Self-Launched Rome & Aegean Island Hopper: Greek Islands and Ephesus

Land at Fiumicino or Ciampino and take the Leonardo Express train (Fiumicino to Termini, about €14 / £12, 32 mins) or the Terravision/SIT shuttle bus (about €7) into the centre. Check into a hostel near Termini or Monti. Use the rest of the day to walk off the flight: Piazza Navona, the Pantheon (free to enter), the Trevi Fountain after dark and a cheap slice of pizza al taglio or a bowl of cacio e pepe in Monti. Pick up a 72-hour Roma Pass or a 3-day ATAC transit card (about €18) if you plan to cover a lot of ground.

🚌Airport train to Termini ~£12, or shuttle bus ~£6; airport transfer not included by any operator here

🛏Hostel dorm near Termini or Monti (approx £28–35/night)

• →Self-guided evening walk: Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain
• →Cheap trattoria dinner in Monti

Book a Colosseum + Roman Forum + Palatine Hill combined ticket directly on the official Coopculture site (about €18, plus €2 booking fee) — it's cheaper than any reseller and includes timed entry to the Colosseum. Go early (8:30–9:00 slot) to beat the heat and queues. Add the Palatine Hill viewpoints for the best free panorama over the Forum. Optional: a GetYourGuide or Take Walks small-group Colosseum tour (about €45–60) if you want the history explained. Afternoon: walk Via dei Fori Imperiali to Piazza Venezia.

🚌Metro B to Colosseo ~£1.40 per ride or covered by the 72-hour transit card

🛏Hostel dorm near Termini or Monti (approx £28–35/night)

• →Colosseum, Roman Forum & Palatine Hill official combined ticket ~£17
• →Optional guided Colosseum tour ~£45
• →Imperial Fora walk (free)

A slow day on foot: Spanish Steps, Piazza del Popolo, Piazza di Spagna, then the Capitoline Hill and the Bocca della Verità. Cross the river in the late afternoon to Trastevere — the cobbled lanes around Santa Maria in Trastevere fill up with aperitivo bars from about 18:00. Eat a proper Roman seafood dinner in a trattoria off the main drag (about £22–28 with house white wine). If you're travelling alone, a GetYourGuide Trastevere food tour (about £55) is an easy way to meet people.

🚌Walking day; a few tram/bus rides ~£3

🛏Hostel dorm near Termini or Monti (approx £28–35/night)

• →Self-guided squares and fountains walk (free)
• →Trastevere evening wander + trattoria dinner
• →Optional Trastevere street-food tour ~£55

Book a Ryanair, Aegean, Volotea or ITA flight Rome–Athens (hand luggage fares commonly £40–75 if booked 6–10 weeks out). From Athens Airport take Metro Line 3 to Monastiraki (about €9 / £7.70, 40 mins) or the X95 express bus (about €5.50). Check into a hostel in Monastiraki, Plaka or Psyri. Late afternoon: hike or take the funicular up Mount Lycabettus for sunset views over the city (funicular about €10 return). Evening: walk Monastiraki, Plaka and Anafiotika — the tiny Cycladic-style lanes under the Acropolis — and eat souvlaki or moussaka in Psyri (about £10–12).

🚌Rome–Athens flight ~£55 (budget estimate); Athens metro airport–centre ~£8

🛏Hostel dorm in Monastiraki/Psyri (approx £18–25/night)

• →Mount Lycabettus at sunset (funicular ~£9)
• →Self-guided Plaka, Monastiraki and Anafiotika walk

Buy the Acropolis combined ticket directly from hhticket.gr (about €30, summer — covers Acropolis, Ancient Agora, Kerameikos, Roman Agora, Temple of Olympian Zeus and Hadrian's Library; valid for 5 days). Go at opening (08:00) to avoid cruise crowds and heat. Lunch in Plaka. In the afternoon head to Piraeus or Rafina and take an overnight or late ferry north to Thessaloniki: Blue Star Ferries and Hellenic Seaways run the route in roughly 12–16 hours (deck/aircraft seat about €45–70), or take a much faster, cheaper flight from Athens (Aegean/Sky Express, about £35–55, 55 mins). If you take the night ferry, book a reclining seat and sleep on board — it saves a hotel night.

🚌Acropolis metro ~£1.40; Piraeus–Thessaloniki ferry from ~£40 (or Athens–Thessaloniki flight ~£45)

🛏Overnight ferry reclining seat, or hostel in Thessaloniki (approx £18–25/night)

• →Acropolis + combined archaeological ticket ~£26
• →Plaka lunch and market wander

Thessaloniki is Greece's food capital, and it's much cheaper than the islands. Walk the Nea Paralia waterfront, the White Tower, Aristotelous Square and the Rotunda and Arch of Galerius. Wander the Ano Poli (upper town) for Byzantine walls and city views, and the Modiano and Kapani markets for olives, bougatsa and tsipouro. Dinner in Ladadika (about £12–15). Book your onward journey: the fastest option to Kusadasi/Ephesus is a flight to Izmir (via Athens, about £60–90) or a bus to Istanbul then onward — but the simplest and cheapest is to fly Thessaloniki–Izmir with a single connection, or take a bus Thessaloniki–Istanbul (about 11 hrs, £25–35) then an overnight bus to Selçuk. Alternatively sail Thessaloniki–Kusadasi in season on a Celestyal/Aegean line, if a cheap one-way fare comes up.

🚌Local buses ~£3; onward flight Thessaloniki–Izmir ~£75 (budget estimate)

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse, Ladadika/centre (approx £20–28/night)

• →White Tower, Nea Paralia waterfront and Ano Poli walk (free)
• →Modiano & Kapani markets food crawl
• →Ladadika dinner

Base yourself in Selçuk (cheaper and closer than Kuşadası) and take the local dolmuş or a 10-minute taxi to the upper gate of Ephesus (about £2). Buy the Ephesus entry ticket at the gate (about €40 in 2025/26 — check the current price; the Terrace Houses add roughly €15). Walk the Curetes Way past the Library of Celsus, the Odeon, the Great Theatre and Harbour Street — 3 to 4 hours at an easy pace. Optional: a Klook or GetYourGuide Ephesus guided tour from Selçuk or Kuşadası (about £35–50 including entry) or a shared minibus to the House of the Virgin Mary and the Temple of Artemis. In the afternoon, browse the Selçuk bazaar and İsa Bey Mosque, and eat cheap pide and çay in town (about £8).

🚌Dolmuş to Ephesus ~£2; airport/bus connections from Thessaloniki covered on day 6

🛏Budget guesthouse or hostel, Selçuk (approx £18–26/night)

• →Ephesus archaeological site ~£34 entry
• →Library of Celsus, Great Theatre and Odeon walk
• →Optional guided Ephesus tour ~£40
• →Selçuk bazaar and İsa Bey Mosque

From Selçuk take a dolmuş to Kuşadası and a ferry across to Samos or Chios, then an onward ferry to Crete — this is slow and seasonal. The practical route is to fly Izmir–Athens–Heraklion with Aegean or Sky Express (about £70–100 booked ahead), or take an overnight bus Izmir–Athens and a ferry from Piraeus to Heraklion (Piraeus–Heraklion overnight ferry, about £55–70 in a reclining seat, 8–9 hours). Once in Heraklion, drop bags at a guesthouse near the port, then take local bus No. 2 to the Palace of Knossos (entry about €15, ~£13; bus €1.50–2). Spend the evening on the Venetian harbour with raki and meze (about £12).

🚌Ferry/flight to Crete ~£75 (budget estimate); Knossos bus ~£2

🛏Guesthouse or hostel, Heraklion centre (approx £20–28/night)

• →Palace of Knossos ~£13 entry
• →Heraklion Venetian harbour and old town evening

Take an early Seajets or Minoan Lines high-speed ferry Heraklion–Santorini (about 2h15, €30–55 / £26–47 depending on class and season — book on Ferryhopper or Direct Ferries). From Athinios port take the KTEL local bus up to Fira (about €2.20). Stay in Fira or the cheaper village of Karterados rather than Oia — caldera-view rooms in Oia can be £150+ in summer, while hostels and budget rooms in Fira/Karterados run £30–55. Walk the Fira–Firostefani–Imerovigli caldera path (free, 1.5–2 hrs one way) and watch the sunset from a cliff-side café with a Freddo Espresso (about £4). Eat gyros or a taverna dinner away from the caldera rim (about £12–15).

🚌Heraklion–Santorini high-speed ferry ~£35; port bus ~£2

🛏Budget hostel or guesthouse double, Fira or Karterados (approx £35–45/night)

• →Fira–Imerovigli caldera rim walk (free)
• →Sunset from a cliff-side café
• →Gyros/taverna dinner in Fira

Morning ferry Santorini–Mykonos with Seajets (about 2–3 hrs, £40–60 in high season — book ahead as it sells out). Mykonos is the most expensive island in the itinerary; stay in a hostel dorm or a budget room in Mykonos Town or Ano Mera (about £35–50), or consider Paros/Naxos as a cheaper alternative with the same whitewashed-village vibe. Afternoon: wander Chora's lanes to Little Venice and the windmills, and swim at a town beach. Optional Delos day trip: a half-day boat from the old port (about €22 return plus €12 site entry, ~£30 total) for the UNESCO archaeological island — go early if you want it. Optional Kalafatis or Elia beach excursion by local bus (€2–3). Dinner in a backstreet taverna, not on the waterfront (about £15–18).

🚌Santorini–Mykonos ferry ~£50; local bus ~£3

🛏Hostel dorm or budget guesthouse, Mykonos Town (approx £35–45/night)

• →Little Venice and windmills walk (free)
• →Optional Delos boat trip and archaeological site ~£30
• →Optional Kalafatis beach by local bus

Ferry Mykonos–Milos is often indirect; the quickest route is via Paros or Athens, or simply take the Seajets service if it runs on your date (about 3–4 hrs, £40–55). Milos is the highlight for many travellers: take the local KTEL bus to Sarakiniko's white lunar rock formations (free to visit), swim at Papafragas and Plathiena, and join a half- or full-day boat trip to Kleftiko's sea caves with a local operator (about €50–80 / £45–70, bookable direct in Adamas or via GetYourGuide). Stay in Adamas or Plaka rather than Pollonia to keep costs down. Eat a fresh-fish taverna dinner in Adamas (about £15–20).

🚌Ferry to Milos ~£48; island buses ~£4

🛏Budget room or guesthouse, Adamas (approx £28–38/night)

• →Sarakiniko and Papafragas (free)
• →Kleftiko sea caves boat trip ~£55
• →Swim stops at Plathiena

Take an early morning Seajets or Blue Star ferry Milos–Piraeus (about 3–4 hrs, £35–50) or, if timing is tight, fly Aegean/Sky Express Milos–Athens (about £45–70, 45 mins). From Piraeus, Metro Line 1 to Monastiraki and Metro Line 3 to the airport (about €9 / £8) — allow 90 minutes. If you have a late flight, leave bags in a Monastiraki locker and do one last walk up to the Areopagus rock for a free view of the Acropolis. Depart from Athens International Airport.

🚌Milos–Piraeus ferry ~£42 or flight ~£55; Piraeus–Athens Airport metro ~£8

🛏None (departure day)

• →Areopagus viewpoint and Plaka farewell coffee (free)
• →Optional last-minute souvenir shopping in Monastiraki