Greece and Turkey Tours 2027: Combining Istanbul, Ephesus and Athens

A Greece and Turkey tour in 2027 works best over 10 to 15 days: three nights in Istanbul, two or three in Cappadocia or around Ephesus, then a short flight or ferry to Greece for Athens and one island. Istanbul to Athens is a flight of about 1 hour 20 minutes, and in summer you can also cross by ferry from Kuşadası, Çeşme or Bodrum to a Greek island in under an hour and a half. Our 15-day Aegean Legends Turkey and Greece tour covers both countries in one booking from $4,200 per person with middle-class hotels, and our private multi-city Turkey packages cover the Turkish half if you plan Greece yourself.

This page sets out the routes that make sense, the border crossings that actually run, what changes in 2027 for European entry rules, and what the Turkish side costs with us. Prices are from our own tour pages, checked on 23 October 2026.

Greece and Turkey 2027 at a glance

Aegean Legends: Turkey and Greece Tour, 15 Days, from $4,200

Most people who search for a Greece and Turkey trip want the same three things: Istanbul's mosques and bazaars, the ancient sites on the Aegean coast, and the Acropolis with a Greek island at the end. The two countries sit across a narrow sea from each other, so the travelling is shorter than it looks on a world map.

Prices on this page change with season, hotel class and what you include, so ask us for today's price before you book flights.

Which order: Turkey first or Greece first?

Istanbul and Ephesus Tour Package, 8 Days, from $1,880

Start in Istanbul if you are flying from North America, India, Southeast Asia or Australia. Turkish Airlines reaches more countries than any other carrier from its Istanbul hub, so the long-haul flight in is usually simpler and often cheaper. You then move south and west through Turkey and end on a Greek island, which is the right mood for the last days of a long trip.

Start in Athens if your long-haul ticket lands there more cheaply, or if you want to catch Orthodox Easter in Greece and then spend the quieter week after it in Turkey. There is no difference in the sights you can fit in; the only practical point is that an open-jaw ticket (into one city, out of the other) almost always beats returning to where you started.

A common mistake is backtracking. Flying Istanbul to Athens, then Athens back to Izmir for Ephesus, wastes a day. Keep the route moving in one direction: Istanbul, Cappadocia, Ephesus, then across the water. See also our page: Turkey and Greece tour packages from the USA.

Three Greece and Turkey itineraries that work

Ephesus Full-Day Private Tour with Skip-the-Line Entry, from $300

These are the routes we plan most often for two-country trips. Night counts are hotel nights.

The classic 10 days suits a first trip. Istanbul's old city needs two full days, and a Bosphorus cruise takes a third morning. Fly to Izmir, see Ephesus and the House of the Virgin Mary, then cross to Samos by ferry in summer or fly to Athens via Istanbul out of season.

The 12 to 13 day version adds Cappadocia, which is the part of Turkey most people regret skipping. Two nights are enough for one balloon morning (weather permitting), the open-air museum at Göreme and an underground city. From Cappadocia, fly to Izmir via Istanbul for Ephesus.

Aegean Legends is our own two-country package: Istanbul, Cappadocia, Ephesus and Pamukkale in Turkey, then Athens with the Acropolis and Plaka, and three nights on Santorini. It includes 14 nights in middle-class hotels with breakfast, domestic flights in Turkey, the flight or ferry to Athens, the Athens–Santorini ferry, all transfers, the listed guided tours and their entrance fees. International flights, lunches, dinners, tips, a Greek visa if you need one and the optional balloon are extra. Details and dates are on the Aegean Legends tour page.

If you only have a week, drop Greece or drop Cappadocia. Two countries in seven days means a transfer almost every other day.

Crossing between Turkey and Greece: flights and ferries

By air, Istanbul to Athens takes about 1 hour 20 minutes. Turkish Airlines and Aegean Airlines fly from Istanbul Airport, and Pegasus flies from Sabiha Gökçen on the Asian side. Book this leg when you book the rest; fares rise sharply in July and August.

By sea, the short crossings from the Turkish coast are the more interesting option, but most of them are seasonal:

• Çeşme–Chios: the most reliable year-round link, roughly 30–45 minutes, with several boats a day in summer and fewer in winter. Çeşme is about an hour from Izmir Airport.
• Kuşadası–Samos: about 1 hour 15 minutes to Vathy, summer only. Kuşadası is 20 minutes from Ephesus, which makes this the natural crossing after a day at the ruins.
• Bodrum–Kos and Marmaris–Rhodes: under an hour on fast boats, mainly May to October.
• Ayvalık–Lesbos: useful if you are coming down the coast from Gallipoli and Troy.

From Samos, Chios or Kos you continue to Athens (Piraeus) by overnight ferry or a short domestic flight, or island-hop toward Mykonos. Ferry operators publish summer timetables in spring, so treat any 2027 schedule you see before March as a guess. Arrive at the port at least an hour early: passports are checked on both sides, and boats leave on time.

For the Ephesus part of the trip, our Ephesus and Kuşadası tours run from hotels in Kuşadası and Selçuk and from the cruise port, so you can do the ruins in the morning and catch an afternoon boat.

Visas and entry rules for 2027

Ephesus Full-Day Private Tour with Skip-the-Line Entry, from $300

Turkey and Greece run separate border controls. Greece is in the EU and the Schengen area; Turkey is in neither. A visa or visa-free stay for one does not cover the other.

For Turkey, citizens of the United States, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and most of the EU need no visa for tourist stays of up to 90 days in 180, according to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Indian, Chinese and South African passport holders need a visa or an e-Visa, with exceptions for some valid Schengen, US or UK visa holders. Check evisa.gov.tr for your passport before you book.

For Greece, the Schengen rules apply: 90 days in any 180 for visa-free nationalities, counted across all Schengen countries. Days in Turkey do not count toward that limit. Since 12 October 2025, and at every Schengen border since April 2026, the EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) registers non-EU travellers' fingerprints and a photo at the first Schengen border, so expect a slightly longer first entry into Greece. The ETIAS travel authorisation (€20, valid three years) has not started yet; in July 2026 the EU removed its "last quarter of 2026" target from the official portal, which now says a start date will be announced several months in advance. If you travel in 2027, look at travel-europe.europa.eu a month before departure.

If you need a Schengen visa, apply through Greece when Greece is your only Schengen country. Many Indian and Chinese travellers do the Turkey leg first, which gives the Greek consulate a clear itinerary.

What the Turkish part costs with us

Istanbul and Ephesus Tour Package, 8 Days, from $1,880

These are our current prices for routes that pair well with Greece, all per person. The packages are private (just your group with your own guide and driver) and include middle-class hotels; the 5-day tour is a group tour with four hotel nights, domestic flights and four lunches.

The 8-day Istanbul and Ephesus package ends near the coast, which is why we suggest it for a Samos or Chios crossing. If you would rather keep Istanbul simple and add the rest later, our Istanbul packages run from four to ten days.

If you are building the trip yourself and only need the ruins, our Ephesus and Kuşadası day tours start from $250 for a private evening visit and $300 for a full day with skip-the-line entry. Prices vary by season, hotel and what's included, so ask us for today's price.

Best months for a Greece and Turkey trip in 2027

Aegean Legends: Turkey and Greece Tour, 15 Days, from $4,200

April to June is the best balance. Istanbul is 15–25 °C, Cappadocia's balloons fly most mornings, and Greek island ferries move to their summer timetables in May. Note Orthodox Easter on 2 May 2027: Greek hotels fill up and many shops close on Good Friday and Easter Monday. Western Easter falls on 28 March 2027.

July and August bring the heat (often 35 °C or more at Ephesus at midday) and peak island prices. It is the only time every ferry route runs, though.

September and October are as good as spring, with warmer sea water. Turkey's Republic Day on 29 October 2027 is a Friday, so Turkish domestic flights and coastal hotels are busier that weekend.

November to March works for a city trip, Istanbul and Athens, but most island ferries stop and Santorini partly closes. Çeşme–Chios keeps a reduced winter service.

Istanbul and Athens: how the two cities compare

Istanbul needs more time than Athens. The core of Athens (the Acropolis, its museum, the Agora, Plaka) fits into two full days. Istanbul's old city alone fills two days, and the Bosphorus, Galata and the Asian side need a third. If you are short on time, cut Athens to one night before the island rather than cutting Istanbul.

The cities also share a history that makes the trip more interesting when you see them together. Athens was under Ottoman rule from 1458 until the Ottoman garrison left the Acropolis in 1833, and you will see the traces: a former mosque in Monastiraki Square and the Ottoman-era bathhouse in Plaka. In Istanbul, Hagia Sophia was the largest church in the Greek Orthodox world for about 900 years before it became a mosque in 1453.

Our guides in Istanbul are licensed Turkish guides and can join you for the full city programme on our Istanbul packages. For a longer comparison of food, prices and atmosphere, see our article on Istanbul vs Athens. If you are arriving by cruise ship, our page on the Athens to Istanbul cruise covers port days and pre-cruise nights.

How to book a two-country trip with us

Send us your dates, the number of travellers and which Greek island you want. We reply with a written plan for the Turkish part: hotels, flights inside Turkey, guides and the crossing to Greece. For the Aegean Legends route the Greek hotels, ferry and Athens tour are included as listed on the tour page; for other Greek routes we arrange the Turkish side and the crossing, and you are free to add your own Greek hotels.

You can book with Book Now, Pay Later: no deposit is taken online, and the final price is confirmed before you pay. Full day-by-day programmes are on our multi-city packages page.

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