Location Transport

Classical Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria in 11 days?

I will be flying in and out of Istanbul and will be there for 11 days from April 1 this year. I am wondering what would be the best tourist route to see Classical Turkey, Greece (and maybe a glimpse of the most beautiful island heh) and Bulgaria in 11 days. I am not very much a beach person, so I am thinking that a ferry ride from Piraeus to Samos and onto Kusadasi may suffice. No idea if it is going to be scenic. I cant seem to get much info from travel guides nor googling. So I thought I would ask. My tentative itinerary is as follows: Day 1 Arrive Istanbul. Leave Istanbul on Filia express to Athens Day 2 Spend a day in Acropolis Day 3 Delphi Tour Day 4 Take ferry from Piraeus to Samos to Kudadasi - Any suggestion of which ferry that runs at this time of year? Day 5 Ephesus tour Day 6 Gallipoli Day 7 Istanbul - Personal agenda Day 8 Edrine - Personal agenda Day 9 Sophia Day 10 Rila Monastery Day 11 Sophia?Poliv back to Istanbul - Is bus the best way or train? Day 12 Fly out of Istanbul Appreciate if you can advise of specific routes, transport details and approximate cost. Any other travel tips or suggestions to itinerary most welcome. Please also advise any tips for travel as a female if I choose not to join local tours. Any tips for those tours like Ephesus or Delphi or Galiipoli appreciated. I will be staying in hostels. Any tips welcome. Yep I am on a budget. Don't mind walking but I do have a bag in addition to a day back pack. If I were to take public transport, where are the storage facilities or locker room details. Much thanks, Pearl. Thank you for your informed response. Are you suggesting that I take tours? I travel well, so 6 hours is not a big deal. I am just not aware how easy the connection points are, if I were to tug along a big bag and a back pack. The problem with tours is that they seem to start from Istanbul rather from down south. So maybe I have to reverse the order of my travel. Further suggestions welcome.

Public Comments

1. You have put really far away places consecutively. Kuşadası to Efes to Gelibolu to İstanbul to Edirne... I am not saying it is impossible, but it is difficult and tiring. You will have to use buses that run at night, so that you can go sightseeing during the day. I haven't followed the same route by bus, so I can't say if you can find exactly what you are looking for, but... 1. Even if there is no bus that goes directly to Efes from Kuşadası, there must be buses that pass from Selçuk (near Efes) on the main road. You can get off there and try to find transportation to Efes. 2. Çanakkale (where Gelibolu is) isn't as frequented as İstanbul. So, you may have to go to İzmir from Selçuk (Efes) and try to find a bus that goes to Çanakkale. Else, you may go to İstanbul directly from Selçuk and then travel to Çanakkale. The second option would take more time on the road, but you may have to wait in İzmir for a Çanakkale bus, so there's no saying which would take less time. 3. It is relatively short distance from İstanbul to Edirne, and it is probable that you find a bus to Sofia. If you want to be sure, you may ask a bus company that runs from İstanbul to Sofia if they take passengers from Edirne (border town) and if you can find empty seats there. Good luck.
2. Check a map. Your itinerary is all over the place, and in 11 days, there is no way you will see all of that. Good luck doing the best you can, but here are a few realities of the trip, and perhaps you can put together a better map that will get you most of the places you want to go. Istanbul to Athens on the train takes almost 24 hours. A ferry from Pirareus to Samos takes almost 16 hours. Also, on the train from Istanbul to Athens, you come very close to Bulgaria. It makes no sense to pass by Bulgaria, then go back. Here might be a better way to get the things that you want to see. Istanbul to Gallipoli and Edrine: From Gallipoli to Sofia or Thessaloníki: I don't quite know for sure whether you can take a direct bus from Istanbul or if you have to go to Thessaloníki, so check on that to see which you can do. In Bulgaria you can visit the monastery you wish to visit then head back down to Greece. In Greece, stop in Delphi instead of going to Athens, it is north of Athens and south of Bulgaria. From Delphi, head to Athens. In Athens, board a ferry from Piraeus. Samos is a good island to pick because it is right on your journey. Other interesting islands would be Rhodes or Patmos, both historically famous. Rhodes and Samos both have ferries that leave for the Turkish mainland. From the Turkish mainland you can take a bus to Ephesus, and then take a bus to Istanbul. This makes a big loop, so it would be the most efficient way of traveling. However, with what you want to do, and only 11 days to do it, I really don't know if it is possible. You have enough on your list that it will take at least 9 days to spend at those sights, and there is A LOT of travel time in between to get to those places. If there is any way you can add a few days to your trip, or cut a few sites out (such as skipping Bulgaria) you would be able to do it.