Hi there-
I am planning a trip to Turkey for late April next year (to coincide with Anzac day celebrations at Gallipoli), and I am considering tacking a week or two in Greece onto the end of my trip. The plan probably would be to island-hop from Southern Turkey back through the Greek Islands to Athens over 7-10 days. I have a lot of questions, so if anyone could help me out with just one or two that would be fantastic. By the way, I will be travelling with a small group 4-6 people, all early-mid 20s. We would be staying in budget accomodation, and interested in places with a good balance of relaxing, partying, cultural sights, and activities.
1. What is the weather like in early-May? Are we likely to be able to go swimming every day?
2. Given our time limit, is taking ferries a good option, or should we look at flights? Do we need to pre-book ferries?
3. What is a good daily budget to aim for - mostly eating out at cheap places, budget accomodation...
3. Given that May is shoulder-season, will most things be open?
In terms of itinerary, I was thinking Turkey > Rhodes > Santorini > Mykonos or Paros or somewhere else > Athens. We will allow 2-4 days for Athens at the end of the trip. Any comments/ideas?
Thanks for your help :)
Although it's been many years, I went to Turkey at this time of year. Istanbul was cold at night but pleasant during the day and the further south I went the warmer it became. I ended up in Bodrum and the weather was excellent but not hot. Going to Rhodes from Bodrum was easy by local Turkish ferry. Go to Anker Travel's website to find some schedules for that. From Rhodes it's possible to go to Santorini but only once a week in May, maybe twice depending on demand. Instead you might have to go Rhodes>Crete which is a much more frequent ferry route. Then from Crete you can catch the Hellenic Seaways Flying Cat #4 to Santorini, and from Santorini the same ferry will take you onward to Paros and Mykonos. Pre-booking in May isn't necessary, the ferries won't be full then. Everything is open in May. Daily budget per person for a double room can be as little as 15 euro/night depending on where you stay. Food depends on your appetite, but a Greek salad will cost in the neighborhood of 4 euro and up. I always use that as a gauge of how expensive a restaurant is since it's usually the one constant on a Greek menu. For a 3-course budget meal expect to pay somewhere between 12-20 euro/pp depending on the main course, more if you drink wine. Drinks in the bars can get expensive so be careful. I paid 10 euro for one mojito last June. If you don't see the price on the menu ALWAYS set the price on seafood and meats befor you order them; they're often charged out by weight and can get extremely expensive. Don't take "No Problem" as a substitute for the correct price. On Santorini it might be too cold for swimming, but that will depend on the local temperatures and your tolerance for cold. I do go swimming on Santorini in May and for me it's not a problem as long as the wind isn't blowing.
You might find the weather further south, in Rhodes or Crete more favourable.
I don't know if you have the time, but the Battle of Crete celebrations take place on May 20th in Chania Crete- this is a special tribute to the New Zealanders who died during WW11- in 1941 [more casualties than the Australian] and special celebrations take place each year. They are what the Gallipoli celebrations are for the WW1 Anzac troops, but commemorate the NZers in particular, because they sufferred the most casualties, in relation to Gallipoli, where most casulaties were UK/French/Australian
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