Croatia, Turkey and Greece Itinerary help

I would exit the plane in Istanbul then island-hop across the Aegean to Athens. Get a cheap domestic flight to Izmir then a bus to Selchuk. Visit Ephesus and then get a boat from Kusadasi to Samos. Phythagorio was nice, but not in the same league as Santorini. From northern central Samos get the boat to Mykonos, but continue on to Naxos and or Paros. Then make your way to Milos. If you enjoy swimming, the 9am yachts from Adamas do a round the island daytour for 50 euro, and you can visit the lookout and Sarakaniko lunar landscape white beach. From Milos there are passenger boats to Piraeus, where you get the train to Athens. The Acropolis Museum and Parthenon can be seen in a 1/2 day. I would not spend too much time in Athens. Instead get a bus to Delphi and overnight there. The Hermes Hotel was great and I had a spectacular terrace view. From Delphi, head to Meteora in nw Greece. Kastraki was a nice quiet little town. Hire a taxi to get to the big Monastery up on the hill. Buses are infrequent. You could either pay the cab to wait, or walk down. From Kastraki, head to Corfu Island. Sunrock at Pelakas Beach was nice. They will pick you up in their van from Corfu if you ring them in advance. They dropped me off at the port. Then a boat from Corfu to Croatia. Book well ahead in Dubrovnik.

Then fly from Split or Zagreb to London.

ok so starting in turkey and making my way through greece to finish in Croatia sailing... that sounds like it makes sense.
Flights to athens are much cheaper so will go back to my flight planning to start now that i have an idea how to get between these 3 places. i aggree Athens can be done in 1/2 a day- i was stranded there for 5 days due to bad weather stopping the ferries so have seen enough of Athens and wouldnt stay over night this time.
which turkey islands would you recommend?
Thanks so much for the advice- this is great :)

Fethiye / Hisaronu / Oludeniz / Kabak area in southwest Turkey is great. 12 islands tour is nice. And St Nicholas Island.

http://beta.trekearth.com/viewphotos.php?l=7&p=1466650

I have swum there in May but unless it's sunny / no wind the water may be a little chilly in April. Most of the offshore islands near Turkey are Greek. Rhodes, Kos, Samos, Chios, Lesvos, etc. Istanbul can take 5-6 days. I still haven't seen the underground basilica or done a Bosporus cruise! You can get a direct Pegasus domestic flight from SAW airport in Istanbul to Dalaman Airport then a shuttle bus from there to Fethiye. Usually there is a bus to meet the flight. Avoid an expensive taxi.

Bodrum and Marmaris are the other 2 Mugla province resorts, but I and other regulars on the Turkey LP forum prefer Fethiye area. Because I lived in Turkey for a year the restaurants in Hisaronu were great. Chinese, Italian, Mexican, Indian, English breakfast etc. I was tired of kebabs and salty Turkish cheese and olives so it was a real treat. The town of Oludeniz is ordinary but the beach and lagoon are fantastic.

http://beta.trekearth.com/members/ChrisJ/photos/Middle_East/Turkey/Aegean/Mugla/

You could get a bus from Fethiye to Pamukkale Travertine terraces and visit Cleopatra's pool in adjacent Hieropolis where the thermal water is always 37c. Then to Selchuk/ Ephesus and Kusadasiport for Samos > Naxos / Paros or Delos > Santorini (stay in Oia or another area) > Milos > Athens/Delphi.

http://beta.trekearth.com/viewphotos.php?l=5&p=1486520

http://beta.trekearth.com/viewphotos.php?l=7&p=1432746

http://planetden.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/AJP_1539.jpg

I am in Kosovo at the moment but travelled through Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro and Albania as well in the past 2 months. Split was quite busy, and the harbour was smelly, but Vrboska on Hvar Island was chilled out. I enjoyed the cold wine in the bar atop the fort in Hvar town too! Korcula was nice. Some Croatia snaps:

http://beta.trekearth.com/members/ChrisJ/photos/Europe/Croatia/

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