My wife and I are planning a trip to Turkey in October and want to include Istanbul (5days) plus Cappadocia and Ephesus (6 days). Has anyone done these plus Athens (3 days)? If so, in what order did you do them? Our current plan is to fly in and out of Istanbul. It seems the ferries between Ephesus and Athens are not a realistic possibility. Would we have to fly back to Istanbul before going to Athens? Or should we just forgo Athens?
Thanks!
Posted by
Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico
1934 posts
With Turkish Airlines you can do this all on one ticket. If you end in Athens, your return flight will include a layover in Istanbul. (It's just about a one hour flight between Athens and Istanbul.) So if you want to include Athens on this itinerary, it's definitely doable logistically, probably with a single ticket on TA (though you can do your internal flights within Turkey on other airlines).
It's probably too early to research and book flights for next October, but if you go to the TA website and enter dates sooner just to see what's generally available, you can see if that will work for you.
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
6502 posts
We loved Istanbul and Ephesus. We did not go to Cappadocia. I think you can see a lot of Istanbul in 5 days. Honestly, I wasn't that impressed with Athens. I think 2 days would be enough, unless you have plans for daytrips. I'd be interested in what others think. Athens is the first city I've been to in Europe that I've felt that way about. Have you looked at flying into Istanbul and flying to Athens from Istanbul after Cappadocia and Ephesus and then going home from Athens?
Posted by
Salem, Oregon, USA
2734 posts
Check flights from Izmir airport which is about an hour from Ephesus. They have many domestic and international flights and could help with your itinerary planning. I haven't been to Athens but would suggest that you could use that time well in Turkey. It is a HUGE country.
I noticed you're in Portland. Flights are somewhat of a challenge - I flew PDX-Amsterdam-Istanbul and then returned Izmir-Amsterdam-Seattle-Portland (but stayed a night in Amsterdam as the flight schedule wasn't possible all on one day). Turkish Air has direct Seattle-Istanbul and San Francisco-Istanbul but the Seattle flight is notoriously tardy.
Posted by
OP
Portland OR
4 posts
Thanks, all! Very helpful, especially doing Turkish flights on one ticket. Yes, it's a bit too early to book, but we can plan out what makes sense.
Posted by
OP
Portland OR
4 posts
Salem: Yes, we have friends in Seattle who have had the same experience with late flights! KLM has now taken over the flights from PDX to Amsterdam; don't know if that will improve things or not...
Posted by
OP
Portland OR
4 posts
Jules, we will look at that route and see how that impacts ticket pricing. Thanks!
Posted by
Salem, Oregon, USA
2734 posts
KLM has now taken over the flights from PDX to Amsterdam; don't know
if that will improve things or not...
I have taken the Delta flight at least 6 times in the past 10 years and found it very convenient. With the switch to KLM the days of service are cut back however (three days a week in winter, five days in summer) so it may not be an improvement if you are considering it as a choice. At the time I went to Turkey, the price was much less expensive than either of the Turkish Air options.