September travel to Greece, Turkey and Egypt

Yes, you definitely must be VERY inexperienced travelers. I'm sorry, but 3 countries in just 2 weeks? It just can't be done unless all you want to do is barely scratch the surface. Keep in mind that you will lose a full day for each country you visit because of jet lag in the first country and the time it takes to get between the next two, plus another day lost on your last day getting to the airport for the trip home. That only leaves 10 days. Choose one country and explore it in depth. Save the other two for another two weeks each. Don't give in to the temptation of trying to make it work because yes, technically you can do it, but you will NOT be doing yourselves any favors.

you can probably see greece and a little of turkey, or just turkey by itself, or egypt by it self, not 3 countries in 2 weeks. if you check out athens, then a couple of nice islands, fly out istanbul that can be pretty relexing, or you just see turkey where you probably find more old stuff than greece, but more physically challenging, and egypt is more so. don't push yourself, you'll enjoy it more and go back soon.

Egypt deserves 10 or more days. Takes longer to get there and you can't stop after the Sphinx and the Pyramids. Cairo needs 2 days, you must see the Valley of the Kings and Abu Simbel and the life in between.
Taking some daytours and prearranging your transportation would be the less stressful way to get around Egypt for 2 ladies. My cousin feels the same way about Turkey- 10 days minimum.

BTW, Eve, there's nothing wrong with being an inexperienced traveler or admitting your money and time are limited. We all were at some point! Take a look at RS's tour page and see that he has a 14 day tour of Turkey OR of Greece, or 7 days in Istanbul. and figure the experts know something.... It's much easier on a parent if someone else is driving and dropping you off at the hotel or museum than if you are having to navigate it all by yourself. Also, you learn a lot from the local guides....Also.... sometimes it's good to have someone else to talk to besides a family member!
I hope you have a wonderful trip and make lots of great memories with your daughter.

Travel and associated costs could chew up a lot of your time and budget, so I'd suggest limiting your trip to just 1 or 2 countries. I've been to both Egypt and Turkey. Egypt was less expensive, but travel for tourists is restricted and you should consider a tour or other pre-arranged itinerary. In Turkey, there a some good discount airlines with low fares, and bus or train are also options. Islam is practiced somewhat differently in Egypt and Turkey, so visiting those 2 countries could be a great itinerary based on your stated interests.

I'm planning on doing the same trip (in September!) and to give you an idea, 7 days in Istanbul. 2-3 days Athens. 7-10 Greek Islands. and 8 days Egypt+couple days of travel. That's at least 3 weeks. So I'd suggest either spend the 2 weeks in Greece and Turkey, or just Egypt. Or add a week or two!

I think you can see all three countries. I have not been to Egypt, but based on some of the other responses, it sounds as if it is apt to take up some time. thus, you'll need to limit your Greek and Turkey visits. Given your two-week limit and desire to focus on culture in Turkey I suggest Istanbul. That's the easiest city to work out of for a return flight. Even if you only spend two days you can still see the top sites - Aya Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkopi Palace and Archaeological Museum (all are located in Sultanahmet). You could give similar treatment to Athens and see the key historical sites there (Acropolis and archeaology museum). That would at least give you the flavor for those countries. If I may put in a plug for Turkey, perhaps on a later visit, it is loaded with historical sites and antiquities. There are Hittite, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, Armenian, Ottoman, and other historical sites in every part of the country. I'd base order of visit on airline costs. See which city is the cheapest to fly to and from and look at costs between the cities. Good luck.

You have so many options, which must be confusing for a first-time traveler. Here is one possible scenario to consider: Fly into Athens and directly on to the island of Samos for 3 nights. From here, you can take a day trip to Ephesus, Turkey, an amazing archeological site with a large collection of Roman ruins. Then take a ferry to the island of Patmos for 2 nights. This is a pretty little island which features the Cave of the Apocalypse, which is where John wrote the Book of Revelation. Both Samos and Patmos are lightly touristed and will be easy on your budget. Then take a ferry to Rhodes. This will be a long 7+ hour ferry trip, stopping at several islands (unless you can catch a 3 hour catamarran, which does not run every day). Think of it as an Aegean cruise! Rhodes is a large island filled with history and antiquities. You could spend 3-4 nights here, then get an early morning flight to Athens. Upon arriving in Athens, take a bus directly to Napflio for a couple of nights. From here you can visit Epidavros and Mycenae. Then return to Athens for your final 2-3 nights. You will return home having seen a lot of amazing sights!

Hi Eve, I just got back from Greece on the 12th. I have not been to Egypt or Turkey. I don't know how old your daughter is, but please be aware of the dog/cat problem in Greece. The ones you see in Athens and surrounding area are chubby, sweet, and fixed. So not so tough to cope with. But a young girl may want to bring them home, if she is an animal lover. I'll tell you, you can adopt them pretty easily! I stayed at the Hotel Carolina, and it was clean and the staff nice. Not too expensive, in the Plaka area, so easy to get to and from the airport, the Hop on Hop off buses that take you sight seeing, and easy walking to many numerous squares for food and shopping. There is a fabulous flea market on Sunday mornings! My favorite places to visit were the castle at Acrokorinthoes Archea Olympia Meteora
Delphi All a day trip from Athens. If you google the above, you will find a ton of stuff. Also Matt Barrett's website really helped me. http://www.greektravel.com/ Good luck!