We are looking into this tour in late April 2026. We would prefer taking a train or ferry versus planes to extend our trip. Towns of interest: Budapest, Dubrovnik, Bled, Vienna…. We are very open. A few early days in Istanbul are a must. Thanks for your time. Bill
Posted by
RIchmond, BC,Canada
991 posts
I did this tour last fall, and we added several days to Istanbul before the tour, and it still wasn’t enough time. I would suggest looking at the tour itinerary for the Best of Istanbul to see what it covers, and decide how many more days you need. There are some great museums and other sights that the Best of Turkey tour doesn’t have time for. At the end of the tour, some people take a ferry to a nearby Greek island.
Posted by
Salem, Oregon, USA
3115 posts
Definitely add at least two days ahead of the tour start date. I recommend taking the food tour if it is offered (look at your tour details page, there will be a note about it) it is always the day before the tour starts. It's on the Asia side of the city and you will get a really wonderful (literal) taste of Turkey before you head out.
The ferry options from Kusadasi are pretty much to Samos, Greece, or other parts of Turkey so you have limited options there. If you go to Izmir there might be a few more ferry options. There aren't good train options to any of your listed cities unless you want to spend many days getting to your next location. I suggest for efficiency purposes, your best bet is to fly somewhere from the Izmir airport. There are plenty of direct flights to all parts of Europe, and you don't necessarily have to fly back through Istanbul. This site lists all the direct flights, though not all go on every day of the week https://www.flightsfrom.com/ADB. Your tour bus will do a drop off in the morning on the last day of the tour, so you could be in your city of choice by early afternoon.
Posted by
Republic of Texas / U.S.A. / Magyarország / Budapest
22214 posts
We would prefer taking a train or ferry versus planes to extend our
trip. Towns of interest: Budapest, Dubrovnik, Bled, Vienna.
None of the towns you mention are realistically accessible by train or ferry. Flights yes. All are served by Turkish Air so you could build a nice multi-jaw or multi-city ticket with them.
- Ljubljana/Bled: not worth the effort from Turkey
- Vienna: 3 nights minimum and a nice stop over coming or going from Istanbul.
- Budapest/Vienna: 6 nights minimum and a great stop over coming or going from Istanbul.
- Dubrovnik: not a horrible idea if the flights work out well. 2 nights minimum coming or going from Istanbul.
- Dubrovnik, Perast, Kotor, Budva connecting to Istanbul from Podgorica and/or Tivat: 5 nights minimum and brilliant.
- Budapest: 3 nights minimum and a nice stop over coming or going from Istanbul. Favorite Tourism Video of Budapest https://youtu.be/1nd5AtZIrTk?feature=shared Anthony Bourdain describing how visually pleasurable Budapest is https://youtu.be/0nd9DuDGCz0?si=aa0c19KaJHEtabkX