrival/departure days, but here's an itinerary, which you could tweak. It gives you everything in your original request except Crete & Mykonos. Immediately upon arrival in Athens (Day 1) fly to Samos for 3 nights. Day 2 or 3, take a day trip to Ephesus. Day 4, fly to Athens, then on to Santorini. Stay overnight on Santorini for 3 nights. My friend Karen recommends www.pensiongeorge.com&#59; it's a short walk from Thira, and cost 40 euros/night off season in 2011. No view, but pool. Day 7, head back toward Athens via ferry. Spend 3 nights. I like the Attalos hotel; great location, and they have triple rooms.
Day 10, fly home. (Or, if you are flying home on day 11, you might use this day for a daytrip to Delphi or Hydra or Aegina).