hmmmm...
 

Hi,

Thanks for suggesting Eurail! I wonder why I didn't think of it. As you said, it is definitely a time and money saver. I like the 10 days within 2 months global pass (priced at $565). Will surely talk to a travel agent about it.
Thanks for the tip!

I can skip Cairo (given the situation) but I definitely have to go to Dubai for personal reasons. And I do want to visit Greece and Turkey as well.

Here is what I'm thinking...
I will travel by air from Bangalore->Dubai->Istanbul->Athens. From Greece, I make use of my Eurail pass for Greece-> Bulagaria -> Romania-> Hungary-> Austria-> Swiss-> France. From France I take the Chunnel to London.
And then, I fly back London->Bangalore.
How does this sound?

And any suggestions regarding how/where I can book cheap flights for this part of the journey? Dubai->Istanbul->Athens and London->Bangalore

I guess I can't use an open jaw ticket if I follow this itinerary?

And regarding Visa requirements, I guess I have to get one each for Dubai, Istanbul and London with a Schengen from the Greek Consulate. Is my understanding correct?

I doubt you will get a decent airfare for BLR-DXB/-IST/-ATH//LHR-BLR. Two stopover plus a very open jaw is perhaps asking for too much. BLR-DXB/-ATH or -IST//LHR-BLR might be an option with EK though you will have to buy an additional side-trip to IST or ATH still.

Do this:
BLR-x/DXB-LHR // Eurostar to Paris // Train to all other cities.. end in Athens. From Athens, take flight to Istanbul (you may try online for Aegean Airways - http://en.aegeanair.com/ ). Fly from IST to DXB (stopover) then to BLR.

You may keep costs low by flying all on EK. Stopovers may only be allowed on the return part of the reservation.

The reason I suggest you do this is that it will be easier to arrive at international gateway ie London than it is for you to go through immigration at gare du nord station for your eurostar to London. The immigration officers at Gare du nord Paris station are notorious for asking a million questions about your 'status'. The French immigration officers at the UK side for your trip into France are better. Note that not all cities you quoted are part of Schengen. Bulgaria is currently not in Schengen so you need to get a multiple entry visa to go there and then to re-enter Greece.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Area

Again - ask your travel agent about all airfares and visa requirements.

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Thank you!
 

This is definitely helping put things into perspective! :)

Just 2 questions...

1. If I were to travel from Greece to Bucharest via Eurail (which I'm guessing goes through Bulgaria), would I still need to get a visa for Bulgaria?

2. Can I use Eurail to get off at a stop in-country with the Eurail global pass? For example, I board an Eurail at Athens and get off at Thessaloniki and then next day I board from Thessaloniki and head to Bucharest, is that possible? (I'm guessing it will count as two travel days but it is possible)

Thanks all :)

There are many low cost Turkish airlines wherenyou can foynfrom turkey to frame, say for around 100 us if booked in advance, same for Dubai and othernplaces. I'd say go Delhi to London, then fly back out Dubai or vice versa.

Heck, with low cost carriers in general, you might find super cheap flights from India to London and back from Dubai.