Which Eastern Mediterranean/Adriatic/Greek Isles/Turkey itinerary?

[allisons]

Let me preface this by saying that I do realize that this is a matter of personal preference. However, I would greatly appreciate it if those of you who have been to these places would please share your opinion with me. We're torn between three possible Eastern Mediterranean/Adriatic/Greek Isles/Turkey itineraries. Whichever one we do, we'll be doing it back-to-back with an Eastern Mediterranean/Greek Isles interary. They all leave from Venice, Italy. They all visit Athens, Greece; Olympia, Greece; Santorini, Greece; Mykonos, Greece; Corfu, Greece; Ephesus, Turkey; and Dubrovnik, Croatia. The differences are in the remaining ports. Options 2 and 3 visit Split, Croatia. Option 1 visits Bari, Italy. Option 2 visits Argostoli, Greece and Kotor, Montenegro.

 

Option 1:

Bari

Katakolon (Olympia)

Piraeus (Athens)

Izmir (Ephesus)

Dubrovnik

(B2B with Bari, Corfu, Mykonos, Santorini, Dubrovnik)

 

Option 2:

Split

Kusadasi (Ephesus)

Santorini

Katakolon (Olympia)

(B2B with Kotor, Corfu, Piraeus (Athens), Mykonos, Argostoli)

 

Option 3:

Dubrovnik

Piraeus (Athens)

Izmir (Ephesus)

Split

(B2B with Corfu, Santorini, Mykonos, Katakolon (Olympia))

[paul929207]

Do them all!!!

[allisons]

Do them all!!!

 

I wish! Ha ha!

[Twickenham]

A couple thoughts:

-You say they 'both visit Ephesus' - but in fact, 2 of the cruises stop at Izmir, at least an hour away from Ephesus, while the other stops at Kusadasi, a pleasant 15-20 drive. If Ephesus is a priority, it makes a difference;

-Which segues to my second point: port times, for me at least, would also make a big difference. So, if one cruise stays in port 1-2 hours longer than another, this will also impact on your touring.

I have not been at the different ports, so I will let others comment.

[marazul]

Allisons - by all means #2. Why? It includes Split and Kotor, plus Ephesus from Kusadasi. The bay of Kotor is spectacular, one of the most beautiful sail-ins you will see. Plus the towns of Kotor and near by Budva are very pretty and interesting.

[allisons]

A couple thoughts:

-You say they 'both visit Ephesus' - but in fact, 2 of the cruises stop at Izmir, at least an hour away from Ephesus, while the other stops at Kusadasi, a pleasant 15-20 drive. If Ephesus is a priority, it makes a difference;

-Which segues to my second point: port times, for me at least, would also make a big difference. So, if one cruise stays in port 1-2 hours longer than another, this will also impact on your touring.

I have not been at the different ports, so I will let others comment.

 

Thank you so much! That is very helpful! Excellent point about port distances, times, etc.! I really appreciate it!

[allisons]

Allisons - by all means #2. Why? It includes Split and Kotor, plus Ephesus from Kusadasi. The bay of Kotor is spectacular, one of the most beautiful sail-ins you will see. Plus the towns of Kotor and near by Budva are very pretty and interesting.

 

Thank you so much! That is so helpful! When we started looking at these cruises, we were only interested in the Greek Isles, so we know nothing about any of these other ports! I really appreciate it!

[marazul]

Thank you so much! That is so helpful! When we started looking at these cruises, we were only interested in the Greek Isles, so we know nothing about any of these other ports! I really appreciate it!

 

The Adriatic ports - Dubrovnik, Split, and Kotor - are some of the most beautiful places you will ever see. And Corfu and Kefalonia (Argostoli) are also Greek isles. You will enjoy the differences between the Cyclades (Santorini and Mykonos) and the Ionian Islands (Kefalonia and Corfu). Of course, Ephesus and Athens are not to be missed. Katakolon is a very good bonus. And Venice is superb. This is an excellent itinerary.

 

I have been to all those ports - some more than twice - and can really recommend them.

[allisons]

The Adriatic ports - Dubrovnik, Split, and Kotor - are some of the most beautiful places you will ever see. And Corfu and Kefalonia (Argostoli) are also Greek isles. You will enjoy the differences between the Cyclades (Santorini and Mykonos) and the Ionian Islands (Kefalonia and Corfu). Of course, Ephesus and Athens are not to be missed. Katakolon is a very good bonus. And Venice is superb. This is an excellent itinerary.

 

I have been to all those ports - some more than twice - and can really recommend them.

 

Yay! Now I am so excited! I realize now that we were realize going to miss something wonderful with our initial narrow focus! The extra cost is stifling, but it seems worth it!