flipstah

Budapest to Istanbul is 3 hours; to Tel Aviv is 4 hours; Naples is an hour away.

However, I just checked and they don't fly on the days I want so Naples is unfortunately out.

Unless I extend Budapest and only have two days in Naples....

Life is good when this is your problem haha.

EDIT: Due to my schedule in mid-September, Istanbul works better in my itinerary. Fly from BUD through WizzAir, fly straight to CPH via Pegasus.

Worked out the math and since I booked a PRG to CPH flight earlier ($77CAD), it's a loss. However, it's still cheaper to fly to Istanbul vs. Prague haha:

BUD->PRG->CPH
$311 nonstop + 77 = $388CAD

BUD->SAW->CPH
$56USD or $70CAD + $156 + $77 + $60USD or $75CAD (eVisa) = $378CAD

DJ Bitterbarn

I'm going to play Devil's advocate here and say "why not reconsider KRK?" because I'm biased.

I know you're saying "but KRK isn't on the beach" and you would be right. But I'm going to link to a satellite view that I think will change your mind. That's right; it's a pool on a boat on the river, next to a fake beach with a not-totally-terrible pseudo-cabana-restaurant, next to a mostly-dilapidated-and-abandoned old communist hotel which is being slowly renovated into a hipster beach bar (with their own, separate, fake beach) and go-kart track.... or auto parts store. I can't remember.

I mean, there's also Kryspinów which is a slightly less fake beach, but how much better would the story be when you tell people you had a beach holiday in Kraków. And then hopefully they realize that Kraków is severly landlocked and not somewhere in Spain.

Added bonus: you can probably take a night train from BUD to KRK for far less than flying. At least I took one the opposite direction once before. Just be wary of online rail consolidator prices - they can be high.

*Disclaimer: This post is only meant to be taken half-seriously. I think you should totally consider KRK, but I would not at all be offended if you did not."

gspurr

stut is correct that you can ask the Israelis to either not stamp your passport or they can also staple a blank sheet into your passport that they stamp and then remove when you leave. You are correct about Lebanon not letting you with with a stamp from Israel on your passport.
If you have 3 or 4 days in Israel you can do quite a bit. A trip to the Old City in Jerusalem is a must. From Tel Aviv you can also arrange a day trip to Petra (about 400 USD). One thing I did was rented a car and drove from Tel Aviv to the Dead Sea, climbed Masada and soaked in the sea before driving back to Tel Aviv. I did this all in a day. Read up on Tel Aviv. I was quite surprised how laid back and Mediterranean it was with a great cafes, night life and wonderful beach scene.

flipstah

^ I really wanted to go to Tel Aviv but the flight back to CPH would've been daunting and I'd be pushing myself to catch my flight home.

Istanbul worked better because I was able to get a direct flight back to CPH with a day buffer before my flight home.

Thanks for all your help, fellow FT'ers and you never disappoint on your advice and shenanigans!

It's a small world and your life is what you make of it so I'll definitely be returning to get a 'krak' of Krakow (ha).

I can't think of puns for Prague.

DJ Bitterbarn

You could return for the Crack-run? Start in Ireland for some Craic, fly to Poland for some KRK, train down to Krk, Croatia, and then Amsteradm?

(C) me.

flipstah

Awesome. I want to take a crack at this crack-run.

DJ Bitterbarn

There have got to be more Crack-related places in Europe.... by which I mean linguistically, of course. It'd actually make for quite the interesting combination.

flipstah

We can get some Kriek in Belgium?

flipstah

HAHAHA. Savings went out the window because I didn't know Turkey required an eVisa.

Too late now! :P

I saved $10?

DJ Bitterbarn

Heck yes! How did I miss that one?!

flipstah

Looks like I'll be staying in Sultanamet area for Istanbul! Need to splurge after roughing it in hostels for Budapest and Copenhagen haha.