Turkey vs Greece Vacation: Costs, Beaches, History and Best Months

Pick Turkey if you want the widest mix in one trip: a huge historic city, cave landscapes, Roman ruins and a long warm coast, with food and transport that usually cost less than in the euro area. Pick Greece if your trip is mainly about island beaches and hopping between them by ferry. Neither is better in general, and the two sit next to each other, so many travellers do both. If Turkey wins, our Istanbul and Antalya 8-day package pairs a city with the coast.

This page compares the two on the points people ask about most: prices, beaches, history, entry rules and timing. We are a Turkish operator, so we give Turkish prices from our own tours and current Turkish ticket fees. We do not quote Greek prices; check them with Greek official sources or your hotel before you book.

The short answer, by what you want most

Most first-time visitors to Turkey spend about a week to ten days and cover Istanbul, Cappadocia and the Aegean. A first trip to Greece is often Athens plus two or three islands. Both need more time than people expect, because distances are long and the sea links take planning.

Prices: what you can count on in Turkey

Turkey's prices have risen in the last few years, and the country is no longer the bargain it once was in hotels and museums. Day-to-day costs, such as local restaurants, buses and ferries, still tend to be lower than in Western Europe. Here are figures we can stand behind:

• Museum fees. Many Turkish site tickets are set in euros for foreign visitors. Hagia Sophia costs €25. Ephesus costs €40, rising to €45 from 1 April 2027. Our Hagia Sophia ticket update has the details.
• Getting around Istanbul. A ride on the metro, tram, bus or ferry costs 46.20 TL with an Istanbulkart.
• Packages. Our 8-day private Turkey package starts from $2,250 per person, and the Istanbul and Antalya package from $1,980 per person. International flights are extra.
• A beach day by boat. The Suluada boat tour from Antalya starts from $50 per person with lunch.

Our Turkey trip cost guide breaks a full budget into hotels, food, transport and tickets.

For Greece, compare like with like. Price the same hotel standard, the same number of guided days and the transport between islands, which can add up when you take several ferries. Greece uses the euro, so there is no exchange-rate swing for travellers from the euro area. In Turkey, prices quoted in lira can change through the year, which is why many tourism prices are given in euros or dollars.

Beaches and the sea

Greece's beaches are spread across its islands. The appeal is variety: each island has its own coast, and you move between them by ferry. The trade-off is time. Ferry days eat into beach days, and in high summer the popular islands are crowded.

Turkey's beaches are on the mainland, along the Aegean and the Mediterranean. The main bases are:

• Antalya and its coast, with long beaches, resort hotels, and the ancient sites of Perge, Aspendos and Side nearby.
• Fethiye and Ölüdeniz, with pine-covered hills and bays best reached by boat.
• Bodrum, a resort peninsula with a castle, marinas and small coves.

The Turkish answer to island hopping is a boat. A day trip from Antalya to Suluada, or a few nights on a traditional wooden gulet along the Fethiye coast, gets you to clear water and bays without roads. Our blue cruise tours list the gulet options.

One practical difference: a Turkish beach holiday can be combined with sightseeing in the same week without a flight. From Antalya, Aspendos is a day trip; from Bodrum, Ephesus is within reach by road. In Greece, combining islands with the big mainland sites usually means returning to Athens.

History: two stories that overlap

Greece is the place for classical Greece itself: the Acropolis in Athens, Delphi, Olympia and the Minoan palace of Knossos on Crete. If the Parthenon is the point of your trip, Greece is the answer.

Turkey covers a longer span. Göbeklitepe, in the southeast, is thousands of years older than the classical sites of Greece. Then come the Hittites, Troy, the Greek and Roman cities of the Aegean coast, Byzantine Constantinople, the Seljuks and the Ottoman Empire. Istanbul alone has Hagia Sophia, Topkapı Palace and the Basilica Cistern within walking distance of each other.

The two stories meet on Turkey's west coast. Many of the best-preserved ancient Greek cities are in Turkey, not Greece:

• Ephesus, with the Library of Celsus and its great theatre;
• Priene, Miletus and Didyma, three Ionian sites close together;
• the acropolis of Pergamon, with its steep hillside theatre;
• Side, with a temple by the sea.

So a history lover is well served either way. Greece gives you the classical heartland; Turkey gives you classical cities plus several thousand years before and after.

Getting there and getting around

Turkey is large, so the classic route uses domestic flights. Istanbul is a major hub, and from there short flights reach Cappadocia, Izmir for Ephesus, and Antalya. A private car and driver handles the drives between Cappadocia, Pamukkale and Ephesus. Long-distance buses are good and cheap if you travel independently.

Greece works by ferry and short flights. Athens is the hub, and island ferries leave from Piraeus and other ports. In summer the choice of sailings is wide; out of season many routes run less often.

Between the two, Turkish Airlines and Aegean Airlines fly nonstop between Istanbul and Athens. There is also a short seasonal ferry between Samos and Kuşadası, the port for Ephesus. Our Greece and Turkey tour guide explains the crossings and the best order to visit.

Entry rules, money and phones

Visas. Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists ordinary passport holders from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland and Australia as visa-free for tourist stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Greece follows the Schengen rules: visa-free visitors from those countries can stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period across the whole Schengen area. Other nationalities should check both; our Turkey visa requirements update lists the main cases.

Schengen days. Turkey is not in the Schengen area, so days in Turkey do not count towards your Schengen 90 days. That matters for long trips around Europe.

Passports. Turkey asks for a passport valid at least 60 days beyond your permitted stay, so 150 days in total for a 90-day stay. For Greece, the UK government says a British passport must have been issued less than 10 years before you arrive and be valid for at least 3 months after you leave the Schengen area. The EU's Entry/Exit System is being rolled out at Schengen borders, so allow time at passport control.

Money and phones. Greece uses the euro and Turkey the Turkish lira. Cards are widely accepted in both, but keep some lira in cash for small shops and tips. Turkey is outside the EU roaming zone, so check your mobile plan or buy a local eSIM.

Time. Turkey stays on UTC+3 all year. Greece is on the same time in summer and one hour behind in winter.

When to go

If you can travel in May, June, September or early October, both countries are at their best. For a winter trip, Turkey has the edge, because Istanbul and Cappadocia work all year. Our best time to visit Turkey guide gives the Turkish side month by month.

Why not both?

Istanbul and Athens are close by air, so a two-country trip of nine days or more is easy to plan. A common shape is Istanbul and Cappadocia first, then Athens and one or two islands, finishing with a beach. If you are arriving or leaving by ship, our Athens to Istanbul cruise page covers what to do at the Istanbul end.

The deciding question is how much time you have. With a week, choose one country. With ten days or more, combining them gives you the classical heartland and Istanbul in one trip.

Tours that cover this

• Turkey and Greece Tour Package: 9 Days, Istanbul to Santorini: from $3,165 per person.
• Turkey and Greece Private Tour 9 Days: Istanbul, Cappadocia, Athens: from $3,730 per person.
• Istanbul and Antalya Tour Package: 8 Days with Flight and Suluada: from $1,980 per person. Turkey only, city plus beach.
• Private 8-day Turkey tour package: from $2,250 per person. Istanbul, Cappadocia, Ephesus and Pamukkale.

Frequently Asked Questions