My wife and I are looking to do back-to-back RS Turkey and Greece tours in the fall of 2026.
We're having a hard time deciding which tour to do first, Greece or Turkey. Is there any benefit of doing one tour before the other? I would expect there might be some temperature differences between the 2 countries in September.
Any advise would be appreciated.
I’d be inclined to check flight prices and routes to see if it makes a difference.
I took the Turkey tour many years ago. At the end of the tour, I took the ferry from Kusadasi to Samos and stayed a couple of days there. A number of the people on my tour did the same and subsequently flew to Athens. That could be an option for you to get from the end of the Turkey tour to Athens. I spent more time in the Greek islands after Samos traveling to Naxos and then Santorini.
I don't think weather would differ much--flights and logistics would also be my main criteria. If you intend to swim any or tack on any additional time for travel, that could come into play.
As I recall, there's only one direct flight from Izmir (where the Turkey tour ends) to Athens (where the Greece tour starts & ends), and it doesn't run every day. There are many direct flights between Athens and Istanbul. So depending on how many days you have between tours it might be easier to do Greece first, then Turkey. I was in Turkey in late September/early October and it was pleasant weather and you could still comfortably swim in the Mediterranean.
FWIW, all Turkey tours run Monday-Saturday so it may come down to what Greece tour you can pick that meshes with that schedule. I'd recommend at least one full day in Istanbul ahead of the tour, two is better.
We've done both Greece and Turkey and don't think the order makes a critical difference, but you are talking about booking two pretty strenuous tours back to back so C recommends talking to the guide of your first tour to figure out ways not to overdo things, so you aren't wiped out when you start the second tour - especially if you choose Greece as your second tour b/c there's no avoiding the early strenuous walk to the Acropolis. If either of you have problems with balance, orthopedic or vision issues, C strongly recommends a walking stick for these tours. Also both tours can benefit by adding on at least one extra day - Istanbul in Turkey and Athens in Greece b/c the tours don't do justice to either of those cities - if that makes any difference to your planning. As to the weather - we live in California, which is more or less at the same latitude as southern Europe and because of climate change we and Europe can experience beastly hot temperatures (continental Europe even more so than CA) in September. We've been waiting until mid October for fall travel to Europe.
I am finishing up the Turkey tour currently after doing Greece. The weather in Turkey has been more variable but that may be the season (spring). Turkey is slightly north for much of the tour, and inland so likely less temperate. We had snow in Cappadocia (unusual) and now 75-80 in the south.
We ended the Greece tour and flew to Istanbul where we had 2 full days and an evening before the tour started, and will return for 2 more.
There is some overlap of history but they complimented each other. As for tiredness—more bus time than I expected in Greece but it took you to fabulous out of the way places. Lots of climbing and irregular surfaces. Turkey is big so several long bus days. Incredible sights and I wouldn’t have missed any of them.
Tired? Yes, but glad I did it. (2 seniors in our mid 70’s).
