Trip Report - Wind Spirit Istanbul to Athens

[kiriarte]

Just back from a great trip on the Wind Spirit. This was our 3rd Windstar cruise and we are looking forward to a 4th. The staff is so pleasant and attentive, the food (particularly breakfast) is good, and we enjoy the small size.

 

We got to Istanbul on Thursday and toured on our own. We did a Bosphorus cruise the first day. Missed the boat that does the six hour tour but it was just as well - we were exhausted from the overnight flight. Took a boat parked at the same pier that did a 2 hour trip. The next day we toured the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar, and Topkapi Palace. Needed a foot massage by time we got back to the hotel but it was all fascinating. For a city with 15mm people, it is very clean and the public transportation all seemed new. Our last day, we had a Turkish bath at the hotel - much more expensive than the public baths but also less intimidating!

 

Boarded Windstar on Saturday afternoon. Sunday was relaxing day at sea to recover from Istanbul. Monday was Kusadasi. I arranged a full day tour with Hello Ephesus that did it all - Ephesus, Terrace Houses, St John's Basilica, Temple of Artemis, Archaelogical Museum, rug factory and lunch! Our guide, Bill, was great. All of the stops were interesting but Ephesus and, particularly, the Terrace Houses, were amazing! Town of Kusadasi didn't wow us. We took a cab to the beach in the late afternoon. We live in Florida so I guess we are beach snobs. The water was very clear but the beach was pebbles and cigarette butts.

 

Next day was Rhodes - walled city was so cool! I can't say we did much except walk but we loved it. We also walked down to the beach.

 

Bodrum was our least favorite port. A Spanish couple told us it is the Marbella of Turkey. We've never been to Marbella, so I don't know. It didn't seem that attractive. Lots of shops and waterfront restaurants. Maybe we should have taken a boat tour. We wandered around town for a couple of hours and headed back to the ship.

 

The crossing to Santorini was a little rough. Santorini was as gorgeous as the pictures. A woman from a travel agency came on board and recommended we take the bus to Oia rather then a cab because it is so much less expensive. The bus station was chaos and we had to stand the whole way but the price was right! It was a wonderful day wandering around, shopping, taking in the unbelievable views.

 

Mykonos was the last day. While not as stunning as Santorini, it was beautiful. It was very windy - in fact, Windstar had not stopped there the last two months because of the wind. The streets are very windy and confusing but when we unexpectedly found ourselves at the bus station, we went to Paradise Beach. Came back, walked through town again and ate at a waterfront cafe. The people watching was outstanding but intimidating - it was a very chic crowd.

 

We woke up early Saturday in Athens. We stayed an extra day to see the Acropolis before heading home. The trip was everything we expected.