Ideas for Post-Best of Turkey Tour

Posted by K's Grandad (East Coast) on 04/29/25 12:33 PM

We're planning a to be on the Best of Turkey tour in September '26. At the end of the tour, members can take the tour bus from Kusadasi to Izmir. Another suggestion is to pick up a ferry to the Greek island of Samos.

We hope to spend 2-3 days post-tour in country before departing from Istanbul. I would appreciate suggestions from those who have experience with travel from the Kusadasi/Izmir areas. Would you stay in the area for a couple of days and then return to Istanbul, or would you return to Istanbul and spend the remaining time there before the flight back to the US?

Posted by Andrea

Peterborough, ON, Canada

04/29/25 01:17 PM

1731 posts

We were scheduled on this tour in 2022, alas life had other plans and we canceled last minute. We had booked three extra nights at the Kusadasi hotel for relaxation.

If I were to rebook I'd seriously consider a Celestyal Cruise of the Greek islands. They offer embarkation at Kusadasi and port every day for long days. Disembark Athens.

Just FYI, Celestyal uses older refurbished ships. Much smaller than many cruise lines but also not many bells and whistles.

Posted by Craig

Chicago

04/29/25 02:48 PM

663 posts

I took the Best of Turkey in the fall 2024.

Another idea is to see the ancient site of Troy: https://www.turkishmuseums.com/museum/detail/2020-canakkale-archaeological-site-of-troy/2020/4. You will see four sites of Greco-Roman ruins, but I wish I had seen Troy.

The Samos idea sounds good. Several members of our group went to Greece after Turkey.

Posted by CL

Salem, Oregon, USA

04/29/25 02:49 PM

3084 posts

I'd suggest splitting the difference and adding at least two days to the front of the tour in Istanbul, then one day in Kusadasi or Izmir before heading home. Istanbul is huge and deserves more time than the tour spends there, and I was thankful to have time to adjust to a 10 time zone change as well as a busy, chaotic city. Depending on where you live, the flight options back home may be a deciding factor. Izmir airport has decent connections but many of the flights connecting to Europe leave VERY early in the morning. Some of my tourmates flew back home through Istanbul, but again the flights from Izmir required to connect to US bound flights were pretty early. I personally chose to break up my return trip by taking an afternoon flight from Izmir to Amsterdam, staying the night, then flying home the next day.

If you're already adding days at the front of the tour, you could look in to taking the ferry to Samos. Several of my tourmates did this and then went on to Athens to head home. They had more than 2-3 days though and I myself would want more time in Greece.