Europe or Bust

Hey everyone!! My brother and I are planning our first excursion around Europe. My brother is the saaavy veteran of Europe, having studied abroad in Germany for a year and having the ability to travel on the weekends. We would like information on what cities/islands to visit in Greece, as much info as possible about the running of the bulls in Pamplona, and transportation/itinerary ideas. I think we will be couch surfing (couchsurfing.com) for as much of the trip as possible to meet new people and experience the culture/food as much as possible.

Cheers

I really enjoyed Ancient Ephesus, near Kusadasi. I thought it superior to anything in Athens. How are you planning to get from Istanbul to Kusadasi and from Kusadasi to Greece? I suppose train/bus to Izmir and ferry from there would be the best way to get to Greece. As for Greek Islands, I particularly liked Rhodes as it’s large enough to have a lot of variety. Mykonos is picture-postcard beautiful, but sort of touristy and expensive. There are a number of posts about favorite Greek Islands under “favorite places.” Use the search function.

I’d look for a cheap flight to Istanbul and perhaps from Turkey to Greece. If you’re just going to Kusadasi to see Ephesus, then you might look at a tour from Istanbul (most fly you to Kusadasi for a day trip) rather trying to get there on your own.

Thanks for the response oldlady. Your still youthful in my eyes. We havent looked at how were going to get to Kusadasi from Istanbul. I would assume a train/bus as it would be cheaper than flying. Is this an easy bus/train route? how long? Is one day enough in Kusadasi? We are just going to see Ephesus…

I would like to make it to Thessaloniki, Rhodes, and perhaps Meteora or some other city/island to get a different experience? Is this at all possible? Is it easy to navigate through the islands once there, or is this something that we need to make reservations for and really plan out to a T?

Thanks again!!!!!!!