Tour end - Getting to Athens

subscribing because i'm interested in the response

I searched on Google flights for a random Saturday. There were no non-stop flights (is that what you mean by “direct”?), but many possibilities with a stop in Istanbul. Granted it makes the trip longer, but it gets you to Athens on Saturday.

Yes, it's a bit of a story but I actually have a flight out Saturday that I'm thinking to cancel if I come up with a better option. It has a transfer in Istanbul and the total time, Izmir to Athens is 5.5 hours. A direct flight from Izmir is about an hour. I'd rather spend the time absorbing more of the country and not not having to deal with an airport transfer. Hence I'm looking only for direct options or things to do after the tour for a day plus in Turkey.

After my tour I'm taking the ferry to Samos for a few days. There is an airport on the island with flights direct to Athens. If you look into Samos there's some great ancient history on the island.

Thanks, that's an option I'll look at. I had sort of dismissed the idea of a ferry before, I was focused on leaving from Izmir.

We took ferry to Chios, had dinner, then overnight ferry to Athens piraeus

It looks like an option for me is to take the ferry to Samos and fly on to Athens. I think I can do this the day the tour ends. Ferry leaves Kusadasi at 9 AM, arrives in Samos at 10:15. Taxi to the airport is less than 10 minutes. The flight for Athens leaves at 1 pm, or another at 6:20 pm. This looks doable, at least on paper. Curious if anyone has done this?

Another option I'm considering is to go to Izmir on the bus after breakfast. A tour to Pergamon looks really interesting, but they all seem to leave at 8 AM. So possibly look at other things to do in Izmir.

The Meander Ferry goes to Pythagorio or Vathy. Best option is Pythagorio as short taxi ride to airport. BUT, customs clearance required at each port. When we went it seemed the Turks and Greeks were slow going thru for whatever reason. No problem for us. We stayed 2 nights in Pythagorio and had a wonderful time - good food, small town but interesting, friendly people and, on October 31, a "No Day" celebration.

Good point @Larry42. I guess I could count on taking a leisurely time through customs, enjoy a good meal, and catch the evening flight at least.

For those who have gone to Samos, any issue catching the ferry at tour end? Looking at the timetables, it appears it leaves Kusadasi at 9 am.